‘Men are human’, ‘men are not trash’, ‘men get sad too’, ‘men are worthy of compassion’ – this where men’s advocacy currently is.
And whilst it’s comforting to read (and should continue), it’s also a stark reminder of how far we have to go.
Yes reminding the world that ‘men are human beings’ is quite literally, the bare minimum.
As sadly - showing any compassion to men, for some is too much. Whilst a toe further and you’ll likely draw the same brittle, self entitled cries of ‘misogyny’ and ‘sexism’ from the outrage squad.
So what about this: men deserve equal parental rights? Men deserve equal protection? Men’s health demands support? Male survivors of abuse need equal provision and care?
What about the fact that an American man is 40% more likely to die on any given day, than a woman is?
What about the fact that they lead in nine of the top ten causes of death?
What about the fact that boys are behind in every stage of education, in virtually all Western countries?
What about American men being shot and killed by police twenty times as often as women?
Or dying from homelessness at 9 times the rate?
These are the uncomfortable facts, and this is where advocacy should be - not reminding people that men are not trash, dogs, snakes or pigs, who should not ‘all’ be killed.
So yes, this is square one, in a game where (despite what you may have been told) the odds are stacked against us.
So how do we move forward and how to we deal with the ogres guarding the door, who swing their clubs at those who dare to get through?
What do you think?
~
Source:
[1] https://bit.ly/3OmdmD8
[2] tinyurl.com/4knatkxc
[3] https://tinyurl.com/h2dxz3r8
[4] https://tinyurl.com/2p94njzt
[5] https://tinyurl.com/5az47thv
Images by VD Photography form Unsplash
#mentalhealthawareness #justiceforjohnnydepp