The Boys Are Not All Right

Excellent piece from, of all people, Michael Ian Black entitled The Boys Are Not All Right that tackles the notion that our Nation's gun problem stems from men. Men are performing these heinous acts and Men are clearly having a hard time traversing what it means to "Be A Man." To be clear, the article isn't about shaming men or contributing to your horrible Uncle's notion of Weak Snowflakes but, rather, a contemplative take on the archaic model of masculinity.

Too many boys are trapped in the same suffocating, outdated model of masculinity, where manhood is measured in strength, where there is no way to be vulnerable without being emasculated, where manliness is about having power over others. They are trapped, and they don't even have the language to talk about how they feel about being trapped, because the language that exists to discuss the full range of human emotion is still viewed as sensitive and feminine.

He follows this by saying that "most men will never turn violent... Most will learn to navigate the deep waters of their feelings without ever engaging in any form of destruction." And that's an important addendum. This isn't an article saying Men Are Bad but, rather, a call to say that we need to rethink how we're training boys to be shutoff from emotion.

I'm not a parent and I'm sure there are plenty out there that are raising wonderful, mindful, emotionally aware kids. I am optimistic for the next generation.