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Zach's avatar

The silver lining, I think, of the horrors we've witnessed over the past six years, is that it means we're finally making enough progress that these people actually feel threatened. I'm aware that as a white man I'm unlikely to be one of their victims, so I don't want to minimize anything by looking for a positive. But now we've just got to win the war they've started, which does give me anxiety to no end.

One particularly frightening aspect of the arguments that this piece is about, becomes apparent if you follow the logic. Bigotry, I think, would be discriminating against someone for something they are powerless over, like race, genetic or ethnic heritage, sex, sexual orientation, or disability. What those who are making these arguments seem to be suggesting is that men are powerless over their conservatism.

At first that notion is laughable. But throughout human history, it has been women who adapt to male preferences and male needs, and rarely the other way around. It is only in recent years that women are beginning to find themselves in a position in which they may actually be able to indicate that they no longer wish to do this. And the reaction from what appears to be a majority of men has been madness and apoplexy.

The argument being made is that men simply cannot adapt to a world in which women and men are equal. I think that's bullshit, but what's scary to me is that I'm not sure how much evidence there is for the alternative. I think we just haven't successfully created those conditions of equality, on a large enough scale, to test it.

I always remember that humans are animals, and that's sobering. I think feminism is rarely about women; it's about the evil that men do and how to respond to it. The problem of civilizing men has bedeviled humanity forever. We have to solve it if we're going to be able to save the species and the planet.

Either men get trained better or the only solutions start to sound like science fiction. I can only hope that the slow progress that's been made over generations can continue. Everything depends on it.

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Katy's avatar

Guess I’m a bigot then. 🙅🏻‍♀️🍆🐘

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