Since You Are Crying Out For An Article On Male Privilege

A response, I suppose, to hate and fury.

I wrote an article, which, garnered my first piece of hate, shall we say?

Here it is in all its glory:

Admittedly, the title is a little bit inflammatory, at least to those of a more sensitive disposition.

Now, the hate, it wasn’t much, I wasn’t reduced to a quivering wreck dragging my knees towards me in my sad lukewarm bathtub — far from it. I just found it interesting.

It was the result of a simple jump to a conclusion — probably not an example of flying off the handle.

I am apparently a ‘butthurt whiner spewing white male grievances’ — Wow. That’s a lot of assumptions. And this before I even get to my defense.

So, before we come to the crux of the issue — male grievances — let me quickly dissect the rest of this comment.

Does race really warrant being dragged into this? I mean, we have now gone from talking about male privilege to a particular type of man. This person is very sure of themselves and it comes across as a scripted accusation — one borne out of countless hours of watching the same one-sided banal arguments on YouTube. Where one unconsciously lumps ‘white’ beside ‘male privilege.’

And finally, ‘butthurt whiner’ — right, okay. There is fury in that not worth responding to. Nor is it particularly offensive, assuming that that was their aim.

The defense

To be honest, a defense is not even required. The article I wrote is nothing to do with either women or male privilege. Although that is the way it seems to have been taken — it was misinterpreted, warping into something people wanted to read.

It is actually, quite simply, about problems facing many young men that I know of, that I’ve seen and observed. It is about technology addiction and the calamitous mental health consequences of this.

I’m sure there are women in the same boat. Maybe that is where I went wrong. Maybe it is a societal problem for young people as opposed to young men. I said men because I happen to have observed one.

Anyway, maybe you know a young person stuck at home, glued to the phone and seemingly not making any effort to better themselves. Maybe you know that despite the very clear need to improve their lives, they cannot. Cannot because of their technology addiction. It’s at least one of the seemingly insurmountable barriers they face. Zuckerberg et al are responsible for this.

That’s what the article was about.

There was no mention of women, so the idea of male privilege should not have arisen. The fact it did says more about the state of society today — and where the battle lines have been drawn.

I also received complaints about indulging in self-pity. You know, I wrote it in the first person… that doesn’t necessarily mean I am that person. Hint. Hint.

But of course — let you jump to your conclusions.

This Is What You Came For:

Now I will speak of women — which, I reiterate, the article in question was nothing to do with. Yet, it seems to be what the audience desires. So I will give away my position.

I love women — Can I say that? Hell, I might even prefer them to men. As people, obviously — there is no room for sexual vulgarity in my articles, thank you very much.

Their ability to have deep meaningful conversations with one another, maintain friendships more seamlessly in adulthood and, if I may say so, the women I have come across do seem more compassionate too.

Let me be careful and clear here.

The above observation does not, in any way, seek to put women in a box — a kind of socially constructed stereotype that denotes how women should be and continue to be.

No, it is just my observation.

Might I further add that the above does not mean that men cannot be compassionate, caring, or maintain strong ties into adulthood either? They can. In fact, it is surely more desirable for everyone that they do so. It is often because of these traits that one develops stronger social skills on the whole.

And, I am a feminist. At least in the traditional sense; the kind that advocates for women’s rights on the grounds of equality of the sexes. Not the more aggressive, postmodern variety that actively hates men — and appears more preoccupied with this than the empowerment of women.

My hater’s kind.

So, there you have it. I will put myself into the safekeeping of my audience to know if one really thinks I have written that article as a whiny, self-pitying, and privileged male.

Or, if I should be the target of vitriolic female emancipators — even though I would be the first to side with a woman in need.

There is also no need to worry about my criticizer reading this — for I am now blocked. If I cared less for my credentials as a rather serious writer, I would insert the ROFL emoji here and now.

To me, this is a bit extreme. Akin to Roy Keane’s reaction when Alex Ferguson announced that an ill-advised, but not necessarily offensive video, needed to be ‘destroyed.’

And, is this person actually circulating our sacred platform just to block people they disagree with? I can’t think of a more tiring occupation. And I’ve had a few.

It is as if they are sitting there imagining themselves as our only protection against a wave of male privilege.

Of course, the ‘hate’ I responded to here was trivial, frivolous, and especially minor. And my response was, at least partly, written for amusement. But I do think there is a serious point here — that modern public discourse should return to a more civilized manner.

I actually want to know the truth.

I write this knowing that my views may and should change over time. When it comes to this issue — I would like to think that I can ‘hear out’ differing opinions on complicated subjects and come to lucid, if not flexible, conclusions.

Nothing is white or black, most is rather grey and nuanced.

So, accept that my views may change, and can be changed regardless of whether or not they are to your tastes. We can then converse properly.

I’ll grant the same to you.