Commentary: Equality is a two-way street
Ninety-six percent of those who commit homicides are men. More often than not, perpetrators of sexual violence are men. And of the 2,000,000 people currently incarcerated in the U.S., 93 percent are men.
Lately, it seems that a great deal of tweets and posts generated by young people on social media aim directly at men, too. These posts portray the majority of men as beings who take advantage of all others, willing to gain power by any means necessary – even if it hurts someone else in the process.
But if our world is striving for equality among all genders, races, and backgrounds, how can we condemn someone for something out of their control?
While men have historically been in a position of power above women, this is finally changing. Women are owners of businesses, leaders of groups, and have a major influence as trailblazers in today’s world.
It’s immature for people to put down an entire gender and to make blanket statements is flat-out wrong and unfair.
People are jumping to conclusions without knowing anything about the individual. They’re assuming the worst with no consideration.
We can’t forget about our brothers, our fathers, our friends, or our teachers.
We can’t forget about our grandfathers, our neighbors, our spouses, or our sons.
The men I know are kind. They are gentle, they are loving.
They are, simply put, good.
These men are the ones we look up to, the ones who stand out.
And although the gender may have some bad seeds, they are greatly outnumbered by the pure and honest ones.
Don’t get me wrong. The acts of these outliers are cruel and sick, and the reactions of those affected by them are completely justified.
The outliers need to be held accountable.
Still, we must remember the good men who shaped us into who we are today. It’s not fair to generalize most men as toxic and conniving for the acts of a minority.
It’s painful to watch those I care about be criticized solely for their gender.
I believe the vast majority of people are innately honest, kind, and moral, regardless of gender.
The good men bring balance into our world. They bring care and warmth, love and protection. The good men care.
We must not spend our time seeking vengeance for inequality, but rather to strive for a world of fairness, equal rights and equal opportunity.
To aim for equality, we must all do our part to treat each other in an unbiased way. Anything else is driving us further and further from the objective of true equality.
