Big Brother and the Boy Scouts were created to address the "boy problem" in the early 1900s. Apparently those service models no longer work. It also appears that those service models have been rejected and replaced by tech bro culture. A culture that actually is out of reach in terms of career. A culture that turns out to be filled with social awkwardness. A culture that turns out to be led by megalomaniacs.
Gangs aren’t anything new. What’s missing are alternatives. A lack of options that make gang and incel culture reluctantly appealing. No moral code to follow because we don’t go to church as much anymore and justifiably so. Once upon a time I was proud of how well my fellow GEN-Xers were doing. But it appears we have dropped the ball as we’ve joined the leadership ranks leaving younger generations behind.
These are great pieces. I really like the point about militias and gangs being the end result of related yet distinct processes. One piece I often don’t hear talked about is the destruction/decline of the labor movement and it’s part in the ‘crisis of masculinity’ Unions, often being both a place of unity and purpose for men.
A restrengthening of our collective bargaining power, along with a focus on dismantling racism, and patriarchy could go a long way towards helping all of us. Thanks for reading David!
Wow, this was such a beautiful collaboration. How did it even come together? Really great perspective from both of you. What I am hearing is that men across racial and economic lines need to feel valued and loved—and that comes from community. Thank you, Ryan and Stanley.
Bro, thanks for reading this post and the comment. I have been chewing on this essay idea for a while. Ryan reached out to me after seeing one of my post. He wanted to see if we could collaborate, and when I saw the topics he covered I thought this was something we could do together.
He's a fantastic writer, and I'm really happy I got to work with him. I want to collaborate more, so I'm happy I was able to start with him.
All of this. And as a Black Southerner, I knew both sets of boys and I worry about them both, because this system is failing the Earth and it’s bout to open all the way up and eat us all!
Big Brother and the Boy Scouts were created to address the "boy problem" in the early 1900s. Apparently those service models no longer work. It also appears that those service models have been rejected and replaced by tech bro culture. A culture that actually is out of reach in terms of career. A culture that turns out to be filled with social awkwardness. A culture that turns out to be led by megalomaniacs.
Gangs aren’t anything new. What’s missing are alternatives. A lack of options that make gang and incel culture reluctantly appealing. No moral code to follow because we don’t go to church as much anymore and justifiably so. Once upon a time I was proud of how well my fellow GEN-Xers were doing. But it appears we have dropped the ball as we’ve joined the leadership ranks leaving younger generations behind.
These are great pieces. I really like the point about militias and gangs being the end result of related yet distinct processes. One piece I often don’t hear talked about is the destruction/decline of the labor movement and it’s part in the ‘crisis of masculinity’ Unions, often being both a place of unity and purpose for men.
A restrengthening of our collective bargaining power, along with a focus on dismantling racism, and patriarchy could go a long way towards helping all of us. Thanks for reading David!
Wow, this was such a beautiful collaboration. How did it even come together? Really great perspective from both of you. What I am hearing is that men across racial and economic lines need to feel valued and loved—and that comes from community. Thank you, Ryan and Stanley.
Bro, thanks for reading this post and the comment. I have been chewing on this essay idea for a while. Ryan reached out to me after seeing one of my post. He wanted to see if we could collaborate, and when I saw the topics he covered I thought this was something we could do together.
He's a fantastic writer, and I'm really happy I got to work with him. I want to collaborate more, so I'm happy I was able to start with him.
All of this. And as a Black Southerner, I knew both sets of boys and I worry about them both, because this system is failing the Earth and it’s bout to open all the way up and eat us all!
Thank you for this Kristen!
Of course!
This was so powerful
Thank you bro