THREAD: Gun rights folks clamor for us to individualize gun violence, to pin it on individual shooters' mental illness. NO. Our larger culture is at fault. Our dominance-based culture of masculinity's obsession with guns, violence and power over others is the "illness." /1
Mass gun violence is an extreme expression of dominance-based masculine culture, which trains boys that power over others is the ultimate expression of masculinity. Gun violence is dominance culture being expressed. It's disconnected young men doing what they've been taught. /2
The obsessive political movement which holds gun rights as the ultimate expression of manhood, promotes a version of masculinity which is utterly lost in individualism, dominance, disconnection and shadow. /3
Bullying dominance-based masculinity leans heavily into power over others. It fluidly aligns with male and white supremacy, with religious extremism. It aligns with autocratic authoritarian leaders. It sees women as less, to be used, to be controlled. It sees BIPOC as less. /4
A mass shooting is never just one individual's mental illness. That gun violence is men's response, not women's, signals the clear role of our culture of dominance-based masculinity. It is boys' and men's trauma playing out in our children's schools, our stores, our homes. /5
Man box masculinity strips boys of emotional expression and connection, leaving them isolated, disaffected, angry and alone, susceptible to recruitment by extremists. Our epidemic of gun violence is masculine domination and disconnection playing out on a culture wide scale /6
The solution? Men creating a masculine culture of connection and compassion. Men's work brings men back into balance and connection, to process our disconnection and trauma, to come in from the cold of creating power over others to the warmth of creating power with others. /7
Gun rights folks want us to see mass shooters as mentally ill lone wolves while they march in our streets waving assault rifles. This is dominance-based masculine culture challenging us. The very same culture that breaks boys and then points them toward violence as validation. /8
If you're a man who's tired of feeling disconnected, who's looking to do their men's work to create genuine community and connection, reach out to organizations like @mankindproject, @_evryman, @BetterManMvmt, @HUMENorg and many others. /9
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
