I knew Jay’s article would upset some people, but I put it through anyway because I thought that, although Jay might have been tactless, he made a few points that are worth hearing. And, frankly, sometimes we ought to let the young men have their say, even if they can be a bit brash and impetuous. Finally, in my opinion it’s often best to let the people who feel something the most make the point. Of course, this might not be the advice an attorney would give you in court, but the last thing The Spearhead should be trying to do is appeal to some hand-picked jury.
Younger men have always been impulsive and filled with passion. It is a blessing and a curse, but those who’ve been around a while should be able to see it for what it is, and use it to understand what passions are motivating people at any given time. Older men tend to be more cautious, politically astute and guarded in their speech. These are valuable traits, but they have their drawbacks as well — they tend to lead to avoidance of uncomfortable realities.
Of course, the old chiefs ought to be making the final decisions, but if they are truly wise, they’ll let the young braves have their say, and take it all into consideration. In time, the fiery young men get a bit more perspective, and they understand where they took things too far, but they will never get to learn if never given the opportunity to open their mouths and put their opinion out there.
The most controversial posts on The Spearhead so far have all been written by younger contributors. I, personally, have taken more flak for publishing them than any others. However, I’m not going to stop doing so, because I think they often have a point, and I think we ought to listen.
Jay had a point. He didn’t make it in the most diplomatic manner, but at least he made it. I, personally, have been rankled by the concessions to feminism a lot of prominent MRAs have made. In order to be diplomatic, I’ve avoided the subject. I didn’t want to offend anybody. Admittedly, I think Jay was shooting at the wrong targets. The FRA and MND are actually not even close to as accommodating of feminism as some other purported pro-male sites. In fact, FRA in particular is pretty close to being on the front lines. But I know what he was getting at.
Another thing to keep in mind is that things are a lot worse for young men now than they were a generation ago. Some of the guys who’ve been involved in MRA for a long time may be committed activists, and may have our best interests in mind, but I’m not sure they can understand just how stifling the atmosphere is for young men today. The campus radical feminists from the 1970s and 80s are now professors, judges, lawyers, administrators, senators, etc. They are still fighting the same battle against young, male coeds, but now their opponents are hopelessly outclassed.
Given this, can one blame young men for adopting a siege mentality? To a lot of young guys, this looks like something approaching a real, shooting war. The rape hysteria on campus has morphed into totalitarian treatment of young men, which includes the use of armed force. They are reacting the situation as they see it. We ought to pay attention, in order to understand the true extent of the problem.
Of course, young men ought to stop and think every now and then to take stock of who their allies are, but human nature being what it is, young men will always take things a step too far. This is how they learn. Lord knows I regret a great deal of what I said and did in my adolescence and youth, but if I hadn’t screwed up as much as I did I’d know a lot less. It’s just part of the human condition.
In conclusion, I’d like to suggest that the old chiefs and young braves pick up the peace pipe and take each other’s respective burdens into account. We’re dealing with a common problem, and although it affects us in different ways, we’ve got the same goal.
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