Correct, men are not stupid by default. And yet there is still a very vocal subset of the population that shouts that at every opportunity.
It rarely matters what is actually true. We don’t form our opinions of ourselves based on any objective truth. We form them based on what behaviors get reinforced and what behaviors get punished. Regardless of the truth, if the most prominent messaging coming in is “you’re bad just because you were born a male” then you’ll start to believe it.
I get the feeling that the best interpretation of your message is that you’re denying that statement, the “all men are bad” statement. And that’s a good thing. We need more people saying “not all men are bad” - but we have to do it in a way that acknowledges why people feel that way. It does no good to say “no one is saying don’t approach people ever” when at least a few very loud, very aggressive voices ARE saying that, enough to drown out the majority population with reasonable intentions.
Correct, men are not stupid by default. And yet there is still a very vocal subset of the population that shouts that at every opportunity.
It rarely matters what is actually true. We don’t form our opinions of ourselves based on any objective truth. We form them based on what behaviors get reinforced and what behaviors get punished. Regardless of the truth, if the most prominent messaging coming in is “you’re bad just because you were born a male” then you’ll start to believe it.
I get the feeling that the best interpretation of your message is that you’re denying that statement, the “all men are bad” statement. And that’s a good thing. We need more people saying “not all men are bad” - but we have to do it in a way that acknowledges why people feel that way. It does no good to say “no one is saying don’t approach people ever” when at least a few very loud, very aggressive voices ARE saying that, enough to drown out the majority population with reasonable intentions.