I was talking with a man the other day, and he made a comment that greatly disturbed me: “all men are jerks and have bad intentions/bad thoughts. Every single one of them.” I took his words as a reflection about him, and not all men. I don’t make blanket statements about 100% of women, ever. Blanket statements about 50% of the population aren’t fair.
I live my life not thinking that all men are jerks. It’s possible that I live in some sort of denial, but I don’t care.
Yes, women need to be on the defensive, but that’s because of the small percentage of men who give the rest a bad name. Yes, there are some very terrible men out there. They make the rest of men look bad.
I choose to believe the majority of men are decent people who go out of their way to respect women, especially younger guys in the millennial generation.
I have met many men who know how to ask permission, and how to be good guys.
I’ve also had some terrible experiences with men, especially in my younger days. This was predominately when I was younger, much cuter, doe-eyed, and innocent looking. In those days, I did have a segment of time where I believed, “all men are jerks.” But that’s a cop-out.
I have dated several guys who were jerks. But guys who would actually do something as bad as what Brett Kavanaugh is alleged to have done are extremely rare.
As a culture, we don’t need to make blanket statements about what men are like. And we need to rehabilitate the bad men. Teach them to respect women as equals, and to ask permission. Because yes, being a single woman in this world sucks.
But we all have the potential for greatness. Don’t write off all men because there are a few jerks out there. And men, don’t be jerks. That is all. And don’t make statements about how things “are.” Because people change, societies change, generations change, and the world changes. The world is always changing.
And, any man who makes a statement like, “all men are jerks and have ‘bad intentions/bad thoughts” is not to be trusted. Because nobody can speak for everyone. He can only speak for himself.