my big picture take on walz is that the right has spent the last 10-15 years aggressively pitching themselves to disaffected men, mostly white men, and attempting to monopolize masculinity with an unbelievably toxic branding. the left is way behind in offering healthy, non-toxic alternatives
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But that pitch doesn’t work on young men in crisis today.
They’re kids! Of course they want the code.
We absolutely cannot be normal about gender and are incapable of presenting healthy role models for young people. Seems good and sustainable!
we offer alternatives, but the cost of adopting them is very high
David Pocock is always my go to. Or Maro Itoje
cc @swolecialism.bsky.social
But I think it's notable how few 'masculine' role models there are out there. He's doesn't have huge competition
(I was a philosophy degree holding martial artist bouncer for 5 years to boot! Said martial arts did not come into play much, let alone to take down a corrupt kingpin, sadly).
Personally I think we need more positive examples of what "male" in media content. Not just representations of toxic masculinity
Which is why we need SO MANY great examples of healthy masculinity that when one becomes a problem, it isn't a big deal.
Not my personal definition, but if we're trying to claim cultural tropes as our own, that's one of them.
Granted having an alternative ready would help. Scouting would also do well to teach a broad view of Masculinity.
Ron Perlman
Russell Crowe
Dean Norris
Jon Bernthal
Dave Bautista
Christopher Meloni
Alan Ritchson (Jack Reacher)
It's something that takes several disciplines to fully utilize; and ideally you'd have teams dedicated to that.