Gillette in Hot Water For Asking Men to Be Righteous

So, Gillette just released an ad chastising bad behavior by men in society while exhorting us to be the best we can be and the apologists are already trotting out the tired epithet acronyms they love (“PC”, “SJW”, etc.) to boycott the company and decry the subjugation of men by the liberal media, blah blah blah.  What these folks fail to realize is that with these knee-jerk reactions they are, in fact, proving the point of the ad and those who share in the sentiments expressed by it.

The problem, as I see it is, in essence, this: there is no gray area.

Just like the blinded nationalists who believe the US hasn’t, can’t and won’t ever do anything wrong, there’s a contingent of men (and women, too) who are convinced that short of you being a serial rapist, your inappropriate behavior towards women is nothing to be all up in arms about; that the respective outcries and movements spawned from this climate are simply the handiwork of oversensitive hags and girly men looking for time in the media spotlight.

What these folks fail to grasp (and let’s be honest, plenty of liberals, as well) is that you can proudly carry with you all of the traditional attributes of masculinity and still refuse to be an abusive, ignorant, condescending jerk. But we live in a time when many who’ve benefitted from the status quo are threatened by the possibility of adopting a different thought process, seeing this is as a sure sign of weakness and defeat, while deeming the middle ground a forsaken place to be avoided at all costs.

And the examples are everywhere and out in the open. Sure, the SCOTUS confirmation process of Justice Kavanaugh was deeply entrenched in partisan ideology, as was the senate candidacy of Roy Moore from Alabama, and of course the presidential campaign of the current POTUS. Plenty held their nose and supported these men, despite their past sexual transgressions towards women, on the basis of politics. But a significant portion of the electorate condoned, if not celebrated, the disgusting exploits of these men because, after all, no matter their chronological age, they believe boys will be boys. And girls ain’t shit.

I don’t know if this newest controversy will serve to enlighten folks who need to understand how real men should act in a civilized society; if nothing will change; or if Gillette will suffer (or not) a significant commercial backlash for putting their necks out there. But as far as I’m concerned, by their reaction to this you can have a pretty good idea of where people stand on matters of fairness and equality. How ‘bout you?