Mass Shootings Don’t Signal “Toxic Masculinity.”
Accidental, single-person murder, double murder, murder-suicide, mass shootings, etc., are terrible. We live in a free country where the Second Amendment affords us a sacred and inalienable right to bear arms. Some say that the right should be limited; others say that it is absolute as written. Either way, we have the liberty to possess firearms. If you want freedom, you must accept that danger comes along with it. While large scale shootings have become part of our society, blame cannot be placed on masculinity alone.
Responsibility is an important facet of life. A boy cannot grow up without guidance and expect to be responsible. In only the rarest circumstance will we see a boy that grows up and takes his duties in life seriously without an example of responsible masculinity. When a grown man realizes how important his responsibilities are – being employed, productive, serving, etc. – will he find a pathway for meaning in his life. A boy cannot find meaning without a masculine role model guiding him and teaching responsibility.
A core principle of traditional masculinity is a responsible and productive citizen in society; this starts at home with fatherhood. As men, we are protectors. Those with sons must teach the importance of safe gun ownership. Dads who take their duty to protect seriously know that one day their sons will be tasked with the same responsibility – therefore, buying him a BB gun is a start. A responsible dad teaches his son that owning guns is an important part of being a man. Not because guns "make a man" but because they are a tool a man uses if a situation arises and he must use it after all other options have failed.
The left tries daily to hamstring the Second Amendment to the point of uselessness or eliminate it. Any time there is a mass shooting in the United States, they quickly jump in front of a left-wing news camera – take your pick CNN (Clown News Network), BSNBC, or any other alphabet soup news network quickly move to politicize the event.
Now, masculinity is in the crosshairs of anti-gun radicals as they blame men for actions with no real evidence. By that, I mean, they immediately go on a rant, pretending they care about the victims, saying that men are dangerous because most mass shooting suspects are male. Instead of looking into human behavior, background history, and other life events that may have led up to the incident, firearm adversaries use typical leftist identity politics to reason masculinity and guns are "evil" and attack them.
The issue of males being primary offenders in mass shootings incidents is not because they are men; it is much deeper. When someone decides they are going to ruin dozens, if not hundreds of lives, it is more than their gender. The issue is much more emotional, mental, and of the person's core values.
Mass shootings have nothing to do with masculinity. At their core, humans are not good. I am not saying we are evil, but it is evident with crime statistics ranging from petit larceny to murder and ethical/moral issues lying, infidelity, greed, backstabbing, gossip, etc., we are not inherently good. All of these traits are part of both men and women. To say that something as horrific as mass shootings occurred simply because the suspect is a man and has "toxic masculinity" is weak, shallow, and lacking thought, depth, or serious insight. The issue is certainly much deeper than identity politics.
As always, stay toxic to the left's agenda.