“When someone tells you who he is, believe him!” – Maya Angelo
Telling women that we need to “forgive men” for the violent behavior(s) of Patriarchy is just another control mechanism of Patriarchy.
It’s the same repressive “logic” that excuses early male violence with the “he hit you because he likes you” on the playground. He hit you because he’s a rabid little brat who wants his way and is being taught in every moment of his runty little life that his fists, his dick and his violent temper are Privileges he gets to indulge whenever he wants; while girls are taught to be “forgiving” of this violent misbehavior because if you’re seen as a “harsh” or unforgiving woman ‘no man will want you’…
In fact it’s the very first lesson in the Patriarchy Play-book; get women to believe that enough “forgiveness” will stop his trifling ass from murdering you!
Men languish in the undeserved favor of women.
Men languish in the unearned privilege of men protecting men at the cost of women’s actual lives.
Men languish in their own laziness and anything that hints at requiring them to put forth any effort at all to be descent human beings is seen as an undue burden on the ever-lovin “Potential” that presumably; at some point, men will exhibit…
When; exactly, is this ‘potential’ going to show itself?
Ten thousand years of unearned, undeserved privilege isn’t long enough for men to exhibit this mythic potential?!?
One might; if one had two brain-cells to rub together, begin to think this mythical male “potential” is just another excuse for lazy, undeserving men to soak up the majority of resources so they can shit all over the planet…
Oh, they cry, Beethoven! Einstein! Some artist somewhere that scribbled something supposedly profound… from nuclear warfare to that botched portrait in the Louvre, none of it is worth the literally MILLIONS OF WOMEN MURDERED EVERY YEAR!
NONE. OF. IT.
Not to mention that once you scratch the surface of every scientific and artistic advance credited to a man there are a slew of women who supported him, coddled him, and had their own intellectual property and artistic genius stolen and attributed to a man. Without women NONE of these so-called male-achievements would ever have happened.
None. Of. Them.
Women are responsible for the entire existence of civilization. We carry you inside our own bodies. We carry you on our backs. We carry you emotionally through your entire lives. We’re told to give up our own dreams, our own potential for your development and un-earned privilege and still you think being told to keep your grubby hands to yourself is an undue burden?!?
No, women DO NOT need to “forgive” men.
Men need to grow the fuck up and be the mythical potential we’ve all been hearing about lo’ these ten thousand years or shut up and go sit in a corner. It’s time to stop automatically forgiving men for their selfish, violent, short-sighted, destructive behaviors.
It’s time for men to be BETTER!
We’ll revisit the forgiveness issue in about ten thousand years…
Pro Tip: If you are a man feeling "triggered", defensive or angry by this check your cowardice, if you're angered or triggered by something it is because some part of you knows that it is TRUE and you have participated, covered it up, turned a blind eye and excused it out of your own self-interest and fear of losing your un-earned, un-deserved position and privileges; including the privilege of living your life believing "this doesn't mean me" while simultaneously soaking up your un-earned benefits from the system that gives you an A for c- work...
Men calling for women to 'just forgive men, so we can all move on' are just as guilty of the crimes of Patriarchy as the practically mythological perpetrator who does five minutes of jail time for his crimes.
NO women DO NOT need to forgive men.
Men need to step up, grow that hypothetical pair you're always going on about and be descent human beings.
Men will get forgiveness when you've earned it, when you deserve it and when you're no longer, aiding, abetting, cheering on, participating in and covering up the crimes of your Frat Bros.