WILLIAMSVILLE — Proud Boys?
I'd rather be proud to be a man - one who accepts the fact that his childhood was far from perfect, that this life is far from perfect. I'd like to be one who accepts that he needs help from another person or other people from time to time to deal with the scary places and feelings in my gut.
I'm overwhelmed with hints and jabs to the effect that I'm small, powerless, and worthless compared to “others.” The same feelings feed me seductive, deflective stories that they are my enemy.
I would rather be a spiritual warrior, to know that sometimes I have to sit still with myself and shake, cry, and grieve my way to a humble, painful place of knowing who I can be, freed from the darkness within me that's been running the show.
I don't think that what I'm suggesting is a privileged person's bulls-t. If you can afford a semi-automatic killing machine, not to mention all of the other trappings that I've seen, then you can afford to find another road to travel down.
In laying down all of these trappings, you won't end up looking quite like the glamorous hero as you imagined, but you might actually realize that you have become a man.
When you can draw a line in the sand with your internal enemies, you can leave your boyhood behind and begin contributing what the world truly needs: action based upon compassion, cooperation, and kindness as well as standing up to what truly needs standing up to with firmness based upon self knowledge and a true heart.
You can be proud to be a man.
There are many such men. They might be a little quieter, but they are easy enough to find if one seeks them. We are all in this together.