There I was sitting in another restaurant indulging myself with some overpriced frozen food warmed by another college kid in the kitchen of yet another big box franchise I despise. My employment had taken me up to the land of central Michigan. I was imprisoned with co-workers and more time to think than even an introvert knows how to handle. Something happened on this trip that I did not anticipate, though, nor did I know how to respond. My co-workers and I were sitting at a bartop table getting food at this cliche franchise before our night shift was initiated, and then something so subtle yet painfully real happened as I was innocently consuming another generic cheese covered burger.
My eyes had started to survey the room as boredom was prodding my intellect to find something interesting to examine since the conversation at that moment was duller than a spoon. Instantly I observed an adjacent table with two men in their late fifties maybe early sixties with three children who were most likely in the age range of eight to thirteen. One of these older men while sitting down was speaking with one of the young girls who had come to request something of him, as this conversation ensued this man was reaching his arm over her back and was groping this child's ass. I mean this was a full-on grope. Not a pat. Not a rub. A hand full. I was shocked and honestly didn't fully know how to process this blatant act of dysfunction and pedophilia. The young girl was not phased or showing any signs of discomfort by this man's actions which bothered me all the more, because this implied it was a regular occurrence. I started glaring at the man hoping that my gaze would become like Cyclopes from X-Men and destroy this man's existence, but in reality, I was unsure of what to do and just purely stunned by what I had just visually experienced and found myself staring like a deer in headlights. The perpetrator and I quickly made eye contact, and within microseconds, he was visibly showered with shame and fear on his face and broke eye contact with me as soon as he possibly could. I wish I could say at that moment I arose from my sad excuse of a meal and confronted this piece of shit but, alas, I did not, and for that, I am extremely regretful. That is why I am writing this article, although, it may not help that unfortunate child's fate I witnessed being abused, my hope is to make some attempt at doing something right. I didn't think quick enough to act upon my internal emotions, and they left shortly after that. I was left speechless and questioning myself.
Why do I bring this experience up you might be asking? Because this is not okay, time and time again men are doing things like this that damage, disable, or just flat out destroy others lives. My hatred for the act of involving a child into your sexual deviance is unquantifiable. My animosity for rape, emotional and physical abuse, and sexual selfishness at this point overwhelms me; literally, I feel sick to my stomach on many occasions when I hear about the disservice men have done and continue to do to society. I am constantly let down by discovering yet another woman who has been raped, or friend who was emotionally manipulated and abused on a date or in a relationship. This is not okay. Not only are men destroying the lives of their victims, but they are also contributing to the deterioration of the belief that good men exist. Fuck these people. I am fucking done with this. Real men do inhabit this earth, but apparently, the selfish, raging, fear controlled, and sex crazed males have more social attention than the good. Honestly, maybe there or more of them than good men populating the earth currently.
How can we as the remnant of good men, though, do something to change this fucking nightmare of existing that is unfolding. How can I change myself from being the man who just sits in shock doing nothing, to a man who aggressively takes tangible steps to stop these catastrophes? I have stopped counting the times a date I have been on or interacted with someone close to me who has had an adverse interaction sexually or emotionally with men. I have observed that this, in turn, decreases my chances of possibly having an actual shot at a relationship or deeply connecting with those around me. It saddens me and makes me angry that these selfish humans are doing this to society.
How can I reach out to these men and let them know that there are ways to deal with their issues in such a manner that society will not be damaged by it? Do these guys know that not only are they destroying the lives of their victims but they are causing society as a whole to deteriorate? Are they so isolated in their pain and fantasies that the hope of changing one's self is completely out of the question?
Men of all walks of life, I implore you, please for the love of all that is good, if you are, stop being selfish little boys taking what you want when you want it. Wake up. Face your issues. Take ownership for your life. Stop running away from your pain and fucking deal with it. Stop saying you don't know what to do with your issues and commit the time to figure it out, ask for help, read a book, just fucking do something other than dragging other people into your vortex of shit. I doubt you want the world to be a worse place... but your actions say otherwise, shit, it feels like even when I did not speak and confront that man at the restaurant, I made the world a worse place. I could have done something and yet here I am comfortably hiding behind my computer screen externally processing my guilt for not taking action. How do I inspire action not only in myself but those around me as well? Is it too much to ask of society to give a fuck about others emotions and well-being? Is it too much to ask men to stop being selfish and self-loathing and start caring for and serving society rather than destroying it?
What would this day and age look like if men started facing their issues and those around them straight in the eye and raised the standard of civilization? Could there be a day when women can go outside and feel safe? Where children do not have to be sheltered in fear that pedophiles lurk around every corner? Am I dreaming of an outlandish utopia or is this something that is within reach? I without a doubt believe that if one out of a hundred men throughout this world started to face the internal and external adversity that they are continuously being confronted with this planet itself would be drastically changed. I believe that a few men who are assertive and actively putting their heart and soul into making themselves and the world a better place the earth as we know it right now would change.
Would you join me in this dream of a better world? Would you join me in trying to take steps to make the world a better place?
My friends, please, now is the time for a change, not tomorrow, or in a week. Now is the time. Men, I exhort you to face the day with a sense of audacity to attempt to make the world a better place for future and present humans. Defy your fear, anger, and comfort. Fight the good fight.
What action are you going to take? Please share in the comments below. Also if you want the world to be a safer place could you please share this article?
Cheers,
Timothy
