Seconded: All men are potential monsters to be constantly feared

First, a mounting pile of sexual harassment allegations made Sunday the worst International Men’s Day ever, and then on Monday, Farhad Manjoo of the New York Times had this hot take on men to offer:

https://twitter.com/fmanjoo/status/932729551943122944

That tweet eventually racked up more than 25,000 “likes,” but the highest-profile endorsement likely came from Washington Post style writer Monica Hesse, who seconded the idea that all men are to be treated as potential monsters.

https://twitter.com/MonicaHesse/status/932732301573750786

Is that sexist? Let’s run a check …

https://twitter.com/AdamBaldwin/status/932994546211815424

Just change up a few words, and you can make this a racist quote. That's how STUPID this tweet is. https://t.co/NYRhZzkmqy

— Michael (@Michael2014abc) November 21, 2017

BTW, people who speak this way after Islamic terrorist attacks are called bigots. People who've been mugged and worry when they see people who look like they're in a gang are racist.

But it's cool to go #YesAllMen https://t.co/3PWK4zN4hK

— Ya FriendlyNeighborhood Crazee™? (@Crazizzle) November 22, 2017

Obviously, it’s a problem if gender relations have gotten so bad that men are treated by default as monsters to be feared; if women suggest that due process isn’t necessary and it’s OK if a few innocent men are ruined by false sexual harassment claims; and that complimenting a woman on her appearance is tantamount to sexual harassment.

It makes me insanely angry to read comments like this. Men are not all monsters and women do *not* need to fear an entire gender. It’s unacceptable to encourage fear in people who have experienced abuse who are probably fighting fear every day. You’re not helping.

— Francesca (@Francesca_W_S) November 21, 2017

NO, that is not the answer. You can always be wary of strangers ( I am and I am male and I have crossed the street at night to avoid suspicious people ) but deciding that 1/2 of the population wants to hurt or kill you is untrue and unproductive. https://t.co/7H0yXMiHPN

— Joe Reilly (@JosephGReilly62) November 21, 2017

Sounds like the ravings of a paranoid schizophrenic.

Either that, or, your potential monster is the author of that tweet. https://t.co/Uox7OcnSXf

— BayAreaFrau (@bayareahausfrau) November 21, 2017

Stop. You do not fear death from someone who tells you to smile. https://t.co/qEoJLQoahw

— NeoN: Automataster (@neontaster) November 21, 2017

Folks, this is epic parental failure right here. Seriously, who teaches their daughters to think like this??? https://t.co/vq9gDj1zL4

— Stacy D (@StacyDmomof5) November 21, 2017

The capacity for both good and evil exists within all men (and women). So yes, all men are potential monsters, just as they are also potential angels. https://t.co/DmmfztoiCu

— John Blackout (@SomewhatSeattle) November 21, 2017

https://twitter.com/MollyBinion/status/933079774825734144

I don't understand how anyone can live their life like this. "That's why we obey"? You're your own person, if you're that scared get some pepper spray or a gun to defend yourself. Don't be pathological and hysterical, jfc. https://t.co/1A6Nv2DloI

— Martyr☆(˵･ω･˵)✿ (@SuperNerdMartyr) November 21, 2017

Excellent. Another advocate for getting more women to carry. I couldn't agree more. https://t.co/A3O4zXcUKw

— Senate Popular VotEEE (@EEElverhoy) November 21, 2017

Give them a conceal/carry license so if a man becomes a threat, she can whip out a 45, and point it at their junk and say back off creep. I say empower women, Don t make fear a stereotype. I'm a survivor of sexual assault. Firearm training , & little kung-fu gave me confidence. https://t.co/Vie8wRhWCK

— not me, US (@TheDoctor_C137) November 21, 2017

This is getting ridiculous. This play-the-victim-to-the-big-scary-man game makes me sick to my stomach and I want no part of it. There are LOTS of good, decent men in this world. Strong women know that. https://t.co/gvAoT7xff3

— Dagan K (@dagank4) November 21, 2017

How do you even get out of bed in the morning? The fear you harbor is the thing that oppresses you. Not actually, you know, MEN. https://t.co/amQxDXval0

— Epstein Didn't Mush Himself (@MushKat) November 21, 2017

This is so wrong, I don't know how to even respond. All men are not monsters to be feared. Most men are good and decent. You're fear mongering. https://t.co/26GLVhDpSN

— Beth Wellington (@beth_wellington) November 21, 2017

And who are the biggest victims of male violence? Yep, other men. Lol these people live in such an ideological bubble that it's rotted almost any logic they have https://t.co/7Bo9sDJMo9

— Tony? (@Sheasy64) November 21, 2017

If every woman I meet regards me as a potential monster, I must regard every woman I meet as a potential accuser. You have, probably unintentionally, justified the Pence Rule. https://t.co/tTweci8eIW

— Spam Elliot (@jones4440) November 21, 2017

Any woman who has to fear – or question any man in her life really needs to question her life choices and social skills. https://t.co/vG6znMjrfW

— theRoddick (@_jbarker) November 21, 2017

https://twitter.com/BrowningMachine/status/933041180656488448

This jerky pendulum swing from militant feminist Barbie® to delicate flower/invalid when it's convenient is why only 1/3 of women identify as feminists. https://t.co/NYRhZzkmqy

— Michael (@Michael2014abc) November 21, 2017

https://twitter.com/TonyTrovato/status/933115026185097218

Not one short year ago all we heard about was "Girl Power!"

Wow! History happens fast! https://t.co/QzO1XLcY8B

— Mach's Alternate (@Machovellian) November 21, 2017

#journalism https://t.co/YHrsEq20wa

— ?It's?Almost ⛄️Christmas? (@jtLOL) November 21, 2017

Remember that week when the news cycle was that President Trump’s tweets were going to start a nuclear war with North Korea at any second. That was actually kind of nice in comparison to this, where sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein and company have led to a gender war.

https://twitter.com/DavidGX/status/932797320546144256

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