You can vent, you can do whatever here, this space is for you, man. I agree - I wanted this to be a counterpoint to the shitty ass sexist Peterson type bullshit and hoped to have a better space for young men to find a community. Please, if you have any ideas on how better to make that happen, this is my first time doing this kinda thing, feel free to let me know, or to make posts of your own. We’re not all doom and gloom here, we’re also advice and general tips on surviving as a guy in this world, so if you have words of wisdom or other things that might be useful to men old or young please feel free to share!

It’s about respect for the other person, as I see it. You wouldn’t be a little miffed if your wife of 10 years sent you a “k thx bai (link to divorce papers)” instead of talking in person?

Filth is magnetic and the youngling is ferrous

Right? The written word is its own kind of instrument and I dig it

It gives rhythm and flavor to your writing. Varied punctuation - where appropriate - is an easy way to spice anything up, give it a little more flavor, more control over how your words are read. There is a quote by Gary Provost that isn’t specifically about punctuation but illustrates this point well, it’s one of my favorites:

This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals–sounds that say listen to this, it is important

Yes, it’s nuanced but it breaks up the sentence flow in a different way. Also used for listing things. A comma is more a small pause, like this. A semicolon is used to differentiate two independent related thoughts ; it’s kind of a combination between a period and a comma. A dash can be used for many things - a longer separating of thoughts, listing different points such as this, or just as an intentional emphasis to add a more protracted pause.

I am so SO glad that this helped you! Honestly that makes this whole endeavor already worth it; so long as at least one person benefits from this place it has been worth it. Made me a little emotional myself reading all this, to be honest.

Oh man, LOVE Zelda games, I grew up on those, that was my childhood. Glad to see the little ones of today have an interest in it too. And that sounds like a wonderful project, something to do with your hands, something you can step back and actually see the finished project for and feel accomplished, I love those. You should feel proud of that, and I know your kids will absolutely love seeing that their gift meant so much to you.

You should more than half consider writing a book, not even blowing smoke. Your original letter made me tear up a little bit and if you still have a desire to write, you should do so! Even if you just want to start small. Maybe write a little bed time story or just a (whatever genre they like) for your kids? Highly different from an alien story though lol, I know. But I know your kids would be over the moon for it.

Man, 15 years, I can’t even imagine :/ I’m so sorry you’ve gone through that, brother hugs Relationships have always been…rocky, for me. It’s so much easier to be alone but it’s also so much easier to fall into a downward spiral like that. Half of the days I just want someone, anyone, to cuddle with watching dumb TV shows and the other half I physically recoil from touch. It’s a tough thing that I’m still working on and I don’t have a good answer to it myself. I just take it one day at a time and hope that the next day is brighter than the previous.

Please feel free to post as much as you want here; we’re all in this life together and if we can make it less shitty for everyone by banding together, in both our grief and our celebrations, then I feel like it’s in our best interest to do so. Thank you for being a part of this place and thank you for having the strength to show others that they’re not alone!

Wow, man. I can tell you’ve been hurting a lot and I just wanted to thank you for sharing this here with people. I know how much strength just that one act can take. As much as it feels it right now, you’re not alone. You have your boys still, and they will always always need you, no matter if they’re 5 or 50. I’ve been through some bad break ups myself, but I haven’t had a relationship last more than 4 years. Typically they’ve ended when my partner cheats. I’ve come close to giving up on them entirely but I still have a small spark of hope that there’s someone trustworthy out there. Every new person you meet is another roll of the die. You can’t give up hope.

Also, this was extremely well written. Have you written much before? I think you should explore that in some way because you clearly have the talent for it. Even if you just start a little journal, written or digital, just for yourself. It can be nice to get things off of your mind and onto paper. I know it helps me. And I would like to personally extend my shoulder to you. If you ever get in a bad spot and you just need someone to listen, or to commiserate with, please message me. The world is better off with you in it and I would like to do everything I can to make sure it stays that way.

I understand what you mean. I used to be the same way but I made an effort to try and open up more and slowly over time it became easier. It is exactly that - a learned skill that takes practice. I don’t believe it’s too late for you or for anyone, for that matter. It’s just a matter of practice over time.

But I VERY much respect your desire to help others nonetheless. That’s exactly what I feel too. We’re lucky to have you here in this community, thank you for being here!

I know, and thank God they got rid of those things

Fake banana tastes disgusting but kiwi is delicious

I upvoted you for solidarity but strawberry is my favorite flavor so also how dare you

Had this issue recently.

“Vanilla is good.”

“What? No, chocolate is good.”

“Both can be good. There doesn’t have to be a competition.”

“NO! Either chocolate is good or you hate chocolate!”

Riskiest click of the last month

It’s specifically a (shitty) intimidation move. “Don’t downvote me again or a mod/admin will happen.” Pretty pathetic as far as intimidation moves go but that’s keyboard warriors for you.

This community is here specifically for you. Even if no one else cares about you, I do. Please remember that. And I hope that you can find more people here in this community who feel the same. My favorite phrase for family is “family is not a privilege, it is a right” and if you’re a fucking jackass then that right can be taken away. Or on the other hand, you can freely give the right to family to others.

The other common phrase “blood is thicker than water”? That’s a bastardization of the original which means literally the opposite - “the blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb”. Meaning the connection to the people you choose to be your family is stronger than the connection to the people forced to be your family. If you would like to make a full post to talk about stuff please do, we’re here for you

Sorry to see you deleted this, I would’ve loved to hear from you!

Men are often taught that being a man means not showing weakness or needing help, says John Oliffe, a registered nurse and founder of the Men’s Health Research program at the University of British Columbia

When men do ask for help, they can be met with criticism for not reaching out earlier or told that masculinity is toxic, says Justin Trottier, executive director of the Canadian Centre for Men and Families, a charity for men and their children.

This is the problem. You come forward needing help and you’re told you’re a pussy or you need to man up. Everyone saying all these “men need therapy but they’d rather x” are probably some of the exact same people to put men down for showing vulnerability and seeking help. It’s not that men would rather do whatever (granted some might), it’s that when we go looking for help we don’t get it! We’re hurt more in the process and then spiral down further and

“If a guy has a bad experience when he first goes to seek help professionally, he’s very unlikely to come back,” said Oliffe.

then it’s even harder to crawl out of that spiral. People just need to start treating men like human beings with emotions and not stone faced rock hearted automatons. The men who you know who are like that? They’ve been taught that’s how they HAVE to act. It’s a very sad state of affairs.

“I’m calling for a genocide but not that PARTICULAR genocide” is uh…one hell of a defense to take.

This is one of the reasons why I very much like the LOTR movies. It’s a very good example of positive healthy masculinity. Men show their feelings, they grieve, they openly embrace each other.

Also it’s got swords and trebuchets and shit which is pretty cool too.