The phrase "be kind" seems to be everywhere these days. But if you take a closer look, you’ll notice that it primarily shows up in...
Despite the rampant and growing issues of sexism, misogyny, and femicide, you rarely see "be kind" messages directed towards men.
When you search for images associated with the phrase, they often feature pastel colors or pictures of women. This disparity is hard to ignore, and I’ve personally stopped using the phrase because of it.
At first, I thought it was just a pet peeve. But then I realized: people are really buying into this.
When women set boundaries or say "no," there’s an overwhelming pressure to force them to "be kind."
This pressure manifests in slurs, threats, assaults, stalking, shaming, banning, and silencing. It’s become ingrained in our culture.
All of this happens because women make their own choices. While this dynamic has always existed, it's getting worse, according to objective measures.
What’s missing is a similar call for men to stop abusive and violent behavior. The absence of this demand is alarming.
Instead of pushing for an end to male violence, society increasingly pressures women to be more compliant, submissive, and attentive to male concerns—much like children in abusive homes who adapt to survive.
"Dad will never be safe so it's on you, Mom.
Sorry. Conform. Submit. Obey. So we can be okay."
The difference is, adults are not children. I understand those poor children's reasoning.
Adults though, are not allowed to treat women and girls as if we must save the world while everyone lets men continue to do whatever they please.
Bizarrely enough, one day someone can be laughing at what passes as a "joke" at another woman's expense because she dared to make a choice a man didn't give her permission to make. The next day the same person is posting "SMH RIP" when a woman or girl is murdered.
This is like living in a never-ending Twilight Zone season. Maybe when the aliens ....👽? I don't know.
Men, be kind.