This is obviously very upsetting. But I’d also like to know what y’all’s answers would be to the question on this meme. This is not something I advocate for I’m going to be transparent about that, I’ve just noticed things like this a lot on the internet and want to gain some perspective.
We all have a right to defend ourselves, but also an obligation to deescalate. It’s all contextual. Following black and white rules is not the way to operate in a complex world.
Memes like this serve to stoke anti-feminist sentiment among men. I don’t think we should post them, but it’s useful to discuss.
I think it’s only useful to discuss it with the right nuance behind it. And for the record, I feel the same way about all discourse.
Very little of value can come from a conversation that starts with a sweeping generalisation or a broad statement, and most of the time, we will find much more valuable insights in nuanced debate that doesn’t try to stroke an emotional chord with an audience.
The logic is simple: “men feel society treats them unfairly when they’re in a violent situation with a woman, so I will make a post appealing to that feeling, but removing any sort of nuance that might explain some of the reasoning and potential exceptions in those situations, all with an excuse of gender equality.”
This! Asking “under what circumstances am I allowed to hit women” sounds like you’re itching for it.
If your only train of thought regarding domestic abuse is “ohh. Does that mean I can hit back now?” then you’re not a victim, you’re just a closeted abuser.
If your only answer to a public assault is fighting back you’re not concerned with solving the situation, you’re just spoiling for a fight.
Sure, there are situations where fighting back IS the only viable solution. But jumping to it immediately means we’re not talking about a hypothetical situation - we’re talking about a fantasy of yours.
IMO there isn’t much to discuss about. Hit me, I hit you back. I don’t understand why I have an obligation to take care of an aggressor who hit me first. I’m not saying immediately kill the other person but it should be at least equal to what I had to take.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a man, woman or even another species.
One exception: The person has obvious reasons reasons like alcohol or substance abuse and is not able to think clearly what he/she is doing.
My parents teached me to not hit people in the first place. This is also a very good strategy to not get hit 😉
Nobody should be allowed to hit anybody without consent. And men shouldn’t be afraid of speaking up; abuse of men does happen.
That said, it’s not the primary direction in which abuse happens, so I’m not sure this is a healthy way to highlight the issue.
it’s not the primary direction in which physical abuse happens
FIFY. There’s plenty, maybe not complete parity but not that far off, of abuse going in this direction too, it just tends not to result in unaliving people when it escalated. I think it’s important to recognize it so that people feel comfortable to speak up.
can we maybe not import the “equal rights, equal lefts” arguments from the dark half of reddit?