Category: Good Men Project

A few weeks ago, the lexicographers at Merriam-Webster continued doing their job by adding a non-binary meaning to “they”: “4. used to refer to a single person whose gender identity is nonbinary.” Because this was a controversial act, a blogger at the site explained the decision: “All new words and meanings that we enter in…

My ten year old son cried in public the other day. This was noteworthy because it wasn’t. At the time, I didn’t even think much about it. I had had a rough day. He hadn’t seen me in thirteen hours, and we went out a local coney island to grab a late meal. He was…

During the most recent Democrat debate, Former Vice President Joe Biden was asked, “What responsibility do you think that Americans need to take to repair the legacy of slavery in our country?” Biden started out by talking about his background opposing redlining and unfair banking practices before moving on to education. After discussing increasing funding…

We liberals like to talk about safe spaces. We want to build spaces where everyone feels comfortable. We don’t like hostility. I believe many of us live in a shy box, fearing rejection if we say something unpopular, and so we want to have a space where we can express ourselves without fear. I’ve come…

I love underdog stories. I think most of us do. As a teacher, I’m particularly aligned to admire the tale of someone overcoming a great obstacle in order to succeed. It’s important to remember that our most vulnerable youth can confront the obstacles put in their way. At the same time, we can become so…

In a public restroom today, I saw a sticker that said, “this is only tempora”. It was missing two letters because someone had attempted to pull it off, succeeding only in tearing off the lower right corner. The top of the sticker was also peeled down slightly, as if someone had tried to roll it…

A decade ago, Jay Smooth released a video entitled, “How To Tell Someone They Sound Racist.” The message was straightforward: Focus on the deed, not the person. Don’t accuse someone of being racist (or, worse yet, “a racist”); instead, emphasize that the action is racist. Smooth’s emphasis is on the idea that calling someone racist…

In the 2005 movie “Syriana,” a Pakistani migrant worker named Wasim is on the verge of getting deported when he loses his job at an oil refinery. As his story unfolds, he gets seduced by an Islamic extremist, who ultimately convinces him to execute a suicide attack on the company that laid him off. Normally,…

During the Democratic debates in Detroit, Kristen Gillibrand, a white woman of privilege, talked about racism. She complained that it shouldn’t be just Cory Booker and Kamala Harris talking about race. White liberals generally have a strange way of talking about racism. We dodge, we couch, we leave the heavy labor to black folks. We…

I am a white. I am a high school teacher. I am about to enter my eighth year in the classroom. Several years ago, I wrote about the White Savior complex, and I briefly touched on my personal growth. But I don’t feel like I said enough then. I believe that white people who are…