Em-URGE-ing Voices

Posts Tagged: masculinity

Reducing the Stigma: Stop Blaming Mass Shootings on Mental Illness

As yet another mass shooting occurs, we are faced with the same bullshit excuse that we hear every time a white man commits one of these heinous acts; it must be mental illness. I am SO tired of the media throwing the mentally ill under the bus as a cop-out to avoid discussing the real issues of gun control and toxic masculinity in America. A Salon article written by Arthur Chu (which is actually the article that inspired me to write this post) discusses how after the Sandy Hook incident the NRA claimed that creating a national registry of firearms owners was a threat to the safety of the citizens, but a registry of the mentally ill was acceptable. Chu goes on to say, We’ve successfully created a world so… Read more »

Should athletes be role models?

Throughout the years, we’ve had a lot of conversations centered around whether professional athletes should be considered role models. From Charles Barkley famously saying, “I am not a role model” to many examples of athletes being involved in criminal activity, there is a clear argument for moving to separate athletes from the idea of being a role model. But, many argue that the discussion is much more complicated than that. Athletes, they say, are going to be viewed as role models whether or not they choose to act like one, simply by virtue of their celebrity status. There are plenty of examples for why professional athletes make terrible role models. Criminal behavior ranges from DUI’s and speeding tickets to murder, rape, and domestic violence. Integrity is questioned when players test… Read more »