This Post Contains Fake News

Found my new pet peeve: People being outraged because their reading comprehension sucks.

Lukas Mikelionis of Fox News begins his story with the line, “It's all your fault, men.” Followed by another 291 words that can be boiled down to “I only skimmed the material, but I know Facebookers who only read headlines will make my article go viral.”

Assess it for yourself: 'Traditional masculinity' deemed harmful, could lead to sexual harassment, medical group says

Meanwhile, Jacey Fortin writes for the New York Times, “The guidelines, 10 in all, posit that males who are socialized to conform to “traditional masculinity ideology” are often negatively affected in terms of mental and physical health.”

Ms. Fortin also includes – wait for it – A LINK TO THE SUBJECT MATTER.

The NYT headline reads “Traditional Masculinity Can Hurt Boys, Say New A.P.A. Guidelines”. In my opinion that headline is also subject to misunderstanding, though to a lesser degree.

Look, the Times isn’t blameless. You can make up your own mind about political biases and agendas, but when it comes to stuff like this…

Good Lord.

There’s no reason for the outrage. There’s nothing objectionable there. The APA guidelines are 36 pages…read them for yourself. It’s not exactly poolside fare, but if I could muddle through it I think you can, too. And I think you’ll agree there’s nothing targeting Men or Masculinity…just observations and questions about how those things apply, healthfully or not, to the people APA members serve.

I need a drink. How’s that for a Traditionally Masculine reaction to irritation?