Darn Lina.

Have we grown up solely to learn how to defeat our fathers? What drove men to such anger that they felt compelled to prove their fathers wrong? Then, generation after generation, a silent battle ensues, driven by nothing more than the desire to invalidate them. Where do we go once we’ve “won,” and why do we cling to pain that our fathers, in turn, inherited from their own? How much time is wasted when we could have turned inward, cultivated self-love, and recognized that their mission was never ours to begin with?

Father, don’t treat Mother that way. Your father would never allow a gay man into his family—just as his father before him. Father, why do you yearn for love, yet push everyone beneath you? Father, why are you angry at the world, believing all should suffer? If you’re hurting, tell me what truly fuels your anger. Breathe, let go, and find peace within yourself. Forgive yourself and the fathers before you who forgot to forgive themselves.

Patriarchy was never a natural human condition. Words held no inherent meaning until they were created, learned, and assigned significance. We must unlearn these ingrained patterns before we can truly learn to create the world we wish had existed. The systems of white supremacy and patriarchy have created a male loneliness epidemic. In the pursuit of dominance, men have been robbed of vulnerability, emotional connection, and the freedom to express their full gender and sexual identities. This suppression leaves them isolated, perpetuating cycles of pain and disconnection.