MEN: This is OUR moment. THIS is OUR time. NOW is when we DIG DEEP, BREAK our conditioning, and SHOW THE WORLD what we're MADE OF.

"HOW DO WE DO THAT?" I'll tell you how:

Cry.

Weep openly.

Allow your sadness to show.

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Push aside the harmful mindset that tells you revealing any emotion but anger is a sign of weakness. Because it's NOT. It's STRENGTH.

Baring your soul when generations of cultural pressure tells you to hide even the smallest indication of grief or trauma is STRENGTH.

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Admitting that you're scared is STRENGTH.

Telling your friends and family that you're hurting -- or that you love them -- is STRENGTH.

If ever there were a moment to break the generations-long cycle of toxic masculinity, NOW IS THAT TIME.

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Our communities are depending on EVERYONE to one degree or another, and shouldering our part of that burden becomes exponentially harder if we bottle everything up until we explode.

We're all in this together.

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ADDENDUM: Here's how I originally ended this thread: "We're all in this together. " I've been saying that and using a similar hashtag for a couple of weeks, but a dear friend wisely pointed out elsewhere that no, we're really not ALL in this together.

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To a great extent, the same underprivileged, underrepresented, and disenfranchised people already treated poorly under 'normal' circumstances are still being disproportionately sacrificed or left behind in humanity's battle against this virus.

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For any of us with the resources, it's important that we do what we can to tip that scale. Write your representatives, check (from a distance) on your neighbors, donate to relief funds, etc. Opportunities are available and the imperative exists. How will we respond?

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