the following is a chunk of text about myself I wrote in response to a discussion I had in this sub about the notion of privilege

I spent my youth in a backwater shithole where I was ostracised by most of my community. The main reason as to why was that I had a learning disability misdiagnosis essentially forced upon me by a school system that I've since learned is very biased against young boys.

They tried everything. They drugged me up and when my parents put a stop to it they essentially said that if I wasn't diagnosed with a learning disability I would be expelled. and my entire family would have to move to another town if I wanted an education.

and because i was a nerdy kid in a grade where being nerdy was not well accepted. I never had stable friends I felt safe hanging out with until I was nearly in middle school.

Then when I finally did have some form of a social life. The town's main industry went under and everybody except the "originals" left.

Since then I've lived below the poverty line. Struggled with depression and mental illness to the point of being unable to get out of bed for anything aside from eating and using the washroom.

So no. I am not privileged. I find the concept utterly insulting. it is from what I have seen only ever used to invalidate people's suffering.

and yes, I have struggled with romance. Not only due to the first 21 or so years of my life being spent in that backwater hell.

But it's also due to the constant messages I received. At first it was general bullying. I was disgusting. I was a freak. I was ugly.

There was a point in my childhood when I can remember people recoiling in disgust when they touched me. All because of that fucking label.

Then early in high school. a "gender studies" class was offered as an extra curricular course.

Now, IIRC. this class was shut down within the next two years. due to complaints from parents. Because teaching immature highschool girls about radical feminism was not a great idea. And I've since talked to a few who were in said class. and they've all confirmed that what was discussed was a constant string of how men are the cause of the worlds problems.

But I still got the brunt of what those young women learned.

For trying to awkwardly learn how to express that I too wanted to be loved and desired like my peers.

I was a creep, a pervert, a predator.

and hell. I remember being threatened with a bullet to the head for asking a girl out.

Then there's the issues with living in poverty for several years. never having time off or money to go out because I was struggling just to make ends meet. Opportunities to a proper education would have been wonderful then.

There's the issue of my mental health. Which has not been very easy to address. Last time I tried to speak to a therapist there was a 3 month wait before I could have a single appointment. And then when I did I could only see them once per month for a half hour.

But honestly. as of right now I don't really feel bad about myself.

sure, I know there are places that need improvement. But I've since found medication that actually helps with my depression. And I've been making amazing steps towards fixing those things.

However. I do feel cheated. I feel lied to. I feel left behind. I feel hurt. I feel ignored. And I feel frustrated.

and the reason I am here. The reason I am expending so much energy into this?

Because none of this shit should have EVER happened. And I know with absolute certainty that I am not the only man here who has gone through it in some form.

The crisis of boys in education is very real. and needs to be remedied.

The concept of "privilege" based on race or gender alone is actively harmful. as it both invalidates the suffering of countless people while actively stripping them of opportunities for help (because why help people who have everything?)

Men need a better system of mental health help and support.

The messages young men recieve (usually from feminist sources) are utterly toxic.

No radical ideology should have any place being taught in academia.

And lastly. The men who have been left behind in education, The men who have struggled without help. The men who have been hurt by the toxic messages and actions of hateful ideologues

I believe they deserve some form of reparation.

things like access to mental health care. Scholarships to make up for them falling behind in education. Campaigns to spread the message that men are fine just the way they are, and to counter the toxic messages that pervade modern discourse. Programs to socially reintegrate "lost" young men.

We know that these problems exist. We know that several of the solutions I've brought up have been applied towards other groups to great effect.

Why is the idea of applying them to lost hurting men so abhorrent to some?

because in their eyes, We're "privileged"