Now before you read the title and downvote, let me clarify something. Yes, I know that the male experience is not exclusive to black men. I’m a white guy myself. But the hardest hit group by the modern war on men is almost certainly black men. Think about most of the issues that negatively affect men more than women: disproportionate sentencing, capital punishment, police brutality, fatherless homes, false rape accusations, homelessness, homicide, suicide... the list goes on and on. These issues, be they societal or legal, are often exacerbated for black men. Take sentencing disparities for example. In the US, 1 in 111 white women are in prison. Meanwhile, 1 in 17 white men are in prison. Pretty bad disparity, right? Now get this: 1 in 3 black men are in prison.

What are the reasons for this? Well above all else, I’d say it’s all about being perceived as a threat. Men are more likely to be seen as threats than women. I think the fine folks here understand that well. For black men, this issue is once again exacerbated. Nothing pleases a racist, misandrist judge more than seeing a young black man being “taken off the streets” because he’s seen as a threat. And this perception also frequently manifests itself in the form of police homicide. It’s how a police officer can walk into a random, law-abiding citizen’s own apartment and shoot him to death while he’s sitting on his couch because she thinks he’s an intruder. Btw, that police officer will be eligible for parole after just five years, and she’s currently appealing to have the murder charge dropped altogether. How’s that for “male privilege”?

Anyway, the point of this post is not to create division. Once again, I think that white and black men both experience hardships due to our sex. And I’m not trying to imply that every woman is racist against black men, or misandrist as a whole. My point is just that we should be aware of the experiences of our black brothers, and stand with them as they battle racial inequality in addition to misandry.