Mass shootings, fear, heroism, politics, gun control, terrorism, xenophobia, PTSD all came together when a tragedy of this magnitude strikes. We invite you to be part of this conversation, because few things could ever be more important.
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We wish we didn’t have to have conversations about topics this difficult to talk about—but we do. We started The Good Men Project six years ago to have an ongoing worldwide conversation about the changing roles of men in the 21st century. We have since realized that that conversation informs all conversations—-and especially the conversations about who we love and who we fear. The world is changing faster than most people can process it. We remain at the forefront of these important conversations so that we, collectively, can understand the changes that are happening and remain on the side of positive change and humanity.
We would like to add your voice to the conversation. Submit online here. Not sure where to start? The prompts below are designed to spark conversation, but we are also looking for your own unique viewpoint.
As always, we will not publish posts that are racist, Islamaphobic, homophobic, bigoted or otherwise deemed harmful.
The following are thought-starters only:
What do I tell my 12-year old today? Tell me America.
Is NOW the time to talk about gun control? We’re seeing posts that say “Democrats will use this to ‘trick’ people into giving up their rights to own guns.” How is 50+ dead an hundreds injured a trick?
How do people outside of the United States view this incident? What are they saying?
This is being reported as “the biggest mass shooting on American soil”. But…what do we make of historical events like the Battle of Wounded Knee? How do those stories fit in and provide context?
Are you a grief counselor? Can you give some advice on how we as a nation, can grieve and move forward?
Several articles have been written on The Good Men Project about men and mass shootings, and how our culture helps perpetuate this type of violence. Here are two of them: Men and Mass Shootings and The Patterns in Mass Shootings and a Conversation About Men. It’s too early to tell the shooters motives, of course, and he is now dead—BUT, there are reasons to believe he fits into some of these patterns. If cultural forces are at work, what can we do to change our culture?
How do we talk about how this fits into our bigger conversation about men without appearing to blame ALL men for the problems of violence in this world?
How is the definitions of words changing as events like these keep happening? (examples: terrorist attack, mass shooting, hate crime).
The first wave of reports came through that really were “fake news” and tried to spin the event as an Islamic terror attack. How do we protect Muslims in our community who will face a backlash every time events like this occur—even if the shooter ends up being white?
It has been proposed that the CDC do a study, just a study mind you, of gun violence in America. The Congress not only did not authorize the study, they prohibited the CDC from doing one. How do we move the dime to a reasonable conversation? http://www.vocativ.com/
What gives you hope for the changes you see in today’s world?
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Join in the Conversation on The Good Men Project. Here’s how:
Write or create your post, story, article or multi-media content, then click below to send your post through our submission system.
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For those of you who want to take action—you can now learn hands-on tools and techniques for creating social change. Join our unique online workshop.
We now have an online course in “How to Create Social Change” as part of a series of classes on Thinkific.
Click to Sign Up for our Online Class: How to Create Social Change
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“Here’s the thing about The Good Men Project. We are trying to create big, sweeping, societal changes—overturn stereotypes, eliminate racism, sexism, homophobia, be a positive force for good for things like education reform and the environment. And we’re also giving individuals the tools they need to make individual change—with their own relationships, with the way they parent, with their ability to be more conscious, more mindful, and more insightful. For some people, that could get overwhelming. But for those of us here at The Good Men Project, it is not overwhelming. It is simply something we do—we do it with teamwork, with compassion, with an understanding of systems and how they work, and with shared insights from a diversity of viewpoints.” – Lisa Hickey, Publisher of The Good Men Project and CEO of Good Men Media Inc.
Other ways to connect with our Community:
As a participatory media company, we don’t just have content you read and share and comment on (every media company has that) — we have multiple ways you can actively be a part of the conversation and we support writers in ways no other media company does.
Request to join our private Facebook Group for Writers—it’s like our virtual newsroom where you connect with editors and other writers about issues and ideas.
Click here to become a Premium Member Participate in calls—every day of the week. No other media company offers this. Plus, see the website ad-free! And get access to our Premium Member Community on Facebook, recordings of classes and calls and more.
Are you stuck on what to write? Sign up for our Writing Prompts emails, you’ll get ideas directly from our editors every Monday and Thursday.
However you are engaged with The Good Men Project—you can help lead this conversation.
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Photo: Jo Naylor / flickr
The post Call for Submissions: What Just Happened? How to Deal With the Latest Mass Shooting and Tragedy. appeared first on The Good Men Project.
