The recent project released by shaving company Gillette, "We Believe: The Best Men Can Be," has fallen under a ridiculous amount of scrutiny since it's debut on January 13, 2019. The aim of the project was to make a public statement regarding domestic abuse, bullying, and many other prevalent issues in our society. It brings up how certain societal/cultural influences can contribute to these issues, and how men often have a major role in both it's prevalence, and it's prevention.

Now with this in mind, we could expect that a well-crafted commercial that can effectively compress that message into a one minute and 50 second video could bring very necessary attention to these issues from the average male consumer.

But of course, this is what we get:

That is such an extreme like/dislike ratio that even I find it hard to fathom. How can something so poignant and real be so loathed? Well with what I've noticed, the problem is exactly what the video was trying to say:

Men.

Specifically, insecure men who have thrown themselves into the toxic void to try and prove their masculinity every chance they get. And what's more masculine then skewing the message of a video about toxic masculinity?

What Gillette did was not an attack on the men of this nation, it was a piece of social commentary to bring attention to what an overtly-masculinized society can do to everyone, men and women. But of course, some people couldn't see that and would rather point towards the "snowflakes" as the real problem in pointing out the issues.

Take this from a man, what Gillette created wasn't an attack. It was meant to draw attention to very destructive trends that harm all of us in the long run. I even got into an argument with my father about this, who stated that he will throw away is razors "if they keep doing this s**t." Now as much as I love my father, I had to explain to him that giving that response is part of the problem. If the issues are properly addressed and discussed, they never get solved. And sense they aren't really discussed in a public form, Gillette took it upon themselves to put it out there.

This whole reaction is just as ridiculous as the one given during the Nike/Kaepernick situation. With people left and right boycotting Nike because they endorsed the devilish kneeling football man, now they're boycotting that company that makes razors because they said men can better themselves.

I apologize for becoming a bit snarky, but the fact that I have to clarify this to some people blows my mind. But until men start reacting the way that they should to public messages like this, I'll keep stating my cases. These ads are not attacking men, they're attacking the system that breeds toxic masculinity. It's tragic actually that so many men are so brainwashed by the need to be the most manly that they can't recognize the issues that come with it.

So Gillette, I want to personally praise your decision to shed light on these issues. Your message is so important in today's walk of life, and the fact that you risked your reputation among your main clientele is extremely admirable. You're performing a great service to the nation, and hopefully people wake up and realize what it is you're trying to accomplish. I just hope that one day, people will be able to set their egos aside and see what the commercial is actually saying, and not react like their fragile self-esteem is being broken by a video clip on YouTube.