Friday night, Netflix aired an “exhibition” fight between Mike Tyson and Logan Paul.
I didn’t know it was on until after it was over. While I don’t begrudge anyone making their bag—as the kids say—this kind of carnival show spectacle isn’t my cup of tea.
And the post-fight commentary and coverage just reminds me of the bullies I used to face in the schoolyard after lunch.
I was one of the biggest, smartest kids in my class, so I had a target on my back. While I was liked, I wasn’t exactly popular.
Except with bullies. They loved to test their luck with me.
At home, my dad raised me to never start a fight.
But he knew boys would be boys, so I was allowed to end any fight someone started. By any means necessary.
I was also encouraged to intervene when I saw anyone smaller being bullied.
I developed a reputation: “Clint is nice. Until he’s not. Don’t mess with Clint.”
Bullies still piss me off. And in my 50s, I have zero tolerance for them. It’s one of the reasons I loathe the current state of (un)civil discourse.
Bullies may not test me in real life as much, but they still lurk in comment sections and online locker rooms where chest-thumpers, knuckle-draggers, and mansplainers love to play childish “culture war” games.
I’m talking about the people who insist on policing what it means to be a “real” man. They get off on holding everyone up to a warped version of masculinity that’s more about control, power, and toxicity than character, dignity, and tenderness.
On X—a platform owned by Elon Musk the world’s richest bully and bullshit artist—I came across a video by Jay Black that perfectly encapsulates my feelings about the televised “fight” and its reflection of the state of the world today:
“On Friday night, 60 million people around the world tuned in to watch Mike Tyson and Jake Paul hug each other for 16 minutes before each walking away with tens of millions of dollars.
And in doing so, they created the perfect metaphor for the age in which we currently live.
There are two things that define the current era:
One, maladjusted boys using archetypal signifiers of masculinity to compensate for a world that has largely moved past them.
And two, social media creating its own reality that has literally nothing to do with the actual reality that we, you know, live in.”
To all the would-be bullies—including those who were bullied and feel compelled to keep the tradition alive and well—please take a seat and shut the fuck up.
Being a “real” man is not about how big your dick is, how deep or loud your voice is, or how many fights you’ve won…or lost.
Being a “real” man is about—first and foremost—being human.
The older I get, the less interested I am in participating in the fake reality of social media. Instead, I’m more interested in helping make the world a little better, both online and in real life.
What we need are more connections and conversations.
What we need is more love.
Thanks for reading!
Clint
ON THIS DAY = NOVEMBER 19
BIRTHDAYS
1905 = Tommy Dorsey = American bandleader
1933 = Larry King = American journalist and talk show host
1935 = Jack Welch = American engineer, businessman, and author
1936 = Dick Cavett = American actor and talk show host
1938 = Ted Turner = American businessman and philanthropist
1942 = Calvin Klein = American fashion designer
1959 = Allison Janney = American actor
1962 = Jodie Foster = American actor and filmmaker 🌈
1983 = Adam Driver = American actor
CELEBRATIONS
Movember (November 1-30)
Trans Awareness Week (November 13-19) 🏳️⚧️
EVENTS
1863 – American Civil War: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln delivers the Gettysburg Address at the dedication ceremony for a military cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
1916 = Samuel Goldfish, Edgar and Archibald Selwyn establish Hollywood's Goldwyn Pictures. Goldfish later changes his name to Goldwyn. And in 1924, it merged with two other production companies to form Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
1980 = Two men are killed and six wounded when former transit cop Ronald Crumpley opens fire with submachine gun at NYC gay bar, the Ramrod. He is later found not guilty by reason of insanity.
1982 = A California judge tosses Marilyn Barnett’s so-called “galimony” suit against tennis star Billie Jean King out of court.
2022 – A gunman kills five and injures 17 at Club Q in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
PHOTOS + QUOTE OF THE DAY
“My men's underwear print ads are very popular!”
Calvin Klein
Well said, Clint - bullying is a special form of cowardice.