Boys Are Not All Right Analysis

In “The Boys Are Not All Right” by Michael Ian Black, the author uses different powers of persuasion to convince the audience to succumb to his opinion that men today don’t know how to properly express their feelings because of cultural norms that expressing your feelings is associated with weakness and femininity. He starts the article by drawing on the fact that almost all mass shootings have been committed by men. He says that men tend to lash out in anger because they don’t know how to properly express their feelings. He attempts to persuade his reader to start a conversation on how to make it more acceptable in society for men to express their emotions in a way that doesn’t potentially hurt others.
The author uses an interesting time to

He starts by stating, “Last week, 17 people, most of them teenagers, were shot dead at a Florida school. Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School now joins the ranks of Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech, Columbine and too many other sites of American carnage. What do these shootings have in common? Guns, yes. But also, boys. Girls aren’t pulling the triggers. It’s boys. It’s almost always boys.” This appeals to a persons logic because everything about this statement is true. The thing that most mass shootings, but definitely all of these have in common is that they were all committed by boys. He applies the logic of facts to the situation to make the reader agree with his viewpoint because it is hard to argue with facts. He also clarifies saying, “Most men will never turn violent. Most men will turn out fine. Most will learn to navigate the deep waters of their feelings without ever engaging in any form of destruction. Most will grow up to be kind. But many will not.” This show that he understands not everyone is going to be effected by this cultural phenomenon in a monumental way but it will still effect everyone and some people could have catastrophic reactions. The author is saying that this is exactly the reason that boys act out the way they do and it would benefit society to try to change