It’s not about punching up or down. It’s about generalizations. It helps literally no one, and the group it helps the least is feminists. Have you noticed the huge uptick in the toxic “alpha male” influence in younger generations? It is a direct response to the absolute bungling of a good message: feminism.

When conversations become global or even national or regional, the dumbest take is what is easiest to spread. “All men are trash” is the idiot’s version of the much more nuanced point, “women have historically been held down and overlooked in our patriarchal society, and have suffered at the hands of men-at-large in an outsized and much more devastating way than men have ever suffered at women’s hands or at those of men-at-large.”

The most simplistic answer can always be explained with a more nuanced explanation, but the problem is it needs to be explained. When people say “men are garbage,” the more nuanced and complicated message behind the overly simplistic and eye-catching hyperbole isn’t what’s spreading. It’s the dumbed down version of the message. And when the dumbed down version is hurtful or unfair, you’re not getting people to agree with you.

So if what you care about is women, you’re doing a terrible job. Because spreading “men are garbage” is directly responsible for the popularity of people like Andrew Tate. Young boys don’t know the context, but they see messages like “men are garbage” repeated by seemingly respectable adults. What’s their response? To think, “hmm, I should look into the historical context of women suffering at the hands of the patriarchy!” No, they are immediately upset and defensive, and when that idiotic message seems like it’s systemic, they will flock to spaces where assholes are telling them, “No, women are worthless garbage who should be making you sandwiches, king!”

So unless you love Andrew Tate and his ilk, I’d stfu on that stupid shit, if I were you.