There was a time when men had places to go after work. You finished your shift, you went to the pub with your mates, you had a few beers, you talked shit, you let the steam off and then you went home, that used to be normal, it was just how men stayed sane. Now that’s almost gone, nightclubs are dying, pubs are dying, the places where normal working men used to gather have been priced out of existence, alcohol tax keeps rising, cigarette tax keeps rising, everything that used to give men an affordable way to switch off and be around other men has been attacked in the name of “health.” Meanwhile men’s mental health has gone off a cliff, you’re not allowed to say it but a lot of men are killing themselves because they have nowhere to go and no one to talk to, the same people who lecture you about mental health are the ones who made sure the places men used to go became too expensive for normal people, they took away the reasonably priced beer, the cigarettes, the local pub, the simple ritual of men being around other men without it being turned into some kind of therapy session. They replaced it with nothing. Now you’re supposed to go home, sit on your phone, and be grateful you’re not “toxic.” you’re supposed to get all your social interaction through a screen while your real life gets lonelier and when you eventually break, they act surprised and tell you to talk to someone. Men weren’t built to live like this. We used to have a simple system, work hard, drink with your mates, go home to your family, it wasn’t perfect but it worked for millions of men for generations, now that system has been dismantled on purpose and nobody in charge seems to give a shit that men are falling apart as a result. They’ll tax the things that kept men together and then they’ll act confused when the suicide rates keep climbing. It’s what happens when you take away every affordable outlet men had to let off steam and be around each other, then wonder why they’re not okay.