MEN DON'T CRY

 
Hey!Hold on a bit!!Who says men don't or shouldn't cry?Men, just like women, are human,flesh and blood.Man was first created by God,no doubt,to be the head of the family, to support, provide, love amongst other duties which I am sure does not include pretending to be a rock and refusing to show emotions.Even the Bible is full of crying men;Jeremiah, David,Jacob,Samuel etc.Oh and even Jesus wept,remember?
Crying is one of the few human universals. It is a manifestation of strong emotions, not just sadness or grief but also extreme happiness. Crying is not a sign of weakness and why should it be morally wrong? Who gets hurt if a man cries? Crying for every little thing when you are an adult is probably a sign of mental distress, but in response to strong emotions is perfectly normal. The gender one belongs to is irrelevant; it is perfectly human to cry.
We cause so much harm trying to bring up men who live in denial of their emotions and feelings. The effect of this is that they end up seeking other outlets to free such emotions; outlets more harmful than "mere shedding tears".I'm talking about physical violence, suicidal tendencies, excessive drinking and smoking, sexual frustrations, to mention but a few.
Personally, I believe it takes a lot of courage for a person,more so male to find me worthy to see their tears.Yes I said that!I spoke to a close friend about this and he said "I see no reason why men shouldn't cry.I am a guy but that doesn't make me invincible. When I am hurt, I may not necessarily break down in public, but when I get home, I lock myself up in my room and cry shamelessly. Then I wash my face,come out and let life continue, taking note not to cry for the same reason again.
Let me share this story with you.A youth corp member was with about five of his friends when news came from home to inform him of his brother's death. When he ended the call,he struggled not to break down. The struggle between him and his emotions was so serious that one of his friends (female) had to touch him and say "You can cry and break down, don't fight it." They all sat quietly while he wailed,groaned and cried for hours.

Months later,he met that friend again and one of the things he said to her was "that was the first time I ever cried." and that experience changed her life.Isn't that shocking to you?
We often see situations where parents say to their male children "stop crying, see how you are disgracing yourself like a girl." Seriously? Girls are the ones allowed to disgrace themselves with tears?You may not know this but I tell you what:we are only destroying our children if we keep telling them things like that.We cannot think it is normal to raise children who live in constant denial of their emotions or are afraid to show them.. It does not make them weak. Crying is not a sign of weakness;admitting hurt and pain is not weakness. According to Mauritius, crying is not at all a show of weakness, but a moment where someone embraces their emotions, which if anything, is a sign of strength and should be celebrated.Even Abraham Lincoln in his letter to his son's teacher asked the latter to teach his son that "...there is no shame in tears".
It is dangerous to raise men to be aggressive on one hand while also telling them to suppress their emotions. We are causing plenty harm to the society because we are grooming people who will never be honest with their emotions. The adverse effects of this action cannot be overemphasized. One day, I warn,people will explode from all that bottling inside and you don't think that's scary?Well,I'm incredibly sorry for you if you still live with the notion that it is socially unacceptable for you to express your emotions.