I personally believe that a lot of the issues that Men in general face has come from the changing definition of what a Man should in the face of our growing rel

I personally believe that a lot of the issues that Men in general face has come from the changing definition of what a Man should in the face of our growing reliance on complex, possibly automated, electrical and mechanical systems. I think a good indicator of this is the reduced standing of skilled trades within most people's minds. Not so long ago being a carpenter or a plumber was considered a great job that paid well, nowadays many people perceive working in a trade as a last option for those that don't have better prospects. Canada is suffering a serious shortage of skilled trade workers and I feel this directly reflects the change in attitude toward those jobs. While this transition is not so bad for those that are more intellectually minded, I have to question whether this change is badly warping what society feels a Man should be... Traditionally I would say that a Man was perceived as someone that could be relied upon in nearly any situation, his working knowledge of the systems around him (mechanical or otherwise, and simpler than they are now) was fairly good and could be brought to bear whenever there was a problem. These days I think it is harder and harder to find people (in my generation at least) that match this description. I think that one of the effects of this is that the stereotypical unthinking, unimaginative young man doesn't see the number of options for his future that he would have 30 or more years ago. Rather than being respected and happy in his job in a trade he feels that he is being marginalized by society. This clearly has the possibility to lead to resentment of and violence toward the world that put him where he is...