man or bear?

How are you showing up to be a part of the solution? What can you do to hold yourself and others accountable for supporting and building communities of care?

Deuteronomy 25:9

The widow, in the presence of the elders, will approach her brother-in-law, take off his sandal, and spit in his face.

Public shaming of men who fail to show up for the women in their communities is the topic of today’s text. Yep, that’s right.

In the time that the Torah was written, women relied on the support of the men in their families, and so there were all of these rules written about who was responsible for taking care of a woman after a husband or father died.

In Deuteronomy, the Israelites were given freedom to publicly call out men who failed to meet their obligations.

In our day, we have social media. The man vs. bear conversation has been circulating and I see this as a kind of modern day accountability for men.

While women and gender marginalized folks don’t rely on men for all of our support, we do rely on men for safety - meaning we need y’all to stop causing harm.

For men - how might you hold yourself and your peers accountable for creating safety and care in your community?

For non-cismen - I love you. How can you be gentle with yourself today?

—Candace Woods