Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris' Democratic running mate in the 2024 presidential election, said in a Washington Post essay that he is subverting traditional patriarchy and scaring “MAGA men” by “offering living proof that their tortured masculinity is a thing of the past.” salon magazine.
of CommentaryChristopher Cotton's essay is a lengthy essay that argues that a revolution is changing the way men see themselves in society, and that Waltz and his “father” image are at the forefront of this revolution.
The very fact that Walz is running second to a woman is some evidence that he is shattering conventional wisdom about American masculinity and challenging the beliefs of the “MAGA guy.”
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The paper specifically focuses on the MAGA movement as a symbol of past social forces that now need to be reconstructed, arguing that “the MAGA movement is a kind of modern-day ghost dance, a desperate attempt to reclaim an allegedly lost masculine birthright and restore supposedly legitimate power.”
The essay cites the events outside the Capitol on January 6, 2011 as an example of the waning influence of MAGA and the weakness of its supporters, stating:
Donald Trump’s inability to admit defeat after he lost the 2020 election may be due to his psychological wounds and subconscious fears. That’s his problem. But if millions of Americans are clinging to his obvious lies, we must look for a deeper cause. They feel a deeper insecurity that Trump resonates with, so his own pathology rings true to them. They can’t bear to admit defeat.
Cotton argues that a post-patriarchal world awaits and that MAGA men have a lot to fear, and that Walz epitomizes the new man of tomorrow, a “joyful warrior” who supports Kamala Harris in her bid for high office while refusing to “fight the gender war.”
There's been a lot of talk lately about Tim Walz, the Minnesota governor and Democratic vice presidential candidate, the “jolly warrior.” Walz is certainly a skilled attacker and a jolly man, but there's one battle he's not fighting that infuriates MAGA men: He's not fighting the gender war, but he doesn't seem to be losing it one bit. His existence suggests that the battle between men and women doesn't really exist.
Many commentators have pointed to Waltz's “fatherhood,” and his typical middle-class American dad vibe is sure to infuriate the MAGA gurus, as Waltz represents a new generation of fathers, essentially the type that Dinnerstein predicted.
The essay goes on to condemn those who disagree, concluding that the patriarchy as it once existed is “dead” and replaced by figures like Waltz and his enduring toughness and resilience.
Tim A. Waltz greets his wife with a warm handshake after his debut speech? pic.twitter.com/Hq8bp94GtY
—Breitbart News (@BreitbartNews) August 9, 2024
“To accept what comes next is not to admit defeat, nor is it to ask men to accept anything less. For men the choice is not between conquering and being conquered; the choice is between dancing with women and children, or dancing with ghosts,” the poem concludes.
