Did Democrats Abandon Young Men? - Bernie Sanders

The left's historical focus on women's equality has inadvertently led to a significant neglect of pressing issues faced by young men, resulting in their disengagement from progressive politics.

• Young men face significant socio-economic and mental health crises, including fatherlessness and rising suicide rates.

• The left's focus on women's equality inadvertently led to neglecting and failing to provide a positive vision for young men.

• Ignoring male-specific issues has caused young men to disengage from progressive politics, feeling unheard and unrepresented.

A serious crisis exists regarding young men, stemming from challenges like fatherlessness, higher incarceration rates, lower college completion rates compared to women, and increasing suicide rates. While the fight for women's equality was necessary and positive, it created a 'blind spot' on the left, failing to adequately address the struggles and provide a positive vision for young men, leading them to feel abandoned and potentially vulnerable to radicalization.

Crisis of Young Men

• 00:00:05 Young men face a serious crisis, with fatherlessness being a stronger predictor of incarceration than race or poverty. Boys raised without their biological fathers are twice as likely to be imprisoned by age 30, and more likely to end up in jail than graduate college if from a non-intact family. Children in intact families also experience half the rates of depression, highlighting the critical role of family structure.

Left's Neglect of Men

• 00:01:22 Historically, the left focused on women's issues to address their second-class citizen status and promote equality, which was a necessary endeavor. However, this focus led to a neglect of men's issues, creating an 'agenda gap' where young men's struggles, such as declining college enrollment and performance, higher suicide rates, and vulnerability to addiction, have gone largely unaddressed by progressive institutions.

Data on Male Disparity

• 00:03:08 Recent data highlights stark disparities for young men: suicide rates among men under 30 have risen 40% since 2010 and are four times higher than for young women, accounting for as many deaths as breast cancer. Men are less likely to attend college or buy a home, more prone to loneliness and addiction, and young white men from lower-income backgrounds are worse off economically than their fathers, indicating a significant reversal of trends since Title IX.

Political Abandonment

• 00:03:41 Young men have turned away from the left because the left has turned away from them, viewing men's problems as 'elite neglect' rather than 'voter chauvinism.' Government bodies like the White House Gender Policy Council and the CDC have failed to acknowledge gender disparities in suicide or address issues primarily facing boys and men, reinforcing the perception that Democrats and progressive institutions have a 'massive blind spot' regarding male issues.