How To Express Your Brutal Truth Without Crossing The Red Line

#08: The War On Masculinity Nobody Talks About — And How It's Affecting You

(If you’re a lady, this post is as much about men as it is about you, so please continue reading)

My craving for masculinity is a result of two factors: 1) social influence and 2) an allergy to mold.

1- Social Influence:

In short, I was one year younger than my peers. I was an overachiever, so I had to skip one grade. I sat with a group of classmates who had hit puberty before I did. They were talking about girls before I did, and they were interested in things I was still unaware of.

At that time, I felt less “masculine” than my classmates because they physically matured one year before I did. That’s the first nail in the coffin.

2- Mold Toxicity:

Growing up, my bedroom had green mold. A neighbor in an upper apartment delayed fixing leaking pipes, and the fumes I inhaled from the mold caused digestive and nasal problems I still suffer from today.

Mold is extremely dangerous. I know a great deal about the topic that I can discuss for hours. Still, in short, if you’re like me and sensitive to mold, you may experience symptoms of autoimmune diseases or hormonal imbalances that no one will diagnose as being caused by mold except an expert. (I discovered my issue by reading Toxic by Neil Nathan, MD.)

I suffered from mold toxicity, and although I look perfectly healthy, the effect it had on me has always manifested as inflammation and back pain. Rendering my body fragile and less resilient.

I've lived my life trying to reclaim it by fighting what makes us sick and weak.

The Toxic War on Religion & Masculinity:

I lived my life trying to reclaim my masculinity by fighting the source that’s making us sick and weak.

Every time I looked for answers to basic health questions, it left me more lost than before:

• Why are we sicker than ever?

• Why is autism rising to historical levels?

• Why are we more depressed, anxious, and burned out than at any other time in history?

I have always found that there is a fixed institution that has been purposefully domesticating us for centuries, not in one aspect of our lives, but in every single one, including our health, education, financials, and religion.

It turned out that there was a war on masculinity happening in our world, and in essence, it started with a war on religion.

In The Toxic War on Masculinity, Dr. Nancy Pearcey counters widespread myths and falsehoods about masculinity by sharing her personal negative encounters with men.

This book presents a refreshing perspective:

• “Men with strong religious commitments experience the lowest divorce rates, significantly lower than those of secular men.”

• In contrast, men who identify as religious but do NOT actively practice their faith have the highest divorce rates—higher even than those of secular men.

Real religious commitment does not lead to toxicity, but nominal religious commitment does.

In other words, there is an institutional war happening to destroy both religion and masculinity, and it’s affecting men and women alike. It’s ruining relationships and shattering family structures.

Who’s waging the war?

The System.

On whom?

On you

Their guideline is simple:

You want to attack masculinity? Attack religion.

You want to attack religion? Attack masculinity.

Understanding this war is essential for men, their wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters.

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Fighting Domestication with Personal Stories

The world is corrupt on so many levels. We are living under the control of the “elite,” and it’s affecting our lives in every single way you can imagine.

The air we breathe, the food we eat, the water we drink, and the vaccines we inject have all been tampered with to serve the elite.

They create the virus; and the anti-virus

They feed you; you get sick; they profit

The way we express ourselves, the social media posts we see, the news we read, and the movies we watch have all been inseminated with a mind-controlling hypnotizing agenda that domesticates us.

We express, they censor.

We follow, they lead.

By choosing to remain a slave to the system, unaware of what’s happening around you, believing what they tell you, and consuming what they provide, you allow them to domesticate you. They know that a pet can’t survive without its owner.

If you want to change anything in your life and transform into the best version of yourself, you must connect with your inner calling and discover your purpose. You can only attain transcendence with genuine self-expression.

This letter is not another post on self-expression; it's a reflection on a lifelong lesson about finding my purpose and calling. I found my purpose after delving deeply into my long-forgotten personal stories.

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ADHD, Identity Crisis, and Lost Masculinity

I have always suffered from what many would call multi-passion obsession, a scanner’s mindset, or even ADHD. However, none of those names ever helped me overcome my struggles.

I didn’t suffer from mental illness; I suffered from an identity crisis.

A jack-of-all-trades master of none!

Throughout my life, I have explored various interests, including becoming a group exercise instructor, sports nutrition consultant, teacher, scientist, writer, content marketer, gym devotee, spiritual rebel, entrepreneur, gold investor, sprinter, and an early adopter of the ketogenic diet, among others. I’ll leave it at that.

Finding a “niche” or my “voice” was the most difficult endeavor I ever tried to accomplish. How can I find my voice while I have dozens of interests that keep me scattered?

It was so simple for me to inspire others and help them find their calling, but it was so difficult for me to find mine.

But why?

This question is existential for many people who suffer from the same issues that I described. Why can’t I find that one thing I’m passionate about? Why do I never finish projects only to jump to a new one?

They label these symptoms as ADHD to blame the brain or a Scanner Brain to soothe the pain, but it’s nothing more than an identity crisis because you decide to self-compress and not to self-express.

It’s kinda like a vortex that downdrafts self-worth to the point that you continually rush to achieve more, earn more, learn more, and consume more in an attempt to fill in the void the vortex is creating. It crushes your self-trust to the point where the only thing you believe is that you’re never enough.

The Question that Left Me in An Existential Crisis

A few days ago, I published a 1- Question survey asking: “What is your number one question on how to self-express on Substack?” I wanted to create an educational masterclass on this topic, so I asked for people’s input.

I received one question that was particularly difficult to answer:

“How brutally honest/critical can I get on specific subjects? ie do you think there is a red line and if yes, what's the difference between Substack and other platforms?”

I planned to answer this question in a dedicated letter, but I didn’t have the answer she wanted. I was in a bit of a crisis. I didn’t know what to write about, so I missed writing a Wednesday post, and I’m one day late.

Just as I’m drafting this letter now, it hit me. I’m writing a post to answer this question that left me in an existential crisis.

How brutally honest can you be?

Be as Brutally Honest as You Want. Your Mental Health Depends on it.

But Don’t Cross the Red Line

Why should you be censored to speak up your words? Freedom of speech or freedom of expression guarantees your right to do that. Right?

Unfortunately, social media algorithms, in general, are here to sabotage your attempts if they deviate from the path policymakers want.

The system is biased, and it will always favor those who abide by its rules.

Yesterday, I responded to a Note from an anti-arab, anti-muslim islamophobe posting about how much he hates Palestinians and Arabs. So I asked him a simple yes-or-no question, and he ranted, responding with an emotionally charged response that crossed all shades of red lines. The response is particularly explicit, so please feel free to skip reading it if you prefer.

How I confronted an Islamophobe—and why platforms protect hate