Don't Cry for Me

by Daniel Black

Fear governed me back then. Men of my time were mean and hostile because we feared losing power. Feminists in the ’80s declared that “manhood” was a socially conceived idea. It was an oppressive notion. In some ways, they were right. We had nothing if we didn’t dominate others. We knew we could lose everything at any moment. Liberal women and gay men told us we were about to. Their freedom disturbed our self-worth—black and white men alike. That’s why we lived in fear.