Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men • Hacker News Board

Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#241

Post by vmception » Wed, Aug 25, 2021, 4:09 PM UTC

tjs8rj wrote: post #239

vmception wrote: post #233

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article: Men need to see therapists and barber shops have filled in the gap but are woefully inadequate but one person is raising awareness about that using barber shops. My comment: Men need to see therapists and barber shops have filled in the gap but are woefully inadequate [because they are filled with ignorant toxic vitriol, which you may not notice if you aren’t familiar with the culture] but one person is…

What’s does an “actual mental health” advocate for men look like to you? Clearly men are resonating with these barbershops, clearly they find emotional and mental value in them, as far as I can tell there hasn’t been some streak of violence or angst generated by their members, so what more could you ask for? I think these men know better about what is best for themselves than you do from the outside looking in. I thi…

yeah that's probably what's happening

my point is for there to be more options, perhaps even licensed professionals which is somehow weird to suggest, in my model people can still go get their toxic dose of reality at community barbershops, they just don't have to rely on that

Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#242

Post by pvaldes » Wed, Aug 25, 2021, 4:17 PM UTC

wobbly_bush wrote: post #110

A question on the article title from someone who is not aware of the latest words to use w.r.t. race - why is it "Black barbers" but "African American men"? Why aren't both "black" or both "African American"?

Most probably just a style choice.

Is discouraged to repeat the same adjective again and again in a paragraph. Using a synonym the second time you see again the same concept is better.

Rules for poetry are more permissive or sometimes even encourage it for emphasis. In prose to see -black- barbers... -black- clients... -black dogs-... -black- neighborhood... would sound stupid and boring after a while.

Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#243

Post by emerged » Thu, Aug 26, 2021, 12:27 AM UTC

kgin wrote: post #222

emerged wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently came to realize that many addiction groups are actually a social replacement for buddies who used to go out drinking / partying all the time. Since they can no longer party, a replacement group is needed and they all immediately share in common that they don’t want to drink or take drugs. Maybe this is common knowledge but it was a lightbulb moment for me when I realized it.

I’ve long wished for AA type groups for people who arent necessarily struggling with addiction. We’re all struggling.

My ideal would be a group with some shared interest and shared goals who meet on a recurring basis. Typically that is merged with working in an office, so the demand for such a group is mostly satisfied. But it really leaves behind people who work from home (and people who have few coworkers and/or don’t like them).

Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#244

Post by opan » Thu, Aug 26, 2021, 12:46 AM UTC

honkdaddy wrote: post #164

hhs wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Lewis is trying to solve a problem a lot of other people are trying to solve: how can you have a normal community in US culture? Indeed, in sociology this building of community is typically called the 'third place' [0]. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_place

Do HN folks have a "third place" they go to?

Maybe not anymore, but the public library comes to mind from my youth. Kids would hang out there, and they had computers that you could play some games on. Runescape was very popular there.

Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#245

Post by systemvoltage » Thu, Aug 26, 2021, 5:33 AM UTC

okareaman wrote: post #31

For me, this article is about mentoring younger people and benefits it provides. I mentor a young brilliant programmer who I used to work with. I maintained a relationship with him after I retired. He called me up last night frantic about some issues. I know he drinks too much and that he has mental health issues, so I was able to talk him through it. We talked about solutions for his drinking problem. He thanked me…

That felt good to read, thanks.

Re: Black barbers have become mental health advocates for African American men

#246

Post by no_time » Thu, Aug 26, 2021, 8:03 AM UTC

at_a_remove wrote: post #220

ceilingcorner wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It goes against pretty much everything in the zeitgeist, but yeah, men and boys are really hurting from this lack of all-male spaces. I hope culture boomerangs around enough to permit them sometime soon.

Duke has a space for men: "The Duke Men's Project is an initiative to call men in to conversations about feminism and gender oppression. It aims to create a space of brotherhood and fellowship dedicated to interrogating male privilege and patriarchy as it exists in our lives, our campus and our society." as sponsored by the Duke Women’s Center. That's pretty much the kind of thing that is available for men.

Is this the antithesis of going to the psychologist? You go in there to feel bad about yourself?