I am not here to defend Andrew Tate. Rather, I'm here to acknowledge reality. So please don’t confuse one with the other.

Tate is not the architect of the crisis facing young men today — he is a symptom of it. The New York Times, predictably, would have you believe otherwise. The same goes for The Guardian. In recent weeks, mainstream media outlets have been using Netflix’s “Adolescence” as a launching pad for a new war on masculinity.

They frame Tate as a uniquely dangerous influence, radicalizing boys into violent misogynists. The truth is more complicated and many times more damning. The education system, mainstream culture and social institutions have been failing boys for years, and this started long before Tate became a household name. But this acknowledgment requires a lot of self-examination. It is much easier to blame a single controversial figure than it is to admit that our entire society is broken.

Schools, particularly in Western countries, have become increasingly hostile to traditional expressions of masculinity. Boys are expected to behave like girls — to sit still, be passive and suppress their natural instincts.

The education system is tailored to female learning styles, with an emphasis on verbal skills over hands-on learning, group discussion over competition, and compliance over independence. If a boy struggles in this environment, he isn’t given alternative avenues to succeed. Instead, he tends to be medicated, disciplined or labeled as having a behavioral disorder.

For those rolling their eyes in dismay,........

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