Men's Day, celebrate without asking permission

Next up: November 19th. Men's Day. Let's be real, no filter? These days, being a man (and, wow, a straight man!) seems to have become an extreme sport. You say "good morning" and risk being canceled in three different time zones. There are so many "theories" popping up that even GPT Chat glitches.

We turn on our phones and it's a bombardment: social media gurus wanting to "deconstruct" even your breakfast. It's "virtue signaling" this way, "problematization" that way, so many new rules it's like a rocket manual.

That's what that tough philosopher, Pondé, keeps saying: the world has become a "pudding." Everything is "liquid," soft, slipping through your fingers. It's become an Olympics of who gets offended first. The gold medal goes to whoever finds the most serious problem where there isn't one.

And then, amidst all this mess, the Root Man glances to the side and, at most, gives that little smirk.

Why? Because, frankly, he doesn't have time to be made of styrofoam. The world may be liquid, but he's reinforced concrete. He doesn't melt in the heat of pointless arguments.

Think about it: does your tire go flat in the middle of a downpour? Does the internet go down right when you're about to deliver your work? The "real deal" guy isn't going to sit on the sidewalk and make a whiny story. He's going to curse quietly (because it's the norm, of course), grab the jack, and fix it.

It's that simple. He doesn't collect excuses, he collects solutions. Character, my friend, is what you do when the going gets tough, not what you post.

While everyone else is going crazy over the latest TikTok dance or obsessing over the newest "trend," the Real Man is focused on building something big.

He doesn't care about trends. He is the benchmark. He's the classic jeans amidst a bunch of neon pants that will be forgotten next week. He's more concerned with leaving a legacy than collecting likes from people he's never met. He respects where he came from, contributes his own legacy, and keeps the show going, without asking permission.

And most importantly: in a world where people promise everything and deliver nothing, his word is still his bond. He's the kind of guy who, if he says "I'm in," he's in. That's called integrity. (Look it up on Google, kids, it's a cool word).

Then, of course, the "sommelier of masculinity" always comes along to say that this is "toxic."

Hold on a minute, my friend. Control your emotions. Being strong doesn't mean being a brute. Being resilient doesn't mean snapping at everyone. Being a "real man" means being the pillar, the backup, the guy who holds the fort when everyone else runs away.

Finally. On this November 19th, Bella da Semana raises her glass to this guy. The guy who doesn't apologize for being a man. The guy who knows that real life isn't Twitter (thank God) and that, at the end of the day, life demands courage, not just a pretty long text.

May his word continue to be law, and may his legacy be more enduring than an internet fad.


The world needs fewer people made of playdough and more genuine people.

We're in this together. Happy Men's Day!