Did you know that three men died in the Batman shootings protecting their girlfriends from the mass murderer? Hanna Rosin writes:

As I’ve traveled to different middle-class towns that are struggling after the recession to report my book The End of Men, I’ve found a strained and touching effort to redefine the roles of men. They are often not the breadwinners because in that slice of America, women are often financially better off than the men. They are often not the steady fathers because couples don’t get married all that much anymore, and the women, if they are working themselves, see the men as just another mouth to feed. But one thing I find consistently is the enduring need for men to think of themselves and women to think of them as the protectors.

The other day my wife had spoken by phone to a friend who was worried about her husband, who was preoccupied with an unjust situation he wanted to change. “That’s how men are,” I said. “We want to fight for the right thing. We want to fix it. We want to make it right.”

And, we want to protect those who need protecting. I think there is nothing more gutless and low than a man who walks out on his wife and kids, or who in some way will not protect the weak and the vulnerable. He’s not even a man.