This is one of those areas that make me think social media was a mistake.

Humans exaggerate. Humans are sometimes imprecise with language, especially when they've been hurt. Humans aren't poised and composed 100% of the time. This applies to both women who have been hurt by men and say they "hate them," and the men who take the words literally. But social media kind of moved conversations that were once in private or semi-private in-person spaces out in the open. It relies on these misunderstandings to fuel retention time and boost ad exposure.

In those in-person spaces, you could feel really depressed and tell other women "I hate men" to mean "I hate how men treat me," and you'd have a really understanding environment and feel supported without bringing in waves of hurt, defensive men.

This post is nice, and it is wonderful when male allies read the message and not the words themselves. I hope more choose that approach in the future. But I don't think this problem will ever go away, not as long as we choose social media as the place where the message is sent. I will say I am more sympathetic about women here, since the "I hate men" declaration nearly always comes from a man doing something genuinely hurtful, whereas defensiveness over "I hate men" comes from taking the words too literally.