Today I went to a roundtable discussion on the role of involving men in implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325. I thought it was an interesting topic and there would be some experts with some valuable insights. It wasn't. There were people talking as part of the panel but they were just off base. Some didn't seem to understand what gender and participation are and kept referencing hiring women judges or training women to be better peace negotiators. Everyone seemed to miss the point of the gathering and that was to talk about involving men.

It felt like one of those conversations that does not ever truly happen because people don't understand the question or don't know the answer. For example, this scenario.
"Let's have a discussion about whether we like peanut butter sandwiches" said the first person.
Second person responds, "I like tuna".
First person, "That is fine. There is nothing wrong with liking tuna. The question still remains about peanut butter".
Second person, "many people prefer tuna".
First person, "Fine but that still doesn't address peanut butter".
End of conversation.

That was pretty much how the discussion was today.