Michael Ian Black tweets about what he calls the 'deeper' problem behind gun violence

In response to the Florida school shooting that left 17 dead, actor Michael Ian Black took to Twitter to reveal what he believes is a "deeper" problem in our country than access to guns.

The tweets, that have gone viral since he posted them on Wednesday night, contend that "deeper even than the gun problem is this: boys are broken."

SEE ALSO: Stars react to horrific Florida school shooting

"Until we fix men, we need to fix the gun problem," he went on. "The last 50 years redefined womanhood: women were taught they can be anything. No commensurate movement for men who are still generally locked into the same rigid, outdated model of masculinity and it’s killing us."

"If you want to hurt a man, the first thing you do is attack his masculinity," Black continued. "Men don’t have the language to understand masculinity as anything other than some version of a caveman because no language exists."

"The language of masculinity is hopelessly entwined with sexuality, and the language of sexuality in hopelessly entwined with power, agency, and self-worth," the tweets went on. "So men (and boys before that) don’t have language for modes of expression that don’t readily conform to traditional standards. To step outside those norms is to take a risk most of us are afraid to take. As a result, a lot of guys spend their lives terrified."

"We’re terrified of being viewed as something other than men. We know ourselves to be men, but don’t know how to be our whole selves. A lot of us (me included) either shut off or experience deep shame or rage. Or all three. Again: men are terrified," Black's thread added. "Even talking about this topic invites ridicule because it’s so scary for most men (and women). Men are adrift and nobody is talking about it and nobody’s doing anything about it and it’s killing us."

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In response to his eight-tweet thread, followers appeared to agree with the "Wet Hot American Summer" actor, thanking him for the insightful messages that he posted.

Other stars like Kim Kardashian, Ellen DeGeneres, Reese Witherspoon and Britney Spears also took to social media to react to the devastating shooting:

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