Most of the coverage of the Costa Concordia disaster at the moment seems to be focusing on the Italian cruise ship’s captain and his douchey behavior, which involved not only running the ship aground but also abandoning ship prestissimo while passengers remained trapped on board.
MRAs, by contrast, are using the tragedy as an excuse to rail against the notion of “women and children first” and, of course, to make jokes about women drowning.
Now, the Titanic aside, “women and children first” isn’t now, and hasn’t ever really been, the standard way to evacuate those on a sinking ship, though many in the public — including some of those who were on board the Costa Concordia – seem to believe that it is. (See here for more details on how evacuations are typically handled these days; generally only those with mobility problems are given special treatment.)
In the case of this particular evacuation, some on board apparently tried to enforce an informal “women and children” policy, but many men weren’t willing to wait.
What’s got some MRAs in a snit is that some people, in the media and online, are calling these dudes cowards. In The Daily Mail, a right-wing British tabloid, A N Wilson wrote:
[I]n our day, with the advent of feminism and the professional woman, chivalry and manners are considered stuffy and old-fashioned.
As the father of three daughters, I do not, with a single fibre of my being, wish to go back to a time when women could not have the vote or get a university degree. Nor do I, surrounded by extremely strong-charactered and intelligent women in my family and among my friends, feel tempted to regard women as the frail sex.
But the fact remains that there is a longing among most men to protect women and children, and chivalry is simply a manifestation of that longing.
And whatever transpires about the reason for the Costa Concordia disaster, the disappearance of a chivalric code is a sorry reflection on society today.
This is not what you’d call a feminist argument; it’s a traditionalist argument, published in a tabloid rag that’s generally quite hostile to feminism.
Nonetheless, some MRAs are using the Costa Concordia disaster as an opportunity to deliver a big “told you so!” to the … imaginary feminists who live in their head.
Over on The Spearhead, where one familiar commenter actually described Wilson’s Daily Mail article as “feminist,” guest poster Lyn87 wrote:
The MRM is getting more vocal, and a lot of guys are now saying, “You wanted equality. This is what it looks like.” And they are saying it aloud and in public. Even a few women chimed in, saying that men have no obligation to die for women if women want equality. (Somehow I suspect there wasn’t much, “I am woman, hear me roar, watch me drown” on the Costa Concordia itself, but hey, it’s a start.)
MRAs: Always up-to-the-minute with their pop culture references!
This post was helpfully illustrated with a stock photo of a woman drowning.
Commenters got in their digs as well.
Keyster riffed on Lyn87’s incredibly au courant Helen Reddy reference:
I am woman hear me…blurp….rah…gurgle…raha…ffftt…orr…roar…gurgle…help me…somebody…fffft…please…blurp…help…help me please!
Aharon told both ladies and fish what’s what:
I eat fish. Fish don’t eat me. My life is too precious to sacrifice it so some spoiled bitch can have a pussy pass into the life boats.
Anti Idiocy got all hypothetical-cruise-ship tough guy on us:
Anyone who attempts to keep me on a sinking ship because of the genitals with which I was born is attempting to murder me. I have the right to respond accordingly.
And Thomas Tell-truth kicked chivalry – not to mention basic human decency — to the ocean floor:
Equality means that when the ship is going down and you are a woman, you had better get out of my way or you are going to drown with my footprints on your back.
Apparently Thomas Tell-truth is actually George Costanza:
Jeb, meanwhile, offered a more scientific rationalization for being a complete douchenozzle:
As far as I’ve heard, the one and only sport in which women naturally out-do men is endurance swimming. Women are also more bouyant, and as survivalists will explain, women float easiest on their backs (making it easy to breathe while expending minimal energy) whereas men float easiest in “the dead man’s float” (ie. face down, head in the water) and must expend more energy to stay alive. Furthermore, women have more body-fat than men which insulates them better against aquatic dangers such as hypothermia.
Given all these factors it is quite rational for men to pick women up by the seat of their pants and toss them overboard to make way for men and children to safely be rowed ashore on the lifeboats.
It’s all about doing the right thing and saving lives, after all.
MRA humor is very sophisticated indeed.
EDITED TO ADD: The Spearhead has put up a followup post, once again taking aim at imaginary “lifeboat feminists,” though the only person the post cites lamenting the end of “women and children” is Rich Lowry from the National Review (not a feminist publication).
If someone comes along and blathers MRA talking points, it it more likely that they are an MRA than not. You are still blathering MRA talking points, so most likely you are some flavor of MRA.
Am I the only one who wants a stupid statement dance remix of lines like “I could always trust feminist in deriving truth.”
@ Holly Pervocracy
“I don’t know exactly how the military handles it (although I am very sure that “just bottle everything up, like a man” is not the policy there either)…”
Of course, in boot camp they all sit around and talk about their feelings. Feelings are most important and also they keep and eye on not offending anyone.
Of course everyone has emotions. But guarding them and at times diminishing them is beneficial to survival in a world that isn’t fairy tales–something that men endure more of. Something that feminist can’t seem to wrap their brains around.
Mens bottle up their emotions to protect themselves. It is a survival mechanism that helps their survival. Of course after a certain point it can be too much. But being “open” in such a world is stupid and suicidal.
In WW2 it was more gun-ho suck it up mentality. How did they survive. It must be a real mystery to you. Would people really had pulled through? I think not.
Well then don’t debate about it. Besides my level is so backwards and you’re so progressive.
Yes like cage fights. Men are brutal with other men all the time and don’t care about the feelings of other men.
You need to hang around other men o_O
“Suck it up like a man” is a term I despise, but apparently you like? o_O
Panic upstarts and order goes out the window. The most civilized men can turn into savages. I suggest Lord of the Flies.
Has this ever actually happened to you? -_- You do know that Lord of the Flies is a work of fiction right?
Is it possible that you’re just talking about how YOU’D react and you’re trying to project this on all men to hide that it’s just you? xD As I said, in an ACTUAL emergency situation, you’d have terrible survivability b/c you’d try to sacrifice everybody to save yourself, so just by doing simple math people would have to subdue you to save as many people as possible. The math works like this, if they are calm and working together, let’s say in this hypothetical situation, 80 out of 100 people live, so yeah 20 still need to sacrifice… if they let YOU run rampant, you’d lock the door on them and run off screaming and stabbing people in the face for fun… you might survive, 99 people die. xD Therefore, for the sake of everybody, you need to be stopped.
As Holly said “AVERAGES” doesn’t mean anything when it comes to individuals. Just because the top men and can outrun the top woman says nothing about me and you as individuals. Or Holly and you as individuals. Caucasian people are on AVERAGE taller than East Asian people…. yet I’m much taller than Holly. XD
Also, now there are weight lifting competitions? xD So it’s no longer a single dash to the boats, now we have to lift weights? Next you’re going to add that we have to play blackjack because you think you’re good at that xD
Why do people keep threatening us with opening up pro sports? The WNBA gets barely any attention or fans and its players get paid very little. xD There is no pro women’s hockey (or at least wasn’t, I think they’re trying to start one now)… and pro women’s football, they basically pay for themselves to play. Go ahead and open it up xD (I have no idea why you seem to believe you have the power to influence companies yourself, but if you an do it, go ahead and carry out your threat). XD It’s not like you or any other guys would be likely to make the pros, in fact there would be even less chance you would now. Women wouldn’t be losing any more chances if we’re talking something like hockey, and some would be on pro teams. At lower levels, men would lose even more jobs. And you’d get a lot of female goalies. Also you’re assuming that the very best women being unable to compete with the very best men NECESSARILY would then end up nowhere, instead of on the 2nd line, or a useful speedy player on the first line. It’s not like Paul Kariya had no job in the NHL. xD Even if women make up 25% of the league, and they’re the very best women, it would still be more than they have now. (As for Tennis and Golf, I suppose you also want to get rid of the junior tournaments and senior circuit too? xD So everybody plays in one big field? Again, you would end up with the same, and yes the top women would be hurt in those sports but so would a lot of men (esp boys and senior men xD ) and I don’t think also the way tournaments and tiers and etc are set up would be how you think it is… there’d be an even larger field and more money down the line. But then again we’re talking your hypothetical where it’s a male vs female war and everybody hates each other, rather than private businesses that cooperate to maximize profits and unions that are trying to make the most for their players, and you’d have a lot of time trying to force the WTA to change just because you’re an extremist ideologue xD )
Also while you’re at it, why not open up the old boys club of executives, coaches, etc too? 😀 (or are men superior in intelligence now too? xD )
I thought you rested your case? xD I told you you’d be back xD
Mens bottle up their emotions to protect themselves. It is a survival mechanism that helps their survival. Of course after a certain point it can be too much. But being “open” in such a world is stupid and suicidal.
Are you talking about nature or nurture?
I REST MY CASE!
OKAY MY CASE IS DONE RESTING!!! TIME TO SCREAM AND YELL AGAIN XD
@Nobinayamu what fights? xD Apparently there are no actual fights IRL, it’s just 100m dashes + weightlifting competition xD
strategy, technique, training, endurance, etc… ALL CHEATING xD
By the way, if you have so much influence in pro sports (I had no idea I was talking to David Stern, he sockpuppets worse than I expected xD ) can you PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get your buddy Gary to move the Coyotes out of Phoenix? Cuz this is getting embarrassing xD
So assuming their male vs female world… MRAs vs Feminists.. wouldn’t all that happen be, feminists have the best survivability? Cuz we work together and we won’t turn on each other, while they have to have their UFC death matches, 100m dashes and weightlifting contests first and screw everybody else!!!! XD By the time the remaining haggard, tired men make it out (and there’d be very few if George Constanza dude up there has his way, and definitely no boys or elderly) even if in 1 on 1 tests of strength they could defeat our very best, it would be inconsequential b/c we’d be organized and have numbers xD
Oh wait… working together is cheating… EVERYTHING SHOULD BE ONE ON ONE SHORT DASHES AND WEIGHTLIFTING XD
This is really a strange world he lives in xD
@ Holly Pervocracy
I’m dim! Great.
If I’m so dim can you tell me about different muscle fibers. Or do you have to go to wikipedia or your Feminist textbook.
Yes there are some women that are stronger then some men. If you can picture with your progressive brain then that makes a suitable argument for deconstructing sports segregation based on gender. After all they both overlap. Or could it be that the overlap isn’t as wide as you think.
You got proof of that 50% mark? No? Then be quiet.
You are so full of fail.
If a male team competed against a female team and there is a 50% overlap (as only 50% will be stronger) that still means that women would hold a very strong advantage. And the justification for gender based sports is nullified. If it is only “slight” your argument becomes void.
@ Myoo
No. I’m not this person whom you speak of.
Gosh, efasfas, you sound upset about what people are saying here. You sure are talking a lot with us in order to express the feelings you have about your opinions.
🙂
Also, the way you type as if every man’s life is basically nonstop action and shooting and fighting INCOMING GET DOWN KABLAM run run run car chase fistfight… it makes me roughly 75% certain that you have a desk job and that your favorite hobbies are performed while sitting down.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that! But guys who actually have dangerous lives tend to do a lot less tough-guy glamorizing. I’ve never had an actual soldier try to convince me that life in the military was all Serious Sam run-and-gun without a moment of downtime nor a flicker of emotion.
I guess this is the male version of “resting your case”. As you can see it looks a lot like fighting your case xD But wait until you see when he REALLY fights. POWER LEVEL OVER ONE MILLION! xD
“If you’re so smart, how much have you memorized?” Shit, maybe you are NWO.
Anyway, funny you should ask, because we talked about this in Anatomy lab yesterday. There’s three basic types of muscle fibers. Skeletal (voluntary) muscles are striated, regular, and multi-nucleated. Cardiac (heart) muscles are striated but branched, with intercalated disks. Smooth (involuntary) muscles have torpedo-shaped cells without striations.
…you were saying?
No no no Holly… when men have FEELINGS those are just angry manly rational feelings! If they’re angry, there’s a good reason for them to be angry! And they take ACTION! Women just talk about their feelings and whine. Just like we’re doing now. He’s DEBATING US, we’re crying in a little circle xD
Oh no wait.. .he’s railing incoherently about a world that makes no sense… we’re mocking him…
XD I dunno if what that says about the genders xD
@ Bostonian
Oh? Are you the person who makes the final say of who and what someone is?
Good to know.
I go to you next time whenever I’m lost.
If you’re so smart can you answer any questions on a topic of my choosing I ask you without checking facebook and wikipedia? xD
o_O
Apparently lifeboats will be decided after a 100m dash, weight lifting competition AND a round of trivial pursuit xD
Oh? Are you the person who makes the final say of who and what someone is?
No, but I am 😀
What do you want to know? 😀
I still don’t know what sports have to do with lifeboats.
…Are we going to play basketball for our lifeboats now?
I’ll be super-clear and repeat my lifeboat stance: You’ll save the most lives in the most equitable fashion if you evacuate in an orderly manner with the following priorities:
1) People with mobility impairments
2) Children and their caregivers
3) Adult men and women
4) Crew
Explain to me how this is unrealistic or misandric?
@ Nobinayamu
Really? I’ve never been in fights?
Am I at a feminist posting site or psychic reading site?
And your the type of guy who hopes to get laid by pampering to feminist whims.
Besides people trying to get off first isn’t always fighting. Unless pushing someone out of the way falls into your definition of “fighting.” Like looking at some women could mean rape. Hey ever expanding definitions are great.
But in a day of age of “equality” men don’t owe women anything, including their seat.
@Holly also most male athletes are respectful of female athletes and confident enough in themselves they don’t do this immature sexist posturing that efs does with us xD
Also, the way you type as if every man’s life is basically nonstop action and shooting and fighting INCOMING GET DOWN KABLAM run run run car chase fistfight… it makes me roughly 75% certain that you have a desk job and that your favorite hobbies are performed while sitting down.
His desks weigh 300 tons and his job is to lift them back and forth to block the doors or the zombies get in. You’d be dead in a second Holly, you weak woman you xD
EQUALITY MEANS THUNDERDOME
efasfas | January 31, 2012 at 3:52 pm
@ Nobinayamu
Really? I’ve never been in fights?
Am I at a feminist posting site or psychic reading site?
And your the type of guy who hopes to get laid by pampering to feminist whims.
Well we know that YOU’RE not the psychic here xD
He’s responding slowly down the line isn’t he? xD I thought he had superior manly reading skills xD
Oh, I love this logic. It goes like this:
1) The definition of rape includes things other than a stranger jumping out of the bushes at a screaming virgin.
2) Therefore, anything could be rape! Looking could be rape!
3) Therefore, all reported cases of rape are really just cases of looking.
4) Therefore, real rape does not occur.
What’s funny is that in someone with compassion, #4 would be great news. Hallelujah! The world is a far safer place and human beings far better creatures than we expected! There is no rape! This is great!
But instead it usually leads to:
5) Therefore, women deserve to be raped.