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).
So now that he’s stopped meaningfully responding to anything…
what do we know about the Efasworld? o:
1) Men > Women (in all ways)
2) Men “suck it up” and they should suck it up because sucking it up is what makes men STRONGZ
3) Elderly and children can go suck a lemon
4) Lifeboats should be given to those that do best at weight lifting, 100m dash and trivial pursuit
5) People who are oppressed are mentally deficient
6) Torture is a purely physical act
7) Men beat each other up all the time and the world is the final scene of The Killer
8) Men cannot work together
9) Women CAN work together because of feminist brainwashing
10) Ami is awesome 😀
Welp, I guess this conclusively proves that a bottom-dwelling Internet troll with fantasies that the military is just like Modern Warfare is stronger than every female Olympian.
Because it’s either “men are stronger” or “women are stronger,” right? Saying “some men are stronger than some women, some women are stronger than some men, on average men have a small advantage” is clearly feminist lies because it’s way too complicated. It’s almost like each gender has more than one person in it.
Sorry to disappoint you honey. 🙁
Apology accepted 😀
Now type faster 😀
@ Ami Angelwings
“What about abuse victims? Are they intellectually deficient?”
Well gosh if they’re being abused doesn’t that say something. Wouldn’t someone who is smart not let themselves be abused?
Well gosh if they’re being abused doesn’t that say something. Wouldn’t someone who is smart not let themselves be abused?
I don’t know. What does it say? o_O
Okay, efasfas, now you really are down to “HEY RAT FANS I HATE RATS WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT” levels.
Hey, you could do this all night! When the rat fanciers ban you, go to the mouse fanciers! Next, hit up those gerbil-appreciating fools! You can offend all the rodent-keeping communities if you put your mind to it!
And then you will be crowned King Troll and receive the rewards given only to those special enough to stick their thumbs up their butts and scream “THE THINGS YOU LIKE ARE STUPID HA HA” at strangers.
@ Holly Pervocracy
“Welp, I guess this conclusively proves that a bottom-dwelling Internet troll with fantasies that the military is just like Modern Warfare is stronger than every female Olympian.
Because it’s either “men are stronger” or “women are stronger,” right? Saying “some men are stronger than some women, some women are stronger than some men, on average men have a small advantage” is clearly feminist lies because it’s way too complicated. It’s almost like each gender has more than one person in it.”
I never said that every man is stronger. Try to find that. I said that if you believe that the correlation is so strong you would not care for gender based sports. However strength differences are noticeable across the board for most. Hence there is gender separated sports.
Wouldn’t someone who is smart not let themselves be abused?
I don’t know, you tell me 😀 This is your chance to explain to the confused woman 😀
Being slow meaning intellectually.
Exactly xD
@ Holly Pervocracy
“Okay, efasfas, now you really are down to “HEY RAT FANS I HATE RATS WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THAT” levels.
Hey, you could do this all night! When the rat fanciers ban you, go to the mouse fanciers! Next, hit up those gerbil-appreciating fools! You can offend all the rodent-keeping communities if you put your mind to it!
And then you will be crowned King Troll and receive the rewards given only to those special enough to stick their thumbs up their butts and scream “THE THINGS YOU LIKE ARE STUPID HA HA” at strangers.”
Oh am I supposed to be angry?
Oh am I supposed to be angry?
No? o_O
Are you? o_O
efasfas: I realise that math is hard, but what Holly said was plain to those who aren’t dim. I’ll see if we can break it down for the meanest understanding.
Two Groups (A,B). All of which fall in a range between 1-100.
Both of which are evenly distributed in their respective ranges.
Group A ranges from 1-95.
Group B ranges from 1-100.
If the distribution is normal (it is) and the groups are both as described (they are) than the curves will overlap, and (this is the part where some paper and a pencil might help), at any given point the odds of A being stronger than B, or vice versa,is just about 50/50.
Which is what she said, it was true on it’s face. That you still aren’t getting it speaks to either your education, or your intelligence; which is the actual case is something each person who looks at what you have been saying will have to decide for themselves, it would be unkind for me to speculate as that might prejudice people.
That is not quite accurate-if someone is very strong, say Pecunium, is walking across a floor that someone who is a lazy ass, say me, I could in theory prepare a hole in the floor that he would fall down if I disguised it well enough.
Then I could make him listen to Paul Davis songs and be torturing him but he is not weak.
*hides her pick axe, shovel and wheel barrel*
Yeah, I’m in favor of gender segregation in sports where physical size/strength is a big factor.
…So? No one was trying to prove that there are no physical differences at all between the sexes. That would be silly.
But the differences don’t come down to “everyone with testicles is automatically Captain America,” either.
@ Ami Angelwings
“I don’t know, you tell me This is your chance to explain to the confused woman ”
Well thats funny because your the one who believes that men and women are equal yet women have been oppressed.
I mean why does feminism need to exist? Men and women are equal right?
Well thats funny because your the one who believes that men and women are equal yet women have been oppressed.
I mean why does feminism need to exist? Men and women are equal right?
Why do you believe women have been oppressed? o_O
ami: the stopwatch? Ah, it’s not that what ever the attempt at the clever linky put down was is some way supposed to actually inflame me, but rather a reminder about how slow his responses are.
I also note that he’s stopped responding to all the substantive comments; despite his protest that his lack of speed is because he has to keep up with one and all, and there are so many comments.
Perhaps he ought to use his manly-brain to better strategise his responses, i.e. pick his battles; that he might have a better chance of non-phyrric victory.
I also note that he’s stopped responding to all the substantive comments; despite his protest that his lack of speed is because he has to keep up with one and all, and there are so many comments.
I’ve noticed this too xD He’s also in total defensive mode now. He refuses to make any definitive statements.
“efasfas: I realise that math is hard, but what Holly said was plain to those who aren’t dim. I’ll see if we can break it down for the meanest understanding.
Two Groups (A,B). All of which fall in a range between 1-100.
Both of which are evenly distributed in their respective ranges.
Group A ranges from 1-95.
Group B ranges from 1-100.
If the distribution is normal (it is) and the groups are both as described (they are) than the curves will overlap, and (this is the part where some paper and a pencil might help), at any given point the odds of A being stronger than B, or vice versa,is just about 50/50.
Which is what she said, it was true on it’s face. That you still aren’t getting it speaks to either your education, or your intelligence; which is the actual case is something each person who looks at what you have been saying will have to decide for themselves, it would be unkind for me to speculate as that might prejudice people.”
Excepts the overlap isn’t as great as that. And if they are, then it becomes a weak argument to believe that gender based sports are justified (as the odds are 50%).
Oh well sorry to disappoint you.
@Pecunium I think he was stuck about an hour ago… he didn’t want to continue, he doesn’t know how to respond to you and Holly and what I pointed out about sports.. but he can’t just admit defeat either… so now we’re in stall mode until he has to go eat dinner or something xD
It’s almost as if the strong, tough, intellectually superior, dude, was being abused by weaklings and women.
XD
Excepts the overlap isn’t as great as that.
What is the overlap? o_O
Talk about slow, this thread started on the 18th of January, and it’s February already!* Get with the calendar, dude.
* Okay, it’s obviously still January in some parts of the world. Not for long!
Pecunium | January 31, 2012 at 5:20 pm
It’s almost as if the strong, tough, intellectually superior, dude, was being abused by weaklings and women.
XD
I didn’t say it xD
So what if I grabbed a set from the local testicle store…