Today, in the Men’s Rights subreddit, we find Demonspawn, a long-time fixture in Reddit’s MRA circles, getting dozens of upvotes for a comment in which he advocates murdering family court judges and other government officials:
Demonspawn is responding to a post from Robert Franklin on Fathers and Families about Dan Brewington, “[a]n Indiana man fac[ing] five years in prison because he criticized the judge and the custody evaluator in his divorce and custody case.”
Or at least that’s how Franklin wants to frame the issue. While conceding that Brewington “often used intemperate language” on his blog, Franklin downplays what seems to have been a relentless four-year harassment campaign from the troubled father. According to a report on the case on the Eagle Country Online website:
[P]rosecutors argued that Brewington took his postings beyond being critical of the court system. They became personal against anybody who became involved with his case.
“This was sick revenge dragging my wife and kids into the matter,” Humphrey said during his testimony. “I don’t know of many cases where a subject has more clearly expressed his intent to do harm.” …
Brewington … called [custody evaluator Edward] Connor a child molester and prostitute in his “Internet rampage,” contacted the Children’s Home of Northern Kentucky where Conner is involved as a board member, and sending mass e-mails to Connor’s colleagues and legal professional around the area. …
Connor’s wife, Dr. Sara Jones-Connor, reaffirmed what her husband shared with the judge.
“For over four years we have dealt with his attacks on a daily basis,” Jones-Conner said.
And Franklin leaves out the most serious of the accusations against Brewington: that he threatened to murder the judge.
Brewington’s cellmate at the Dearborn County Law Enforcement Center for two-and-a-half months, Joseph McCaleb, had sent a letter to jail officials on September 25 after being concerned with what he heard from Brewington.
“He talked about following (Judge Humphrey) home, shooting him, and dumping him in the river,” McCaleb said of Brewington’s alleged “detailed and thought out” plan.
I should note that after testifying that Brewington’s threats seemed serious, McCaleb later concluded that they weren’t; and Judge Brian Hill did not take his testimony into consideration when sentencing Brewington.
Was Brewington’s sentence fair? I don’t know. But Franklin’s posting was misleading, to say the least, if not dishonest. And while a few people raised questions about it, no one on the Men’s Rights subreddit bothered to spend the two minutes on Google that would have turned up the story I’ve been quoting from, instead relying entirely on Franklin’s, er, incomplete account.
Whether or not Brewington’s threats were sincere, Franklin’s post had Demonspawn and many others on the Men’s Rights subreddit thinking violent thoughts themselves. Here are some more selections from the discussion there. Note that every single violent comment I quote below got upvotes from the regulars.
Here, Boss_Money invokes the memory of Tom Ball, who killed himself in hopes that his dramatic suicide would encourage other MRAs to start firebombing courthouses and police stations:
Later in that same thread, coldacid suggests that suicide is a much less effective strategy than murder:
Anxdiety, meanwhile, shares his fantasies of violent “retribution.”
Boss_Monkey returns with a miniature manifesto for armed revolution:
And whats_up_doc suggests that violence may be the only solution:
The Men’s Rights subreddit is by and large the most “moderate” of all the major Men’s Rights forums online. But this is the language, and the thinking, of a hate movement. Anyone who really cares about improving life for men needs to call this kind of thing out, and make clear that it is completely unacceptable in any rights movement worthy of the name.
re: date robbery
Why is it when these guys come somewhere close to a real thing they immediately take a left turn into crazy town and avoid things that are actually issues men have to deal with. Like @Cliff Pervocracy said, men are actually raped, why not deal with that? (something tells me b/c then they don’t get to hate on women about it).
Also, I don’t know if it occurs with any frequency (or if it is just men who this happens to), but an ex/now good friend of mine was drugged and robbed in Vegas (before I knew him). He was drunk and playing blackjack and winning at one of the tables inside a night club. A women approached him, they had a few drinks, left together in her(?)/a(?) limo. She had drugged him earlier in the bar. While in the limo she started performing (consensual) oral sex and when she noticed he couldn’t talk, or move, she took his wallet and dumped him (pants down and exposed) on the side of the street unable to talk or move or help himself. He says he was terrified and laid there in the street for god knows how long before he was able to move again and make his way back to his hotel. That sounds more like an actual “date robbery” to me.
Again, my point is just…there are actual things that are harmful to men that have nothing to do with feminists. (hint: feminists would work WITH men in trying to stop male rape or the situation I described above – and DO work to stop these things). The more they make these false equivalences and ignore actual real life things the more clear it becomes that they only formed their little group to have an outlet to hate on women because they are women.
The only thing like this that I’ve ever heard of is when a prostitute drugs and robs her john. That’s not a date.
Also, sorta off topic but I noticed there was someone who I’m pretty sure was here before I got here that goes by the name @Molly Moon. I don’t want any confusion between us so I am planning on changing my handle…I just haven’t thought of one I’ll like and want to stick with yet. I’ll change it as soon as I’ve got one. Sorry @Molly Moon. Didn’t notice there was someone with such a similar name when I signed up here.
“Like @Cliff Pervocracy said, men are actually raped, why not deal with that? (something tells me b/c then they don’t get to hate on women about it).”
Except the times when men get raped by women.
and by sorta off topic, clearly I mean, waaaaaay off topic. *facepalm*
“men feel psychologically drafted,” hahahahaha, no, not at all, I assure you.
blitzgal –
Hmmmm. For the life of me I can’t remember with 100% certainty whether he said the woman was a prostitute or not. I’m pretty confident if she was he would have said so (he would not be at all embarrassed about telling me something like that) and I think I would’ve remember it if she was a pro. From what I remember she was, from his perspective, just a woman he met at the club. I’ll ask him to see if I’m just misremembering. But I don’t wanna just text him or call him and say “hey by the way, remember when you were drugged and robbed? Was that a hook up or a pro?” I’ll think of a way to respectfully approach the subject and find out.
Tulgey Logger – There’s a lot in there about how men are “unpaid bodyguards” for women, which I guess refers to any boyfriend/husband who would defend his girlfriend/wife instead of dropping her and saving his own hide in a crisis?
So having basic loyalty to loved ones is a form of oppression against men.
…It’s stuff like this that makes me realize just how short they are on real oppressions. When you’re getting paid 70 cents on the dollar and if you speak up you get threats to beat and rape you, you don’t need to make so much up.
Like I said, the fucker thinks women don’t work, haven’tw orked, and will not continue to work. He seriously seems to write his shit through the lens of “LEave it to beaver was an accurate reflection of reality”.
When you’re getting paid 70 cents on the dollar
False. This is actually an excellent example of the shortage of problems feminists have to complain about; you have to keep misrepresenting, twisting, and strawmanning the wage gap, which doesn’t really exist in the way you’d like to present it.
Yeah, well, women also get dumped, women also get forced to have babies, and I’ve heard rumors that women sometimes even pay for dates.
oh good. mikeys back to burble and huff some more. we havent had any good screaming shitfits since tom last night.
but in all seriousness mikey you are a fucking stalker go get help
Right, this is all only because women choose to take lower-paying jobs in order to be with their children more, which is totally unconnected to the fact that fathers very rarely have to make that choice. It is also totally unconnected to the fact that traditionally female jobs are lower-paid than traditionally male jobs regardless of the value they produce, and even women who want to break the mold have trouble getting hired for traditionally male jobs.
We’re on the same page, buddy.
Rape does not derive from power, but from powerlessness
This is true. People who rape- a lot of them, anyway- do so because they feel powerless, and want to get some of it, if only for a brief period of time. This is a classic power rapist, which is the most common variety.
Shut up, Steelepole.
Even the CONSAD report, which went way out of its way to try to minimize it by removing several forms of pay from counting, and not actually discriminating between full and part time workers, found a pay gap of 14%. That is *After* going well out of its way to make it seem smaller. It varies by industry, but 20 to 30% is substantially more accurate. And that’s just the pay gap; there’s several others, including a bias against getting hired in the first place.
but in all seriousness mikey you are a fucking stalker go get help
Excuse me? I am a wealthy urban professional and educated individual. I take Boobzland to task in some of my spare time. I assure you, it’s not difficult or time consuming.
>Educated individual
>Constantly pules about things that fall under the purview of the humanities
>Claims the humanities are worthless
Go on.
What actual (or even pseudo-actual) issues has Steele/Varpole ever mentioned anyways?
“Misandry is totally a word you guys!” and “Creep is a shaming tactic”? Seriously?
Trufax: When me and my girlfriend went on a date, we just batted our eyelashes at a nearby nondescript male and he paid for both our dinners, and for the gas. Then we cruelly cackled and denied him the sex he was due.
“I am a wealthy urban professional and educated individual.” = “cannot be a stalker”
And he wonders why feminism exists….
Right, this is all only because women choose to take lower-paying jobs in order to be with their children more, which is totally unconnected to the fact that fathers very rarely have to make that choice.
That is indeed part of the reason; that situation can be analyzed as a cultural problem, but it’s not a result of direct discrimination.
Secondly, there’s also the fact that the older, wealthier, more established professionals in most industries (ie, where much of the wage gap can be attributed) are mostly men, because those men got their start when society actually was sexist.
Thirdly, yes, on the whole, I do believe women are naturally more inclined to childcare. That’s heresy here, I know.
The evidence seems to point to the wage gap drastically eroding in the coming generation. Oh look:
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2010/10/24/for_young_urban_professionals_at_least_a_pay_gap_in_reverse/
And he wonders why feminism exists….
More to the point, Sharculese has no basis for attributing the label “stalker” to me.
you clearly have a lot of spare time then.