Paul Elam is a 55-year-old man who once told a feminist foe that “the idea of fucking your shit up gives me an erection.” Today he’s launched a campaign of defamation against a college student that’s clearly intended to intimidate her and other feminists into silence. The alleged crimes of this woman, whom Elam identifies by name? Possibly attending a demonstration against MRA author Warren Farrell at the University of Toronto, possibly tearing down posters for the event, and making a couple of jokes on Twitter. Oh, and she also once suggested that Farrell was a misogynist.
Elam has not yet revealed what effect this new campaign has had upon his penis.
While her (apparent) attendance at the anti-Farrell demonstration is what brought the young woman to Elam’s attention, he seems particularly puzzled and enraged by two jokey comments she made on Twitter. In one of them, she joked that her “political position” was “kill all men hail satan.” In the other, she said she was thinking about getting knuckle tattoos that spell out “misandry.”
These jokey comments have evidently convinced Elam that
She doesn’t just hate men; doesn’t just want them dead or silenced or marginalized or ignored. She at least entertains the idea of permanently marking her skin with that hatred, like a convict signaling gang affiliation.
Pretty harsh words from someone whose YouTube handle used to be TheHappyMisogynist. (Check the URL here.)
So what exactly is the point of publicizing her name, which will give the assholes now posting rape threats and other violent shit about the demonstrators at that Warren Farrell protest the real name of a real, live person to harass?
Elam, while carefully avoiding any direct incitement of harassment and/or violence, makes clear that his aim is to “stop her.”
[She] is not going to stop. And no one at the University of Toronto is going to stop her. We can figure that one out by the fact that they chartered clubs to enable that kind of conduct.
For that reason, we bring her to public attention here at AVfM.
Additionally, over the next two days, she will be listed on register-her.com as a known bigot, and her image and name will find a place on our display of featured offenders.
Elam promises to do the same, by name, to others who attended the protest as well.
The best way to strike back at Elam’s campaign to shut up critics of his hateful Men’s Rights ideology? Make more noise.
If anyone is interested in reaching out to the student and any others who may be targeted by Elam, please contact me or leave a comment below. And if anyone knows how to contact her, please send me an email.
(Also, at one point Elam describes Farrell as “an individual who has dedicated a lifetime to helping children in trouble.” Oh, is that what he was doing when he was working on a book that he said would highlight the alleged “positive” aspects of incest?)
EDITED TO ADD: Just to make clear, this woman is not the same woman that Elam and JohnTheOther were talking about in their previous posts; it’s a different woman, who appears only briefly in that video. It’s not clear if they have the other woman’s info, but if not they are certainly still looking for it.
Hmm. Maybe someone other than me should ask Farrell what he thinks of this. (Since I wrote about that incest interview of his, I doubt he’d respond to me.)
My support goes out to this woman. I’m not sure what I can give to her from all the way in Hawaii other than moral support. But I hope she gets all the support she’ll need.
Sorry for the redundancy in the last comment. I just hope she’ll be all right.
That libel page is woefully inadequate. His citations are out of date, and his understanding of US law is flawed; which leads me to suspect his understanding of non-US law is seriously flawed.
Because there are subjects on which debate SHOULD be shut down, because the question is long since settled, and raising the question for debate does more harm than good.
Examples:
1. Is rape justified or excusable in some circumstances?
2. Are women people, or are they just ambulatory fucktoys and baby-making machines?
3. Is slavery okay?
4. Should people of color be treated as second-class citizens relative to white people?
Etc., etc. You get the idea.
David – would it be worth sending this young woman the link thebewilderness posted about the Canadian cyberstalking victims’ resources? She may not know about them.
How significant that ELAM is an anagram for LAME…
I remain confused as to where the folks at AVfM got the idea that protesting and/or picketing an event is a crime, and recognized as such by all reasonable people. Because it really doesn’t seem like “well in Canada you need a permit” is what they mean by “crime”.
I’d like to offer support. I found this alarming enough that I actually checked to see if there was a way to report to the TO police force.
if gateman had actually been to the damn protest he would know that one of the anarchists blockading was punched in the face by an MRA and then the police violently pinned one of the protesters down, even though he had not shown any sign of resistance, with a foot on their neck, and began shoving protesters.
and he would know that the video he posted was cut to show the most embarrassing parts of the protest, because most people were civil and their signs showed direct quotes FROM the speaker.
Gateman’s a typical MRA, then, isn’t he – never let facts influence them!
Cherabushka: is there good up-close information about the events of the protest available online? All I see when googling is MRA sites and old articles relating to feminism and Toronto. I’d dig more but I’m busy, so stuff would be appreciated.
When assessing the actions of AVfM, I think something that many people miss is that they are completely obsessed with getting publicity. The “editorial staff” seem to actually believe that the more people that visit the site, the closer “victory” is.
Do they *actually* believe that the young woman in question is a “bigot”? I don’t think they do, no. Nor do I think they actually believed that the trailer for the SCUM manifesto was an incitement to murder (frankly, I don’t think that anyone is that dumb). But it gets them a bit of attention, sates their anger and makes them feel that they are being actual “activists.”
Whilst it is if course very, very unpleasant for the woman targeted, and there is a real (but thankfully small) threat of violence, I think it’s important to try and keep things into perspective. The end of the year is coming up. What have MRAs achieved? They’ve hounded a few women online. And that’s basically it. Despite the pronunciations of imminent “victory, despite the hundreds of “essays” written, the blogs, the grandiosity – they have, basically, hassled a few women, and a man, online, by posting their personal details.
Looking back over the year, the MRM has been rocked repeatedly:
Sinking Misandry – ignomaniously cancelled
Tom Martin’s lawsuit – thrown out of court
SPLC – an expose that truly tore at the heart of prominent MRAs
MGTOW vs AVfM “feud”
PUA vs MRA “feud”
Bernard Chapin vs AVfM “feud”
The MRM is more divided, less focused and more desperate than it was this time last year.
Holy shit, is that Mr. Al on the AVfM thread as saurons_other_eye?
Hellkell, I think you’re right.
It’s amazing to see all this passionate MRA “activism.” Really.
Out here, in reality, it would seem that a pressing issue for men and father’s rights would be the deplorable state of adoption laws and procedure in Utah as evidenced by the tragic story of Terry Achane and his daughter. It seems like lawmakers in Utah, heavily influenced by the LDS are ignoring the rights of fathers in adoption proceedings while skating just this side of child trafficking laws.
That might be the kind of thing that a real civil rights movement would be publicizing, organizing petitions and protests about, and using its outreach to raise money for the father’s legal fees. Sure, it would be difficult; political activism often is. Sure it would require research and the ability to think of the facts and nuances of this particular case. I mean, on the one hand, Achane’s ex-wife does present as a tailor-made “evil-woman” villain. But on the other hand, a nice, white, heterosexual married couple are trying to keep this man from his baby. So, you know, it’s complicated.
A real civil rights movement might be all over this type of thing; leveraging the public’s increased sentimentality about family and children during holiday season to bring much needed attention to a legitimate issue faced by fathers.
Apparently though, it’s more important to froth at the keyboard about demonstrators at a protest and doxx female college students. And why not? It’s certainly a lot easier. It doesn’t require any organization or real work. And you get the added benefit of being to indulge hateful and violent rhetoric about women while engaging in plausible deniability of the intent to cause harm. That’s a win-win, right?
Hey, David – have you ever covered this guy?
http://therightstuff.biz/category/politics/
Money quote from above:
“Those comforting and enlightening bowtie books you’ve been buying were the result of people manipulating your desire for a pacifier in a world that seeks to keep you frozen in the oral stage. Consumerism ftw.”
Hey Dave, sent you an email. Also, as far as the cards go, I don’t mind being a go between if it comes to that. I can email Dave my address and then resend any cards while writing my name on the envelopes or something. Still, hopefully Elam gets a pupa of a conscience at least and refrains.
http://www.reddit.com/r/againstmensrights/comments/14kv2w/reporting_avfm_and_their_enablers_the_mods_of/
Found this on reddit, it’s a letter writing campaign against avfm. Maybe we can stop them from breaking one of the few rules of reddit. As shitty as reddit is, they’re usually half serious about cracking down on dox BS.
If anyone’s considering mailing supportive cards, I highly recommend postcards rather than anything in an envelope. Then the recipient doesn’t have to fear a sealed envelope containing some nasty surprise, and the pictures on the front would be more fun to look at. Also keep any messages on the back very simple and short.
I stand in solidarity with this woman and every other woman these man-babies have decided to dox, “register”, and otherwise harass. I really hope they’re OK.
When I mentally put myself in these women’s shoes, I was terrified. I even wondered if it was worth going to protests, or publicly IDing as a feminist, if it meant there was a chance this could happen to me. But then I remembered that’s what these assholes want: to make themselves feel big and strong by scaring women, and to threaten feminists into silence. I won’t speak for other women, obviously, but for me: fuck you, MRAs. All you’re doing is proving why feminism is still relevant.
To the person who suggested sending cheerful mail – please do NOT do this. If you’ve ever been the target of harassment after someone has leaked your address publicly going to the mail box is a panic attack inducing experience. Trust me – it doesn’t matter whether things look friendly – seeing your mail box overflowing w/letters and items from people you don’t know is beyond upsetting in what is already a very stressful situation. I still have trouble opening up my regular mail…
Unfortunately, it’s also higher profile.
What about E-cards?