Our old friend over at the Pro-Male/Anti-Feminist Technology blog is angry again. This time he’s mad at a legitimate target: National Rifle Association president Wayne LaPierre. But not because LaPierre is the head of an organization that has stood athwart every attempt at sensible gun control, making tragedies like the one in Newtown an all-too-predictable side effect of the easy availability of semiautomatic weaponry.
No, Mr. Pro-Male/Anti-Feminist Tech is made at LaPierre because he thinks the NRA big gun has turned into a feminist. No, really. Noting that in the wake of the Newtown shootings LaPierre launched a transparently opportunistic attack on violent video games, Mr. PMAFT accuses him of doing the work of the grand feminist conspiracy against men and manhood:
The most important reason why LaPierre is wrong is because what he is doing is feminist. Video games are an activity predominately enjoyed by men. So are guns. Both activities are under attack from feminists (just like other predominately male activities like science fiction are) because men are interested in them and women are mostly not interested in them. LaPierre is shooting himself in the foot (pun intended) by alienating allies among the video game community and helping out feminists in their war on male activities.
Never mind that nearly half – 47% — of those playing video games these days are girls and women, according to the Entertainment Software Association. (I await the inevitable comment from a troll telling us all that whatever games these women are playing just don’t count because blah and blah.)
What LaPierre should have done is form an alliance with the video game community. While the Newtown shootings are being used against gun owners right now, the next target will be video games and other mostly male interests and activities. Both the video game community and the gun community are fighting the same enemy, feminism. They should be working together to point out facts like how the Newtown shooter was raised by a single mother and how homes where the father is kicked out lead to more violence.
Never mind that the shooter — like virtually all mass shooters — was a dude; a woman is always to blame.
The NRA is in a position of weakness now because they are attacking video games and not the real causes of the Newtown tragedy, single motherhood and feminism. The NRA is in the same boat as the Republican Party where it needs to become an explicitly anti-feminist and pro-mens rights organization to survive. (Lots of conservative and right wing organizations are in this situation.) Guns aren’t the problem here, but neither are video games. The NRA needs to realize this and realize that its only way forward is by fighting feminism. Anything else leads the NRA to irrelevance.
So one of the most powerful lobbies in American politics needs to team up with a Men’s Rights “movement” that can’t organize a single event that draws a crowd bigger than 8 people, or else it will fade into irrelevance?
I dearly hope the NRA fades into obscurity, and I am hopeful that public opinion about guns is beginning finally to shift in the right direction, but I’m not sure the NRA needs any pointers from MRAs on political relevance.
This graphic puts ‘false rape accusations’ into perspective.
@Falconer, it’s from the one where he hangs out with Craig again. It’s what the baby calls himself.
I think it’s important to back up and look at exactly which video games and movies Wayne LaPierre blamed for the Newton massacre. From his December 21 press conference:
There exists in this country a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells, and sows, violence against its own people.
Through vicious, violent video games with names like Bulletstorm, Grand Theft Auto, Mortal Kombat and Splatterhouse. And here’s one: it’s called Kindergarten Killers. It’s been online for 10 years. How come my research department could find it and all of yours either couldn’t or didn’t want anyone to know you had found it?
Then there’s the blood-soaked slasher films like “American Psycho” and “Natural Born Killers” that are aired like propaganda loops on “Splatterdays” and every day, and a thousand music videos that portray life as a joke and murder as a way of life. And then they have the nerve to call it “entertainment.”
Come to think of it, American Psycho is a satire of violent movies made by…a FEMINIST WOMAN! Pro-Male is right! We are through the looking glass, people!
Anyone who thinks sci-fi fandom is for men hasn’t been to a sci-fi convention in, oh, the last 30 to 40 years.
@Shaenon not to mention the whole swathes of fandom that are female-dominated, like fanfiction.
(Speaking of cons, were you a GoH at Arisia last year? I wish I’d been on this blog back then – I’d have asked you to sign a printout of the Book Of Larnin’, or something)
By LaPierre’s logic, it is more dangerous to play Mario than it is to have actual man-eating plants and fire-breathing turtle monsters in your house.
Given Star Trek’s role in fighting gender/racial stereotypes as far back oh, I don’t know, the 60s, it is especially hilarious that sci-fi is somehow the domain of dudes-only. Watch out, Mr. PMAFT, the feminists already invaded! 50 years ago!
katz
It stands to reason.
After all, most people can read much faster than a teacher could speak, and the interactivity would prevent boredom.
When I was a high school teacher, I discovered my students could follow me better when I spoke more quickly. I also stopped at regular intervals for a little banter. Worked well.
“For the life of me, though, the phrase “Stormageddon, Dark Lord of All” has been floating around in my head associated with Series 6, but I can’t find the episode it comes from …”
It’s that one, Stormageddon is Craig’s son (who takes his parentally assigned name when daddy saves the world with love >.< ) — it’s 6.12 Closing Time. And season six had 13 episodes, the last one is just a Moffat wank fest until the last 10 min (or 2 min according to my mother)
Ninja’ed!
wut
It is very important not to overfeed your trolls. Please join the “put the annoying troll on a diet” campaign today.
Anyone else feel like this when you see a certain dark green avatar belonging to a very needy troll?
Has everyone forgotten the lesson that Gremlins taught us?
Oh yeah. What I came here to say.
I used to read American Rifleman (the NRA magazine) regularly, up until Wayne LaPierre began getting on my nerves. The NRA is a great resource for gun safety lessons, but holy hell do they talk out of both sides of their mouths.
http://manboobz.com/2012/12/19/national-review-writer-men-and-husky-boys-could-have-prevented-the-newtown-school-shootings/comment-page-1/#comments
I’ll be even more boring than usual, and repeat myself.
1. If you put people on the defensive about their hobbies, they wont meet you halfway.
2. Most gun owners are worried about confiscations, which is why they fight tooth and nail against new laws.
3. The priority here is creating an American culture that produces fewer sociopaths.
4. We do #3 by not spanking children, fix up our prison system, and make mental health service in this country non-punitive.
I think the NRA has their back against the wall right about now. They’re the biggest, and most well known gun organization in the country, so all eyes are on them. They feel like they have to say something, and all their choices for a response are derptastic.
They aren’t going to alienate their members, so they resort to the violent video games, and movies manouvre, like its still the 90’s.
Post Script, since I’m sure this will come up. The NRA is member supported, and not by the gun manufacturers. And yes, they are a lobby.
Post Post Script: I don’t think lobbies are a bad thing. If you lead an organization that represents the interests of millions of Americans, you should be able to walk up to the White House, and invite yourself in.
kiki: I think the reason that games haven’t become narratives on par with books or movies is because the interactive element needs to be taken into account, and game companies are just now starting to get a handle on it.
The best games are ones which manage to keep the narrative and the gameplay flowing smoothly, like Portal or the recent “The Walking Dead” adventure game. A lot of games have a permanent wall between the narrative and gameplay portions, or the plot exists in service of the gameplay (I.e. modern Legend of Zelda games which tack a decent narrative structure to the gameplay template of the original nintendo version). I think there’s still a long way to go before we consistently see games where the story and gameplay are fully integrated in a unique way, or manage to make the interactive nature of the player’s choices a cohesive and powerful story.
This is what happens when trolls, like pigeons, are fed too much.
Aw crap. Dio’s here. So much for that discussion.
Or do you feel like this?</a?
See what happens when you don’t carefully monitor the dietary intake of your troll?
Cloudiah: I was just talking about that show too. 😀 Love it!
Close tag fail!
When a troll addresses you by name.
I love the nope octopus. Now I have to finish up a boring presentation I’m making tomorrow (boring, but with FANTASTIC GRAPHICS because if I’m going to bore people I like to give them eye candy), so I hope you will carry on ignoring the pathetically needy without me.
During the golden age of trolls this is what happened when you fed them.
Alas, those days are no longer with us.
This is just as stupid and banal as it was the first time. If the only thing you can add to the discussion is “People like guns!” and “Don’t spank” then just admit that you: 1) don’t really have any ideas about how our country can address this problem beyond simplistic platitudes and 2) you don’t really give a shit.