So when I was poking around on Roosh’s Return of Kings blog the other day I ran across a guest post from someone calling himself Samseau accusing feminists of using racism to exploit men – that is, of expertly manipulating men of different races to fight one another instead of standing firm against the evil feminists and their evil agenda.
The post, while purporting to be somehow “above” the issue of race, is a muddled mess full of “white men have it worst” nonsense like this:
[R]acial infighting between American men wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for the political consequences.
Women, if you haven’t noticed, do not fight with each other over racial conflicts. They might get angry over the past, but they are able to resolve all issues by agreeing on a scapegoat: the white man. Colored women will gladly forgive their white sisters, since, after all, it was the white man who oppressed women and minorities.
White men are the big, bad, evil masters, and as such, all females of different colors can agree to put aside their differences in order to bring the white man down.
Yes, he did indeed use the term “colored women.” Oh, but there’s more.
The election results show that decades of brainwashing young American boys has been an unqualified success. Rather than have boys be loyal to their gender, boys have instead been trained to be loyal to their race.
Little non-white boys at the tender age of 9 years are fed lies about how white male oppressors created their poor living conditions, while white boys are taught that they need to correct the injustices of their forefathers lest they be guilty with the indelible sin of white privilege. Female teachers use the appropriate shaming tactics on these young minds to imprint the intended desire for conflict.
All according to plan.
And more:
Men are pawns in the race game. Thus while American women feed themselves government largesse, jobs, university degrees, their husband’s money, and child support money, American men fight each other over table scraps.
But my favorite thing about this article is the little graph that Mr. Samseau made up to illustrate the REAL issues men face today.
Yep. Race is the least important issue, while “getting laid” is number one.
It’s a pretty revealing little chart, huh?
The comment section for the article – wade into this swamp at your own peril – is (predictably enough) filled with angry racists trying to explain why race really does matter. Others, meanwhile, seem upset that all this racism is getting in the way of the regular woman-bashing. Still others suggest that men of all races needed to understand the “root cause” of all our “multicultural problems.” That being … teh Jews.
My favorite comment of the bunch, though, has to be this, from Caliente, combining an astounding ignorance of history with some half-digested evo psych:
Btw the reason why there are practically no racist women is simple.
Males of mammals are territorial.
They naturally base they identity from bottom up: family,tribe,nation,race.And naturally react negative to males of different “tribe”.
Females at the same time are receptive to have sex with any males as long as they are alpha enough.
In 19 century whites fucked all the black women because they were alpha and they had recourses,just look at Brasil.Nowadays a feminist will be cheating on her white beta herbling with some black fitness coach because that is how her brain assumes alphaness.
Wow.
Glad we got that all settled!
So I think this brings us full circle to “fuck off”, yes?
Yes indeedy, viola.
ReturningTrollMarq: autistic people are the new blacks
Seconding the multiple fuck yous of others, and pointing out that this dipshit appropriation completely erases the fact that autism is not in fact limited to privileged white men though many act as though it is.
Being asked to accept and comply with clearly expressed personal boundaries is not in any way remotely the same as centuries of institutional racism and the actual ownership of human beings as slaves.
As has been said by several others here, FUCK YOU with that bullshit.
Om Nom, this is why you’re a creep: You’ve been told to leave this place in no uncertain terms — what about “banning” is not clear? You try, weakly, to hide your identity to sneak back in to a place where you know you are unwanted.
You’re not doing this because you’re autistic; you are doing it because you’re an asshole who enjoys violating peoples’ boundaries.
I’m joining the “Fuck Off” chorus.
Regarding Scott Pilgrim, the movie seems to clearly depict him as an asshole. From all the girls who dated and now hate him to the things he does to Ramona and the high school girl whose name I have forgotten. Then in the end he has to get over his insecurity to see how he has been a dick.
He is a… reforming MRA mayhaps. SemiOT
Dvärghundspossen: From personal experience a lot of the time it’s a matter of self-absorption.
“I hate him, how can she like him?” Perhaps because they two of them actually have things in common? Maybe she has more in common with him then me? “No!” whispers the MRA. “Men and women have nothing in common to begin with. It must be money, status and looks!”
“He’s mean to me, how can she not see that?” Maybe he’s only rude because you’re the jerk? Maybe she doesn’t like you either? “NO!” coos the ego. “You’re nice! A good person! He’s the Jerk turning her against you!”
“He dosen’t meet my standards of romantic behaviour.” Perhaps your standards of romance are unrealistic? Perhaps she doesn’t want to be smothered by overbearing affection every minute? “RIGHT!” roars the misogynist, bursting through the Nice Guy shell like a fly from a maggot. “They must WANT a bad boy!”
I am ashamed to share a diagnosis with this guy. OMFG WHUT.
Also:
1. Have I made social gaffes due to my autism that I might not have made if I were neurotypical? Probably. I still blush when I think about what an ass I made of myself in high school chasing a guy who wanted nothing to do with me but was too polite to say “oi, fuck off” to my face. But that’s the difference: once I did learn how uncomfortable I was making him, I apologized and stopped doing it. That’s called Not Being a Creepy Entitled Asshole, and it’s well within the reach of those on the spectrum.
2. Am I a bigger betrayer of Ye Autistic Cause because I’m also a feminist*, or because I married a neurotypical man (who is a genuinely kind, easygoing, gentle dude)?**
*I’m a feminist because being autistic doesn’t mean I don’t get shit for being a woman, and being a woman doesn’t mean I don’t get shit for being autistic. Intersectionality, how the fuck does it work???
**I don’t actually care what the answer is.
@Dani Alexis – seriously, one of the reasons I’m a feminist is that feminism is fighting against the gendered roles women are supposed to play that have always made me uncomfortable in large part because I have Aspergers. I’m bad at subtext and body language cues. I can’t do small talk. I can’t play the nurturing, attentive listener role. I can’t wear shoes with heels without excessive pain (hypersensitivity to pain in my feet or hands). All of this makes it difficult-to-impossible for me to fulfill a lot of the expectations of women in US society and it turns out it’s not MRAs who are fighting do destroy those roles and free everyone from compulsory compliance, it’s feminists. *shock*
I’ve gotten a lot of gendered crap over my personality, being too “masculine” and whatnot, much of which is due to the Aspergers, although I didn’t know that until I was an adult.
“Scott Pilgrim” is the one movie Chris Evans has done that I won’t watch. I’m worried about a film he just finished where he seems to play the ultimate Nice Guy too. *sigh*
Oh, so that’s why markdown’s so lackluster. He’s that nameless guy.
I am BOGGLED by the equation of creepiness with neuroatypical behavior. But fortunately, markdown’s a self-proclaimed troll, which means I can now just discount everything he says. (Not like his words were heavy-hitting to begin with.)
I mean, shit, y’all. We talk to ourself, have regular drastic changes in vocabulary, pitch, and inflection, and have many fantastic friends that love us. When people act like dicks to us about the neuroatypicality, it’s pretty easy to spot, because the moment they find out we’re multi, they tense up, try to hide their fear, and then deny us housing or whatever or say we obviously have severe issues. Just…
Omnom, please go. You’re not helping me or my other neuroatypical friends. Just go. Again. Seriously, I don’t understand what you get out of this, and you’re just kinda depressing to me. You’re like my younger brother, only he’s actually trying to be less of an asshole.
RE: Scott Pilgrim
In the comics, at least, it’s actually pretty obvious that Scott and Ramona are equally douchey, and they both need to grow the fuck up to deal with each other. I actually enjoyed the movie, though I did not like Scott Pilgrim himself, and never have. (I am still kinda boggled by people who can apparently just drift through their early twenties like that with seemingly no effort.) However, the plethora of cool side characters, who get fleshed out more in the comic, kept me in. Especially since a lot of them REALIZE Scott’s a dick. (See Kim.)
“Nice guys finish last. That’s why those “nice guys” need to grow a pair and step up their game. PUA techniques actually work once you’ve gotten enough practice and start small. But srsly, WTF is wrong with socially awkward guys learning social skills and getting what they want? Women manipulate men and now men are doing the same. Boo fucking hoo. Get over it. As long as these doodlebros don’t rape women there really is nothing illegal or wrong about what they do.”
And this is why you are an awful human being. Not only do you assume that being a manipulative asshole is just a way for socially awkward guys to learn how to socialize and get laid, but you also completely disregard the fact that PUA tactics are manipulative. Manipulating someone into having sex with you is not a way of having consensual sex. That’s pretty much rape. And that is both illegal AND wrong. By the way, in case you have somehow forgotten, PUAs who are simply manipulative assholes and not rapists are still assholes. I’m pretty sure that being an asshole for no good reason is wrong.
Also, now men are doing the same? Newsflash: most men are not manipulative assholes, but manipulative men have existed for quite some time. As have manipulative women. And manipulative women are a very small minority as well. The same can also be said of PUAs.
A straight man can easily become confident, sociable, and lucky with the ladies without being an asshole. That is eminently possible. You know that very well.
Now fuck off.
Nice guys do just fine in dating. Assholes who think that the fact that they’re socially awkward/ugly/nerdy makes them “nice” do less well – not because they’re socially awkward/ugly/nerdy, but because they’re assholes who think that not being conventionally attractive equals nice equals women should want to date you and if they don’t they’re bitches.
Word, CassandraSays. You basically end up with guys who are “ugly” and douchey and bitter about it — “what a catch!” said nobody ever.
Guys, guys, we’re missing the obvious here.
WTF is wrong with socially awkward guys learning social skills and getting what they want?
The thing is, PUA doesn’t actually teach social skills. They teach a narrow range of behaviors for a narrow range of situations–specifically, for straight girls by straight guys hoping to have sex.
That’s not actually all that helpful. It’s like saying you’re learning social skills by studying how to ace job interviews. Job interviews != all of social interaction.
I mean, forget all the rest of that silliness. It’s just plain WRONG.
I think it’s quite clear that Scott is supposed to be an asshole. His whole character arc is basically him realizing that he’s been an asshole and that he can’t just do whatever he feels like because that hurts other people. That said, the movie could have stood to make him a little less sympathetic and a little more of a villain protagonist (and it would be better if all the girls weren’t still in love with him after everything).
Dreads comments: I had dreads for about two years. They were started by a hairdresser, which involved a lot of backcombing (very painful) and perming solution. I washed them once a week, using a special dread shampoo that didn’t have de-tanglers in it (all commercial shampoos have detangling chemicals). It would take about 8 hours for my hair to dry: I would wrap it in a towel for a couple of hours to wick out the moisture, then air dry. Sometimes I would use a hair dryer in the winter. I got rid of them because I kept getting dandruff associated with a dry scalp; the dreads pull all the natural oils out of your scalp, so it’s really hard to maintain a healthy skin there. And no, they never smelled or looked awful.
The maintenance (which no-one tells you about!) is also a Pain In The Arse. As the hair grows, the new growth doesn’t necessarily go with the historical matting, and you end up needing a friend/partner who will cut through the matts where they’re not working right. At this point, you may end up using wax to help push those cut bits into existing dreads. There are some websites that strongly counsel against using wax (and it’s special dread wax that’s used), but that seems to be where the person hasn’t used a primarily beeswax wax.
Cared for properly, dreads should not smell of anything, and should be clean.
Geez, Kiwi, I barely can be assed to brush my hair once a day. Newfound respect for people with nicely-maintained dreads.
One of the upsides of curly hair is that brushing it is actually counterproductive and will only make it frizz, so you get to feel virtuous about not even owning a hairbrush.
Hair has been pretty important to me lately. I’m trans* female, and one of my goals besides medical and social transition is growing long hair. It’s hard getting used to giving a shit about my hair because when I still assumed I was male, I never took care of my hair the way I should have. I didn’t even use conditioner for the longest time! :S
I’m sure you will enjoy your gorgeous long hair, mxe!
@mxe You’ll be fine, the past non-use of conditioner won’t have any effect on your new hair growth. 🙂
Long hair tip! If you’re doing anything where it might get in the way, tie it back. This prevents it from getting dirty in the short term, and prevents it from getting damaged in the long term.
This is true even if it isn’t that long yet, and tiny ponytails are adorable.
“Scott, if your life had a face I would punch it.” –possibly the best line in the history of ever, followed closely by every other Kim line.
Thanks everyone!
CassandraSays, my hair isn’t long enough for me to make a ponytail, unfortunately. I wish it were that long already. However, I don’t like the idea of having a ponytail anyway since it won’t really go well with my face and I’m currently trying to evade the transphobia of some of my intolerant family members. I’ll stick out like a sore thumb if I have a ponytail. I can get away with long straight/wavy/curly hair, though, because I can always say that some men wear long hair and I’m just trying to be one of them.