Today is an auspicious day. For the Men’s Rights Subreddit, which we often write about here on Man Boobz, has won the prestigious World’s Greatest Shitlord Award. Oh, sorry, I mean it won the Subreddit of the Day award on Reddit. Which is, in this case, pretty much the same thing.
Here are some highlights from the official announcement , which I am totally not making up. No, really, you can go look. Someone – that being XavierMendel, one of the mods of r/subredditoftheday — actually wrote these things. And meant them. I AM NOT BEING SARCASTIC THIS IS REAL HOLY SHIT.
The topic at hand today takes a generous turn from our amusing and lighthearted articles of the month. On this, the last day of January, we look at something a bit more worthy to be called an article. /r/MensRights comes up a lot across reddit and, indeed, across the world as being one of the few centers for men’s help. It’s often attacked, and is always the center of one controversy or the other. My questions reflect that. MensRights is, undoubtedly, the home of great activists.
Again. I am not making this up.
There were some people close to me that suggested I not run this article. That the repercussions of doing so would be unreasonably bad. Well, here you go, people. This is my way of saying that a good reporter doesn’t care. A good reporter reports. It’s not in my job to care about consequences.
I’m not sure that Mr. Mendel quite understands the difference between “reporting” and “asskissing.”
/r/MensRights. Never in our society could the uninitiated imagine such a place. A place where feminism is questioned, and our culture is deconstructed to find what it’s really up to.
Hahaha, what? I was not aware that feminism wasn’t ever questioned on the internet, or anywhere else in “our society.” I mean, it’s not like I run a blog that features nearly 500 posts detailing people attacking feminism on the internet, most of them nastily and ignorantly and sometimes using the word “cunt,” and the vast majority of them not on Reddit. And it’s not like this only barely scratches the surface of the subject.
/r/MensRights is one of the last fortifications of free thought to exist on Reddit.
Yeah, that’s why I was banned – not for trolling or harassing or calling anyone names, but for politely if persistently disagreeing with the denizens until then-moderator ignatiusloyola threw a fit.
“Surely you jest,” one might tell me, “when you mean they’re alone in this regard?” No, hypothetical 19th century British gentleman, I do not. I truly mean it when I say that. What other subreddit openly questions feminism? None spring to mind, and I make it my duty to catalog various subreddits. Most end up banned or run down within a month. Only /r/MensRights remains.
Reddit: Bastion of Internet Feminism.
Nobody can say for sure whether or not they’re correct in any single regard. It’s certain that, due to the laws of probability, they’re not correct in every regard. However, it’s also certain that they’re correct in most of them. Occasionally a wackjob or two will suggest that feminism is behind Cinnamon Toast Crunch (The taste you can see!™). The accuser latches onto those wackjobs to denounce the whole movement.
Yeah, it’s not as if comments suggesting that a man allegedly wronged in divorce court should turn to murder got literally dozens of upvotes in r/mensrights, or anything.
Oh wait, they did.
Yeah, it’s not as if Men’s Rights Redditors gave literally hundreds of upvotes to a post about a t-shirt suggesting that men could be convicted of rape simply for being in a room alone with a woman.
Oh wait, they did.
It’s not as if Men’s Rights Redditors regularly give dozens if not hundreds of upvotes to posts from unhinged hate sites like A Voice for Men or Angry Harry,or fall all over themselves praising an internet-famous female MRA who thinks that many abused women “demand” their abuse.
It’s not as if they think “spermjacking” is a real thing in the world that should make all men think twice about ejaculating in the general vicinity of women.
It’s not like … oh, you can find many, many more examples for yourself.
After claiming that “people have died” after being called misogynists, while “nobody ever dies after being called a misandrist,” Mr. Mendel winds up his speech with this stirring conclusion:
I support the struggles of people who are in bad positions. I respect it, in a way, for I have also seen great struggle. My struggle is not over, nor will it end until my death. For I struggle with something that will not go away through legislation or social change. The Men’s Rights Movement, however, struggles with something very changeable. Very malleable, able to be fixed within a generation if so desired. So I will support them, for they have a fighting chance. …
/r/MensRights is controversial for a reason. In the same sense as Jews of the 1890s, Irish of the 1850s, Hispanics of the 1350s, and many more. Each generation has their controversial improvement in society. We’ve gotten off easy so far, but we have to make it happen eventually. As far back as anyone living can remember, the table has been imbalanced in one way or another, favoring men or women. It’s time the table stays level for once. We need equality.
And that’s what /r/MensRights is trying to do.
Oy yoy yoy. There’s so much ridiculousness to unpack there that it makes me tired. I think I’ll go take a nap.
Mr. Mendel followed his stirring introduction with some questions for the denizens of r/mensrights. And there was some discussion. I can’t even. Not right now. I’ll get to all that in a future post.
In the meantime, Skepchick’s Rebecca Watson – who has been on the receiving end of r/menrights’ heroic activism more than once — has her own reaction to the Men’s Rights is the Subreddit of the Day announcement.
@fathertime
So, I called it like a page ago.
Unless you can magically know things about people on the internet that they don’t say, you don’t know if people who support rights for men are actually Men’s Rights Activists anymore than you know if people who support Gay Rights are American Democrats. So, what you are saying is that some people (not necessarily MRAs) who support men’s issues are moderates. Great. We agree. Some are even feminists.
To show a counter example, it needs to be someone we know is an MRA. Otherwise, you are either lying or one of our stupider trolls.
I’m done with you.
@clairedammit, for those instances where Lego won’t help, duct tape can: https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSyWytt-SpgWSWVPpHMpKgPAo34FdFoz9Or5c4BKpHJLjBk2uGxSw
“Unless you can magically know things about people on the internet that they don’t say, you don’t know if people who support rights for men are actually Men’s Rights Activists”
I’m saying they do call themselves MRAs but the topics where they do this aren’t just threads that start about MRAs
Drst, I can’t remember if you live in the US, but if so, have you tried Daiya vegan cheese? I made some amazing vegan mac and cheese with it. It was the kind where you make a white sauce that you melt the cheese in, so it consisted of Earth Balance margarine, flour, almond milk, the Daiya, and a pinch of cayenne. My son, who is a total dairy-cheesehead, ate the whole thing at one sitting. (By itself Daiya isn’t quite as good as dairy cheese, but in a sauce, it’s delicious.)
I have a really fun cycle. See, diabetic with some mental issues. So I comfort eat, which causes me to lose control of my levels, which makes me more susceptible to yeast infections, which makes me stressed, which makes my mental issues worse, so I comfort eat, which causes me to lose control of my levels, which makes me more susceptible to yeast infections, which makes me stressed, which makes my mental issues worse, so I comfort eat, which causes me to lose control of my levels, which makes me more susceptible to yeast infections, which makes me stressed, which makes my mental issues worse, so I comfort eat, which causes me to lose control of my levels, which makes me more susceptible to yeast infections, which makes me stressed, which makes my mental issues worse, so I comfort eat, which causes me to lose control of my levels, which makes me more susceptible to yeast infections…
Lol pugs can’t agree on dog park versus walk, too cute!
…and my father is attempting to set up traps to catch a skunk, already caught his finger, this is going to end
wellwith a stink.I should say I remember some details about those conversations not everything word for word.
These are conversations that have happened months ago with people I do not necessarily still talk to.
Easy scalloped potatoes:
4 medium potatoes, thinly sliced (i.e. about 1cm)
1 small onion, grated
1 cup grated cheese
salt
white pepper
1 cup milk or milk substitute
Place a layer of potatoes in a 20cm diameter casserole dish. Sprinkle with some onion, cheese, salt and pepper to taste. Repeat until ingredients are used up, ending with a cheese layer. Pour milk over mixture. Cover and cook at 180C for 30 mins, remove lid and cook another 10-15 mins or until potatoes are cooked.
Serves 4
Note: mustard mixed with the cheese, or paprika sprinkled on top would be tasty additions.
cloudiah: I’ve never made scalloped potatoes, but I have an excellent mashed potato recipe if you change your mind.
Cassandra: it depends. I have a great underwire racer back bra from Bali, it even has a front closure, which is rare these days. But for just hanging out (har) and being casual, I have some underwire free Barely There bras I really like.
Also, favorite bra brand? I like Freya.
So I saw these unicorns months ago, and I only remember some details about them and I can’t quite remember if they were actually unicorns and anyway I’m not likely to see them again BUT I SWEAR I SAW SOME MAGICAL TALKING UNICORNS.
I’ve never encountered a wire-free bra that I like. I think it’s because I really hate the feeling of elasticated bands anywhere on my body – I won’t wear anything with an elasticated waist either.
Fr the sake of argument, let’s just concede that you have valid reasons for not having proof. This concession is readily made as it doesn’t matter — you have no proof, nothing resembling support of your entirely unclear argument, nothing but ASSFAX/bumpluck/whatever. At best, you’re attempting to argue using anecdotes, which are still not facts, and highly irrelevant to the topic of whether the people quoted in the OP are misogynists.
Cassandra, I like underwire bras too, but I think it might depend on one’s breast shape.
You know what I hate, though? When I go into a store and the only 36A’s they have are the ones that promise to add 2 cup sizes. I don’t want artificial Cs, I just want my As to look nice.
Big boobed at 34GG…I need underwired bras. I like Freya too, discovered them through Bravissimo, but Marks and Sparks had a really great own make selection when I visited them on our trip back to UK last year.
FFS, it is possible for MRAs to have innocuous conversations about things like the weather, cars, home-brew. It’s not bloody compulsory for an MRA to make anti-female comments in every single thing they say or write.
It’s also possible for people to support things like joint custody without being a bloody MRA.
Cassandra: these feel just like regular bras. My favorite brand is Wacoal.
I hate leastic too, I always cut the elastic out of pajama bottoms and the like if I can’t find any without it. Drawstring waists annoy the snot out of me too.
Here is my sister’s family recipe for scalloped potatoes. It should be fine to make one day and cook the next.
3-6 med potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
3 c cooked ham, cubed (optional)
3 T butter
3 T flour
3 c milk
2 c grated cheddar cheese (or cheese of your choice)
1 t salt
1/2 t pepper
For sauce:
Melt butter in a saucepan. Blend in flour. Add milk slowly on low heat, stirring constantly. (Ie, make a white sauce.) Add grated cheese and stir until it melts. Remove from heat.
Layer half the potatoes in a 9×13″ pan and cover with half of the ham. Pour about 1/3 of the sauce over the ham and potatoes. Add the rest of the potatoes, top with the rest of the ham, and pour the remaining sauce over it all. Top with additional shredded cheese as desired.
Bake at 300 F for 2 1/2 hours.
Fun facts I learned tonight:
French fries are good in nutritional yeast.
Only a psycho remembers things that happen on the internet.
Psycho is the only way to describe certain behaviors.
Only psychos know how Google!
Anyone tried the Aah Bra and derivatives thereof?
And my father just caught his finger in a trap, again.
This is either going to end with dead squirrels, or a truly vile smell…or, at this rate, a trip to the ER.
Cloudiah, this is the scalloped potato recipe everyone in my family uses! I don’t see why you couldn’t make it the night before.
http://www.mennonitegirlscancook.ca/2009/10/cheesy-scalloped-potatoes.html
M&S is the only non-specialist brand that I’ll buy. I think the underwire versus non issue may be about how heavy your boobs are? As in, if you’re really busty they’re more comfortable. Could be a build thing too though. I’ve noticed that everyone I know who’s in the small band/big cup category seems to have a strong preference for underwires.
BigMomma: I do have one of the Ah Bra derivatives. It’s OK, but I can only wear it when it’s not too hot out. It does have a lot of coverage.
I find underwire to be pokey. But I dislike all bras… I have some issues with the existence of my boobs. 🙁
Marks & Spencer’s t-shirt bras are pretty comfy though, and not boosting or anything.