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.
Seconding that motion.
Or, alternatively, you could read, comment, and not whine like a baby with a toothache every time anyone responds to your comment with something other than fawning praise.
Mr. Rochester would totally be an MRA.
So would St. John Rivers, I bet.
God I hate the Brontes. Give me Austen or give me death.
Don’t sell yourself short, DL.
@drst – Speaking of the Brontes …
@drst
Oh St. John is totally an MRA. One of the creepy conservative religious ones (not that they all aren’t creepy, but the Christian partriarchy squicks me out a lot).
Now that I think about it, sunshinemary would be perfect for him. 🙂
Or show up and ask forgiveness from the people your comments hurt, and not in a way that just accuses them of being overemotional.
This usually works well here, as in almost all situations.
At least Heathcliff was meant to be a shitlord…
(I couldn’t read beyond the Spaniel incident.)
“Not retreating to your blog and telling idiotic lies about people” might be a good idea, too.
Seriously, who the fuck here wants your identity?
Even Kate bush couldn’t make bronte male characters romantic. I still remember as a kid reading wathering heights and trying to work out why all the males in it were totally fail fathers. Not only poor to proxy lovers but absolutely dangerously spiteful fathers.
Mind you from what I’ve read the bronte girl’s religious dad was a total douch nozzle.
St. John is a total “nice guy!” I spent that whole part of the book going “What an asshole!”
That was supposed to be poxy lovers not proxy lovers of course. Damn autocorrect.
CWS – I didn’t even get that far into it. Found the style and story interminably boring. Plus, I really need to like a book’s protagonists to persist with it.
Oh my god, the review of Rip van Winkle!
And it just goes on and on. Who knew Washington Irving was a predecessor of Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus?
OMG what an idiot!
Unless they’re doing a Literary MRA poe exercise.
Probably too much to hope.
Isabelieve, don’t you realise the men =mars women =Venus is misandrist too! After all me should be the sun or a BIG planet like Jupiter and women should be a fake planet like Pluto . Anything else is just feminist crap!
You need someone to pay attention to you DLColvin? I’ll pay attention to you. Tell me your woes.
::sits down with big bowl of popcorn::
@Kittehs – yeah that pretty much sums up my feelings on the Brontes!
Dammit. Now I’m thinking about my Austen boys and wondering. Wentworth is a bit of an asshole early in “Persuasion” but it’s directed specifically at Anne for breaking his heart, not at all womankind. If he was an MRA prototype, when Anne broke their engagement he would’ve spent the rest of time raging about how evil all women are because one was cruel to him. Instead he just kind of rubs her nose in how awesome he is now and flirts with Louisa while simultaneously not liking other men paying attention to Anne. So there’s a bit of manipulation, although he doesn’t seem to be conscious of doing it. And he makes up for it later, both to Anne and by helping her friend.
Colonel Brandon couldn’t be an MRA. Nobody who suffers in silence for that long, who takes the bastard child of his former love and provides for it without a complaint, who tries to help the family of his new love even when she’s clearly not returning his feelings could be an MRA.
Darcy… hrm. I don’t think so. He’s arrogant (hence the title) but it’s not a gendered arrogance. He does have some expectations of women that are a bit rigid at first, but he gets those messed up by Lizzie pretty early on. And he’s too inept at interacting with people to manipulate a woman.
Thanks for posting the Dude Watching with the Brontes, that was delightful.
As I only dash in and out with my lurking, I’ll make some extra popcorn and sit down to watch DLColvin and Flying Spaghetti Monster provide entertainment.
@lightcastle – Hark, a Vagrant is all win. Even when it’s cartoons about Canadian politics about which I know 0000000000, they’re funny.
@drst – plus, Colonel Brandon was played by Alan Rickman in the film, so that’s a bit plus.
*BIG plus, not bit plus. I can’t even blame autocorrect for that one.
@lightcastle
Can I share your popcorn? I really want to hear more about how much inspiration DL gets out of our little clique of mean, identity-stealing, immature commenters.
Nah, DL’s no fun. She just pops in and is all “Go away? YOU CAN’T MAKE ME!” and then complains about us on her blog.
Also, I’ve never seen drama trolls interact with each other as old friends before. Please, tell us more about the history of your friendship and the good times you’ve had stirring shit up for lulz.