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.
Troll is playing the John Cleese role:
Anything is good sautéed with butter and garlic, including shredded cardboard. XD
” And this one does seem to have a spectacular lack of awareness.”
About what: That the conversation is dead, that you’re not taking me seriously or that I didn’t have evidence.
No honestly.
Nilla loved to unroll and chew up whole rolls of toilet paper. My solution was to prop a small metal baking pan on top of the roll and put a handful of coins in it. It took him about 5 seconds to topple it with an incredible bang and clatter of pan and coins onto the tile floor. He came shooting out of the bathroom like his tail was on fire, and he (almost) never did it again.
He forgets once a year or so and chews up a roll, but I can deal with that. He never does it twice in a row though.
Anyone else like this song?
I should say, kale-wise, I used about a third of it in a salad with carrots and red cabbage and a lemon/garlic dressing. But man oh man there is a lot left.
Heh. I’ve had “Stairway to Heaven” stuck in my head all day, since it was on the radio when my alarm went off. I’m trying to drive it out.
CWS – Argenti’s psych’s apparent disbelief that Argenti’s father is as bad as zie says makes me side-eye a bit, and wonder how useful she’s going to be in coming up with strategies for dealing with the old shitbag.
Now now, Kiwi girl. I’m fairly sure that John Cleese’s morning height is considerably above average.
drst – could be worse. It could be Rolf Harris’s version of Stairway to Heaven.
English Beat: So much nostalgia for my teenage years. Wow.
@fathertimetroll – All of the above. Also for missing the Memento reference.
@Kittehs’ – OK fair point. *shudder*
Melodramatic Joe Cocker song from an 80’s movie anyone?
http://youtu.be/mUBfvUxcygc
@Cassandra I am terrified to think your comment through.
Creative Writing Student — I don’t really want to imagine him on hallunicogens, been sent after his imaginary critters enough in the past (warning, there’s an alligator in the kitchen! Was a fun day)
As far as people who are good, well, I think she’s decided to can it about how y’all don’t count! Maybe she finally gets that my asocial behavior isn’t some new OMGS asshole! thing, I just do not do people (I really don’t do groups, and the idea of joining one to make friends is icky, and the idea of joining one to simply have time with people in meatspace to discuss [thing that is the point of the group] seems beyond boring) so yeah — please return to your randomness, I love you all for it 🙂
Mmmm, sauteed cardboard!
Yes! I love that song, Shiraz. I hear it all the time on Radio Paradise and that 80’s new wave Sirius station.
I wish I heard this song sometimes.
Who’s going to be the one to push this dead conversation past 1K? Will it have happened by the time I post this?
No! No! Not Joe Cocker! Amost as bad as Van Morrison!
Teen nostalgia? I can do that. I still remember when Vince Neil killed this band’s drummer and it was all over right when they were on the verge of making it big.
(Apparently I’ve always had a soft spot for emo Finns in eyeliner.)
Oooo.. are we counting down?
I’m not a big kale person (not a big salad person, actually – bad, bad vegetarian), but I like this one: http://www.dietdessertndogs.com/2012/06/24/kitchen-classics-kale-salad-fully-loaded/
It has lots of variations, too.
994 comments just now.
Hmm, teen confessions? I loved the Electric Light Orchestra. Oh and Rick Wakeman, though I only had Six Wives of Henry VIII and Journey to the Centre of the Earth of his albums.
These guys might be supposed to be Swedish and not finish, but Devo!
@Clairedammit. *Me bowing to you.*
Another one stuck in my head, not an oldie:
I’m blasting Garbage into my brain through sound canceling headphones, so you know what? Troll here can fuck off for all I care (so many overlaying tracks, this is a bit like a fireworks show gone overkill, I’d forgotten how hard it was to pay attention to anything else over this…)