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With courthouse violence on the rise, Men’s Rights activists continue to lionize the author of a terrorist manifesto urging men to burn down courthouses

Poster at a memorial for Tom Ball, an MRA who advocated burning down courthouses and police stations.
Poster at a memorial event for Tom Ball, an MRA who advocated burning down courthouses and police stations.

EDIT 6/15/13: Tom Ball’s manifesto is no longer posted on A Voice for Men, though it isn’t clear if this is a website glitch or a change in policy on AVFM’s part;  no announcement about taking it down has been made.

EDITED TO ADD: In the wake of the Boston Marathon bombing, it seems even more important to reinterate that influential Men’s Rights website A Voice for Men continues to host, in its “activism” section no less, a terrorist manifesto literally calling for the firebombing of courthouses and police stations. Until and unless that manifesto is removed, and A Voice for Men apologizes for hosting it, I will be linking to this post every time I mention A Voice for Men.

There has been another courthouse shooting. On Monday morning, the father of a man due in court for a child support hearing pulled out a semiautomatic handgun and shot his son’s ex wife and a friend of hers as they entered the lobby of the New Castle County Courthouse in Wilmington Delaware. After an exchange of gunfire with police that left two officers wounded, 68-year old Thomas Matusiewicz took his own life. The two women Matusiewcz shot were pronounced dead on arrival at a local hospital.

His son, David Matusiewcz, had earlier served time – an astonishingly short amount of time – for kidnapping his three girls and hiding out with them in Nicaragua for a year and a half. More details on the case here, here, and here; further news coverage here.

Unfortunately, despite increased security, violence in and around courthouses has been on the increase. There have been numerous courthouse shootings and other violent attacks across the country in recent months, from Texas to New York to Washington state. Sometimes the victims are family members; other times they’re prosecutors or judges.

A recent report published by the National Center for State Courts notes that

We live in a time when threats against judges and acts of violence in courthouses and courtrooms are occurring throughout the country with greater frequency than ever before. …  Individuals and groups have committed acts of violence in courthouses, often attempts to murder judicial officials, escape from custody, and disrupt or delay proceedings. Moreover, courthouses, which represent the ideals of democracy in American society, have become symbolic targets for antigovernment extremists and terrorists (domestic and international). …

In addition to shootings, bombings, and arson attacks, there have been knifings, assaults, failed bombing attempts, suicides, bomb plots, murder-for-hire conspiracies, and much more

While shootings tend to get the most media coverage, the report notes that “arson attacks, through the use of improvised incendiary devices, have increased in number and frequency.”

That’s why it’s so worrisome that A Voice for Men, the leading Men’s Rights site outside of Reddit’s Men’s Rights subreddit, continues to host a terrorist manifesto urging Men’s Rights activists to literally burn down courthouses and police stations, even if doing so means that people are killed.

The manifesto, which I have written about several times previously, was written by a troubled man (and an admitted child abuser) named Tom Ball, who burned himself to death on the steps of a courthouse in New Hampshire in hopes that his death would inspire a wave of arson against courthouses and police stations. Dictionary.com defines terrorism as “the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes.” And that is precisely what Ball’s manifesto advocates.

Here’s some of what he wrote, taken directly from the manifesto posted on AVFM. (I’ve put some of the more egregious passages in bold text.)

So boys, we need to start burning down police stations and courthouses. … the dirty deeds are being carried out by our local police, prosecutors and judges. These are the people we pay good money to protect us and our families. And what do we get for our tax money? Collaborators who are no different than the Vichy of France or the Quislings of Norway during the Second World War. All because they go along to get along. They are an embarrassment, the whole lot of them. And they need to be held accountable. So burn them out. …

You need to flatten them, like Wile E. Coyote. They need to be taught never to replace the rule of law. BURN-THEM-OUT!

Most of the police stations built in New England over the last 20 years are stone or brick. Fortunately, the roofs are still wood. The advantage of fire on the roof is that it is above the sprinklers. But even the sprinklers going off work to our advantage. There is no way they can work in a building with six inches of water. And I am certain we will disrupt their momentum once they start working out of a FEMA

At this point Ball’s manifesto is interrupted mid-sentence by  an “editor’s note” from the folks at AVFM:

Several paragraphs in this copy of Mr Ball’s original letter have been omitted. The omitted paragraphs contained detailed instructions on the manufacture and use of simple incendiary devices.

Yes, that’s right; Ball’s original manifesto included specific instructions for constructing effective Molotov cocktails, a pretty clear indication that there was nothing figurative about his calls to “burn them out,” and that Ball literally hoped that his death, and his manifesto, would encourage a wave of arson. Indeed, that it would be the start of a literal war of Men’s Rights Activists against the US government.

Ball made clear that this war, like all wars, would mean death for some people:

There will be some casualties in this war. Some killed, some wounded, some captured. Some of them will be theirs. Some of the casualties will be ours. …

I only managed to get the main door of the Cheshire County Courthouse in Keene, NH. I would appreciate it if some of you boys would finish the job for me. They harmed my children. The place is evil. So take it out.

AVFM doesn’t have this manifesto up as a historical curiousity. AVFM posts and comments have portrayed Ball as an Men’s Rights martyr, and the manifesto is listed in AVFM’s “activism” section. Apparently throwing Molotov cocktails through courthouse windows is a form of “activism.”

Now, the official stance of the AVFM crowd is that they don’t support such violence – that they’re just predicting that more of it will occur.

Site founder Paul Elam has written:

Thomas Ball represents a tragic, dysfunctional reaction to chronic, systemic abuse. There are many possible reactions. Some even worse than his. And while we cannot, must not, condone violence, we had better learn to expect it as long as an ideological war against men is allowed to make a battlefield in our justice system and within the heart of our own families.

Then why, Paul, do you feature his manifesto in your “activism” section, alongside a link to AVFM’s “Judicial Accountability Committee?” Why do you continue to lionize the man and treat him as a martyr?

In another post, Elam further explicated his most peculiar brand of “pacifism.” (Emphasis added.)

I am a pacifist. I do not advocate violence.  But I tell you this. The day I see one of these absolutely incredulous excuses for a judge dragged out of his courtroom into the street, beaten mercilessly, doused with gasoline and set afire by a father who just won’t take another moment of injustice, I will be the first to put on the pages of this website that what happened was a minor tragedy that pales by far in comparison to the systematic brutality and thuggery inflicted daily on American fathers by those courts and their police henchmen.

It would not even so much be a tragedy as the chickens coming home to roost. And it is certainly less of an indecency than the suicide of Tom Ball.

This is from a man who evidently considers himself some kind of 21st century Gandhi.

AVFM is not the only Men’s Rights site to lionize Ball; he’s been hailed by numerous MRAs, and his manifesto (in its entirely, including the Molotov cocktail portions) has been reposted all over the internet. Indeed, some MRAS have constructed an elaborate site memorializing him and his alleged heroism. A year after his death, Men’s Rights activists organized a “memorial” protest. He’s even been remembered in song.

Helen “Dr. Helen” Smith, a Men’s Rights advocate and sometime writer for the right wing PJMedia site, said this about his manifesto. (Emphasis added.)

His statement is not the ramblings of a madman, it is the mission of a warrior in some sense. He was fighting for his rights and for yours, if you are male. He was trying to bring some urgency to the male plight in this country, one that no one appreciates or cares about until they are engaged in the battle of the courts.

You can find more discussion and lionization of Ball by MRAs, Fathers’ Rights Activists and others here, here, here, here, here and here. A few minutes with Google will turn up numerous other examples.

Why do I continue to hammer on about Ball’s manifesto? Because so many in the Men’s Rights movement are motivated primarily by anger and hatred — of women, of feminists, and of those, like judges and police officers) that they see as feminist “quislings.” Because so many in the Men’s Rights movement – like the prolific writers and videomakers associated with AVFM – stoke this anger and hatred every chance they get.

It seems almost inevitable that at some point some especially angry and unbalanced Men’s Rights Activist will resort to violence – as MRAs like Elam have “predicted” again and again. (Indeed, we’re probably lucky that Ball did not choose to “take out” others before taking his own life.) This violence may well be directed against a judge or prosecutor or some other official seen as a feminist or feminist “collaborator.” When and if this violence occurs, no doubt the folks at AVFM will officially “lament” it – and then come up with elaborate explanations as to why it’s all really the fault of feminists. Indeed, in the posts of his I quoted above, Elam has already written what are in essence apologias for this violence, even before it has happened.

If the Men’s Rights movement wants to be seen as anything other than a hate group, MRAs need to stop lionizing the author of a terrorist manifesto, and they need to start criticizing those in their movement who make excuses for the violence that they so often warn us is inevitable.

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Creative Writing Student

WHY ARE MY POSTS BEING EATEN?!

*test post*

Creative Writing Student

Oh, that one got through.

I had a far rantier piece of comment that explained why EL James is despicable but basically she calls people who tell her that 50SoG is abuse propaganda ‘trolls’ and that they are trivialising domestic abuse and many of the people who say these things ARE abuse survivors who got triggered by the books.

http://slightlylessthaninsane.wordpress.com/2013/02/02/what-just-happened/

There’s this from http://www.booksnreview.com/articles/1799/20121208/author-fifty-shades-grey-el-james-talks.htm

It was all properly HTML’d but it was eaten.

Creative Writing Student

@Ellex

EL James is pretty nasty piece of work, she calls critics ‘trolls’ and says they are ‘trivialising domestic violence’ even though many of those critics were abuse survivors who were triggered by reading those books.

Ellex
Ellex
11 years ago

@Creative (oh look what your handle shortens to…so cool)

Yeah, I’ve heard that about Ms James. Having read for myself what crap she writes, though, I try to avoid reading anything about her personally.

The sad thing is how many women have just eaten it up like it’s the best thing since sliced cheese when there’s actually some really excellent porn – even BDSM porn – out there if you know where/how to look for it (hint: it’s in the fanfiction – just not the Twilight fanfiction).

Jessay (@jessay)
11 years ago

GET OUT OF MY STATE MRAS! Last time I went to Keene to visit old friends I walked by that court house and realized that two of my least favorite groups of people, MRAs and Juggalos, have been responsible for two of the few significant violent crimes in a very non-violent area. It’s the type of place where people don’t lock their doors at night, I used to leave my keys in my unlocked car in the driveway, etc. And these disgusting humans completely ruin the area’s feeling of safety.

Also, that governments get girlfriends guy is PISSED at me, haha

http://governmentsgetgirlfriends.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/jessay-the-stupid-retard-saying-really-retarded-stuff/

thebewilderness
thebewilderness
11 years ago

Creepy d00d is creepy!

Jessay (@jessay)
11 years ago

And just to talk about this whole people using children as ways to hurt people thing, I’m going through something similar right now. This will be tl;dr but it just happened and it’s ridiculous. It’s not an MRA, but the family of my brother’s gf who just had his baby. They totally remind me of these MRA’s. They project all their own parental insecurities onto my mom and blame us for the pregnancy. They tried to force her to get an abortion when she first got pregnant so she fled to our house to get away from their abusive behavior. My mother’s been taking all financial responsibility for her while her mother tries to buy her love by taking her to get her hair and nails done. She can’t throw some money my mom’s way for food, oh no. Because she wants to stick it to my mom.

Now that the baby is here she’s using it like an accessory. Gloating about him on facebook and trying to come off as grammy of the year (same woman who wanted him aborted). She wouldn’t leave the hospital and was being so controlling, making my brother uncomfortable and on edge. Their whole family was being snooty to my mother in the waiting room and telling her my little brother should apologize to them for doing this to their daughter. She was in the hospital for that big blizzard that hit New England but her and my brother were safe there. But the mother insisted on going to the hospital just to throw her weight around. The night before she had left a facebook comment on a picture of the baby saying thank god he looks like her daughter and not my brother. A totally unnecessary dig at him to get under his skin. So he said something back, telling her to knock it off, that he is the father and he will be there for his child, etc. She had the nerve to call and yell at her daughter about it as if my brother was out of line and she wasn’t, her daughter having just given birth and already showing signs of postpartum, to further put stress on them and make him feel uncomfortable at the hospital. So my step father had to go out in the snow storm to pick him up because he was trying to be mature and he knew he couldn’t handle being around her another day.

Then later they discharged her from the hospital and the mother went to pick her up but refused to bring her to our house (where she lives) because “it would be too painful to see him torn away by those people” So she created a situation where they had to drag a newborn baby out in the middle of a blizzard TWICE IN ONE DAY just so that she could inconvenience my mother. In the days since she has been calling and verbally abusing her daughter, guilt tripping her, etc. Had her grandmother do it too. Refuses to help her buy formula and diapers because she claims my family should have to pay for all the baby’s needs. Again, choosing to neglect the baby as a way to stick it to my mother. Meanwhile she’s spending all this money on a huge party (these people have been exposing their children to drunk people all their lives through these huge parties they constantly hold) that she insists on having to show off her new grandchild. Yeah, great idea, expose a newborn to a bunch of drunk people all at once during flu season. That’s a priority. Spend money on food to host a party, not on formula.

I am at my wits end with these people and my brother’s gf is so used to neglect and abuse that she keeps running back to them. I don’t know what to do. But anyways, this entire conversation reminded me of this. It makes me sick to see people treat children like objects and neglect their needs in an attempt to hurt their ex or someone else.

katz
11 years ago

Aw maaaaan, he writes about you but not me? What do I have to do to get on his blog?

(Maybe he just doesn’t have anything to say about me because I pretty much drew an accurate dramatization of events he says happened.)

CassandraSays
CassandraSays
11 years ago

Someone really needs to introduce government girlfriends dude to the concept of editing. Damn, that guy is wordy.

The Kittehs' Unpaid Help

His writing is the least of his problems, alas.

CassandraSays
CassandraSays
11 years ago

Kind of creepy how he keeps doing long rambling posts about things that people here have said. There’s definitely a correlation between extreme misogyny and lack of respect for other people’s boundaries. Like, dude, you were banned, deal.

Jessay (@jessay)
11 years ago

Haha, well I wrote a post on tumblr about him which got exactly no attention so maybe if you do the same he’ll counter your post with point for point proof of what I accused him of with simultaneous denial. I imagine at least one person clicked through a link from my post and it showed up on his stat counter alerting him to the fact that I was talking about him. Either that or he sets google alerts for himself. Either way it’s all very sad and embarrassing. This guy needs some sort of baby sitter (a male to prevent him from propositioning him) to keep him on a leash. I’m over here in awe at how he can claim incel and then post about having two dates in one day a few days later. Dude, incel is not the government or your parent’s fault, you’ve had plenty of opportunities and still have them. The problem is you. Example: statements like, “My way of thinking is like this – I will be relaxed with the fat girl, knowing I’ll have a date with the prettier one later. That could make the fat girl attracted to me and give me more confidence with the prettier girl.” pretty much guarantee your lack of success. Stuff like this makes me wish I had the time and technology to dox someone because local women need to be warned.

The Kittehs' Unpaid Help

Didn’t someone say recently that Mr-virginity-is-killing-me-oh-the-sex-I-had-in-the-last-six-months-doesn’t-count is from a country where arranged marriages were (or maybe still are) pretty much a cultural norm?

If that’s the case, it sounds like his unfortunate parents have said “Nuh-uh. We’re not wasting our time trying to con anyone into taking this kid on.”

CassandraSays
CassandraSays
11 years ago

If he is from a culture that does arranged marriages I would like to take this moment to thank his parents for choosing not to inflict him on any of the young women in their social circle. That may be a self-protective thing in that they’d no doubt hear from the family of anyone he was matched with if he kept on being, well, himself, but on the other hand it must be tempting at this point to do just about anything to get him out of their house. So kudos to them for doing the responsible thing.

The Kittehs' Unpaid Help

This whole “I’ll die if I don’t fuck and masturbation doesn’t count” myth – or the “I can’t be responsible for my actions” version we see most often – I’ve no surprise left in me that some men buy it, because of what a strong and old cultural meme it is, but I still can’t get my head around the individuals who really buy it.

Hmm, that came out convoluted.

It suits skeevy men to “believe” and certainly promote the idea, but blokes like this, if they genuinely believe they can’t live … well, hello, they’re alive and wasting internet bandwidth, doesn’t that say something? Or that creeptastic specimen Simon who hung out here a couple of years back, blathering about his “overwhelming urges” like he’s the only bloke in the world in space who’s ever felt them. It’s like … dude, are you going along with this because it suits you, or are you brainwashed, or fuckin’ stupid, or what?

Oh, and I see why B___ got banned. Or should have, whatever the actual reason was. The boredom, the boredom! He’d have to be one of the dullest trolls of the lot, even giving Boring Schtickwit a run for his money.

The Kittehs' Unpaid Help

There must be a monastery somewhere they can bribe to take him on … somewhere nice and remote and with no internet. 😛

CassandraSays
CassandraSays
11 years ago

Obsession with WW2 and the Eastern Front in particular – is he maybe Russian? If so then he’s being extra ridiculous in expecting his parents to find him a girlfriend, because that’s not a culture that does arranged marriages.

CassandraSays
CassandraSays
11 years ago

Also! If he is Russian then he should definitely start sending his letters off to various government agencies, they could use a good laugh.

The Kittehs' Unpaid Help

Just as long as Pierre’s not doing a stint in any of those offices!

After all he could. Quebecois is close to French is related to Spanish is the same as Russian.

CassandraSays
CassandraSays
11 years ago

Actually he says he’s in a small country, so not Russia. And I think Pierre would be just perfect as a recipient for those letters – he could use them to line Poutine’s litter box.

The Kittehs' Unpaid Help

ROFL! So he could!

CassandraSays
CassandraSays
11 years ago

BTW I found a new “incel” blog to mock via Mr give me comfort women now.

http://survivingincel.wordpress.com/

Societies that have allowed female sexuality to remain unchecked have usually turned very violent and collapsed shortly afterward, whereas societies with a strong, MONOGAMOUS, honsest, transaction-based institution of marriage unsullied by the bullshit notion of “romantic love for everyone”, often remained stable and florished.

The Kittehs' Unpaid Help

So, another one who straight-out wants to buy women. Because you can bet your britches he isn’t talking about those “honest transactions” meaning a woman can demand a man as her domestic/sex slave. I’m surprised these jerks haven’t started complaining they don’t get dowries handed over like in the good ol’ days.

‘Sfunny, I’ve been “incel” all my life and yet never wrote to the gummint demanding a substitute Mr, or told my parents they had to provide me with one or else, or demanded some guy hand his life over to me regardless of his feelings. But then I guess since I’m a woman I don’t feel the Overwhelming Sex Drive these guys do, even though I’m possessed of one of those strange, world-ruling powerful sets of ladybits.

CassandraSays
CassandraSays
11 years ago

I actually like it when they openly admit that their problem with feminism is that it’s made it harder to force women to fuck you because it’s the only way for the women to survive. It’s nice when someone makes your argument for you.

CassandraSays
CassandraSays
11 years ago

For a techie he’s not exactly a shining example of good logic either.

Women do the choosing on the scene, and for unknown reasons most Asian women here in this country (both FOBs and American born) prefer Caucasian men (had she preferred asian men she would have stayed in Asia).

A lot of Asian American women were born right here in America. How are they supposed to have “stayed in Asia”, by putting their mom in a time machine on the way to the maternity ward?