Today, a fascinating – and infuriating – case study in how Men’s Rights Activists twist reality around in order to fit their peculiar ideology. Obviously, they do this all the time, but it’s hard to find a clearer example of the MRA Reality Distortion field in action than the video I’ve pasted in below from A Voice for Men.
The video features a recording of one of AVFM’s regular commenters calling a domestic violence hotline, pretending to be a man named “Reno” who has been abused by his wife. In reality, Reno is Ian Williams, a puckish Australian who has made himself AVFM’s go-to guy for prank calls; you can find several other prank calls from him on his AVFM contributor page.
Here’s what Williams, who also goes by the pseudonym Dr. F, has to say about the call:
If you’re a man and you are a victim of violence from your partner you may face difficulties finding help. Don’t listen to me, here’s the guy himself who called. His name is Reno.
Reno calls a battered women’s shelter and is denied help.
He is denied help, even though he tells the person on the other end of the phone that he is worried his wife will return with a cricket bat.
That sounds pretty damning, and, in the comments, the regulars at AVFM responded with predictable outrage.
“No concern for a beaten man or a boy that could also be a victim and, only able to help(willing) women,” wrote Raven01. “It makes the hate filled ideology apparent to all.”
“[Go] feminism- the humanitarian justice movement brought to you by the modern KKK!” Perseus added. “Sieg Heil, cunts!”
Not one of them seemed to care that everything Williams says about the phone call is false. “Reno” was offered help many times. He was the one who refused it.
If you listen to the call, here’s what you’ll find:
Williams, pretending to be “Reno,” called a Domestic Violence counseling line, not a battered women’s shelter. He told the counselor he’d been attacked by his wife and that he needed a place to go. The counselor explained to him that he’d called a counseling line and that she personally couldn’t arrange for shelter, but that if he called the men’s help line, they could arrange for him and his 6-year-old son to get free hotel accommodations at a location unknown to his wife. The counselor offered several times to connect him directly to the men’s help line.
Williams also told the counselor that he was thinking of calling the police. She told him she could connect him directly to the police, and would be happy to explain his situation to them and to make sure he reached an officer who specializes in domestic violence.
Ignoring all her offers to assist him in getting shelter and further help, Williams insisted that he wanted to be housed in a battered woman’s shelter instead. The counselor, naturally, was puzzled by this strange insistence on his part, and explained to him again that he could get free shelter at a local hotel for as long as he needed. She again offered to connect him directly to someone who could get him immediate help.
Having refused all of her offers of assistance, Reno abruptly ended the call — to the obvious distress of the counselor, who despite the patent weirdness of his behavior on the call had been patiently trying her best to get “Reno” the help he claimed he needed. (I suspect she sensed that his story was phony, but tried to help anyway in case it was true.)
Listen to the call yourself. It’s utterly surreal. What’s even more surreal is that Williams would make the bald claim that he had been “denied help” — and then put up a recording that clearly reveals that this claim is complete and utter bullshit. And I can’t tell if he’s lying or delusional.
That’s always the question with MRAs, isn’t it?
EDITED TO ADD: A commenter here has prepared a rough transcript of the call. There are a few moments where it was impossible to figure out a word or two, but otherwise this seems to pretty accurately match my memory of the call, which I’ve listened to several times. Let me know if I need to make any corrections.
Recorded message:
Family Violence Counseling Line. Please note for training and quality improvement purposes only, your call may be monitored. If you do not want your call to be monitored, please let the counselor know. If you wish to listen to ? regarding our privacy policy if you are already speaking to a counselor press one now, otherwise hold on the line for next available counselor.
[Ringing sound]
Counselor: Hello, this is *redacted* speaking, how can I help you?
“Reno”: Oh, hello. I um, was speaking to someone a short while ago called Maria,
Counselor: Uh huh…
“Reno”: And, and my name is Reno. And, um…
Counselor: Uh huh…
“Reno”: I was explaining, I was explaining to her that my, my wife, uh, is violent towards me with a cricket bat and other things.
Counselor: Mmhmm…
“Reno”: And, uh, she gave me a phone number to call, and uh…
Counselor: Mmhmm…
“Reno”: I called them and um…
Counselor: A phone number for what?
“Reno”: Uh… Uh, it was to help, it was a, um… Pardon me, it was 1-800-015-188. It was a…
Counselor: I don’t know what that number is, so what is it for?
“Reno”: Uh, it’s a helpli-, it’s a possible, it’s a place where they might be able to tell me where I can get some shelter for the night. But there’s none of the… DV places ? are gonna help me, because I’m a man, you see.
Counselor: Have you called the men’s line? ‘Cause they’re the ones who specialize in, because in Australia unfortunately most of the, um… Services. Well not unfortunately, fortunately though, most of the services are for women, because 95% of domestic violence is perpetrated by men. So that’s why they don’t really have um… They don’t really have… So many refuges for wom-, for men. They do have places where men can go, but they’re normally um, like overnight men’s, um, places, like… Which state are you in?
“Reno”: Victoria.
Counselor: Victoria. I don’t know the ones in Victoria but there’s quite a few, for example, in Sydney um, that provide um, overnight accommodation but they don’t call them refuges as such because um… It’s the different situation only for women ’cause often they’re, well normally they’re fleeing with children. So um, normally the men’s ones aren’t, they’re not called refuges, they’re called like, a men’s hostel or an overnight, um, men’s overnight um, shelter, or they’ll call them different names but they don’t call them refuges. So, um, if you’re looking for men’s refuge that’s probably not in existence, but there are a lot of men’s shelters.
“Reno”: Will they take me and my boy?
Counselor: If you’ve got a child, um, they’ll probably prioritize you, I would say. Um, have you rung men’s line? Because they’re the ones who really have this type of information, um because they specialize in helping men. While general lines, like, we’re a counseling line, so we don’t actually have access to phone numbers for, um, directly for refuges. We can connect you to the refuge line. How old’s your, how old’s your son?
“Reno”: Six.
Counselor: How old?
“Reno”: He’s six.
Counselor: He’s six. And where is he right now?
“Reno”: He’s with me. My wife’s gonna be coming home in about three hours, and she’s gonna, she’s gonna beat me.
Counselor: And he, and your son’s not asleep now?
“Reno”: No, he’s with me now.
Counselor: Why isn’t he in bed at 8.40, 8.48 in the-… Sorry Reno, but why is he awake at this time of night?
“Reno”: Because we’re about to just go somewhere, anywhere, out of the house because we just… We’re terrifed. He, we’re ready to go, so. We, we’re ready to go.
Counselor: Reno, this is really concerning me. Is he listening to you as you’re speaking on the phone?
“Reno”: No.
Counselor: Where is he right now?
“Reno”: He’s got some headphones on. He’s watching…
Counselor: What’s he doing?
“Reno”: He’s watching television now, he can’t hear any talk. I made sure of that.
Counselor: Yeah, I’m really concerned that he’s um, awake at this time of night. Um, the other organization that could most likely help you find accommodation and probably would be your best option would be ? Community Services, because they deal especially with children and families in crisis, and so they would definitely keep you together, they would probably actually put you in, normally they pay for a hotel or motel. A men’s shelter wouldn’t be the appropriate place to go with a child, definitely not. So, um, ? they give you, they have a lot of motels and hotels that they deal with, and put they in those instead of accommodation until they can find you permanent accommodation.
“Reno”: Okay.
Counselor: Like, normally they’d pay for a flat or something instead, they wouldnt, they don’t continue to keep you in a, you know, holding pattern in a hotel. Sometimes they make you stay for, like, two weeks in a hotel.
“Reno”: Mm.
Counselor: That would be a good option for you, wouldn’t it?
“Reno”: Yeah. And they wouldn’t let my wife know that, where I’m living? Staying?
Counselor: No, they wouldn’t do that.
“Reno”: ‘Cause she’s really violent. Really violent.
Counselor: They definitely wouldn’t. Um, they definitely wouldn’t let your wife know where you’re staying. I can help you with the phone call. I can introduce you, explain the situation, and see what they can do for you, if you’d like.
“Reno”: Hmm… Possibly, tha-, thank you. I think I might, actually what I might do is call the police now and then see how it goes in there.
Counselor: But your best option is calling the police and then asking to speak to a domestic violence officer.
“Reno”: Okay.
Counselor: They’re the ones that are the most specialized in this, so they deal with this day in and day out, and that’s probably stationed… Are you in area, in an open area? Are you in Melbourne, or are you in a town, or…?
“Reno”: Uh, I’m in Melbourne.
Counselor: Well, if you’re in Melbourne, most Melbourne police stations will have a domestic violence officer, and they specialize in domestic violence, and um, what you can get is to get a detective to come over, or a domestic violence officer, and say that you’d like to um, that you have um, fear of, um, harm of your wife who’s been abusing you. And what they’ll do is, they might um, even try and get an AVO so that she has to move out of the house and you guys can stay in the house.
“Reno”: Mm.
Counselor: They’ll try probably to do that so that you and the child can stay there. Or um, if you move, they’ll um, it would be, that she can’t actually have legal contact with you.
“Reno”: Yeah… No, we have to actually get away from her, we can’t stay here. So there’s nowh-, there’s no um, women’s shelter I could stay in, we could stay in tonight?
Counselor: Well, women’s, women’s shelter’s don’t take men.
“Reno”: They don’t take men.
Counselor: Why don’t you ring men’s lines? They would be able to tell you where you can go. Why don’t you ring the men’s line? Do you want me to connect you through to the men’s line? They deal with men. Men and women’s shelters are two totally different issues. Why do you want to go [to] a women’s shelter?
“Reno”: I just need somewhere where I can just get away from her, somewhere whe-
Counselor: Yeah, but why wouldn’t you, why wouldn’t you wanna go? Why aren’t you accepting this offer that ? will pay for hotel accommodations for you and your son?
“Reno”: Oh, because I…
Counselor: Why do you…
“Reno: Because I need to get out now.
Counselor: Yeah, but they would organize it now, they’ll probably organize someone to come and get you now. People work 24/7.
“Reno”: Oh, okay. I didn’t know what. Okay.
Counselor: ? Services work 24/7, or do you want me to put you through to your local um, police station and explain it to the domestic violence officer so that I can introduce you and explain your situation and see how they can help you?
“Reno”: No, I’ll, I’ll give them a call myself. Okay, thanks.
Counselor: Are you sure?
“Reno”: Absolutely.
Counselor: I’m happy to do it, Reno. I’m very concerned about your son.
“Reno”: No, that, that’s okay. I, I’ll go now.
Kittehs’, you and the dress both look great!
cloudiah – Awww! ::shuffles feet::
Kitteh’s, you look gorgeous. Love the dress, I’m so glad you got it and love it! I wore my grey and navy flounce today–probably the last chance I’ll get before the heat starts up.
What kind of shoes do you have on? Those look cool as hell.
Whoot! We’ve both worn the dresses on the same day, then! 🙂
I like the way they’re mid-season dresses. I’m wearing this with a long sleeve tee under it, but it would do for warmer weather without it. Plus my room was strewn with tried-on skirts last night. 😀
Helen knows how to cut a flattering dress. I’ve never seen her stuff look bad on anyone.
Thank you! They’re Campers boots, you could probably get them online. I bought ’em in LA in 2011 – for a hundred bucks less than they sell for in the shops here (grumble grumble). You’re right, they are cool, and they’re really comfy.
Google takes me to the Aus website, but this page gives good shots.
http://www.camper.com/en_AU/women/shoes/peu/camper-peu-46104-036
She sure does. I love the way the skirt flares. I’d thought from the photos that the petal shapes might be separate, but the way they’re joined is much better (no embarrassing breeze moments, for one thing). I’d love a full-length skirt in the same fabric, flaring out this way. It’d be magnificent.
Speaking of clothes, I really wish I could muster up the courage to shop for women’s clothes. The very thought of it terrifies me. =[ And I feel too shy about asking someone to come with me.
We don’t know one another, but no one has answered yet, so I thought I’ll just offer some internet hugs and imaginary tea if you like.
Adding to the internet hugs! I wish you were here in Melbourne, we could do a shopping expedition.
RE: Aaliyah
My recommendation? Thrift shops. If you’re nervous about getting something obviously coded female, like a skirt, you can start with maybe more traditionally feminine cut shirts. In shops like that, they often stick things across the divide and tend to not look at you so funny. Also, the cut of a shirt is less noticeable than other stuff.
Well that’s certainly what they promulgate in order to excuse their actions. But what it boils down to is that they have a dominance drive and lack empathy for the person they’re abusing and so they try to rationalize their behavior to others and to themselves.
Domestic abuse=bullying. The way to deal with bullies(speaking for personal experience) is to fight back whenever you’re attacked! The most effective way to get an abusive person to stop is impose consequences for their behavior and show them that you are strong enough to resist their assaults. The World doesn’t run on empathy. And while I certainly do not think that this is a good thing, it’s the truth and sometimes the truth hurts.
Aaliyah, more hugs if they’re wanted. I like LBT’s idea; plus thrift shops are cheap, so if you want to play around to find your style* you can do it without spending a ton of money.
* Warning: this comment comes from someone who has no style. 😀
Also, everyone please just ignore Purple Star. Like an annoying but mild virus, he will go away eventually.
Seriously? Fuck off. Don’t you dare pretend that this is something all abuse victims should do. You’re in victim-blaming territory now.
I thought you all might like this scholarly treatise on “feminist marriage.”
A small sampling:
Thanks for the internet hugs. =P
@LBT, cloudiah
That’s a fabulous idea! I just need to find a thrift shop away from my local mosque as I really, really don’t want someone from the mosque seeing me walk out of the door with women’s clothes in my hands.
Victim blaming and as we all know (or will soon enough) the MRA preferred DV study asks only if you’ve been hit, someone (pecunium?) frisked it nicely already. But anyways, they specifically use a study that counts self defense as abuse — man hits woman, woman fights back, MRM says woman abused man. Woman hits man, many doesn’t fit back, MRM calls man pussy.
Irony much?
(NB: distracted by Criminal Minds)
@aaliyah
Jedi hugs, if you want.
@cloudiah
I…I am so not following that marrige thing you quoted XD
So, uh…women should marry each other, even if their straight, but they aren’t actually married, they’re just roommates, plus random mra dribbles about dudes who don’t know condoms exist. Did I get that right?
And was the last part of that men who aren’t raised in straight families are more likely to be criminals? wtf.
But…what if I’m a woman marrying a feminist guy?
Does that count as a feminist marriage? Do I still get to lure some rich baby-daddies into my dark and humid cave?
And I would still keep teh poor menz from turning to violence!
Had to quote it because…oh wow, that’s just so stupid. Maybe if the Purple Puncher reads it again it might become obvious…
@tomBcat
Your cave is humid? But won’t that ruin our hair XD
Also, invisible birth control. How…convenient(?) for women?
What?
But then again, I will never in my life get the concept of becoming rich via being a single mom.
To be clear, I’m not religious. It’s just that the nearest thrift store is right next to my local mosque. And I know how nosy some members of that mosque’s community can be.
@Marie
When I get preggers from ma sugar daddy I can go to the hairdresser daily, so whatevs…
The Evil Femi Dragon needs of course to live in a wet and misty hole, it’s a matter of style, puh-please!