I was a little saddened to read recently that A Voice for Men — the self-proclaimed “Men’s Human Rights” site that has posted an open call to firebomb government buildings in its “activism” section — will no longer be writing about little old me.
Yes, it’s true. In a recent post announcing that he would no longer be writing or caring about journalist Arthur Goldwag, who famously took on the misogyny of the Men’s Rights movement in a piece for the Southern Poverty Law Center, AVFM’s head douchebag Paul Elam also noted that he would no longer be writing or caring about me either.
“In the early days of this site, we used to write a fair amount about David Futrelle,” Elam wrote. “He was a nice, soft target; pudgy actually.”
But now, apparently, AVFM has gotten much too important to bother with soft, pudgy nobodies like me or Goldwag or the SPLC.
We don’t mention David anymore except as a passing joke. He is just another low-end blogger with a small audience of neurotic women who talk more about cats in his comments than what he writes. It is as close to physical intimacy as the guy will ever get.
It’s a little strange how much time Elam, a fiftysomething straight man, spends thinking about my sex life, but I suppose it will be a bit of a relief not to have to read so many of these fantasies of his in the pages of AVFM. Not to mention Elam’s bizarre conspiracy theories about me — like this one. (I wonder why Elam never came forward with the proof of those allegations like he promised he would? Hmm.)
So I was a little surprised when, only one day after Elam bid me that not-very-fond farewell, AVFM’s “managing editor” Dean Esmay decided to set forth yet another conspiracy theory about me and my alleged army of evil minions.
In the midst of a long, weird, barely coherent tirade directed at a writer for Vice magazine who’d approached AVFM with some questions for its stable of female MRAs, Esmay accused my evil minions (in advance) of writing to the Viceman pretending to be female MRAs in an attempt to make female MRAs look bad:
[M]aybe … one of David Futrelle’s minions will show up in your inbox and say “yeah I’m a female MRA and I support taking rights away from women and I hate women too because we women suck, put women who have abortions in prison praise jesus blargh!” and so on and so forth, because that’s just what a whole lot of people who oppose compassion and fundamental human rights for boys and men do: pretend to be MRAs or to be quoting MRAs just to make us look bad. We’ve seen it in action more than once. At least one asshole we know of pretty much does it as a full-time gig.
Dude, I hate to break it to you, but none of my “minions” needs to pretend to be a female MRA in order to make female MRAs look bad. Female MRAs like JudgyBitch and GirlWritesWhat and TyphonBlue are already doing an exemplary job of that already. I mean, seriously, did you read JudgyBitch’s thing about pedophilia the other day? I mean, wow.
Of course male MRAs are also doing a fantastic job making themselves look terrible as well, from Warren Farrell on down to that dude who thinks “friend zoning” should be punishable by law (and the dozens of Men’s Rights Redditors who upvoted him).
But, really, no single website has done more to make the Men’s Rights movement look terrible than A Voice for Men.
Seriously, fellas (and FeMRAs), take a bow. We here at Man Boobz couldn’t do it without you. I couldn’t make up the shit you spew if I tried. (And, for the record, I don’t try.)
ATTENTION-WAY AN-MAY OOBZ-BAY INIONS-MAY: I-way am-way alling-cay off-way our-way evious-day an-play o-tay impersonate-way emale-fay As-mRAY. Ean-day Esmay-way as-hay igured-fay it-way out-way. Ease-play eturn-ray o-tay alsely-fay accusing-way apless-hay etas-bay until-way urther-fay otice-nay. And-way on’t-day orget-fay o-tay eed-fay e-thay ats-cay.
MaudeLL – “Ron Lindsay explaining that women using the word ‘privilege’ was a silencing technique against men.”
If only. Imagine if using that magic word would make MRAs and misogynists generally STFU!
David, the reason for this change in policy is because you’re simply NOT RELEVANT to the mission of Elam, AVfM, or the MHRM as a whole. You’re not a bad writer, I’ll give you that, but in the end, what you do is sit and leech off a network of OTHER blogs. That is, you provide no ORIGINAL content, which is why it’s better for Elam to shift the MHRM’s focus toward more tangible aims. You’ll continue to snipe at him whether he responds or not, so by taking you to task, he’s done NOTHING but feed the troll.
The MHRM deserves better.
@athywren
I think the evolution argument is based on a misunderstanding of evolution. It stems from people wanting to assign “purpose” to the natural worlds, and people building a narrative to support their “just world” theory. This is the same argument that was used to support non-white people’s inferiority, which are no longer supported by scientific arguments.
It’s so funny you think we care.
“The mission of AVfM”
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Oh, yes. “You totally don’t matter and aren’t important and we’re all going to write blog posts and swarm your site with comments to tell you why, in endless, excruciating detail!”
Deoridhe- Good point about race/other oppressed groups. I was assuming it was because it was taboo to criticize, but I think you are correct that other groups would also get huge crap from the Pit-style freedom fighters.
What in the world are you talking about? He highlights the misogyny of the MRM (I refuse to use that god-awful acronym “MHRM”) with his own commentary. His work is original. He’d only be wholly unoriginal if he just did reblogging and nothing else.
lol as if it’s such a sanctimonious and important movement
Imagine if MRAs really did get the trolls they deserve. It would be like YouTube but with more purple prose.
I didn’t know any one remembered what Pig Latin is.
Maude – More proof that discrimination is intersectional. 8( Boooo.
Yeah, the moment someone goes from evolution to “evolutionary psychology” they are deep in the morass of bullshit, and you shouldn’t even follow them there. Just wave from the green grass on the banks of the swamp of stupid and invite them to slowly make their way back to reasonableness.
Sounds like Mr. Berger understood this post as David’s indignation against AVfM’s decision to refrain from writing about him for 24 hours. The key point of the post is about the 24 hour part.
Though I do suspect Berger to be a secret manboobz minion trying to make MRAs sound funny.
When the fuck did “human” get added to the MRA name? Is this some half-assed re-brand attempt? Like men were never the default human. They will never understand that words mean things.
It’s a rebranding effort by AVfM, to emphasize the fundamental human rights that we advocate for… which of course also implies are lacking.
@Kittehserf
Hello, and thanks! 🙂
The pay gay myth myth came up pretty early actually. It’s one of the things he refuses to interact with me about.
“Sure women earn less, but it’s because they don’t work as much as men, so they’re less entitled to raises!”
“Ok, assuming that the average woman does actually work fewer hours than the average man, would an equivalent pairing in equivalent jobs then make the same amount?”
” ~silence~ ”
Funny story… now that I’ve actually spoken about this with people, I’m less looking for ways to understand his position, and more just pissed off. He seemed a lot less unpleasant in my mind when I wasn’t actually talking about it.
Out of curiosity, do the usual MRA talking points consist of things like, “women have all the power,” “what, she has to WEAR A BURKA!? Damn, that man is lucky he’s just being forced to fight in a war he doesn’t believe in!” or, “Schroedinger’s rapist means ALL men ARE rapists!”? Because… I may have already had them thrown at me if so. Fuckety fuck.
You know that feeling when something dawns on you and you feel like you’ve been completely stupid to not realise beforehand? Yeah… that.
Anyway, seriously, I am asleep now… anything else I may post after this is a mirage, for I am sleeping my face off.
Also, what’s with the MHRM – I mean, as opposed to what? Men’s Animal Rights Movement?
You mean he’s a ferret? :O
Gigglefit in 3…2…1…
Kittehserf –
Yes. Give this man a bag of packing peanuts for his services!
Ah, internet atheism… AVFM has weighed in on that clusterfuck on occasion. Basically we have a group of dogmatists, headed by a woman calling herself Skepchick, who want to insert irrational radfem ideology into a skeptical atheist community. It’s not going over well, I gather.
Those are pretty bogstandard MRA talking points, yes.
athywren – oh gods yes, those are typical MRA garbage. He’s a lost cause, I’d say – or at least, a huge douchecanoe and waste of time.
(This is a secret sleep-learning message for those who’re asleep at their keyboards.)
I love how even on Manboobz it’s all Rebecca Watson’s fault. XD I think Skepchick made pins… or at least part of it did, since it’s actually a rather populated blog with lots of bloggers (along with a teen section).
They’re trying to rebrand because someone over there figured out that their current brand identity is “shouty irrational misogynist creeper”. Shame that they then proceeded to re-confirm the original brand identity.
Say, Tom, for somebody with a “policy” for ignoring Manboobz, you are starting to post quite a lot here. Are you sure what “ignoring” means?