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.
I have no problem with the idea that evolution has shaped our psychology – it clearly has (see every instance of discrimination in the world, ever, it’s all about in groups and out groups – our tribe, and the hated Other) it’s just the idea that we should embrace the ways in which it has shaped our psychology that I have issues with.
~mirage over~
MaudeLL – if he’s a Minion Ferret he’s doing a remarkably good imitation of being an MRA dipshit, isn’t he? He should get the Packing Peanut Gold Medal for that latest effort.
Of course if he’s a real MRA we should keep him away from packing peanuts. He’d probably try to eat them.
Imma go ignore my cat my seeing if she needs more water (it’s been hot). Later I will ignore Mr C by giving him a cuddle.
You wouldn’t know what radical feminism is if it screamed in your ear.
Also, asking movement atheists to be respectful of boundaries and be inclusive of minorities is hardly extreme. It’s basic human decency – something that your shitty ideology happens to be deficient in.
All I’ll say is that if you dump a friend for looking into a human rights movement, or for waking about about misandry or male disposability, you’re not any friend I’d wish to have.
“It’s basic human decency – something that your shitty ideology happens to be deficient in.”
Not so much deficient in as opposed to, methinks.
Like your new gravatar, Aaliyah. 🙂
YAWN! Can’t tell if tired or just bored of the MRA idiocy.
Hey, Tom? If we’re so “NOT RELEVANT” why are you still here?
The prob is, we’re one of the least instinctual species on the planet. Humans, as animals, are extraordinarily socially determined, and learn an incredible amount of stuff through social interaction, which means the standard for “caused by evolution” has to be cross cultural (like the interesting thing on the ‘five hardwired emotions’). Most “evolutionary psychology” doesn’t meet the basic standard of “has gone on for the last thousand years” (which is about how long appearance-changes take according to the biology I know) much less “is found cross culturally even in places with no contact with an increasingly global society”.
I’m flattered. 🙂
I smell socks. Anyone have some Febreze handy?
“or for wanking about about misandry or male disposability”
FTFY
I wanna know how evolution shaped cats to turf humans out of their preferred chairs.
Science is remiss if it doesn’t tell us important stuff like this.
Evolution shaped me to dislike whisky even though I’m Scottish, right? I mean, given that it apparently controls everything else about women’s preferences.
Good point! I’m German-Irish-Scots and don’t like sauerkraut, whiskey or haggis. I don’t think I’ve a drop of Italian blood in me but I like pasta.
I haz a confused!
@Deoridhe
Absolutely, that’s why I only go so far as to say that it’s shaped our psychology, and not that it has completely determined it, which seems to be the opinion of some evopsych believers. (Believers is the wrong word since it has unhelpful baggage, but I can’t think of the right word… I think it begins with an a?)
Social interaction determines much of our behaviour, but evolution has built the loose framework that the social interactions mould.
Hopefully that didn’t come off as utterly nonsensical… if so, apologies, I’ve been asleep for the past hour. Honestly…
The pushback against “feminism” (in its perverted modern definition), in internet atheism or anywhere else, has nothing to do with “misogyny” or “the sex class” or such nonsense. It is a rejection of feminist entitlement, irrationality, and unchecked social power.
My preferred grain is rice, and I love chillies with a fiery* passion. How did that happen for a person with Scots/Welsh ancestry? I think my inherited traits are broken.
*Sorry, everyone, it was too obvious a pun to resist.
You keep telling yourself that, Berger. Whatever helps you feel better about yourself.
That sock smell is getting stronger. Did someone forget to do laundry again?
Unchecked social power? What have you been drinking, Mr Berger? I’ll grant you small doses of irrationality, as is true in all movements, but it’s mostly in the fringes. And I don’t think it’s entitlement to want to be treated as equals, although I can see why those who cling to their tenuous privileges, rather than rejecting them as the useless vestiges of a broken system might not understand this.
Oh please, Tom Berger, please tell us more about your interesting theories.
[cloudiah rests head on folded hands, gazes adoringly, makes popcorn]
(Offers cloudiah some tea, fluffs up the cushions in anticipation.)
Adherents?
And yeah, I’m increasingly attracted to the idea of the brain, and thus our psychology, having many layers with differing systems of communication which need to me managed in our frontal lobe using self-awareness and loving self-discipline. Like, it just makes SENSE that some of the stronger emotions (fear, anger, sadness, disgust, joy) have non-verbal and mammalian-brain causes which then are filtered through the cortex (of which only a subset of the cortex is capable of logical thought, reasoning, and language).
I could natter about this for days, so just tell me if I bore you. Psychology is my LOVE.
Yes, Tommy. Blah, blah, blah “irrationality”! Blah, blah, blah ‘femocracy’! Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah…
And New Coke is totally different and new and better than old Coke.
Flip the tape, sweetie. We’ve heard all this before and we’re still not buying.
Feminists are just trying to make us look bad! Now, let us continue sharing our revenge fantasies of a utopia where women aren’t even allowed to breathe without a man allowing it.