So the Men’s Rights movement has faced some setbacks in the past. The Southern Poverty Law Center profiling them as a movement filled with hate (if not literally a hate group by the SPLC’s strict definition). Events that literally no one showed up to. Paul Elam.
But MRAs have never faced anything quite like this.
Wil Wheaton — yes, that Wil Wheaton, the one who was on Star Trek TNG — has stated publicly that he thinks they’re a bunch of idiots:
https://twitter.com/wilw/status/348291001481310208
Naturally, this tweet has the fellas in the Men’s Rights subreddit feeling hurt and angry. Well, they always feel hurt and angry, so I guess I mean they feel even more hurt and angry than usual, with a lot of this hurt and anger directed in a Wil-Wheatony direction.
Here are some of their comments. I don’t really have any jokes to make about them because, I mean, just read them. I can’t top this sort of ridiculousness.
Click on the individual comments to see them in context on Reddit. Oh, and note that this comment at the top has MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED UPVOTES.
![giegerwasright 119 points 7 hours ago (150|31) Wil Wheaton has never had to live life as a regular man. He has never been treated by women as a regular man. He is a privileged white male. All those things that feminists say that white men have that we recognize are actually really only reserved for rich white men? Well. He's a rich white male. So. What do you expect? Perspective? LOL. He has media to sell and pussy to pander to for approval, hanglowstankin, and profit. permalink source save give gold hide child comments [–]cfornax 63 points 7 hours ago (82|17) Ironic isn't it. He undermines men to elevate his privileged status in eyes of feminists who wish to undermine his privileged status. permalink source save parent give gold [–]giegerwasright 39 points 7 hours ago (53|17) And that, my dear lad, is how the wealthy mangina maintains his status. Key word being "wealthy", a distinction that the unfortunately unwealthy manginas don't recognize. Always. Follow. The money.](https://i0.wp.com/www.wehuntedthemammoth.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/geiger2.png?resize=580%2C365&ssl=1)
Wait. What is “hanglowstankin?” Oh, never mind.
Also, I would bet a mint-in-box Wesley Crusher action figure that Wheaton didn’t call you guys “idiots” because he wanted to pander to “pussy” but rather because you are the sorts of guys who routinely refer to women as “pussy.”
![ruboos [-2] 10 points 7 hours ago (16|6) Wil Wheaton has always been a self hating misandrist. I've never liked him. And his narration is atrocious. Listen to "Ready Player One" if you don't believe me. The dude is a joke. Thank you for calling him out in public. He has no excuse.](https://i0.wp.com/www.wehuntedthemammoth.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/narration.png?resize=580%2C101&ssl=1)
![AnotherDAM 14 points 7 hours ago (24|10) Just because someone is famous in one context does not make him an expert in any, or every, other context. The man made a decent beer with Stone Brewing, he is incredibly practiced at talking with people so don't expect to win a war of words with him or out "cool" him. Just point out to him that he has had everything handed to him on a silver platter his entire adult life ~ he doesn't need to worry about money or getting girls or an invite to the uber-cool CES ~ does not actually mean his opinion matters to anyone but himself. He will eventually get it when all of his male friends start dying decades before his female admirers. permalink source save give gold hide child comments [–]VortexCortex [+1] 4 points 3 hours ago (5|1) I would merely appeal to his sense of logic: "There's much evidence to the contrary, Wheaton; You have not tried try to refute the null hypothesis before holding your belief." Not that it would actually work -- He's an actor who once played a young scientist -- but many of his viewers practice rationality.](https://i0.wp.com/www.wehuntedthemammoth.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/dyingrational.png?resize=580%2C327&ssl=1)
But Wil had one defender amongst the Men’s Rightsers:
![chocoboat 6 points 5 hours ago (25|19) Wil is still cool. He just got misinformed by some feminists, who in an effort to protect their privilege, smear the name of MRAs and fight against equality when it doesn't serve them. He was taught that MRA = a whiny bitch who wants a return to 1950s gender roles and can't stand women having any power over anything. Of course he thinks that kind of person is an idiot. Don't bash Wil, bash the people who misinformed him. I can virtually guarantee you that he would support the same pro-equality ideas that MRAs do, and that he's against the sexist situations that men sometimes run into (such as being arrested after calling police when your wife attacks you, or being made to change airline seats due to "every man is a pedophile" hysteria). permalink source save give gold hide child comments [–]Zetadood 17 points 4 hours ago (23|4) Nah, no one gets a pass for misinformed ignorance. If he changes his views later on that's different, until then he's a tool.](https://i0.wp.com/www.wehuntedthemammoth.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/wilcool.png?resize=580%2C326&ssl=1)
EDIT: H/T to the AgainstMensRighters for pointing me to this.
La tomate est rouge. <= thank you captain obvious
My French lessons are still smarter than buttboy, even if they are trying me that the tomato is red.
Well, let me ask you this, dingleberry: would you rather be a poor white man, or poor black man? Or a poor black woman? Or a poor black lesbian?
*telling
That one wasn’t autocorrect, that was like the ones got wrong because I translated tu manges as “you eating” >.<
Avd I'm pretty sure that mistake is still less dumb than buttboy. (Il est une pomme, because I can call him an apple and thus I'm going to!)
Sparky — I have a better one — Hawking or Einstein? (Assume Einstein was equally rich)
And thanks for the acorns btw, my teal deer appreciates the treat.
Don’t be silly, sparky. These are all discrete categories (unless you’re a straight white man), so you can be poor OR a woman OR black OR homeless, but it’s impossible to be any combination of the above.
Of course I’d rather be, say, a poor straight person than a poor gay person. But I’d far, far rather be a wealthy A-gay than a poor straight individual. The point is, a gay orientation might provide some difficulties, but it’s all minor when compared to the effect that class has.
This really isn’t that difficult.
@Argenti: I’m in the same boat–waiting on the government sucks. We have to struggle against our disability. If we triumph, the government decides we’re not disabled, no matter what the actual cost is. (I’ve got multiple disabilities–including Crohn’s disease. Trying to make people understand that the ticking time bomb that is my gastro-intestinal system means I need disability for those times where I have to take time off–but cannot predict when or how long that will be–is brutal)
I think there was a post about a socialist/communist spin on the MRAs…didn’t it boil down to “equal access to sex for all men”?
And how can there be a backlash against Wil Wheaton without the simple, Sheldonesque quote “WHEEEAAATOOON!!!!!!!!!!!”
*oops, missed one thing: @Argenti–hope you convince them! Good luck! Hugs if you want them.
I live in a working class neighborhood. Many of my neighbors are Hispanic.A lot of the men drive big pickups, some because they work in construction or landscaping, some because it’s cool. I used to drive a big red pickup. I got pulled over all the time for minor/nonexistent traffic violations. I’d watch the cops come swaggering up, hand on their gun. Then when they saw this big truck was being driven by a white middle-aged woman, they were all sheepish and apologetic. I got pulled over more in that truck than in any vehicle I’ve owned. And never got a ticket in it (and trust me, I have gotten plenty of tickets in my life).
And that, buttboy, is a form of privilege I will never loose. I will never get a ticket for driving while white. Or thrown on the ground or beaten up by a cop for driving while being white. Class has nothing to do with that.
Racism is “transient”, remember?
“some difficulties” – such as LGBT youth being 40% of all clients receiving help from homeless youth agencies. I take it that’s a minor issue that has no impact on socioeconomic privilege.
Aw, it’s so cute when clueless people try to be patronizing. Here, have a present. This is what you look like when you do that.
@Kiwi girl,
Not exactly the same, but similar: http://www.modcloth.com/shop/leggings/fresh-take-leggings-in-tabby
Oh, by the way, 68% of those LGBT youth become homeless because of family rejection. Another transient, minor issue.
You know, that can easily be turned around. Class might provide some difficulties, but it’s all minor when compared to the effect sexual orientation has. In your example above? What do both the rich homosexual person and poor homosexual person have in common? Sexual orientation. And both would face discrimination within their classes.
Now, do I’m saying that class is a minor issue? No. What I’m saying is that you cannot minimize other forms of oppression and discrimination. And you definitely cannot tell people facing these issues that they are “minor and transient.”
Argent: You are welcome! 🙂
I thought I was fairly aware for a cis straight woman, but I have no idea what an A-gay is. Can someone enlighten me?
Do you have to take a test to be gay now? How is it graded? How do you study? What happens if you fail the test? If you are only a C-gay, can you get extra credit somehow? Once you get your A-gay rating do you get a certificate? A card for your wallet? Do you have to be certified annually?
Well, somehow a stray “do” wandered in there.
“Racism is “transient”, remember?”
Dang, I keep forgetting.
If only someone would post that over and over and over and over I might remember.
@bbeaty, “A-gay” refers to a wealthy, upwardly mobile, usually white gay man or woman. (Think Dan Savage.) Now, of course those people have faced some difficulties relating to their orientation- but really, they don’t have it that bad.
“Of course I’d rather be, say, a poor straight person than a poor gay person.”
Oooo. Are we playing Would You Rather now? Cool.
I’d rather be a rich cat lady than a poor dot catcher.
Am I doing it right?
Funny how A-gay folks aren’t as common as rich straight white men. I wonder why…
““A-gay” refers to a wealthy, upwardly mobile, usually white gay man or woman. (Think Dan Savage.) Now, of course those people have faced some difficulties relating to their orientation- but really, they don’t have it that bad.”
Really ….
I should mention that to my white male upwardly mobile gay friend who lived on my couch while we were in college because his family kicked him out after his father beat threatened to kill him. I am sure he would be convinced by your thoughtful argument that his life was “not so bad.”
Or my white friend with a well paying professional career who got jumped coming out of a bar and beaten so badly he could barely talk when he called me for a ride to the ER.
Or my wealthy white, male friend who died of AIDS.
Yeah, I sure would rather have THAT life. Those lucky A-gays.
Congratulations. You’ve found the intersection between “I’m not denying that bigotry exists” and “I’m going to ignore bigotry and its effects and immediately dismiss anyone who talks about it.”
I went to buy some on amazon and they don’t ship here! /also cries
Oh, here’s another couple of lucky A-gays!
These are some friends of my sister. They were both professional, not wealthy, but doing alright white women. Raising a couple of kids. Then there was a car accident. One of the women was in ICU. Her parents denied her partner right to see her, grabbed the kids and ran across several state lines with them
So here’s a woman, frantic about the health of the love of her life, unable to locate her kids. And no one will do anything. No law enforcement agency will go after the grandparents (who so lovingly abandoned their own daughter) because the “real” mother is in and out of consciousness and her partner has no legal standing.
If you want to make this about money, the two women eventually used all their savings and went into debt hiring private eyes to track down the grandparents and lawyers to build a case.
Man, why can’t my life be that easy?