Woah! Just wanted to pass along this news from the Motor City Muckraker:
A controversial conference for a men’s rights group in Detroit appears to be in jeopardy after a fallout with downtown’s Hilton DoubleTree, which planned to host the event from June 26-28.
The inaugural conference at the DoubleTree has been canceled for unknown reasons, and organizers of the first International Conference on Men’s Issues haven’t said yet whether it will be moved to another hotel and conference center.
“At this time, they are not booked with us,” Larry Brown, manager of the DoubleTree, said this morning. He declined to elaborate on the cancelation.
There’s nothing on A Voice for Men about this latest development, though Esmay hinted during his Fox News appearance that they were possibly going to reconsider the Doubletree. But as of right now, AVFM is still selling tickets, as if the Doubletree convention is still a going concern.
Are they going to try to book the convention elsewhere? Or are they going to take the $29,000 they raised for “security” and, I dunno, send Esmay to a better stylist?
One other, ah, interesting detail in the Motor City Muckraker story:
When asked Tuesday whether the event would be moved, an organizer responded: “The DoubleTree GM (general manager) actually said that he has ‘feminist phobia’ and sort of laughed but in a nervous way. So its being discussed.”
It’s questionable whether this conversation ever occurred because the general manager is a woman.
Yeah. Seems like a lot of things about this convention have been pretty questionable from the start.
UPDATE: Well, one thing’s a bit clearer now, though. I called the Detroit Police and they confirmed that the Doubletree did indeed report to them that it had received threats. Who sent them, we still don’t know, but I think we can all agree that whether the threats came from some misguided feminist or “progressive” or from an MRA trying to stir shit and make feminists look bad, whoever made the threatening calls is a shithead who deserves to face the legal consequences for what they did.
UPDATE 2: According to the Detroit News, Elam says they’ve got another venue:
“We have scheduled another venue and will make an announcement on the site this evening,” group founder Paul Elam said in an email Wednesday.
So far no announcement on AVFM; I’ll post about it when there is one.
Oh lawl, it looks like the dining hall of a curling rink. I used to serve at catering events in those places. The old men at them were pretty nice, actually.
Not a lot of seats there….
That picture from the Muckraker has almost as many people as they’re likely to get at their conference.
I’m beginning to really like The Muckraker. So JB reveals her deep respect for sex workers #7 the $s are to spent on blanket security. /rolls eyes
@Sarah, I assume that someone is emailing a copy of that article to VFW, right now, and asking them to comment on the alledged quote from their venue manager?
@strivingally: I think feMRAs have a few different main motivations, but one of them is probably wanting to be on the “winning side.” I think part of it is wanting to somehow get one up one other women by being different and special, to seek attention and validation they may not get elsewhere, and of course there is just good old fashioned internalized misogyny in play there, too.
Plus I really think that a lot of them actually come from pretty messed up family backgrounds that they have never really faced and dealt with– the whole internet redpill thing allows them to kind of relive/process it while deflecting a lot of personal responsibility– so that’s comfortable and familiar in a way. I really think a lot of red pillers would benefit a whole lot from a few sessions with even a marginally competent therapist. At least maybe you’d come to understand that there are calcified layers of damaged gunk built up and maybe even your most basic assumptions aren’t exactly built on a sensible foundation.
@kittehs:
Oh crap, how completely myopic of me not to even consider that it might be a regional difference. I’m embarrassed. Thank you for letting me know.
Do VFWs generally have a larger capacity than hotel conference centers…?
They certainly have an array of meats and pop options.
I can neither confirm or deny that the VFW has been emailed about this.
Someone definitely *should* alert them to what seems to be libelous comments towards the only venue in the area that appears to be willing to host them.
The VFW isn’t even within city limits. So much for saying they wanted to support Detroit economically.
@sarah, indeed and I hope that if anyone does so, they take care to protect themselves from any negative reactions from the MRM. Perhaps the investigative journalist will have done so, anyway, given his interest. 🙂
> “lease be advised that the $32K we scammed from gullible supporters will be spent on Detroit’s fine sex workers and illegal substance users. Hookers and coke, all the way!”
@judybitch, I have to say I’m grudgingly impressed by your brazenness, switching last minute from a centrally located conference room at the Hilton to a cheaper hall 25 miles away outside Detroit city limits is a pretty shrewd cash grab/ cost cutting measure. Considering you’ve got punters paying $250 a ticket and many who would have already booked accommodation near the original location.
Even taking into account private security (which costs approximately $25/hour per security guard) you guys are coming out of this pretty well. At $250 a ticket, plus the $32K in donations, keeping them outraged has certainly paid off for whoever at AVfM pockets the cash.
The size of a VFW probably depends on the location. I went to see my dad’s friend’s band at a suburban one and it was fairly large. Maybe the size of a chain restaurant.
My local VFW is much smaller than that. It’s also actually a decent place to hang out. My neighborhood VFW has karaoke Thur-Sat nights. A lot of twenty somethings live in my neighborhood and go for the karaoke and cheap drinks. I can’t imagine a MRA conference taking place there.
http://vfw1146brucepost.org/
Says they can accommodate 300.
So at this conference (I’ll believe it when I see it) they’ll be discussing what?
How custody generally is given the the primary care giver
How difficult it can be to access health care
Inequality and class struggles
umm…
Sarah,
So your saying they’ll have room to spare?
The MRAs are in the comment section of the Muckraker claiming that the SPLC is a fraud and that MRAs never threaten feminists.
Yesterday one of my kids told me that when he killed Voldamort with his ‘chanted sword, Master Yoda says his training will be ‘plete.
These MRAs are living in a fantasy world that puts his to shame. I gotta give them points for using their imaginations.
JB, thanks for the warning. That’s the first kind thing I’ve ever seen you do for other women. I’m sure the sex workers of Detroit like to know when there is a large group of dangerous misogynists in town to avoid for their personal safety.
“C*nts” and rape analogies and jokes about spending donation money on illegal drugs! You stay classy, JB.
@JB
I assume half of those hookers will be male. It would be misandry to support the female domination of a lucrative, cushy, safe job like being a sex worker. And, if you spend the money on male sex workers, it would be the only thing about the conference that actually does something to help men! /sarcasm
@ceebarks
Your posts in this thread have been amazing. I’ve always been puzzled by fMRAs and redpill women, but reluctant to armchair internet diagnose them. You’ve given me a much clearer understanding of where they might be coming from.
HAHAHAHA oh wow.
Not your place, dude. You don’t even go here and we don’t want you to. I don’t care how many feelings you have.
No.
http://37.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m28diiVT8L1rsetzlo1_500.gif
Not remotely, unless it was a very small hotel. This venue is much more appropriately sized for the turnout they’re likely to get.
@Marinerachel, is that a parody or a real MRA poster? I can’t even tell any more.
@WWTH, I;m glad someone got it 😀
“but I think we can all agree that whether the threats came from some misguided feminist or “progressive” or from an MRA trying to stir shit and make feminists look bad”
Sure. And whenever a feminist writer makes another post about recieving threats or being a victim of harassment, I will make sure to point out that these threats may as well come from a feminist trying to make males look bad.
I did a con at a VFW once. It was… enh, decent-sized space for a small-time local craft con, but I did absolutely wretchedly at it, profit-wise. Also, I CERTAINLY didn’t have to pay $250 for a table.
RE: kmcorby
I don’t really think all this gloating is becoming.
Enh, I think I have better things to do than be “becoming” around the abuser’s lobby.
RE: Lea
Poodles are very smart, hearty dogs. Standard poodles are working class dogs bred for hunting and served as war dogs for a large chunk of history.
I AM A WAR POODLE!
RE: Fibinachi
It’s all supporting, manipulating and exciting weaponized fur fashion.
But do I get to keep my bag of holding? This is the big question, how can I support without thumbs or a bag of holding?
RE: Nequam
Is there a reason you guys keep talking to the trolls, especially the ones that flounce?
Feeding the trolls till they explode is a longstanding tradition here at Mammoth, and one of the reasons I hang out here. If I wanted to ignore assholes, I’d just go anywhere else on the Internet. As it is, I get to mock and fight back, and it makes me feel better than just keeping a stiff upper lip and eyes on the horizon.
“I am actually seriously starting to think that some of these guys have serious mental illness”
Lets not bring mental illnesses into this. Some people are just plain evil and so far from reality; mental illnesses have nothing to do with it.
Welcome joe! 🙂
POOODDDLLLEES!
http://www.petsitusa.com/blog/?p=2443
RE: Alejandro
And whenever a feminist writer makes another post about recieving threats or being a victim of harassment, I will make sure to point out that these threats may as well come from a feminist trying to make males look bad.
Your comparison don’t slide, bro. These guys got a couple threats. Folks like Anita Sarkeesian get an uncountable deluge. Also, AVFM has a history of exaggeration, harassment, flat-out lying, and pocketing people’s money.
We’re not doubting them because women would never threaten AVFM teehee. We’re doubting them because they’re LIARS.
I mean, those threats could come from highly trained battle Yorkies with lasers for eyes, but I’m just saying, the odds aren’t great.