Keep your distance from A Voice for Men’s conference at its new location in St. Clair Shores.
That’s the basic message the organisers of the original June 7th protest against the AVFM conference want to get out to anyone thinking of protesting the conference this Friday and Saturday. In an open letter posted on Amanda Levitt’s Fat Body Politics, the original organizers urge would-be protesters to boycott the conference and stay out of St. Clair Shores.
While the original organizers reaffirm their opposition to the conference and to “the horrific and vile hatred that A Voice for Men spreads on their website,” they are concerned about the safety of anyone who might be considering protesting:
We have had numerous people reach out to us to let us know of the very real danger we could be in by protesting. Due to concerns for physical safety we have decided the best way to oppose the conference that is now going on in St. Clair Shores is to keep our distance. With AVFM’s history of attempting to provoke protestors, harassing individuals by following them to their cars or home, and filming or photographing them in order to release their private information online we don’t feel that protesting at the VFW hall could keep people reasonable safe.
While there may be others who decide to protest the conference, we want to make it perfectly clear that there are real concerns for safety. If you are planning to protest the conference, please make sure the people who are coming are informed enough about the kind of vicious tactics that AVFM has used to derail and trivialize the response to their own ideology.
Be in solidarity with us this weekend as we ensure the safety of our organizers and other protesters by tweeting to #NoMRA about why this conference and the beliefs of AVFM shouldn’t be tolerated.
Emphasis added.
I should say that I agree with this approach: DON’T protest AVFM’s Conference in St. Clair Shores this weekend. Speak out against AVFM’s misogyny, and against its efforts to intimidate its critics — on social media and any other way you can.
But unless you are covering the conference as a journalist, don’t go to St. Clair Shores. Not only do you risk being doxxed and harassed by AVFM and its supporters, but you also will be giving AVFM what it wants: a confrontation, and yet another excuse to play the victim.
Make no mistake: AVFM and its supporters want to see protesters at their conference this weekend. Don’t give them what they want.
You will be far more effective critic of AVFM if, instead of confronting them in person, you speak up online, through letters to the editor, and by spreading the word in other peaceful ways that don’t involve actually going to the conference.
I don’t personally oppose AVFM’s conference taking place, but I think it’s very important to show the world what AVFM, its supporters, and its invited speakers really stand for.
I urge you to do what you can to publicize the video I helped to put together in collaboration with Mancheeze.com that highlights the hatefulness of a number of those scheduled to speak at AVFM’s conference– link to it, embed it on your blog, whatever you can do.
You can also help to spread the word by posting the graphic I’ve pasted in below, after the jump, which collects together the statements quoted in the video. You can click on it for a larger version.
Off-topic: Did you guys see this? SPERMJACKING! (SFW)
That’s gif is adorableness in action, thanks!
Thanks David for a good thread and keeping us unformed and writing an open minded article about the conference. Yes I have read some feminist blogs which have encouraged all to just ignore the conference or just plain boycott. After all why give Elam publicity, Elam is a con artist and would love any type of publicity even negative. He makes it seem like he does not want the negative publicity. Imo Elam is a very arrogant and smug and cares all about self promoting his “a voice for men” brand. Remember that whole campaign for a new avfm logo? He thinks his hateful conference is some type of international mens convention and he is an egotistical opportunist .He is claiming a large turnout from manosphere men, but we will actually see who the heck shows up tomorrow. I read something to the effect from a comment he made a while back wants his avfm blog to be like a “mcdonalds of the mens movement”. So this conference is all a con and manipulation by Elam and his cohorts to get any type of publicity so people will hear of his so called brand.
So perhaps may feminist or other blogs are not sending reporters to cover this conference even as a news item. On the other side there are people who believe a civil protest is crucial to get the word out to the general public that a voice for men are hateful bigots and do not represent men. By being there and protesting it will prevent the public who have never heard of mra’s to think these guys are not hateful. After all organized civil protests have been effective in the past to stopping some hate groups. I am glad there is a blog here like this one that gives us an honest perspective on the hate of avfm for those who are not attending but would be glad to affiliate with any online social networking type of protest campaign. The main thing is I just hope and have good wishes that everyone who attends to protest or report such as DarkHorseSwore will be safe and really get the word out to the public that mra’s are hateful not only against women but quite a few other people as well.
LOL, exactly what I was thinking
@katz
That’s probably how they harvest Steven Colbert’s Formula series.
http://wikiality.wikia.com/Stephen_Colbert%27s_Formula_400_Series
…That’s uncanny.
blanktie – This has very little with being scared and very much to do with as an activist I believe my role is to make sure that the actions I am part of can keep people reasonably safe. I cannot do that in this instance and putting people’s physical safety at risk is a line I refuse to cross. People are able to partake in actions that do not put themselves in immediate physical safety online via the hashtag or continuing to build a larger community that speaks out against them.
As someone who also does research on trolling and has a lot of experience with the kind of abuse AVFM participates in I want people to know they are dangerous. I want people to know they do horrible shit so they can give informed consent if there are actions that happen on or offline. If AVFM responds by doxxing and harassing people online that is on them. That is a direct result of their own behavior not because I have, as an activist, made sure that I am not participating or organizing an action that could harm people. It’s worse to want to pretend that they don’t do harmful things to provoke protestors and let people show up to be put in harms way.
I’m also kind of appalled of the idea that us making sure people are safe is somehow giving AVFM the go ahead to harass others. That not only blames us for their reaction but also blames us for not putting ourselves in danger. That gets a big NOPE from me.
I am curious to see what the turnout will be for this conference. I saw a notice on FB that they were giving tickets away to locals, no charge. I suspect the security scam may have been necessary because the tickets were not selling.
The juxtaposition of “ticket prices have gone up!” and “get your free tickets!” is pretty amusing.
“Those are my tickets. I bought them online.”
“Do you have your PayPal printout?”
“Yes, I have it here.”
“The name doesn’t match the name on your driver’s license.”
“That’s the name I go by. It’s different than my legal name.”
“I’m sorry, I can’t give you these tickets unless the name matches.”
“Oh. Can I have one of the free tickets?”
“OK.”
I’m pretty sure the general public has no idea what AVFM is, and doesn’t care to. This conference won’t change that.
So locals get a free ticket, but people paying for a hotel room, a plane ticket and and probably a rental car since it’s burbs, had to pay ~$270. I guess this sort of thing can work if most of the paying attendees are wide-eye fanboys like our Woody.
@banshee, I totally agree. I’ve considered myself a feminist for many, many years and never heard of these people. It’s fun to snicker at their imagined persecution, knowing it’s pretty much of no consequence in the REAL world. I mean, these guys think Naomi Wolf is one of the most ebil feminists. Naomi Wolf?!?! They got 99 problems, and Naomi Wolf ain’t one.
Well, she did challenge the idea that it’s a woman’s duty to be boner-pleasing, which makes boners sad. Boners have rights too!
(Yes I know this is a vast oversimplification of her work but remember who we’re dealing with here.)
Wait. Giving away free tickets? But what about the poor fools who bought the overpriced tickets and have to fly in? And find a hotel? And pay for a taxi to go so far, far away every single conference day?
My heart bleeds!
(not really)
It is a bit “fuck you, devoted fans”, isn’t it?
@cassandrakitty, I forgot about that. I suppose it doesn’t get more ebil than sad-bonering.
They should create an actual Penis Manifesto, with an official list of demands and everything.
I’m reminded of the WWE events where they have to use creative camera angles and careful microphone placement around the arena to cover up the fact the venue’s half-empty.
I’d love to see them come out and admit that they’re having to give away free tix to help fill seats. So much for the drawing power of the red pill.
@cassandrakitty How about the Ballad of the Cocksure? the MANifesto? Manipesto? The Compact of Pen Island? Guyatribe? Pole-mic? Teste-mony? Teste-fy?
I dunno seems like there is vas deferens between the quality of their writing and some other groups. Comedic value only goes so far in helping me get through their tainted screeds.
I’m okay with letting conference be a minor note that no one gives a shit about.
I warned people that protested in Detroit about the targeting and harassment AVFM engages in, how they pay money to get docs. Look at what they did to Heather Dillaway and she was on a panel for 5 minutes.
It would be good if nobody showed up. It’s part of Elam’s money scheme.
Oh and @cassandrakitty, I think they already have a penis manifesto,
If nobody shows up AVFM will spin it as a factory. If protesters show up they’ll spin it as a victory. Six of one, half a dozen of the other.
DIED
IZ DED
How’d I miss that?
I tip my hat to you, opium4themasses. Excellent pun work.