You’ll all be glad to hear that Paul Elam has returned to normal. Well, normal for him.
After several days of doing his best impression of someone who isn’t a rage-filled attention misogynist, he’s back to his old woman-bashing self. You’ll also be happy to learn that he’s found a brand new woman to hate: Time reporter Jessica Roy, who is apparently quite stinky.
I’ve heard rumors that most females are stinky, actually.
Roy, who is covering the conference for Time, hasn’t even published her account yet. Her crimes so far? She tweeted some appalling quotes from some of the talks at the conference and made clear that she was not having a good time amongst the assembled assholes human rights activists. A selection:
https://twitter.com/JessicaKRoy/status/482600517839777792
https://twitter.com/JessicaKRoy/status/482908761338572800
https://twitter.com/JessicaKRoy/status/483254279348555776
https://twitter.com/JessicaKRoy/status/482657796916146176
Oh, and she tweeted a photo showing the backs of a bunch of dudes’ heads at the conference:
As a result of these dastardly crimes against manhumanity, Elam has declared Roy to be:
- a “low rent hack”
- “a SWJ in all her hateful glory”
- “a liar and a bigot [who]will be exposed”
- a practitioner of “journalistic scumtardery”
Elam also boasts that whatever she writes about the conference — like all the negative coverage his conference has and will be getting from what he calls the “shallow, clueless and uniformed ideological hacks” of the mainstream media — will drive “more people away from places like TIME and into palaces [sic] like AVFM.” He also thanks Roy “for the donations that will hit AVFM” from new people recruited to the cause by her writings.
It’s rather revealing that he seems to think the true success of AVFM’s “activism” is measured not by what he and his followers are able to do for men and boys — but by how much money he can pull in. An unknown percentage of which goes directly to him.
Interesting that Adam Serwer, who’s already published a snarky piece about the conference for MSNBC, has not gotten similar treatment. Nor have any of the other male journalists who’ve written critically about the conference.
Wonder why that could be?
Anyway, here’s some more of the press coverage of the conference:
First International Conference on Men’s Issues: Day 2, by Arthur Goldwag, Hatewatch
Goldwag continues his coverage, concluding that
[T]he weekend wasn’t an unalloyed hate fest, though there was plenty of rancor, contempt, defensiveness, and anti-feminism on display. Some of the female speakers were the least restrained in that respect, especially on the contentious issues of domestic violence and sexual coercion and modern women’s infuriating desire to determine their own destinies. Many of the speakers signaled that they were chafing a little under Paul Elam’s no trash-talking rule.
It will be interesting to see how much bridge-building A Voice for Men engages in from here on out … .
Well, I think we already have an answer to this question.
Neavling, no fan of MRAs, summed up what he saw as the central message of the conference:
The “vast majority” of college women lie about being raped. Men are violent because of their mothers. Feminists are plotting to dominate men.
One thing was ringingly clear among attendees at the first-annual International Conference on Men’s Issues in St. Clair Shores this weekend: Women are becoming an increasing threat and something must be done to stop them.
In addition to highlighting some of the low points of the conference, Neavling also puts the conference in a larger perspective by pointing out some of the more noxious writings of Elam and of the conference’s PR genius Janet Bloomfield.
Drawing heavily on Adam Serwer’s account of the conference, Tbobb concludes:
Yup, the first International Conference on Men’s Issues rolled into Veterans of Foreign Wars Bruce Post 1146 in St. Clair, Michigan, this weekend and over ONE HUNDRED attendees, from all walks of life — if by ‘all walks of life’ you mean: ‘middle-aged divorced white guys with anger management issues’ — came together in brotherhood to address the source of all of the pain and suffering and existential angst that afflicts MANkind.
Resolved: Women are to blame.
Oh, don’t worry; the conference got some positive press as well. From the husband of one of AVFM’s press conference panelists:
A kinder, gentler turn to the gender wars? by Glenn Harlan Reynolds, USA Today
Reynolds — the husband of sometime AVFM contributor “Dr. Helen,” whose bizarrely chipper reckoning of the conference we looked at yesterday — offered up a surreal account of the conference as a kind of cross-gender-love fest:
[T]he thing that struck me most about the gathering was the palpable lack of gender tension. Men and women at this conference seemed to be on the same page, and the same team, in a way that seems almost surprising in these gender-divided times. Maybe that’s because gender-talk, long a female domain, is also now about men. … As Farrell concluded in a Friday night dinner speech, the goal is “not a men’s movement, not a women’s movement, but a gender liberation movement.”
With men and women both talking and listening, it gave me some hope that perhaps we’ll see something new, and better, in the politics of gender.
Dude, you might want to read that post by Elam before you go all kumbaya on us.
Meanwhile, Sworebytheprecious reports that she was able to infiltrate a post-conference gathering of AVFMers in a hotel lobby and … actually talk to them for some time. At least until Dean Esmay showed up, recognized her, and got her tossed out.
i got the restaurant where they were celebrating and i even found myself sharing a dessert with a very nice redheaded gentleman who works for A Voice for Men, although i have not discovered in what capacity. i also found my way to the hotel where Elam and the inner circle were staying. at about midnight, i spent about two and a half hours talking with GirlWritesWhat, [Barbara] Kay, some guys i don’t know off the top of my head, and some other members. …
i was terrified. it never once stopped my commitment. i went as far as i could.
at about 2 30 am i was pulled away from a very enlightening conversation with Barbara Kay by hotel security and asked to leave. i was in the lobby of the [will add when convention is over]. to my knowledge i had done nothing illegal or caused any disruptions; i doubt my presence would have been welcome with the AVfM staff for long had i posed any real risk. i even allowed one man to take multiple pictures of me and i will describe that interaction in detail later. hotel security was very apologetic with me in any case. i believe Esmay was the instigator because he had been liaison between the table and the front desk. before i left, Esmay and Straughn let everyone know who i was and said “i was part of a hate group” and a journalist who worked for Futrelle. i denied these things, because i do not work for Futrelle. …
the security guard pressed. i left the hotel without incident and waited for my ride.
There’s a lot more to her post, and Swore promises that many more details will be forthcoming. She’s also going to be staying in Detroit for another week to talk to and report about activists there, and NEEDS MORE MONEY to cover her expenses (though not $25,000). Her gofundme is here.
And no, she doesn’t work for me, or with me. I gave her gofundme a signal boost at one point, and have exchanged some messages with her; that’s the extent of my connection with her. I only found out about her late-night confab when she Tweeted me about it today.
In the Men’s Rights subreddit, they’re worried that she’s going to falsely accuse some AVFMer of rape.
EDIT: Rewrote the big about Swore staying in Detroit because she’s still in need of cash to pay her expenses.
SWJ … small white jockstrap?
Well, it appears MRAs have found another person, that they’re assuming to be a woman, to hate: the person who alerted Pride Toronto that they might not want to allow CAFE to participate in their events.
They now accompany their threats to doxx and harass with smiley emoticons.
Sweet Wine Judges
Scary Women Juggalos
Succulent Watermelon Juicers
Steamed Wasabi Jokers
Sexy Werewolves Juggling?
WTF do the goals of Pride have in common with MRAs?
::snort:: MRAs probably think pride marches mean “men get to wave their dicks in everyone’s faces”.
There are men present at both Pride parades and MRA events?
MRAs: relevance leeches.
Now I’m picturing some dude with a posterboard with “Proud to be a Rape Apologist!” written on it. Would be a pretty sad parade with those numbers, though, and thus far the fashion is notably un-fabulous.
Just think, then they could whine about being made to march at the back! Such oppression!
Absolutely. Case in point: straight trans men MRAs who go to Dyke March with the excuse that they count as lesbians because of “female socialization”.
I would be in favor of Sexy Werewolves Juggling being included in Pride. Or any parade, really (as long as it goes past my house!)
Projectile vomit in 3 … 2 … 1 …
Werewolves juggling?
Let’s see …
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_8TJ2eE1Li-I/SXj3i6V_3WI/AAAAAAAAAhA/Vx0IbEpWT04/s400/The+Juggler.png
Business Insider does an accurate appraisel of “the red pill” here
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-red-pill-reddit-2013-8
And this just in from XOJane – a “red pill” date ends in, you guessed it, ASSAULT.
http://www.xojane.com/it-happened-to-me/my-date-with-an-mra
One of the dude’s threatening comments in that thread:
The lol is a nice touch, after washing his hands of any “ill fate” such as might befall someone running afoul of drug cartels and gangs. Telling what company he finds similar to MRAs, eh?
I’m glad we cleared that up! I’m not sure why Elam thinks SWJ (or SJW for that matter) is such a terrible insult, but we all know he believes some very strange things.
@kittehserf, that is awesome! I would love it on a t-shirt (yes, I am a grown woman who wears graphic tees all the time)
@ cloudiah, lol, indeed. Totes not a terrorist operation, just has goals and/or methods aligned with terrorist operations. I just hope they stay behind their keyboards.
@David
That “[sic]” is a little nugget of comedy gold.
Imagine, if you will, the glories of the AVFM palace. Ew, no, don’t.
WOW. The first national Hungarian anime con was bigger than that. O.o
The first Sound Central Music Festival was bigger than that, and it was a rock concert in Kabul that took place two days after a major Taliban attack, the details of which were not announced until 24 hours beforehand because of security concerns.
It’d be like the times when courtiers had to be repeatedly reminded not to take dumps in the courtyards or piss onto the tapestries, except Pauly and co. wouldn’t have a problem with that.
That pic is great, isn’t it? You’re right, it would make a terrific tee shirt.
Well then. Good job MRAs, you keep digging that hole.
Amazing that there are even a dozen people commenting on this post. Did any of you watch the video from the conference, or are you content to slurp this synopsis and pretend to be educated/outraged? The actual panel discussions (not Paul Elam’s comments or some blogger’s tweet-blog-post-comment-reply) are about as controversial as a conference on the color of poop. Its panels are nothing but attention-whores and AVFM staff, and the sessions are moderated by the other AVFM staff. The discussions revolve around fringe studies and false statistics perpetuated by AVFM. These people are intellectual gnats, attended by intellectual gnat larvae.
Perhaps you should consider that your community and this site serves only to amplify their voices, not to thwart their “movement.” Or maybe it’s intellectual bullying…the equivalent of beating up on the playground weakling.
I guess I just find better uses for my time than lending an ear or eye to the endeavors of 200 guys who couldn’t get laid last week and are threatening to change the world in hopes of getting laid next week. If I didn’t know one of these losers personally and find his failure fascinating, I’d never have discovered this “counter movement,” that’s for sure. Apologies to Mr. Mammoth…I’m sure you’re proud of your following.
But, to be blunt, get a life…all of you. High-fiving over the collective stupidity at the AVFM Conference is almost as pathetic as attending the conference.
k