If the Men’s Rights movement is looking for a celebrity endorser, I think I’ve found just the guy for them: the mixed martial arts fighter, and erstwhile porn actor, War Machine, currently sitting in jail on charges of brutally beating and attempting to kill his ex-girlfriend, porn star Christy Mack.
Men’s Rights activists should be able to look past these criminal charges; after all, as they remind us all the time, women are forever falsely accusing innocent men of all sorts of terrible things.
And in so many ways War Machine is perfect for them. An MMA fighter, he’s already only one letter away from being an MRA. A misogynistic asshole with rage issues, he’ll have no trouble fitting in with the Men’s Rights crowd. And, especialy important for a movement that has a lot of trouble getting any good PR, he’s a bit more comfortable on camera than the Paul Elams and Dean Esmays of the world, with experience on television (on the reality show The Ultimate Fighter: Team Hughes vs. Team Serra), and in seven films (albeit pornographic ones).
Best of all: he’ll need no ideological education from what A Voice for Men likes to call Fuck Shit Up University. War Machine – real name Jonathan Koppenhaver – is already an outspoken proponent of many of the Men’s Rights Movement’s core beliefs.
Consider these selections from a little Men’s Rights manifesto War Machine wrote a few years ago during a previous stint behind bars, serving time for felony assault after two bloody bar fights. His rant, which a friend posted to the internet, would fit right in with the sort of stuff we’ve seen regularly posted on the Men’s Rights subreddit, or The Spearhead, or A Voice for Men. I’ve bolded some of the Men’s Rightsiest bits:
The oppression of MEN is worse than oppression of Jews in Nazi germany, worse than the slavery of Blacks in early America…
There has always been the oppressor and always the oppressed. Before, it was blatant … NOW the oppressor has learned to disguise his evil. You can see man, but you can not see MEN. How easy it is to oppress a minority that is invisible to the eye! How genius of the oppressor! And what a better target too! …
Men challenge injustice from Government, MEN fight for their Constitutional rights, that are slowly being taken away every year. …
And they don’t just oppress us by making more laws and taking away more freedom, they are far more clever than that! Ask yourself what your REAL dream was?? If you gave up on this dream, why? Because of the brainwashing of the Government, that’s why! They taught you to “play it safe.” They told us a responsible man has ONE wife, a house, good credit, good job, and kids. How are you supposed to chase your dreams while maintaining all of that!?
Men are supposed to take risks and be aggressive! What accomplishments have ever come of a man scared to risk it all!? None!? Where would the world be? Still ‘flat!’ Still ‘Earth at the center of the universe!’
If any of you have your Men’s Rights Bingo cards out, I’m guessing you might already be close to scoring a bingo. We’ve got a comparison to slavery that could have come straight from the pages of A Voice for Men, a marriage-is-death-to-male-dreams rant that could have been borrowed from any MGTOW forum, and an evo-psych-esque argument that men are the true risk-takers and the world’s real innovators.
And I don’t think War Machine would have much trouble with Paul Elam’s “Bash a Violent Bitch Month,” either.
[I]t’s Christmas day and I’m laying in my bunk wondering “Why in the hell do American men get married!?” … If your wife is being a bitch you can’t slap her, if your wife is yelling at you, God forbid you yell back … Next thing you know it will be illegal to fuck your wife! LMAO! Maybe then, MEN in this country will get the fucking hint and MOVE! This country forces you to be a bitch!
In another online posting, War Machine touched on another Men’s Rights hobbyhorse, the notion that the justice system is stacked against men:
[L]ook at the prisons, they are FULL of MEN, not women. Are men “evil” and women not? Or do the laws target and attempt to restrict NATURAL MEN’S BEHAVIOR? How many of the HEROES in American history would avoid prison if they lived today? Davey Crockett? Thomas Jefferson? David Bowie? General Grant & General Lee? Shit, George Washington. … Laws target MEN and men’s behavior. Women want to bitch and cry about their rights and equality… LMAO! MEN are the ones locked away like animals, while women run free!
Someone might have to explain to War Machine that David Bowie is not actually a famous American HERO but a famously androgynous British musician who once recorded an album called “Heroes.” (Mr. Machine may be thinking of James Bowie, a well-known 19th century American frontiersman and slave trader, and the guy the Bowie Knife is named after.)
But other than that, he seems ready to go.
There is, of course, that whole attempted murder charge to deal with.
It’s true the Men’s Rights Movement has had few problems in the past rallying behind men with histories of violence. But War Machine might be a harder sell as a Men’s Rights hero. His alleged attack on Mack left her with a cracked rib, a ruptured liver, numerous broken bones, missing teeth and her eyes swollen shut. (See here for photos of her injuries; obviously this link is NSFW and could be triggering.)
While Mr. Machine denies attacking Mack, he joked to a TV host last year that if she were to leave him “I would just kill her” and get a tattoo saying “Rest In Peace” above the tattoo of her name he has on his neck.
And several hours after allegedly trying to murder her, War Machine tweeted this lovely message about his ex:
https://twitter.com/WarMachine170/statuses/497663075831787521
War Machine does seem to be at a low point in his life. Even aside from the charges he faces, and the time he seems likely to serve, his career in porn is almost certainly over. The “Alpha Male” clothing line he helped start wants nothing to do with him. Nobody but the prison system seems to want this guy.
In other words: Men’s Rights activists, this is your chance! War Machine may not be the, er, hero you want. But he’s certainly the hero you deserve.
Watch out, Fibi, keep going down that path and someone will call you a TERF. It already happens every day on Tumblr.
It helps I’m a 23 year old white hetereo guy who likes going to the gym, reading books and playing games.
I am the most statistically average person in the world. My amazing ignorance shields me from 99 % of your nuances, lives and perspectives. I’d go down that path and then eventually just sort of realize I’d somehow ended up in another one of those weird maritime shipping lanes Tumblr is apparently famous for.
Well, that was mostly a reference to the ‘hooray we narrowly evaded global thermo nuclear war’ ending to War Games, and I’m a crap chess player anyway, but when you are feeling better, let’s talk about it!
Must be nice to know that this conversation we’re having right now probably won’t result in any 13 year olds threatening to kill you.
…
The fact that by virtue of being me, I’m shielded from 99 % of the criticisms of other people is the saddest thought I know.
Anyway, I’m derailing the topic and I apologize.
*pop*
I don’t think I could have anything to add to this convo… But I did see an offer for chess, so I’d like to also offer to teach or play Go with people. It’s fun!
*unpop*
I can play Go! Or at least I used to be able to, haven’t done so in a while.
Oh, I’ve been wanting to learn that. Any chance we can actually arrange something, somehow?
I just wanted to pop in to say I’m glad the not-leaving people are not leaving. And playing a game together sounds really fun.
Yay!
Probably the easiest way to go about this is to arrange to meet up on KGS. It’s free to just choose a name as a guest, and free to sign up to have it track your rank if you want.
Anyone want to try to meet up tonight at some point?
Definitively. I’m stepping out for 40 minutes, but I’m easily available any time after that. My next plan is in 12 hours.
I’ll be out of work in around 4 hours or so. I’m on east-coast time, so maybe 7:00pm-ish (my time, about 5.5 hours from now) or 8:00pm-ish?
I’ll come back to this thread and make another post when I figure out how to put things together. I might even be able to set up a room we can all join (not sure, never done it before).
Yay Go!
I’m sorry to be all about me me me (every comment I’ve left on this thread has followed that same pattern and I’m sorry) but I’ve wanted to join a WHTM game for so long so it’s kind of ironic that this is happening now, when I’m not sure if it’s cool if I hang around or if people would prefer I skitter off. If I joined your game would it make anybody else less inclined to do so? Because I really won’t if that’s the case, no hard feelings.
FWIW, Viscaria, I appreciate that you went back and reconsidered your original comment. It really does help with the “why does nobody else seem to see this problem that’s glaringly obvious to me?” feeling that I was having earlier in the thread.
Viscaria, I’m still cool with you if you’re still cool with me.
Unfortunately, I’m at work and my work computer likes wordpress but thinks that Java is going to eat it, so Go is going to be a bust… 🙁
If it’s still going in 7 hours when I get home, that’ll be a different story.
If you run a game 8 pm EST or later I’ll try to pop by (5 pm for me) although I won’t be able to hang around long . . .
And just to be clear, there’s no one here I wouldn’t want to game with.
This.
So. Much. This. (for me anyway)
I didn’t think I was taking a side or putting anyone on any team, “evil bitch” or otherwise. Nor did I ever mean to. Oh, I wish I had just stayed out! I tend to miss things like the undercurrents referred to here IRL; I thought it would be easier for me to follow in a written forum, but I guess I’m just as confused in print as I can be in person. *sigh*
Don’t know what page I’m on at the present, the date/time at the first comment of this is 8/25 @ 7:56 AM and right now it’s 8/26 @ 12:14 PM PDT and I’m leaving this here now and will continue to read in an effort to understand.
I’ll plan on setting up at 8 pm EST then. It’ll give me time to put dinner together as well. If that’s too late for anyone, let me know and I’ll try to set up earlier.
Oh, yes, all those lucky people seeing Kate Bush.
I run chess tournaments and when I was young used to play blindfold (which is just without having sight of the board). I’ve played Go, though not for some time. I’m running a bridge game this evening, but have a grand time!
Also, I confess I’m pretty sure I’ve never played Go before in my life. I’m likely to be pretty terrible at it. But it sounded like a fun idea to me anyway.
That’s 4 1/2 hours from now, yes? I’m a bit clueless.
@Viscaria:
Yup!
@grumpycatisagirl:
Don’t worry, I’ll give everyone a run-down of the basics, and there should be other beginners to play with. ^_^
I don’t agree with every single thing that’s been said here, but I still like you guys (including you, contrapangloss, of course). I just hope that those are small enough disagreements that we can all still be comfortable around each other. And now I will stop with the wank because it’s unproductive.
QFT and THANK YOU! I’ve been trying to find a way to articulate exactly that for a while now, but figured I’d say it wrong and offend somebody.
Also, I want to offer hugs to anyone who wants them because I’m happy that this thread has calmed down and people are reconsidering leaving. 🙂