[UPDATE 2: Pogo now says his misogynistic posts were an “experiment.” For my take on this, see here.]
[UPDATE: Pogo has taken down several of the blog posts mentioned in this post. I have replaced the links to the vanished posts with links to archived versions.]
So you know that dude Pogo, who makes all those amazingly perky-yet-somehow-also-ethereal music/video mashups using snippets of old Disney movies and the like?
Turns out he’s a bit of a misogynistic dickbag.
Yep. On his Pogomix blog, Nick Bertke (his real name) has been posting a bunch of tiresome and achingly unoriginal rants about feminism and the alleged privileges of women that might as well have been cut and pasted from the Men’s Rights subreddit or A Voice for Men.
In “Why We Should Envy Women” he argues that “[d]espite what all these feminists talk about, women actually have things pretty damn good. Better than men, I would say.”
He presents a little list of ways he thinks women have it better than men; it’s an assortment of MRA clichés, a sort of mashup (yep) of Warren Farrell and Girl Writes What, as filtered through a million crappy blogs.
– You are naturally endowed with a more valuable, sought after and artistically favorable body.
– At the bat of an eye, you can be excused from accountability regardless of the magnitude of your actions.
– At 18, you lose the protective status of the child but retain the protective status of the female. …
– Society excuses you from needing to work and says all you need is a hard working and generous man. …
– You are granted the rights of a democracy without the burdens of military service.
The creepiest item on the list is undoubtedly this one:
– You can give the opposite sex a thrashing when the person deserves it.
That’s right: the guy who created the gorgeous “Alice” and the charmingly catchy “Upular” envies women’s alleged ability to beat up their boyfriends without consequence, apparently wishing he could do the same to women when they “deserve it.”
Seemingly channeling the “red pill wisdom” of the internet’s self-proclaimed masters of “Game,” Bertke goes on to explain that women are basically overgrown children needing the “discipline” of a firm father figure.
I’ve always found that the more I treat a woman like a child, the stronger the relationship, the better the sex and the more often it happens. Discipline, reprimand and complete indifference. I think the feminine woman craves the attributes of a firm father in the man she enters a relationship with. The more I realize it, the more I see modern feminism in a different light – it could well be little more than the collective feminine cry for drama and childlike retaliation.
Sigh. He seems to have turned this rant, or portions of it, into a video. (I could only make it through about 30 seconds before my annoyance got the better of me and I turned it off.) [UPDATE: He’s deleted the video.]
In “5 Things I’ve Learned About The Real World,” Bertke urges his readers to, yep, “take the red pill for a minute,” and offers more, er, insights into women’s alleged desire for “fatherly order.”
A lot of women you meet, feminists in particular, will preach that you are the source of their failures and womanly strife. This won’t stop them from playing powerless, and they’ll insist that you roll up your sleeves and rescue them from their mysterious bonds. The collective female cry for fatherly order requires that you as a man are expected to make the world spin.
As you may have noticed, Bertke’s prose is not quite as elegant as his songs. He can’t even keep his metaphors straight.
In “Where Feminism Goes Wrong,” he informs us that “inequality is a door that swings both ways but feminism by definition and in practice treats it as a one way street.” (Here’s an archived copy of the post in case he takes it down too.)
Yep. Inequality is somehow both a door and a street.
He goes on to declare that:
Feminism is taken prisoner by too many women and re-branded as a self entitling social status posing as a humanitarian ideology. There’s really only two possible explanations for why feminism has become a bait and switch: 1. Feminism is revealing its self to be a camouflaged push for gender supremacy, or 2. Feminists just aren’t doing a very good job of communicating their true cause.
There’s actually a third explanation, more convincing than the first two, which is that Nick Bertke has no fucking clue what he’s talking about.
Misogynistic outbursts are apparently not a new thing for Bertke. Last spring, after erratic behavior on his part led some of his fans to worry that he might be undergoing some sort of breakdown, one Redditor reported that “some fans and friends close to Nick that have stated that he’s done something similar in the past, going on a rude, sometimes misogynistic rant and basically acting like a 12 year old … .”
It’s always disappointing to find out that someone whose work you enjoy and admire is a shitty person. Alas, he’s far from the first talented musician to turn out to be a woman-hating asshole.
Bertke, dude, stick to sampling other people’s words. Your own words are terrible.
H/T — @Metz77 on Twitter, who alerted me to Pogo’s asshattery.
EDIT: Reworded a couple of things.
I have a sneaking suspicion that he made these supposed YouTubers up to cover his ass after was called out for blaming Anita for the harassment she’s gotten. The dumbass troll equivalent of “I caught a real unicorn last weekend! What, you want to see it? Err, you can’t, it escaped this morning. To Siberia. No, I didn’t take any pictures.”
There needs to be a name for that sort of argument, because it seems to be a recurring thing (I ran into it yesterday on another site as well.) I suggest that this be called a Canadian Source, as in “my Canadian girlfriend.”
I’m still wondering where this male community is.
There is a male community?
Is it Fire Island?
Pen Island.
Misogynist men often come here to tell us to watch our mouths or else men might rape and kill us. (More often than usual) It’s a popular threat in the manureosphere. These same men claim to consider themselves more rational and moral than women who they never seem to think are one mocking away from raping and murdering men.
They never stop reminding us that Margaret Atwood is right. I’d only add one change to her quote. They are terrified of us laughing at them and WANT us to be afraid they’ll kill us. Dworkin was right. All men benefit from rape and it is clearer all the time that men know it and many relish it. They fear losing that power. They need rapists to keep women in a state of anxiety around men. They feel powerless without it.
I cannot wrap my head around that sort of doublethink. We hate men but they think men are evil, violent, empathy free and out of control? (Or do they? How many are aware that is a bluff to frighten women into submission?)
Much like the belief that women are physically and mentally ruined forever by contact with men’s bodies (especially men’s semen) it’s steeped in self-hate. There’s so much Cronenbergian body horror in these men’s beliefs about themselves. Then they project that hate for themselves onto women. I’m mystified. I have a hunch if you were to kiss one of these guys after oral, they’d expire on the spot. They disgust themselves.
Toxic masculinity does some nasty things to men.
EJ,
http://media.giphy.com/media/AHUrMvJAgxxOE/giphy.gif
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTb4MkxR5z_h5RBesO0L8hrgQ2sMdznFeKet5K1H0mQzNa7a3_bXw
Let’s try that again.
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTb4MkxR5z_h5RBesO0L8hrgQ2sMdznFeKet5K1H0mQzNa7a3_bXw
I give up. Evidently I cannot image today. You must go un-high five’d.
I shall now slump away bereft of hope and go do some spreadsheeting. During this period (take note, oh ye MRAs) I shall not rape and/or kill anyone.
It’s OK. I clicked the link and got my five.
I actually agree with a lot of the posts he made. The last “bait and switch” comment was a little misinformed, but really, only because of the vocal minority of misandrists that give feminism a bad name. Also, the ‘treat a woman like a child’ comment was somewhat creepy, but still, give the guy a break.
http://i.lvme.me/60sqsld.jpg
Sorry, forgot the image in my last post.
@Vell
Maybe don’t bother defending dudes who are obviously sexist?
@Vell or maybe you’re sexist too, that could be why you agree with him. EJ and others have done a good job breaking down his argument, if you’re still defending him I can’t help you.
You agree that if a few feminists are mean, that justifies the oppression of women? You believe that if you don’t see sexism, it doesn’t exist?
Why should we give someone who is misinformed and creepy a break? Considering that he necro’d and then flounced a couple of days ago, how did you even find this thread? I’m thinking you’re one of his friends or something.
You’re going to hate my comment but I’m going to leave it anyway.
I’m a woman and I agree with almost all of his posts. I think that as a society we’re too quick to brand people with opinions we don’t like with despicable labels to make ourselves feel a sense of one-upmanship.
Btw – the only ‘thrashing’ I’ll ever accept is from my Dom, not a narrow-minded dick with a grievance and a label maker.
I love Nick Bertke and I don’t even know the guy (not personally, just his music). You know why?: Because he’s in possession of a rare thing on a man: a set of balls.
As a gay man that respects, honors and appreciates women because they are due that and more, I also may understand where Pogo may be coming from.
With all due respect to Pogo…it may be that if he were gay he could have a take on women that is shared by a few of my gay friends; he sees them as competition. Competitors often find them truly respecting their opponents.
Pogo’s posts can be interpreted more than one way.
I appreciate that he takes time to add a level of detail to his opinion and that opinion wasn’t exactly about keeping women pregnate, barefoot and in the kitchen.
I respect his opinion, his right to remove post he felt were possibly a mistake (we all make them) and am glad he has an “informed” opinion as it seems most on the net rarely do.
With a brother working for NASA our family was approved to name a major geographic feature on Venus after our Großmutter. Woman provide for any needs we might have thru our lives and give far more than they receive. They need more than just equality, they require our deepest respect.
Oh my God, I used to like a lot this musiciam since i have a lot of his music on my MP3…
Now i can’t see him the same way, now i just want to puke and delete all the music 🙁
And well, talking about his points …
”– You are naturally endowed with a more valuable, sought after and artistically favorable body.”
i must say women and men can have appealing, sexy and artistic bodies not just women (speaking from a bi girl that studies art to get the food someday).Maybe he doesn’t like men’s bodies because he is straight or maybe he is afraid of himself discovering he is more than so…You don’t need to feel sexually attracted to someone to like/feel attractive their body.
”– At the bat of an eye, you can be excused from accountability regardless of the magnitude of your actions.”
i didn’t get any privilege of avoiding a problem for being women, in fact my family treated me like another person, like a human being that commits errors. I haven’t liked to be feminine and they didn’t force me to that. My grandma for example, doesn’t like crybabies so she won’t like me to cry, no matter if i were a girl or a boy.
”– At 18, you lose the protective status of the child but retain the protective status of the female. …”
Im not a child i am a full-grown ass woman, and i don’t want anybody to treat me like a child, my partner neirther.I don’t need a hero, i need a friend…i need someone who protects me and to protect, a person to share my life and learn together, an equal, not a father.I have already a father, thanks, and the only thing i learned from that little shit (he neglected my mum and me twice, first time me being a 6 months baby) is to be stronger and independent.
And during sex im dom so i doubht you will” get better sex” with me like treating like a baby im not part of the ddlg com.
”– Society excuses you from needing to work and says all you need is a hard working and generous man. …”
Actually, education is for everybody, women and men(and it is public here).A lot of teachers are trying to inculcate eduction and knowledge to all genres. Being mature, independant and saving your OWN money should be the goals of every person, even on the 20th century women worked a little bit during last decades on my country.
What if your partner dies?You will be poor and will die from starving?That is just dumb.Or you will just find another man, only for his money?Man, if you like women that likes you only by your money you are kinda sad,man.But at least, do not try to generalize your old-fashioned sexist point of view to all men and countries.
Or what if your male partner abuses you physically or mentally?(that happened to my mum, it is not funny or a joke neither, i lived it everyday)
Can he do so because he keeps you alive?You couldn’t live without him because you don’t have any job.
”– You are granted the rights of a democracy without the burdens of military service.”
Democracy is not something you payed as a reward for military service, it is a basic human right. Also, women can be soldiers too and pretty badass ones i should point.One of my friends’ mom was a soldier captain and she was destined to Iran, Iraq and such.
I dont know about Australia but here women can be soldiers, presidents, policemen(?), firefighters, construction worker… too.We are on the XXI century for God’s sake.
And sorry for this rant, but i think i have spoken from my own experience.I tried to bring some Empiricism here.
This guy doesn’t talk like a child, he talks like a man from the middle ages or a-hell-old man…Damn my grandfather is way older than him and he supports women (maybe because he saw how his mother raised her five sibblings and him all alone in an after war bleak country).
I see a lot of comments quoting a comment that is nowhere to be found. Someone has deleted comments that differ in opinion?
(DISCLAIMER: Not a native English speaker here.)
Also, this is kind of faulty logic:
So, let’s say some Nazi lunatic is an expert on Nazism and knows every tiny detail and theory in and around it. Now I’m sure everyone here would still be allowed to criticize Nazism to him, right? I’m using an extreme example here to point out where you’re wrong. I’m not comparing feminism to Nazism.
The fact that you’re an expert on feminism means that you’re deep in an ideology, which many people find faulty. Sometimes you need to know only the main points to point out that something’s fishy here. For example when someone says that there are 58 genders and there are no differences between the sexes, which is already a faulty argument just because of biological facts (testicles, testosterone and all that).
You don’t have to be more of a “subject matter expert” to speak out a differing opinion on a matter. Feminism is an ideology that many people find faulty. It’s an approach to matters that have many different approaches to them.
Let’s say the matter here would be equality. Knowing the matter is more important than knowing one approach / ideology perfectly. The expert might correct the other person by saying “Actually feminism doesn’t oppose that particular view, because…” then the other person would stand corrected. “Oh, then we agree on that, great.” A feminist can’t correct someone’s approach on the matter “because feminism says so”, because that’s ideological and ideologies are subject to error and skewed perspectives.
Knowledge on how to use a certain software or programming language is not an ideology. It works in a certain way and I wouldn’t tell an expert on Java “Hey, object is not an instance of a class because I strongly feel like it”. I would be wrong, since it simply is an instance of a class. It’s a fact. Not a matter of intuition, emotion or opinion.
I recommend Jordan B Peterson to everyone here just for widening your view perhaps.
Have a good day all.
TheEmperorOfMankind: You don’t have to be more of a “subject matter expert” to speak out a differing opinion on a matter.
Also TheEmperorOfMankind: For example when someone says that there are 58 genders and there are no differences between the sexes, which is already a faulty argument just because of biological facts (testicles, testosterone and all that).