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Reed College vs. The Dude Who Wouldn't Shut Up About Rape

Now I know how Joan of Arc felt
Now I know how Joan of Arc felt

The We Hunted the Mammoth Pledge Drive continues! If you haven’t already, please consider sending some bucks my way. (The PayPal page will say you are donating to Man Boobz.) Thanks!

Last week, a news story out of Portland Oregon sent the right-wing “anti-PC” brigade into a state of gleeful fury: A student at Reed College was alleging that he’d been banned from class for challenging some commonly cited rape statistics.

“Dissent forbidden at liberal arts college,” a headline at Truth Revolt declared. “Apparently, feelings are more important than facts,” sniffed the National Review.

The New York Post devoted an entire editorial to this alleged outrage, declaring that the “real mistake” of the student in question, freshman Jeremiah True, “was to think Reed College is dedicated to the search for truth,” adding that

it’s time for Congress to start hearings on withholding federal funds from colleges that deny not just basic free-speech rights, but any semblance of intellectual freedom.

These bold defenders of “intellectual freedom” probably should have looked a little closer at True before hoisting him aloft as a free-speech martyr.

Because what he really seems to be is a troll — a real-world equivalent of the garrulous, irritating MRAs who fill any online discussion forum that will have them with bad-faith questions, personal attacks, and endless cut-and-pasted screeds, all the while doing their best to derail any discussion that doesn’t involve them and their pet issues.

As Mary Emily O’Hara reported yesterday in The Daily Beast,

True said he was booted from class because he questioned the concept of “rape culture” as well as the commonly cited “1 in 5” campus rape statistic. But Professor Pancho Savery, who asked True to leave his class, said that True had been disruptive in several ways that were making it hard for other students to continue their studies.

The disruptive behavior escalated, according to the college administration and reports from fellow students, to include yelling loudly in hallways to draw attention to himself, calling everyone who crossed his path a “n**ger” (True himself is biracial and identifies as black), posting inflammatory comments and name-calling online, and writing that he would “stake my life on this” and “I do not want to be a martyr, but I will do that if that is what is necessary to make a statement.”

Meanwhile, Robby Soave at Reason.com — a libertarian publication that’s generally happy to pass along stories of alleged academic intolerance — also reported that True was a bit, well, off.

He declined to answer any of my questions unless I agreed to write the n-word as the first word in my article about him. (I rejected this demand.)

And in a recent interview, as Soave notes, True confessed that he’s deliberately stirring the shit, admitting that he was

disrupting some events on campus, and just walking through the halls and calling people nigger. Because if they are actually going to accuse me of being sexist and racist, then I might as well act as an actual sexist or racist might. To date, I believe I’ve gotten 22 no-contact orders.

We’ve had plenty of these sorts of trolls here. I used to give them fairly free rein in the comments here, but after 5 years the novelty has worn off just a little bit. These days, I ban them when they start to get even a little bit tiresome. It’s really the only way that the commenters here who aren’t trolls can have any kind of real discussion of anything.

In the age of the internet, it’s basically impossible to shut anyone up. True may be banned from the discussion section in one of his classes, but he’s free to rant all he wants online.

And he does, posting long screeds on his Facebook page and on a Change.org petition calling on Reed College to allow him back into the discussion section he’s been booted from. He argues his case on Change.org with a bizarre and often histrionic 3500-word manifesto in which, among other things, he compares himself to Martin Luther King. Though he claims not to be an MRA, he declares his love for an assortment of antifeminist heroines beloved by MRAs:

I am a Freedom Feminist, and I believe in Dr. Christina Hoff Sommer’s message. I believe Karen Straughan. I believe Janice Fiamengo.

He wraps up his petition on a melodramatic note:

I may be a radical, but I prefer to think that I’m radical in the way that Martin believed Jesus was a radical for love. I believe so strongly in equality that I will put my entire life on the line to stop something that I am convinced endangers that equality.

No matter what happens. I love you, mom. I love you, dad I love you my dear, dear sisters. I love you my dearest friends. I love you all, and I will sacrifice everything for you. … I do not think I will make it out of this unscathed and I am sitting here writing this, sobbing uncontrollably. … I do not want to be a martyr, but I will do that if that is what is necessary to make a statement.

The problem isn’t that True is demanding free speech — he’s got plenty of freedom to say what he wants. It’s that he’s demanding a captive audience for his speech. Discussion sections in college classes are supposed give everyone in them a chance to make themselves heard. That can’t happen when one person in the room takes up all the oxygen.

I’ve been in discussion sections as a student and as a teacher. Part of the job of the instructor is to gently encourage those who are quiet to talk — and, as diplomatically as possible, to get those who talk too much to shut their trap once in a while.

Alas, some students, like True, don’t really respond to diplomacy; their instructors then have to resort to sanctions.

I never had a class with anyone as disruptive as True evidently is. But my time at Cornell University overlapped with that of a certain Ann Coulter — you may have heard of her — and one semester I ended up in an American history discussion section with her. And, as you might imagine, she would not shut up.

The professor, a gentle liberal fellow, was too diplomatic to really rein her in. So we ended up devoting a considerable amount of the semester to listening her drone on about her hobbyhorses — like her belief, which as far as I know she still holds, that Martin Luther King was essentially a Communist puppet.

But if she was blabby she wasn’t completely disruptive, and the experience for me was as amusing as it was irritating. That doesn’t seem to have been the case with True, who evidently went out of his way to antagonize virtually everyone in his class. That’s not free speech. That’s being an asshole.

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Bina
9 years ago

Laguna Beach Fogey said…

If it’s true Andreas committed this act out of rage from having been spurned or neglected, then ultimately it’s a woman (or women and feminism in general) who is behind this.

I can already see the articles being written about his crappy love life: “The Sorrows of Young Andreas”.

This is the perfect time to speculate, point fingers, and make accusations.

And, in spite of my intense nausea at this whole god-awful situation, I LOL’d. Well done, sir.

AltoFronto
AltoFronto
9 years ago

“Hurricane Hugo wouldn’t have caused so much destruction if only that slutty ocean water would be a little less frigid!”

It was feminism, in the boardroom, with a blowjob (or lack thereof)!

Excellent! 10/10 would LOL again 😀

And kirbywarp, you’re one of my favourite regulars here – keep on being awesome. 🙂

Bina
9 years ago

Aaaand double-LOL at Buttercup’s aperçu. Beale, look in thy mirror and WEEP.

weirwoodtreehugger
9 years ago

I should have refreshed. I got ninja’d multiple times on the Supreme Leader Katie thing. At least we know the hive mind is alive and well!

The whole men commit violence because feminism keeps them from getting sex thing is so weird and nonsensical. Do they seriously think men never got rejected before feminism? I mean, Romeo was recovering from a broken heart before he met Juliet. Then there’s Cyrano De’Bergerac (sorry for the likely misspelling there). It seems to me that rejection has been around as long as sex and romance.

Buttercup,
In a previous thread, I did work out how weather events can be blamed on women. After all, men only work, make stuff, and buy stuff to gift or impress women. If all men were MGTOW, there wouldn’t be factories. Therefore there wouldn’t be carbon emissions. Therefore feeemales cause hurricanes.

M.
M.
9 years ago

@dhag

If she has been, I sure hadn’t noticed. That’s why I got confused enough to Google it, it came right out of left field (or far-right field, I suppose). Some people are just really good at hiding their bigotry… So many times, I’ve lost friends that I thought I knew really well because they busted out an n-word-filled hate-rant out of fucking nowhere. (Of course, I have Asperger’s, so maybe I’m just more clueless than I think I am, heh.)

Also, I’m pretty sure “Crackpot” is fine, since there’s a “Crackpottery” tag and all. =P

Swales
Swales
9 years ago

“But it is somewhat haunting to think about how many lives might be saved each year if the sluts of the world were just a little less picky and a little more equitable in their distribution of blowjobs.”

The next time I give a BJ, I’m going to make deep, solemn eye contact with the recipient, and tell him, “I do this not for you, but to protect the lives of countless innocents. Such is the price of freedom.”

lith
lith
9 years ago

@Sarah:

Holy wow.

That’s harmful to men and it’s a huge burden to put on women.

God forbid women provide blowjob services.

Someone (comment apparently deleted but referred back to in the above) said the burden thing. Ever so slight burden there, “YOU CAUSED THE CRASH BY NOT GIVING ALL MEN TEH SEX!”.
Lovely reply there. I like the use of the word ‘services’, making it like some kind of profession, only free presumably. The guys on there … why would it be the fault of all women for not giving random blowjobs to any man that looks a bit sad. All of this based on speculation given no details whatsoever. Except he looked like he needed a blowjob in the photo, apparently. I feel all slimy now.
Do you think the guys commenting on there would be up for giving guys hand/blowjobs if wanted? I’m going to go wild and bet no. And that they wouldn’t see the double standard.

Chie Satonaka
Chie Satonaka
9 years ago

I also want to thank Kirby for all of your work. I lurk more than I post, mainly because everyone else here is so much better at saying what I want to say so it’s already covered, but I really enjoy reading everyone’s comments and how hard you work to keep the trolls at bay.

Emmy Rae
Emmy Rae
9 years ago

Wait, Swales, you haven’t been doing that?

[pulls out bullhorn] I think we found the problem!

Emmy Rae
Emmy Rae
9 years ago

Aaaaaaand we’re back to the marketplace, where blowjobs have some sort of distribution.

“Now let’s take a look at the next slide, where you’ll see that the distribution of blowjobs is not what you would expect to see in a healthy economy.”

kirbywarp
kirbywarp
9 years ago

Thank you so much for the support, everyone… After a day to cool off I’m kind of regretting posting what I did, especially given the context of this community. I have no desire to leave; I just don’t want to have unknowingly been the person who kept others away.

Anyway, enough about me. Back to the misogyny!

@dhag85:

I thought the same. I gave a really brief look at their blog linked from their nym, and it looks like they’re just very invested in unlimited Free Speech. I didn’t get a hint of anything too sinister, though the “multiculty” thing is throwing me for a loop. Maybe they’ll explain if they comment again.

@Buttercup Q. Skullpants:

Ah, but you see, he isn’t smiling in that picture. That’s the difference between a self-confident chick-magnet Alpha and lowly frustrated Omega.

I’d accuse Vox of projection, but to be honest he’s demonstrated so little capacity for introspection that I doubt he even literally looks at himself in the mirror, let alone metaphorically.

Bina
9 years ago

Re-reading Beale’s stupidity (I know, I know, the things we do for this world), two especially ridiculous things jumped out at me: One, Germany as a “traditionally structured society” — what the fuck does that even MEAN? Germany is no different from the rest of Europe, or North America either, in terms of modernity. So any speculation about a pilot’s marital status based on his country of origin is baseless and pointless, as is speculation about his sex life. And two: Even if he were unmarried and frustrated, there are huge fucking bordellos in all the major cities, and they are perfectly legal at this time. If he wasn’t getting laid, he could at least have PAID. Sure it’s an inadequate substitute for a full-fledged relationship, but that fact alone renders it highly doubtful that he was in any way sex-deprived. There are also sex-toy shops all over the map in Germany, even in small towns! If he was really THAT hard up, I’m sure a Fleshlight wouldn’t have taken a big chunk out of his pay.

Beale is even more of an idiot than I thought.

Malitia
Malitia
9 years ago

Ugh… they try to blame a tragedy on women already. Lovely.

Seems the world is becoming a feminist dictatorship.

Sooo. According to the troll: Should I add “SJW who Lurks Above in Shadow” to my name just in case? :3

KSRay
KSRay
9 years ago

I like the use of the word ‘services’, making it like some kind of profession,

Well, it is called a “job”. h/t George Carlin

Buttercup Q. Skullpants
Buttercup Q. Skullpants
9 years ago

Nthing the appreciation and support for kirbywarp – you’re awesome, and one of my favorite regulars.

@WWTH – Women! Is there no planetary atmosphere they will not ruin with their greedy golddigging ways?

@Bina – Talk about the pot bullying the kettle for being black. Except in this case, the pot is a black hole dipped in tar, rolled in coal, and coated with Vantablack mascara. It’s Dick Cheney’s heart on a moonless night.

(Though I disagree with Vox Day being “more intelligent than the norm”. And the premise that an airline pilot has a “low socio-sexual rank”. On what planet?)

Wetherby
Wetherby
9 years ago

He also has this to say about himself:

I believe that I am an emotionally capable, intellectually gifted, cutting wit, hell of a person. I believe I have experienced more trauma and suffering and pain in my life than many of these, well frankly, middle class white girls at Reed could ever know in their lives.

Yep, a real charmer.

Last week, someone sent me what he considered to be his best writing in an attempt to secure a professional commission. It didn’t take much more than a cursory skim to decide that he wasn’t anywhere near good enough, and so I sent an email letting him down gently, offering him a few pointers as to what to address, and wishing him all the best for the future. He replied with a lengthy self-justification saying that his poor grammar and punctuation were down to dyslexia (fair enough) and that everything else (presumably including the total lack of any imaginative spark) would definitely improve if only I gave him a chance, because he believed that he had what it takes.

But belief isn’t good enough: you have to prove it. I wouldn’t dream of saying “I believe that I am an emotionally capable, intellectually gifted, cutting wit, hell of a person” because that’s not for me to decide. Even if you sincerely think that everyone else is being unfair, you still need to demonstrate why they’re being unfair.

And, as you say, this guy undercuts his belief with his very next sentence – certainly the “emotionally capable” bit. Much like a guy that I spotted in the comments section of another blog who was bemoaning approaching his half century while still a virgin. And why was this? “Bitches”, of course. In fact, during his lengthy rant on the subject of the essential perfidy of women (I’ve elevated the language somewhat) he came across as so skin-crawlingly loathsome that I’m amazed that any woman would even so much as talk to him, much less go any further. And yep, you guessed it, he was equally convinced that he was another incredibly sensitive and sweet guy who would be a wonderful partner if only those heartless cunts weren’t fucking alpha bad boys instead like the slutty slut sluts that they all are. Every last one of them.

Chie Satonaka
Chie Satonaka
9 years ago

Am I mistaken, I thought that we still don’t even know anything about the pilot’s motives at this point, right? Vox Day came up with this incel theory based only on the guy’s photograph?!

Bina
9 years ago

I believe that I am an emotionally capable, intellectually gifted, cutting wit, hell of a person. I believe I have experienced more trauma and suffering and pain in my life than many of these, well frankly, middle class white girls at Reed could ever know in their lives.

Yes, dear. You believe. That’s sweet.

And some people believe that the Earth is flat, that the Sun revolves around it, and the Moon is made of green cheese. They believe it with all their hearts, but that doesn’t make it true. And, like you, they go all vociferous and trolly when challenged on their sadly unfounded beliefs.

because reasons
because reasons
9 years ago

Nthing the “Kirby, please stay” comments. This is an awesome blog that deals with awful stuff. It’s full of highly intelligent, articulate, funny and caring people who do a fucking fantastic job on the comments/discussions. I am also a believer in the principle of “Our house, our rules” that basically says once a community’s rules are posted, you need to do your best to adhere to them and in a respectful manner. If you mess up, you apologize or go back to lurking. So really it boils down to treating others as you’d want to be treated, don’t be a douche or an asshat (like the ones we mock), and don’t make personal attacks. Is that so hard?

@Swales
LOL.
What is it with dudes thinking it’s written somewhere in the Ladies’ Manual on How To Woman Properly that thou shalt provide bj’s? I don’t OWE anyone anything sexually, and if I do give a bj it’s because I wanted to- and because my partner reciprocates and cares about my pleasure too. Tough concept, I know. It’s definitely not some cure-all for depression. I mean, sexy times can make you feel great and forget some of the sadness temporarily, but AFAIK, doctors aren’t calling women to action to blow guys’ sad boners. If boner stimulation cured depression, they’d be prescribing lube and flesh-lites to everyone. Ugh.

Swales
Swales
9 years ago

@ Emmy Rae: Nah, my usual routine is jazz hands and the Swahili chorus from the opening of the Lion King.

because reasons
because reasons
9 years ago

@Swales AHAHAHA! Great imagery. Aaaand now I’ll have that song in my head all afternoon, thanks. 😉

Scildfreja
Scildfreja
9 years ago

Lol, wait, wait wait.

You guyse.

They’re saying that men have hysteria.

Men go crazy without it! They need it! Their poor manbrains can’t handle the world without regular orgasms, they turn into werewolves under the light of a full moon!

(I think that was a double entendre. Haven’t decided yet).

Maybe we should go back to the 19th century and perscribe them a five minute session with a crusty old doctor, a rubber glove and a tube of lubricant jelly.

because reasons
because reasons
9 years ago

@Scildfreja
(do a switch-o-change-o with the man/woman here)
http://scifihifi.com/misc/hysterical.png

Maybe we should go back to the 19th century and perscribe them a five minute session with a crusty old doctor, a rubber glove and a tube of lubricant jelly

Holy shit, I almost peed myself!

Emmy Rae
Emmy Rae
9 years ago

@Swales Aha! You’re working off of an outdated Official Blowjob Performance Manual. Acceptable show tunes and dance moves are described in detail in the updated version provided by Amnesty International (free as part of their peacekeeping mission) and should be adhered to.