So it turns out that I’m not the only one who is thoroughly underwhelmed by A Voice for Men’s lineup of conference speakers for their upcoming International Conference on Men’s Issues, By Which They Mean How Men Are Oppressed By Women’s Sexy Butts.
Over on the Men’s Rights subreddit, some of the regulars are complaining that AVFM is delivering much less than it did last year, for a much higher price — with ticket prices running a steep $650, currently discounted to the high. high price of $399.
Yep, attendees of the conference will be paying as much as $650 just to get in to the event, not counting the cost of airfare, hotels, or even food at the conference itself.
They could easily end up paying more than $1000 for the privilege of watching Elam and a bunch of his AVFM cronies blather on about the same crap they blather on about in countless hour-long videos available for free on YouTube. The only “big name” in the mix is Warren Farrell, whose fame as a Men’s Rights advocate peaked maybe twenty years ago.
As fundude1 put it:
The lineup looks terrible with just Elam, Golden, Palmitier and Farrell.
Both Golden and Palmitier really bring nothing to the table. They are both psychologists (like Elam and Farrell) and are UNKNOWN.
Is it churlish of me to point out that neither Elam or Farrell are actually psychologists?
There is no diversity at ALL among the people in terms of academic backgrounds, general popularity, etc.
Last year’s conference had a much more broad array of characters that had FAR more popularity in general.
Fundude1’s outrage meter went further into the red after he discovered how much the whole thing was going to cost.
But he wasn’t the only one upset by the underwhelming lineup and overwhelming cost.
To take just one example: therock6658, a Men’s Rights subreddit regular with considerable sympathy for AVFM, wrote a long and mournful comment lamenting “the fact that AVFM is … half-assing this whole event.”
I hate to say this but I was looking forward to this announcement for months when Elam stated that he was going to put the tickets on sale for the second of April, but once they went on sale and I looked at the roster, it ultimately turned me off to the entire men’s rights movement.
Yep, that’s right: AVFM has bungled their conference so badly he’s reconsidering his support for the entire Men’s Rights movement.
Considering the price, he added, “it just does not look good for the outcome of this particular conference.” Nope.
As for the lineup, he complained, it
does indeed bother me as much as it does everyone else. It’s mostly people from AVFM and not enough people from external sources. 10 speakers present as opposed to the 14 from last year plus everyone involved in the panel discussions. …
I really hope that this is more due to budgeting more than anything else because I would hate to learn that this is really due to greed or anything like that. Yes, I do feel that donations to AVFM have been going down as of late and perhaps that’s the big reason why this conference shrank from last year.
Given that AVFM’s last fundraiser brought in less than half of what Elam had been demanding, I’d say that was a safe bet.
Also, you may recall that at the start of the year, Elam announced that he “hope[d] to make some actual profit” from this year’s conference.
Apparently Elam never took economics in college, because then he might have realized that you can’t simply make more money by jacking your prices as high as you want; if your prices are too steep, no one will buy what you’re selling.
But hey, as Elam apparently explained to therock6658, having fewer speakers means “more time for attendees to socialize with the presenters, etc.”
WIN A DATE WITH PAUL ELAM
Actually, that’s not quite right: PAY THROUGH THE NOSE FOR THE CHANCE TO MAYBE TALK TO PAUL ELAM
I actually pretty much have a good mind to make my own anti-feminist conference myself and do twice as much in 1 day than AVFM is trying to do in 3.
You know, I do too.
I think it’s fair to say that there’s a good chance AVFM’s conference won’t happen at all.
But he might still be able to run off with all the money from the poor suckers who shell out $650.
$400+ a head, eh? And then plane tickets and hotel rooms. Think of the great domestic violence men’s shelter they could start with that. Ah well, I guess that’s not important to them.
Last year’s conference is the reason they’ll have harder times getting speakers. It was easy to sell a blank slate last time, but harder to sell a conference where the likes of Molyneux spouts his usual “women cause all evil” stuff as the press watches.
Yet somehow the MRA think tank has reached the opposite conclusion. They seem to think what this year’s conference needs is *more* of the “diversity” that MGTOW and other extremists bring. They’re not mad about losing a senator, they’re mad about losing Girl Writes What.
They have a road map for failure and they insist on using it.
Oh, noes — Trouble in Paradise, Part 2! (Or is it 3? 4?) How… awesome. 🙂 🙂 🙂
And that:
“I hate to say this but I was looking forward to this announcement for months when Elam stated that he was going to put the tickets on sale for the second of April, but once they went on sale and I looked at the roster, it ultimately turned me off to the entire men’s rights movement.”
…made me grin from ear to ear. With friends like these, who needs mammotheers?
But how interesting it is: it’s not the hatred and violence that MRA peddle, not the pathetic self-pity, not the utterly devoid of reality outlook on life, but the roster of the upcoming “conference” speakers that put the fella in question off THE ENTIRE men’s rights movement. How utterly and marvelously incomprehensible. And how typical at the same time.
I’m not complaining, mind you: whatever it takes. But cannot not notice the peculiar reasoning (or lack of it).
I have a great idea for this dude and his fellow travelers: don’t bother with the silly “conference” — just send the $400 (or $650) directly to Paul Elam. Mission accomplished without the hassle, and you’ll still end up ahead (saving on travel and accommodations and what not). You’re welcome!
– ikonreed
Considering these “suckers” are all horrible misogynists, I kinda don’t care. But I DO wonder if the lights will start to switch on upstairs, soon. I mean; at some point these beacons of reason and deduction should GET that Paulie dearest is as upfront and honest as your stereotypical used cars salesman.
I had the same reaction as Aunt Edna: “Really? This is what has made you reconsider the MRM? Not seeing harassment treated as activism? Not reading that Elam basically just pockets the money? Not seeing that, beyond the ventilation of frustration factor, there’s not a lot of good being done on behalf of men?”
Really, I think a couple of us could put our heads together and come up with a list of presenters in an afternoon: (1) legal experts to talk about divorce law, custody issues, and how they vary by state, how to choose a lawyer, thing to watch out for as you maneuver through the legal system of divorce; (2) expert on suicide, with a focus on causes and prevention; (3) psychologists to take on various aspects of masculinity (father/child issues; relationship issues) – multiple sessions here; (4) veterans issues – bring in someone to talk about the state of vets, maybe with an aim to enlist volunteers?
I mean, how hard can it be?
Excuse my last post. I know, I was taking the men’s righters at their word that they wanted to do something for men. I realize what a complete fantasy that is, and I am back in reality now.
Sorry for the fight of fancy. 😉
At least the poster in the last quote has a better handle on the fact that the focus of the “men’s rights” movement is really about controlling women (anti-feminism) and not any of the issues that many men face rather than just tell himself that they’re concerned about men.
I’m glad to see that there are those with a little sense that they’re starting to see Elam as the money-grubbing user that he is. You really have to laugh about men who will whine for hours on end about women being after their money but then hand it instead to Elam.
Classic over-reaching. Their “movement” is suited for the internet where only minimal effort is required, and where everything is free and you can participate from the comfort of your bed room. I think the MRM simply isn’t big enough or interesting enough to warrant a conference like this one. Like the OP says, the speakers are only spouting the same old crap that they already share for free on youtube, so nobody’s really paying for the content. It comes down to whether or not anyone’s willing to pay $650 just to hang out with other unpleasant and hateful people. And somehow I think most of them would be more comfortable hanging out online than in meatspace anyway, so they would be paying good money for a slightly worse version of what they’re already getting for free. The whole idea is stupid.
In case anyone thought that the Men’s Rights movement was actually about men’s rights.
Maybe they could drum up better attendance by adding some rides, maybe a cock carousel or something.
dhag85: Agreed. All they really want is to unring the bell of feminism and it’s never going to happen.
As others have mentioned, therock6658 references ”anti-feminism” and ”anti-feminists” multiple times in his comments, and even refers to the ”fight against feminism”, and no one tries to remind him that the conference is supposed to be about men’s human rights…
Don’t worry, Elam, I’m sure one or two suckers will pay those hundreds of dollars to see you. Maybe they’ll even pay for the McDonalds you’ll all go for afterwards, after all, you deserve a good meal after putting so much effort into this conference.
Not the ladies, though. They can stand in the parking lot.
This sums up my feelings about this:
http://nelson-haha.api-meal.eu/
Houston? Can we get Wendy Davis to filibuster this?
@Scarlettathena
You’d at least think they could take inspiration from their supposed causes to pad out their schedule. It honestly wouldn’t even be hard. He could probably get some no-name activists for things like workplace safety and suicide prevention to come and speak for peanuts, and maybe have a panel of men with dangerous jobs (say, police, construction workers, firemen) to tie in with the whole “male disposability” theme — that’d be cheap.
Fortunately, Elam seems to be the laziest conman on the planet, so we’ll get to witness “AVFM: the LARP”.
They couldn’t even get our buddy Mike Buchanan this time. This is seriously sad. And hilarious.
This really just underscores that a lot of these guys aren’t into the MRM because they care, first and foremost, about men’s issues and men’s rights. If a feminist organization pulled what AVFM is pulling with this conference, it would put me off of the organization, not the entire feminist movement.
@WWTH,
Hmm, maybe this year they’ll let Claire Khaw speak? For those who haven’t heard of her she’s a rabidly misogynistic, ableist, fascist blogger whose main claim to fame is that she got kicked out of the BNP for being too unpleasant. This time last year she was moaning about the conference because they didn’t respond to her offers to be one of their speakers:
http://www.donotlink.com/eh5h
Though if anyone wants to click on that link, I advise serious trigger warnings, she is a very nasty individual.
AVFM…the shitshow that keeps on shittin’ itself.
Also, SHUT UP, WOODY.
The fact that Elam’s hoping to make a “profit” off of this, especially when we know he pockets all the money he gets for AVfM is pretty cringe-worthy. He’s trying to fleece these guys for all they’re worth, and, the worst part is, some of them are going to let him.
I think AVfM is finally going to melt down here. Elam’s not making money like he used to.
QFT.
With all the money that Elam makes from fundraising and this nonsense, you’d think he’d at least consider doing some, y’know, activism.
But nope, AVfM isn’t about doing activism, it’s about sitting around and harassing feminists on the internet. Because activism is hard and costs (donation) money that Elam could be spending on his mortgage or something.
The MRA “Movement” is a pyramid scheme that promises a scapegoat to hate instead of money, and all pyramid schemes eventually run out of new people to sucker in and collapse.
Well since nobody is saying it, I guess I have to:
“I’ll make my own antifeminism conference! But with hookers, and blackjack! In fact, forget the conference!”
Maybe Mikey is expecting a glorious victory in the upcoming elections and had to sadly decline due to the pressures of his predicted governmental duties. Why else would he miss the chance to talk at a captive audience and issue challenges right, left, and center?