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MRA huckster Paul Elam is asking for donations so he can charge dudes money to talk to him

Please donate generously to keep this poor fellow in the business of ripping you off
Please donate generously to keep this poor fellow in the business of ripping you off

More signs of desperation over at A Voice for Men, the Men’s Rights/Lady Disparagement site that has apparently ceased to be the cash cow for its founder, the unlovely and untalented Paul Elam, that it once was:

1) Turgid articles on … Ethanol, and “Future trends in eyewear technology”

Get prepared to have your world shattered, people! Now, in addition to the traditional lady-hating posts, AVFM is now opening its pages to articles on “men’s interests” as well!

So far, this has consisted of a handful of posts on a seemingly random assortment of topics ranging from Ethanol to fishing mishaps, all of them badly written and all of them reprinted from Examiner.com, a site where pretty much anyone can post pretty much anything they want. (The post on “eyewear technology” smells an awful lot like a press release for “Eyeglass World, a leading retailer of affordable prescription eyewear.”)

While this might look on the surface like an effort on Elam’s part to pump up traffic to his site without doing any actual work, he’s selling it, hard, as a proof of a GIANT VICTORY FOR MEN’S RIGHTS. Then again Elam could probably convince his supremely gullible followers that a fart at a dinner party was a trumpet blast announcing the imminent fall of feminism.

AVFM is changing. Allow me to explain.

While we are still light years from some needed social changes and actual, measurable improvements to men’s rights are still lacking, we have accomplished one thing. Namely our job.

AVFM’s core mission has been to change the public narrative about sexual politics; to force a critique of feminism into the cultural consciousness and to chip away at the empathy gap when it comes to the sexes. We are starting to see that happen …

The growth of our message throughout the mainstream is now unstoppable because of you. …

The worm is turning. That opens a door for us and insists on ushering us through it.

That’s right: a worm is opening the door for them, like some kind of freaking worm butler. Which raises the question: How many worm butlers will there be? (One at first, but he’ll train others.)

This is the future for how AVFM pushes the counter-theory. It is fitting with what we have been saying for years. We ARE the media. We have proven it. The day when we can say we ARE the mainstream may or may not come, at least in my life.

But you can bet your ass I will keep swinging to the last breath.

Swing away Paul. Paul, swing away!

2) Elam is now soliciting donations so that he can charge people to talk to him

Last month, you may recall, Elam announced the launch of an exciting new venture: A Near for Men.

Sorry, I meant “An Ear for Men,” a “service” whereby Mr. Elam, a board-uncertified mental health unprofessional, hopes to charge dudes $90 an hour to talk about their problems with him on Skype.

I say “hopes to” because he’s having a bit of trouble getting dudes to agree to this particular proposition. Indeed, if you look at the appointments page on his site, you will see a vast sea of open slots. It’s not clear if he’s gotten even a single person to sign up, as what looks like a possible weekly appointment at 1:30 every Tuesday could just be Elam deciding to take a break from his gruelling schedule of doing absolutely nothing for men other than himself.

So Elam has added a “donation” page to his site (archived here) so dudes who can’t afford an appointment with AVFM’s chief snake-oil salesman can help support his failing business of charging other dudes $90 an hour to talk to him about how much they hate their exes.

I guess I’ll give him points for sheer chutzpah.

H/T — to the anonymous internetter who pointed out Elam’s donations page to me. Also, I stole the “A Near for Men” joke from someone, but I can’t remember whom.

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sunnysombrera
sunnysombrera
9 years ago

@EJ
Haha!

But seriously though, Happy 4th of July, American friends. ^_^

sn0rkmaiden
9 years ago

@Canuck,

I think I know who you’re referring to, will he ever be released? I don’t know if Canada has a ‘whole life tarif’ like we have in the U.K. What disgusts me most about that case is the fact they let his accomplice only serve 12 years when her actions were just as evil.

Alan Robertshaw
Alan Robertshaw
9 years ago

@ sn0rkmaiden et al

Although we have a whole life tariff offenders can still apply for parole. Under the ECHR there has to be the possibility of release for a sentence to be lawful.

In effect a whole life tariff only means an offender *could* stay in prison until they die, not that they will.

Auntie Alias
Auntie Alias
9 years ago

@canuck_with_pluck

I guess it looked like regular mail. The police haven’t said if it was addressed to her but they have said it was a targeted attack.

As for that creep you mentioned, I can’t imagine how frightening it must have been to live in the area at that time. I agree he’s only applying for day parole to stir the pot. Asshole. I feel very sorry for the French and Mahaffy families.

mockingbird
mockingbird
9 years ago

EJ – Real talk: As long as the Crown manages it before the NHS is dismantled, I’m not all that bothered ;p

mockingbird
mockingbird
9 years ago

To us ‘Mericans:

Have a blast!

http://i.imgur.com/cab3fG9.jpg

Party down!

http://funnyjunk.com/funny_pictures/3617429/Beat+it/20#20

And do your thing, whatever that thing might be –
comment image

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6m1v0EeCN1rwmn6bo1_250.gif

Alan Robertshaw
Alan Robertshaw
9 years ago

Happy Throwing a Tantrum Day!!!!

[Apologise, pay for the tea, and we may consider taking you back]

http://www.muldermedia.com/prospecthill/flag_painting.html

epitome of incomprehensibility

Happy Independence Day, O Nation with More Impressive Fireworks!

epitome of incomprehensibility

(More impressive than Canada’s, anyway. I’m not much of a nationalist in general but I’m easily impressed by fireworks.)

@Auntie Alias, sn0rkmaiden: I know who you mean now. That’s unfortunate that people have to deal with that.

@kylagb: ooh, Cracked wrote an article about the MRA? I’ll check it out. Maybe I saw it before and forgot, but I’m looking forward to the snarkiness.

katz
9 years ago

WaPo coughed up a hairball of “NOT ALL MEN!”

They’re all “Just because some men are pedophiles is no reason to be suspicious about adult men who spend all their time hanging around with teenage girls, jeez.”

Falconer
9 years ago

Happy Throwing a Tantrum Day!!!!

[Apologise, pay for the tea, and we may consider taking you back]

That was December 16, 1773.

Today is Get Those Fucking Redcoats Out Of Our Houses, So Help Us Day.

Alan Robertshaw
Alan Robertshaw
9 years ago

That tea was practically subsidised; it cost less than it did in England! 😉

Pandapool -- The Species that Endangers YOU (aka Banana Jackie Cake, for those who still want to call me "Banana", "Jackie" or whatever)
Pandapool -- The Species that Endangers YOU (aka Banana Jackie Cake, for those who still want to call me "Banana", "Jackie" or whatever)
9 years ago

It’s International Fuck You, We Aren’t Paying Our Taxes Day on top of Beer and BBQ Day and Get Ready for a Trip to the ER for Burns and Missing Fingers Day.

Alan Robertshaw
Alan Robertshaw
9 years ago

The irony is, we wrote the bloody Declaration of Independence for you. We have an original copy in Middle temple library.

Scented Fucking Hard Chairs
Scented Fucking Hard Chairs
9 years ago

http://i.imgur.com/9obLkC7.jpg

Fuck yeah, Portal fireworks!

Terrabeau
Terrabeau
9 years ago

@Alan Robertshaw

And you guys copied it off of our Act of Abjuration. There really is nothing new under the sun, is there?

zoon echon logon
zoon echon logon
9 years ago

@Alan Robertshaw

The irony is, we wrote the bloody Declaration of Independence for you. We have an original copy in Middle temple library.

Your version doesn’t have a secret templar treasure map.

http://image.blingee.com/images18/content/output/000/000/000/768/724648016_515155.gif

Alan Robertshaw
Alan Robertshaw
9 years ago

It’s likely that the drafters of the Declaration were familiar with the Act. The Dutch ‘rebels’ did of course ask Elizabeth the First to take over so she, and her advisors, were presumably given a copy of the Act.

Elizabeth was connected with Middle Temple (she gave us a big table) and many of her advisors were members so it’s not implausible that the Act was available to the drafters of the Declaration.

Actually, I’ll have to ask the librarian if there’s a copy in the library somewhere; that would put an interesting light on things.

Monzach
Monzach
9 years ago

Happy 239th Annual “Fuck You King George” Day! 🙂 Also known as America’s GTOW Day. 😛

Alan Robertshaw
Alan Robertshaw
9 years ago

Your version doesn’t have a secret templar treasure map.

We don’t need the map; we live in The Temple!

Actually, there is a legend that the missing Templar treasure is buried under Temple Church. When there was some building work going on there the Master of the church said he was keeping an eye on the builders to see if they suddenly started coming to work in new Bentleys.