A Voice for Men, the World’s Greatest Grandpa of Men’s Rights sites, prides itself on the intellectual and political diversity of its writers.
The site has published articles by Holocaust-denying marital-rape advocates — and from dudes who think that the Holocaust happened and that marital rape shouldn’t happen. It has published articles lauding the rape legalization proponent and “pickup artist” Roosh V as a deep thinker” deserving nothing but respect — and articles denouncing him and other PUAs as excessively chivalrous flatterers engaging in “a scripted game of women-worship.” AVFM publishes articles attacking “bitches” alongside articles dissing “whores.”
What they won’t publish? Articles suggesting that Bill Cosby probably is guilty of some or all of the rapes he’s been accused of.
So far, AVFM has published 8 posts on Cosby, including a lovely little essay from site founder Paul Elam suggesting that his accusers are nothing more than “a bunch of drug whoring star fuckers.”
But when AVFM’s recently appointed News Director Ty Henry wrote a post arguing that Cosby “should receive no safe harbor in the MHRM [Men’s Huan Rights Movement],” well, the powers that be told him to take a hike, rejecting his post and ultimately firing him from AVFM.
The only reason I know about any of this is that AVFM’s suspended-on-Twitter “social media director” Janet “JudgyBitch” Bloomfield agreed to post it on her blog instead, explaining that
This article caused some controversy in the AVfM pool, with some strongly feeling it should be run and some strongly feeling it shouldn’t. In the interests of making sure no one feels their voice is quashed, I offered to run the controversial piece. I don’t necessarily agree with Ty Henry, the author, but since I have different editorial standards (some might say none) than AVfM, I’m running the piece to allow people to satisfy their curiosity.
So what exactly were the heretical thoughts that apparently got Henry’s piece banished from AVFM?
Well, for one thing, like most sensible people, Henry thinks Cosby is almost certainly guilty:
Considering his settlement in 2006, and recent disclosures, it’s pretty clear Bill Cosby likely violated the foregoing sovereignty of at least two women, the evidence his very own tongue. He’s also likely guilty of assaulting at least some of the women who have come forward, both in recent years, and going back to the 70s. Based on the totality of circumstances, to believe otherwise is to make his innocence an article of faith.
But perhaps even more galling for the AVFMistas, Henry bluntly points out the hypocrisy of those MRAs who loudly declare “innocent until proven guilty in a court of law” every time a man is accused of rape, while offering no similar “due process” to women accusing men of rape.
The due process clause protects Cosby from the randomness of mob-justice fueled prosecution, as it should. I’m not here to advocate for ad-hoc suspension of the Criminal Rules of Evidence or Statutes of Limitations. It does not, however, shield him or his acts from the ruthless glare of critical inquiry.
A little pretentiously put, but possibly the most sensible thing I’ve ever heard an MRA say.
Henry continues, noting one case (of many) in which AVFMers have been happy to forget about that whole “innocent until proven guilty in a court of law” thing:
[C]onsider this; Emma Sulkowicz has not been charged with, nor sued for, false accusations. So why do these pages label her such, including our venerable CEO? Reasonable inferences based on statements, facts and evidence in the public square, that’s why.
Well, I didn’t say that everything Henry had to say was perfect.
After detailing some of the many reasons we have to believe that Cosby is indeed guilty, Henry argues that even though Cosby will almost certainly not spend even a day in prison, he fully deserves having his reputation wrecked in the court of public opinion.
Bill Cosby is unlikely to serve jail time for his transgressions. Such is the nature of due process, as statutes of limitations have run, and with forensic evidence having long since dissolved, most of these cases would be dismissed at trial anyway. That should have no bearing, however, on his legacy henceforth.His hypocrisy and repugnant violations of the rights of women is now the dominant feature of that legacy, and should these women secure some financial redress , that is more than he deserves for both his behavior and his casual, yet malignant, insouciance in the face of their years of suffering. For that, he should receive no safe harbor in the MHRM.
I’m on the record now saying her courage in coming forward, unsealing painful memories to help others clear their besmirched names, makes me even prouder to be an Arizona Wildcat. I stand with Andrea, even if I must stand alone on these pages.
His original piece included the term “Bill Cosby is a serial rapist,..” a flat declaration of guilt. That was the precise reason why the piece was rejected. He was also offered the opportunity to retool the piece, sans the declaration of guilt, which we would have been more likely to run.
Who will be the next to jump (or get shoved) off the bad ship A Voice for Men?
Sarkeesian effect news! (Do de doo doo)
The premiere was last night and attracted a grand total of nine people, and that’s if you include Jordan himself. https://twitter.com/mundanematt/status/627354782366310401
But that’s okay, because their standards for success have now been lowered so far that the event has been declared to go all right because at least nobody bombed the cinema. https://twitter.com/LordIheanacho/status/627405248408072192
Aurini is naturally furious and a large Twitter thread started here: https://twitter.com/Aurini/status/627411673662386176 – about who’s been lying or who’s a journalist or some bollocks. Meanwhile, repellent bastard-in-chief Matt Forney made a sarcastic primary-school-bullying level tweet towards the event which I’m not going to link to, and has since been spending his time on Twitter arguing with other conservatives about who’s the biggest cuck (there might have been a slight spelling error).
It seems like just like at AVFM, the friction from these people’s huge egos scraping against each other might be coming back to bite them and drive them away from each other – it seems like a competition to see who can become the biggest shitelord ever, with any hint of empathy or niceness being jumped on as impure and its owner being kicked out of the treehouse.
And I sort of love that.
@davidknewton – lol, Aruini claiming he’s neither a liar or a scam artist. That’s brilliant.
@sn0rkmaiden – I know it was harder, but as a Brit, that makes it even more shocking that he would be able to get his hands on the weapons. Especially worrying because I have friends currently studying in Newcastle.
The Yorkshire Evening post yesterday also gave news of a man in Bradford who had bought ricin on the dark web. And then claimed he was just “curious” about it after watching Breaking Bad! (Nobody believed him).
I guess I should feel safe, because both these would-be murderers were caught before they could do any real harm, but it’s still extremely unsettling.
@davidknewton – That update contains more than twice the recommended daily dose of Schadenfreude, and now I can’t stop chuckling to myself. It’s a thing of beauty.
9 people. Hah! That is sad. I’m an introvert with a limited social circle and not much of an online presence. If I made a documentary I’m certain I could get more than nine people to come. I would feel bad for them but I’m just not that nice.
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9jCi72IS3jQ/VSLmRpSWwTI/AAAAAAAAB-4/ugWWG3nCd78/s1600/Not%2Beven%2Bsorry.gif
… I literally had more than nine people congratulate me for catching a shiny Pokemon.
Good work, #GG, your apex work is worth less than a fucking Marill. =P
davidknewton, “cuckservative” appears to be a thing: http://thedailybanter.com/2015/07/cuckservative-is-a-conservative-who-isnt-quite-racist-enough-for-donald-trump-fans/
I may be using the term “Work” waaay too loosely there.
Show of hands, how many of us had to Google insouciance?
@SFHC
Congrats! (I’m #10?) Which one did you catch?
No wait, you said more than 9. OK, I’m #13 or something. 🙂
And in more creepy and disturbing Subway Jared news http://gawker.com/report-jared-fogle-allegedly-claimed-he-paid-for-sex-w-1721500701
My family once rented an arthouse theater screen to play Strictly Ballroom for an old lady’s birthday and there were a lot more than nine people.
It’s so revealing how these “tireless warriors against the tide of ‘false accusations'” literally can’t imagine a situation where an accusation to be true and will fight to the death against anyone who suggests that maybe a rape survivor is telling the truth.
They couldn’t be broadcasting how much they are rapists trying to obfuscate the deeds of their past if they strung it up in LEDs and stapled it to their forehead.
It’s about ethics in journalism for some reason even though it’s actually just a documentary of them interviewing their friends.
https://mobile.twitter.com/Aurini/status/627415680300638208
opium4themasses-
I think this is super common, especially when someone has an axis of privilege on the subject. After all, it’s really easy not to be aware of a life experience you don’t have and to ignore its very existence if you are in the dominant group and all of culture is reinforcing that your life experiences are the default and the norm and the only things that matter and that you’re inherently better than the other who’s trying to make you think and is being all rude by not sticking to their tiny box.
It actually takes a considerable amount of work and humility to check that privilege and empathize with a foreign situation and it often requires a lot of self-awareness, curiosity, and genuine desire to learn and do right even if it means losing that sense of specialness.
So for a lot of people, it’s a lot easier to just default and check out, because there’s rarely a social punishment for doing so unless you know the people being affected personally.
…
There’s also an argument to be made about those who find conservative ideology appealing and imagination. I think if one really struggles with imagination, it becomes easier to just assume that everyone’s like you. So, if you’re caring and overly trusting, it becomes easy to imagine that everyone is good inside even when they are abusing you.
But if you’re small-minded, petty, and prone to punishing the smallest slight, then the world is filled with awful, greedy, horrible people who deserve whatever you can throw at them.
I think this is part of the reason so many right-wing or hate group articles about the other so often look like mirrors of the writers, because in their imagination, of course the inferior hated other would be just like them but somehow worse, because they literally can’t imagine that people aren’t always just looking for whatever angle will allow them to maintain power and control.
@SFHC
In the 13 or so years I’ve been playing pokemon, I’ve only seen and caught one shiny, so I am impressed.
Yes, the Sarkeesian Effect bombed worse than Pluto Nash over at Gamergate in Atlanta. It’s so awful it’s almost a masterpiece. Bask in the schadenfreude, my friends.
The question was not whether it was going tio be awful. We’re talking about people who have no clue about how to make a documentary. The question was always whether it was going to be hilarious awful or tedious awful.
That article links to the movie’s ‘official’ website…if I’m not mistaken Davis Aurini’s name is misspelled on the ‘about us’ page.
@GrumpyOldSocialJusticeMangina
True, very true. I don’t know how bad the actual movie is — that’ll be for another post — but the execution and reception was one of the biggest bombs imaginable 🙂
Wait, the official Sarkeesian Effect website used lorem ipsum for the bios of everyone who appeared in it? And misspelled Aurini’s name? Could they put any less effort and professionalism into this project?
@Pandapool
I have a few shinies, but now I haven’t seen one in several years. So far I’ve caught, other than the “free” Gyarados, shiny versions of:
Spoink
Geodude
Ditto
Kyogre (!!)
Shiny Kyogre?
… … … …
I caught a shiny Spinda in Saphire.
@Pandapool
Funny story. I looked up the odds of encountering a shiny (one in eight thousand something) and my first thought was: ok, so if I start the Kyogre battle 9000 times, statistically I should get a shiny Kyogre. After doing it about 1000 times I realized it was a lot more work than I thought. Finally I decided to give it 10 more tries, and on the 7th or 8th try I got the purple one. And that’s the luckiest thing that ever happened to me. :p
Spinda sounds cool though, especially since there are so many different patterns!