Big news, everybody: The Men’s Rights Movement HAS WON!
In a video posted earlier today Paul Elam, the biggest ego name in the small world of the Men’s Rights movement, congratulated his troops for a MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
And then he announced that he was quitting the Men’s Rights movement altogether.
We’ll get to that in a moment. For now, let’s let him savor his GIANT WIN. In the video, he explains that:
for the past seven years, I have put quite a bit of effort into A Voice for Men, a Men’s Rights Activist website. That time has been electrifying, stressful, satisfying, and at times pretty brutal. The mission there, to facilitate the entrance of men’s issues into the public discourse, has been successful.
(Emphasis mine.)
It’s true. AVFM has gotten the Men’s Rights movement some attention, much in the same way that this small child has drawn attention to his, er, cause.
While Elam acknowledges that “we have light years to go on men’s issues being addressed,” he pats himself and his comrades on the back for “play[ing] a big role in kickstarting the conversation.”
Congratulations, dudes. You pestered people until they noticed you.
For that, I’m quite proud and very grateful to the team of volunteers who played a huge role in making that happen. That team will continue the work into the future, even as I will be less directly involved in the process.
Elam will now be describing himself as AVFM’s “figurehead and founder.” And a “former MRA.”
I doublechecked, and it’s not April Fool’s day, so apparently Elam’s flounce is real.
But don’t see this as Elam giving up as journalists stop calling him and his once-notorious website slides further into oblivion.
No! This is something he’s been really “looking forward to,” as he’ll now be able to spend more time yelling about women on YouTube.
Sorry, I mean counseling men for money as part of his exciting new — well, not that new — project “A Near For Men.”
Sorry, “An Ear for Men.”
His slogan: “The Penis In Your Hand.”
Sorry: “The Pen Is In Your Hand.”
For some reason his new counseling service requires that he spend a lot of his time yelling about women in YouTube videos. Recent offerings on his An Ear For Men channel include:
- Toxic Femininity and Relationship Violence
- 7 Ways to Screen Out Loser Women
- Problem Women
- Teach a Woman to be Accountable in 5 Steps
- Talk About Women — Even When it Offends
Elam will be financing this venture by offering $90 an hour “consultations” on Skype. (No, really.) And through his Patreon.
Huh. Seems like his Patreon is off to a bit of a slow start.
I’m sure things will pick up.
Godspeed, Paul. We won’t miss you.
I went to the Ear For Men website and read through that three-part series on men with disabilities. There was half a point there, but it was buried in so much bullshit.
@PoM
Is he a Cartesian dualist? He seems to be trying to draw a distinction between physical brain problems (“real” illnesses that are not your fault) and mental problems that are rooted in… something… and are just character flaws because you’re a bad person or have a weak will and are totally your fault. I think I remember him doing this before.
Yeah, so, no. Consciousness is a feature of physical systems–all mental issues have physical causes. You can’t blame some people and not blame others based on a specious distinction.
My comment got lost. 🙁
@Sunnysombrera
I always weird when they ralk about their girlfriends/wives. Makes me want to fing out who they are and get them away from such toxicity. Being in a relationship with these guys would be a nightmare to me.
@ Policy of Madness
Brain chemistry, which has nothing to do with “mental health” because … Cartesian dualism? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Edit: ninja’d by zoon echon logon! To be fair, I think suggesting that he’s up on his Descartes is probably giving him too much credit. But what zel says makes sense.
Also, I feel sorry for any man coming to him for mental health issues.
“Hey, thanks for seeing me. I keep having anxiety attacks, during which I shake uncontrollably.”
“Have you thought about how THE EVIL OF WOMEN SHAKE MEN TO THEIR VERY SOULS!?”
“…What?”
Twice so far in this thread, zoom echon logon has said what I wanted to say better than I could say it.
I’m thinking it might be an early April Fools joke, like Jessica Lowndes making everyone think she was engaged to Jon Lovitz when he really just co-starred with her in her new music video. The only difference is I actually kinda liked the Lowndes prank.
And even if they didn’t, it wouldn’t necessarily follow that mental illnesses are self-inflicted and you can just think them away.
Bloody hell, I’ve joked about ol’ Googly Eyes cribbing from Scientology before, but…
I’ll just wait and see if this sticks.
Hello.
Is it possible that Mister Elam just want to hear other AVFM people begging him to stay ? And if at least one ask him to stay, he then just could say : “Ok, i hear your voices (for men) and after a long reflection time (about 2 seconds), i have decided that i can give you more of my time. I am back !”
In other words, just a “popularity check” departure ?
Have a nice day.
@R
I think that you’re new around here–and yet you still took a hit for the team!
In a way it’s almost cathartic to see this faction just drop the pretensions and embrace their awfulness, though I’d prefer if they stopped being terrible to people altogether.
Well so long Paul, we’ll see you next week, cause there’s no way a person like him would resist the idea of being in charge of something.
I cannot keep track of how many people have told me to “just not think about it” when I’m super anxious or depressed.
It takes everything I have to not snap back with “OH EM GEE WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT?! THANK YOU, NEUROTYPICAL PERSON I AM CURED OF MY MENTAL AFFLICTIONS!”
R: I feel like this is the Men’s Rights Movement in a nutshell. There are some genuine issues: men are victims of domestic violence, and often reluctant to seek help; courts still do favor women in custody disputes. But it’s buried in so much bullshit that they never get to the part where they are actually helping to address these problem.
Paul Elam, AVFM’s retiring, Master Baiter.
At least, I think that’s how it’s pronounced.
On the subject of drug counselling, no you don’t need credentials as such but employers certainly prefer you to have at least training in counselling or social care.
I’m a substance misuse recovery worker (the “Dr” in my nym is from when that troll claimed that Paulie being a drug worker made him practically a doctor) and most people who work in this field are in recovery themselves. In 5 months I’ll be 10 years clean, yay.
I can’t imagine how Elam could be successful as a drug counsellor, it’s freaking hard work. And the thought of him counselling vulnerable women with addictions is horrifying.
@ Dr Nicola
Congratuations! I know from friends how hard a journey that is.
@NicolaLuna
Congrats!
—
I myself am coming up on 7 years since I quit smoking. Not as significant as being a recovering alcoholic or drug user, I suppose, but I’m happy I quit when I did. Whenever I get to know new people (which is rare), it’s always a surprise to them when they find out that I was a smoker for a decade, considering it’s now been almost 7 years since I had a cigarette and I’m 31 right now. It’s a strange thought that I smoked for almost a third of my entire life, but it’s all so far in the past I can barely remember it anymore.
Thank you. It’s definitely been a journey but I’m now at a point where I can pass on recovery to people who need it which is pretty amazing. I got clean when I was pregnant after 5 years of addiction.
And wow to the 7 years of not smoking. Smoking is my last addiction I need to battle. I’ve managed to quit for 2 years at a time but always relapse. So congrats on that too, I found it easier to give up some serious class-A drugs than smoking so you should give yourself credit.
Funny how much easier it can be to drop an unhealthy habit when there’s some additional “outside” reason (I guess being pregnant would be considered and “inside” reason?). I once quit smoking for a year in my late teens because I was dating a non-smoker. In the middle of the relationship we were broken up for one week and I picked up smoking immediately, then quit again when we got back together. After we broke up I resumed smoking later the same day and continued for another 5 years until I eventually quit for good because I was broke and couldn’t afford cigarettes.
@ Dr Nicola
You’ll probably know better than anyone that relapse is very often a part of recovery, so hopefully you’re not beating yourself up about the smoking thing. And nicotine is highly addictive. There’s also the social aspect. If you’re quitting illicit drugs then it’s easier to remove yourself from circles where that activity is prevalent. But with smoking you’ll always have the thing of friends in the pub “just popping outside, anyone coming?”
@ IP
Following on from the above. I so recognise that. If I’m with friends who don’t smoke I’ll almost forget that I do. I’ve been away with non smoking friends and not smoked for a fortnight. But if I’m with friends who do smoke I will join in as soon as someone starts to make a roll up. It’s almost ritualistic.
Hi,
I don’t see the name of the person who authored this “Informative Article”. I would venture a guess that the author is a woman who has not in fact listened to what he has had to say. I find Paul Elam easy to understand and concise on his topics and displays a genuine interest in helping men and women develop a better understanding of female and male nature.
So you have nothing really to add except for attempted shaming and insinuations that men shouldn’t look out for themselves. I guess you are not familiar with the axiom
Please don’t attempt to build yourself up by putting others down. It’s not cool
Perhaps by really committing to listen without judgement you will get a better understanding and present a more balanced article.Just saying!
Rich
Best necrotroll ever?
One of the many benefits to running this website is that I get so many chances to experience what it’s like to be mansplained to by dudes who think I’m a woman.