Men’s Rights Redditors came dangerously close to achieving a moment of self-awareness yesterday. But the crisis was averted, and the Men’s Rights subreddit was able to safely return to its habitual obliviousness, with all of its illusions intact.
Someone calling himself ffff1234 disturbed the universe of the Men’s Rights subreddit with a simple question yesterday: “Why is this subreddit frowned upon?”
Happily, the regulars were able to assure themselves that, despite all evidence to the contrary, it totally wasn’t their fault, nun-uh.
Their movement’s poor reputation in the wider world is, rather, the result of devious machinations by “feminazi overlords” who see the brave little Men’s Rights subreddit, and MRAs generally, as a threat to their continued hegemony.
“The people in power always hate the truth,” declared rg57.
“[W]e work against the plutocracy’s interests,” agreed the longtime MRA and terrible cartoon writer known as ThePigmanAgain. “That’s what it really comes down to.”
The plutocrats in question? Feminists. Or, rather, feminazis.
As Adanu0 put it
the feminazis hate it when you call out their bullsh*t, and this place does it all the time. We are the epitome of freedom of speech compared to them, and they want to keep their special snowflake narrative alive.
In a followup comment, he explained that
If you’re male, there is no existing with the feminazis, because their whole goal is the destruction of ‘the patriarchy’. This effectively means any form of male power is frowned upon and a target.
Anyone who thinks that is a good thing is ridiculous and belongs in that sub, slaving to the feminazi overlords.
I’m going to make this last bit my standard answer when anyone asks what I’m up to.
“Hey, David, what’s up?”
“Not much! Just SLAVING TO THE FEMINAZI OVERLORDS.”
K1NTOUN, meanwhile, warned his fellow MRAs not to underestimate their wily feminist foes.
They don’t give a damn about men or men’s rights. Equality means nothing to them. It’s merely a buzzword they use. Modern feminism is one group that can be completely generalized because they are all the same. There are no levels of feminism. You either accept the doctrine or you don’t.
Other commenters noted sadly that feminazi propaganda has infected much of society, leading many men to conclude that, contrary to MRA TRUTH, maybe women don’t actually run the world.
“Women are special creatures who are the peers of children when it suits them and the peers of men when it suits them,” lamented v573v.
Whatever women want – men must facilitate – including taking the blame for the demands that women place on men.
Either that, or women are capable human beings with an ability and power of their own, but if that was true – the victim card couldn’t be played; or perhaps the card is just another source of power which women can use as a path to power – a damsel in distress can inspire men to move mountains and under these rules women get the additional benefit of blaming men for anything bad that might of happened when the mountains were moved. Everybody wins! Except men, but they don’t count.
One bold fellow noted a parallel between the Men’s Rights movement and another movement that’s frequently frowned upon by polite society. The Men’s Rights subreddit is frowned upon, pazz explained,
For the same reason White Pride is. People always re-phrase it as a double negative and it changes the meaning. I am Pro-White and proud of my history is heard as I am Anti-Non-White and hate everything about you. Which is horrible.
Similar translations happen when you say I am Pro-Mens Rights. People hear I am Anti-Womens Rights. Which is horrible.
Like the rest of those I’ve quoted here, pazz was upvoted for his thoughtful stance.
Thus providing yet more evidence of some of the real reasons why people look down upon the Men’s Rights subreddit.
Ignorance? Arrogance? They spell similarly… it’s a feminist conspiracy!
The sheer amount of self delusion and being such professional victims is astounding. Absolutely astounding…
“Modern feminism is one group that can be completely generalized because they are all the same.”
LOL. Just LOL.
They work against the plutocracy.
In other news, pro-Trump propaganda images do quite well amongst them.
Were I as gifted an image-manipulator as M or Handsome Jack, I would make something which bore the words “The irony! It burns!”
Completely off topic but if anyone was going to post me a raccoon would you mind doing it by Thursday.
New EU regulation banning them from Europe comes into force.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/aug/02/raccoon-mongoose-and-cabbage-among-invasive-species-banned-from-uk
(Ooh, if we serve the Article 50 notice we could ignore this.)
Meanwhile I’ve just been forced to erase all of my political Facebook posts and only like what my conservative Mom approves or she’ll force me out of the house (whether I can afford to or not).
But yeah, I’m the one who’s pro-censorship and hates free-speech.
It’s to the point where I feel like I’m not allowed to be human anymore. If I get angry, that’s censorship. If I simply don’t like something, that’s censorship. If I disagree with someone, that’s censorship.
I’m only allowed to have any emotion or thought that other people let me have.
I’ve wanted to kill myself again since what’s the point but I’ve been too much of a coward to do it. So I’m stuck acting like a happy robot for everyone I interact with in real life.
@PteroNychus : you’re not a coward refusing to suicide. Suicide isn’t about courage or making a message.
I hope things will get better. I hope you will get a way to definitely stop depending on your mother. More generally, I hope that kind of attitude (of your mother) will stop being acceptable anywhere on the world.
Today I learned that:
— in spite of the fact that men control something like 99.99999% of the levers of power, globally and locally, women are the REAL overlords.
— MRA bibblebabble is Freeze Peach, and that we only hate it because we’re the REAL Nazis.
— to be male is to be The Patriarchy, which we FemiNazis hate, and that’s ridiculous.
— somehow, all the men in my life don’t exist because I’m a feminist. Oh sorry, FemiNazi.
— feminism is a doctrine, and that it’s all or nothing. There are no different degrees or kinds of it. It’s just one big honkin’ monolith.
— there is a Victim Card that we’re all supposed to get when we join the cult of FemiNazism, and through some grievous clerical error, I have never been issued it, because I’ve never played it. Even though I have been a victim, and the worst part of it all is, you can’t leverage it for shit. You can’t even tell people it happened, because they’ll only blame you for somehow getting some guy’s unwanted dick stuck in your mouth. And then they’ll accuse you of using it as a “card” in some perverse game of poker that you don’t even want to play.
— we inspire men to move mountains by being damsels in distress. Yes! They wrecked West Virginia because of us! Capitalism has nothing to do with that! Neither does industry! It’s all the fault of us damsels, damselling our distress all over all these poor, beleaguered, mountain-moving men!
— that White Pride is some kind of Good Thing, instead of just a bunch of cowards and thugs trying to keep racism alive. Same is true of Men’s Rights, only the cowards and thugs are doing it for sexism.
I am already exhaustipated from all this learning, and it’s not even 10:30 here. Where is my tea?
This particular quote from K1NTOUN is exceptionally revealing to the severity of wrongness these twits suffer from.
It’s true that to be a feminist, there’s a doctrine you have to accept. That doctrine has two parts:
1: Women are people. Thus, they are to be afforded the same opportunities and rights as other people (ie, men) in all arenas: professional, legal, financial, domestic, etc.
2: We ain’t there yet. The reasons for this are manifold–in the past, the primary barriers were legal, now they are increasingly enforced via social censure, media messaging and unconscious bias. (Of course, even in the West, some legal barriers remain–see abortion law, and the way rape is treated compared to literally every other crime against a person.) This panoply of effects is collectively what we’re talking about when discussing ‘the patriarchy’.
So yes, there’s a doctrine. If you disagree with the first portion, you’re an anti-feminist; if you disagree with the second, you’re one of those denialists who call themselves ‘humanists’ because feminism is icky. But the notion that there’s no disagreement among feminists, be it civil or rancorous, requires a level of ignorance that would be laughable were it not so pathetic.
Is anyone else wondering why mom only has ONE good plate? What’s so good about it anyway? And if it’s so good, why didn’t she get more than one? Why did she spend more money on bad plates?
These are the questions that need answering, Family Circus!
Hello.
I pass quickly just to say i am ok. I have been on holidays, and thus i almost not went on the web. The truck in Nice and the throat slited priest in Saint-Etienne-Du-Rouvray events had both add oil on the racism flame which was alas quite vivid here.
I will comment a bit more from now, except there a heap of work remaining, so not immediatly.
Have a nice day.
(N.B. : i had skimmed (?) a bit, and i am sorry for the worries. I would also add that i am not a she but a he, sorry if it was not clear from the beginning)
@occasional reader
Oh shit, apologies for that. I could’ve sworn someone told me otherwise. ^^;; I’m so glad you’re alright! <3
@Bina – well summarized.
Question. If pazz can reason that “pro-men’s rights” doesn’t mean “anti-woman”, and that “pro-white” isn’t “anti-non-white”, why is “feminist” automatically “anti-man”?
*Of course “white pride” is synonymous with racism, and it’s always suspect to prop up the already privileged side. But even without that context the reasoning is suspect. It’s like saying pro-evening people aren’t necessarily anti-morning ones, and then turning around and saying that pro-cupcake people OBVIOUSLY hate pie.
@PteroNychus – It’s awful to live in a situation like that. I wish I could help. I hope you can get out of that place and be freer to express your opinions. You’re worth it, no matter what depression or hateful people might lead you to think.
@occasional reader – I’m glad you’re doing well and hope your vacation was relaxing – on the other hand, not so encouraging to hear about further attacks and continuing racism. (Have to be off to work soon too, so au revoir!)
<3 Occasional Reader, I'm glad you're out there having a holiday! I hope that it's a good one.
On topic, I sometimes wonder what would happen if we all had a communal moment of group aphasia, the whole world, and ended up losing all of our jargon words. If we stopped using all of the code-words and had to explain from basic language. No "I'm a feminist", just "I'm a person who thinks women and men should be equal, but aren't yet." No "You're a feminist", just "You're a person who thinks women are better than men" (according to how the MRAs use the word at least).
Not that it'd end the argument, I think. I just get tired of the double-speak and dog whistles and mixed definitions. Sarcasm becomes hyperbole, hyperbole becomes the new standard, the new standard needs to be trumped (ohoho, political) by new braggadoccios trying to prove themselves, and on we go. I'd call it ridiculous if it wasn't so depressing.
@ Shannon
Only Alfalfa Males are allowed more than one plate to spin.
@ scildfreja
As always you hit the nail on the head. Language, especially specialist terminology, can be a big hinderence to getting ideas across. Within a group people might understand the concepts and that’s there’s a depth of meaning behind them; but to those outside the group they become shibboleths.
Talk privilege for example. If you’re campaigning on the doorstep people might not give you the time to explain the difference between having privilege and being privileged. So if you talk about (x) privilege people might switch off or get into all sorts of arguments. Phrase that though as “There are definite advantages to being (x)” and the response is usually “Well, duh”
@PteroNychus, I have been where you are, and I am currently struggling with similar problems. I totally sympathize <3 It's tough, isn't it? Nothing is more difficult than living in a home where you don't feel comfortable to be yourself. If home doesn't feel comfortable, nowhere does.
Keep toughing it out. I hope your financial situation improves soon, so that you can move out into a place where you are free to be yourself. You'll get there! Just keep looking for opportunities, and take care of yourself. That includes both taking time to enjoy things you like, *and* maintaining yourself and your living environment. You're worth the effort!
Welp, my work day is over. I can go home from my job of slaving to the feminazi overlords, at least for tonight!
Tomorrow? Back to slaving! It’s great, I tell you… Well, maybe the feminazi overlords are a little bit harsh, but… sorry, what?
No no, that wasn’t criticism!
No, I didn’t mean–
No, please! Have mercy!
HELP HELP! I’m being oppressed!
(Excerpt from a play I’ve been writing called “Said no one ever”.)
Kennings! Kennings for everyone!
@occasional reader, very glad to hear from you! Sorry I misgendered you. (I made that same apology to a different commenter just last week, so that’s clearly something I need to be watching much more carefully.)
@’subtract hominem
“Twitter fodder”?
I know, right?
http://i.imgur.com/tGYU7TR.jpg
Shouldn’t we properly be referred to as feminazi overladies?
@Alan Robertshaw, you might consider following the raccoon anarchy here.
Perhaps MRAs indulge in the nonsense-category of “feminazi” because they just cannot handle complex categories. Not only are all feminists purportedly ideologically homogeneous, they are all purportedly ugly (by cis standards). The untruth of the latter has often caused me to find puzzling the Manospherian fascination/fetishization with Slavic women. I seek never to essentialize nor to tokenize, so my beloved Mrs. Pavlov’s House does not represent in my mind all Russian femininity, but nevertheless she IS the particular Russian woman that I happen to love and am blessed to have love me. And in the course of our bliss she has shared her perspectives on identity, i.e. that Russian-woman ability to combine so seamlessly incredible strength, toughness and assertiveness with the most elegant smokin’-hot cis-het feminine beauty. She believes feminist things and lives the actions but would make such Redditors heads explode.