The 4th quarter 2016 We’ve Got a Bigger Problem Now WHTM pledge drive is coming to a close! If you like the blog, please donate what you can! THANKS!
So Vox — not Vox Day, just Vox — has an interesting and very thorough piece looking at the ways in which misogyny has served as a gateway drug for the alt-right brand of white supremacy. The author, Aja Romano, sent me some questions and quoted me fairly extensively in the piece, mostly about the role Gamergate played in the rise of the alt-right.
Check it out here.
https://youtu.be/ZBAijg5Betw
Seriously?
For future reference, how do I embed youtube videos here?
@Tovius
You need to use the full link. The youtube.com links rather than the shortern youtu.be mobile links.
Hmm, it works if it’s by itself, but not if there’s text beneath it or above it. I’m not sure what’s going on.
@Tovius
Yeah, you need the full link PLUS only the last video will embed as long as it’s at the end of the post. Sometimes.
It’s a mess.
Jack, yeah, hopefully we educate more than attract trolls and the like.
Sinkable John, my dad’s quite the shitstain, too. I’m glad you and your mom were able to escape. And yes, I’ll be sure to give it a read, then!
(Sorry for my low-energy response, I only just got done going through my to-do list for today and I’m tired.)
So people have covered a lot of the issues with the article, but I’d like to add my two cents.
I don’t think it’s a bad article. I think that when mainstream media outlets or places that haven’t paid much attention to this breed of arsehole start researching, they’re bound to get things wrong and have a lot of what to us looks like sloppy wording, because we’re used to David’s well-honed and brilliantly incisive commentary. Not that any of the things people have said are wrong, but I’m willing to cut them some slack for now.
HOWEVER
1. The single mothers thing. I had so much of a problem with that it prevented me sharing the original tweetstorm on social media, despite it being otherwise great. So why was that one of the tweets chosen for the article? I have mummy issues myself, but fuck everyone who blames single mothers for anything except their brilliant ability to raise children in a fucked up world.
2. My main issue with the article itself is more broad; I don’t like the way the progression angle is framed. Overall, it sounds like these poor men, lonely, sexless because of their single mothers (…nope, can’t let that go) went looking for some validation, any validation away from the mean feminists. They got sucked in by promises of emotional support (…in the manosphere?) and exploited and WOOPS now they’re Nazis. Or swept up on a tide of racism and misogyny and too far gone. Everyone cry for the poor exploited men.
It ignores the fact that the people in these communities have pushed them in this direction by choosing to be ever more foul. They saw the misogyny, racism, homophobia, facism, rape threats, death threats, doxxing, harassment, and instead of bolting in the other direction they joined in and pushed that boundary further. The alt-right, the manosphere, the 8channers aren’t exactly known for hiding their awfulness -in fact, they shine a spotlight on it, proud of their most hateful and despicable words and actions. If anyone has removed the teeth, it’s the media who refused to tie Elliot Rodgers to his misogyny, or call Trump supporters racist. The alt-right aren’t innocent manipulated victims, and I take umbridge at the suggestion that we should pity the men harassing women out of their homes, trans people out of their places of study, and (if they have their way) anyone not the whitest of white Christians out of their country.
Uh, is Euroguy a regular troll? Or he new?
Cuz holy hell.
Yeah, he’s pretty amazing. Wrong about everything, and pretty clearly just saying the way he wishes the world was, instead of how it actually is. I’m being avoidant for the most part.
He’s new. Although it would not surprise me if he was a sock either.
Really not loving how he’s sharing his sexual fantasies with us.
I for one found the fascist-feminist part pretty entertaining. He’s getting boring now that he’s dropped half the act though.
Meh, it’s either this troll or Maggy’s Towel, and I already threw up like two hours ago, so I’ll keep my eyes on this one.
ETA :
JACK ! Getta load of that !
While we were musing about what never goes through, it turns out that there actually, literally WAS a lot of stupid staring back at us from the moderation filter !
David, I wasn’t being serious about the moderation filter.
I hope so too because that sounds like they’re prepared for a good time. Everyone should at least use two forms of birth control, IMO, and everyone carrying around condoms is both convenient and smart. People without penises shouldn’t be afraid to carry their own condoms if they enjoy and/or expect PiV sex, although we should all mind that condoms have expiration dates and that carrying condoms in your wallet for long expanses of time can ruin the integrity of the latex, which can cause it to break easier. I’m not sure about sheepskin or other latex alternatives in wallets, though. Sheepskin, while it prevents pregnancies, doesn’t protect against STDs anyway.
And, of course, you needn’t have condoms that are just for penises. There are condoms for vaginas, most commonly known as “female” condoms, although vaginal condoms can be, like, twice the price at least of some condoms. Like, fucking $30 a box. But I don’t see why maybe as an alternative to penial condoms people carry around vaginal ones. (Although they’re bigger and stuff so not as easy to tuck away.)
But, of course, you don’t need to do PiV or any penetrative sex at all. Dental dams and regular ol’ latex gloves can be used for oral and fingering and such. Hell, you can just use saran wrap for dental dams if you need it. These are much cheaper than even penial condoms.
So that was some brief sex ed. Hoped you enjoyed it and it was informative. Remember, sex is more fun with affirmative consent and safety!
@”Euro”guy
Lets be honest, you aren’t actually a euro guy at all, are you?
I was gonna say “Euroguy is just straight-up posting his sexual fantasies here now,” but weirwoodtreehugger beat me to it.
And if David were to write a book about the manosphere, I’d support that project in every way I could.
I am very happy all of you are making mockery about me.
But I am not a troll. I am just giving another point of view.
@Pie
Well, I think I am a male (not transgender, not yet), and my passport says “European Union”.
I am happy cuz you have a laugh, and having a laugh is always good. I celebrate it! Even if the laugh is about me. :)))
Sheesh, now we’re getting bog-standard “off-topic post troll”. EuroGuy: 0 of 10, don’t bother trying again.
I can see EuroGuy being a sock, to be honest. It’s actually the same pattern as Mick Dash’s appearance before. Mick showed up with his story about bein’ an innocent no-really-i’m-a-feminist-in-college act; EuroGuy shows up with story about bein’ an innocent no-really-i’m-a-feminist-fascist-actually-cuckold act. And in both cases, a day or two afterwards, Miggy shows up to argue in another thread.
That’s not actual evidence but it’s a correlation. Take it as you will.
Wasn’t there another self-described fascist troll with a similar name right back when this site first started? Euros-something…
EDIT: Eurosabra, that was it.
I hardly ever read the site back in the early days, and I certainly didn’t post at all back then. But from what I did see and remember, Euroguy and Eurosabra sound nothing alike.
Just a note to everyone who pointed out that the “single mothers” tweet may be more nuanced than it first appears: I really do appreciate you pointing out a different way of looking at it.
I may go back and try to read the whole thing again in this context, but for now my visceral reflex disgust with it is still too fresh. I might attempt at a later date.
But I did want to say thanks.