I had been ignoring the Men’s Rights movement as one of the many pointless things that finds a space on the internet, until I wrote about the male bias in geek culture recently. That column for The Guardian produced a torrent of bile from hundreds of male commenters. Many identified as Men’s Rights activists. The whole thing was an excellent insight in to the deeply dysfunctional and immature psychology of many young – and not so young – men today.
The problem lies in how MRAs react to feminism. They see people talking about women’s issues and their reaction is not one of empathy. It is always, “What about us? Bad stuff happens to us too.”
That’s from this interesting post by The Frogman, who has spent some time interacting with the Men’s Rights movement and, in response to an anonymous comment on his blog, produces this excellent summary of everything that is wrong with the Men’s Rights movement.
I’ve been to the forums. I’ve interacted with the people. I’ve tried to give the men’s rights movement a chance. Unfortunately the people involved are much more concerned about derailing and dismantling feminism than actually solving any of those issues. As if they can’t make any progress until feminism is destroyed.
And.
If the MRAs continue to derail every conversation by making it about them, they are not going to be taken seriously. There is plenty of space to talk about men’s issues. They don’t need to invade the space of feminism to be heard. And if they keep thinking women are the enemy, even though women are actually trying to make progress with some of the very issues you mentioned, they aren’t going to have much luck actually solving anything they care about.
What saddened me about the response of the self-identified “geek males” I engaged in discussion was how utterly blind they were to the common ground they share with feminism. Young men who talked about how they had been bullied and beaten at school, couldn’t see that the corrupt, patriarchal system feminism seeks to dismantle is the same system oppressing both women and men. If MR activists need to learn one thing, it’s that feminists aren’t the enemy.
(I think MRAs need to learn more than one thing, but that would be a start.)
Damien Walter 
Wrong, I need to jack shit as a man, and go fuck yourself Damien.
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Let me get this right, Simon: you need to stimulate feces to orgasm by vigorously massaging it?
You’ve been on the internet too long, mate.
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Young men who talked about how they had been bullied and beaten at school, couldn’t see that the corrupt, patriarchal system feminism seeks to dismantle is the same system oppressing both women and men.
oh, I think there are a couple of things at work here, Damien. I do think that such bullied men might well recognize its all of a piece. However, there is (and I fear I am going to Godwin myself here) an analogy to post-Reconstruction South. Impoverished Southern whites were as much a prisoner of the politics and social set up as African Americans. However, they could always console themselves that they were better and better off than such African Americans.
So, too, certain geek males can put themselves above women, even if they themselves get the short end of the stick in such a social setup–they get slightly less of the short end.
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RE: If the MRAs continue to derail every conversation by making it about them, they are not going to be taken seriously.
_________________________
The above sentence perfectly describes feminism and the behavior of those who promote it and our female centered culture. However, I do indeed take feminism very seriously which is why I’m hyper polite towards females when in public while avoiding all unnecessary contact with females in private.
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They do not share common ground with feminism. You showed that with the following comment: “Young men who talked about how they had been bullied and beaten at school, couldn’t see that the corrupt, patriarchal system feminism seeks to dismantle is the same system oppressing both women and men.”
That has nothing to do with how those boys were bullied. Many of them were bullied by girls, quite often by girls who now identify as feminists. Indeed, any quick glance at feminist commentary about male geeks shows that feminists typically view male geeks with contempt and often resort to derision regardless of whether those men have attacked them or not.
That is what saddens me. Feminists do not men’s complaints seriously. It is only when men chime in on feminist discussions that paint various issues like sexual violence, bullying, and health issues as “women’s issues” that feminists will even acknowledge men and boys experience those problems.
There is also a grand irony in feminists complaining about someone derailing “every conversation by making it about them” because that is exactly what feminists do. No matter the issue, feminists only discuss how it affects women and they will not hesitate to derail a discussion about men’s issues to make it about them.
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By ‘chime in’, you mean derail discussions about issues that women face as women with cries of ‘WHAT ABOUT DA MENZ!’.
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KNOWLEDGE: I hold a BA in Art History and a Ph.D. in Engineering.
EXPERIENCE: I lived as gay man for 20 years. I am now married to a woman with two kids of our own.
So I have both of the above: likely more than this author ever will.
And about a month ago, I finally joined the chorus of the MRA groups.
I have seen how academia favors women.
How the courts favor women in sentencing
How our health care favors women.
And I am tired of 1) the sexism against men, and 2) the endless whining by feminists that THEY are the ones who suffer sexism.
Feminism was good in the beginning. Now it is toxic and the movement must be flushed.
Damien, don’t be so judgmental on your brothers learning to speak of their pain. Were you this judgmental on the early feminists? Likely, you forgave them.
No matter, Damien… two things…
1. Your job will soon be taken by a women.
2. You can’t stop us.
Men from all walks of life are now supporting each other. You can, however, join us.
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sounds like to me u regret turning straight marrying having kids ..please don’t take it out on ur wife or women for the choices you made
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Not in the least.
We are now vacationing in the Norwegian fjords.
Life is great.
And I am more MRA than before.
And my wife and daughter support me.
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But dude…. that post was three years ago.
Don’t you have better things to do?
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(excuse spelling errors, plural, tense, etc. in previous. Typing with cold fingers after losing a snowball fight to my son and daughter.)
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BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
HAHAHAHAHAHAH!
*cough*
sorry
oker
hehehehe
fuck this comment is just hilarious
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I knew someone would like it.
But now: I attack them both. Later.
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