Dear University of Toronto Student’s Union,
My name is Paul Elam. I am the founder and publisher of avoiceformen.com, and the founder of AVFM Radio.
I am here to issue you a promise, or depending on your preference, a warning.
Your recent campaign of lies, hatred and violence in response to Dr. Warren Farrell speaking about problems faced by men and boys is unacceptable in any decent society governed by the rule of law.
It is the intention of A Voice for Men, LLC, an organization promoting the basic rights of all human beings, to make this kind of destructive activity on your part as painful and consequence heavy as possible.
I recently watched the verbal and physical harassment of students who came to Dr. Farrell’s talk to learn about problems like male suicide and male disenfranchisement in education. I watched as they were called scum and rape apologists and incest supporters by shrieking ideologues with spittle flying as they harassed and assaulted these students. Young men harassed for attempting to educate themselves about a very real Boy Crisis in this culture.
I watched as police were assaulted and mocked and ridiculed — called “pigs.” I watched as doors were blocked, hateful slogans chanted and every possible attempt to censor made to prevent Dr. Farrell’s speech and to undermine the freedom of students who wanted to hear him.
Rather than showing concern for this violence and hate, you followed up with more of the same. On your website, you cite avoiceformen.com as “Anti-woman,” and incorrectly claim we editorially labelled one of your hateful ideologues as, “the personification of Princess Cupcake”, “an utterly vile creature”, and “Hitler’s Barbie.”
Those statements were cherry-picked from reader’s comments. While angry reactions like this are understandable following your outrageous conduct, they do not reflect the editorial position of AVFM, which is simply that the woman in question is hateful, abusive and a violent ideologue.
She is also the focus of ongoing inquiry, whose identity will be discovered and put on public display. Her conduct will follow her wherever she goes for the foreseeable future.
She is not the only individual earning such inquiry and publication.
Like the early mission of the SPLC in opposition to racism, AVfM’s mandate includes identifying and exposing agents of hate, violence and bigotry, and all who threaten the peaceful and legally protected exchange of ideas.
We are not interested in the peace of mind, or in protecting the public image of offending individuals and organizations.
Since you at the University of Toronto Student’s Union have elected to follow a path of hatred, violence, censorship and sexism, your members and governing staff now demand inclusion in our efforts to address the serious social pathology of sexual hatred.
By operating a hate group under the banner of a Student Union, you present a virulent threat to the free exchange of ideas, and indeed to every student at the University of Toronto.
The time when such activity is conducted without challenge is over.
We are beginning with the activist bullying and piling hatred and lies on a student for attempting to hear Dr. Farrell’s talk. We have her image and know her general location. We will identify her and profile her activity and name for public view.
We will not stop there, or just with her. And while we will not publish our complete intent, we are dogged in our efforts.
I wish we could make allowance, or offer sympathy for your distorted views. We cannot, and will not. We have no more sympathy for your agenda of hatred and exclusion than for a plantation owner’s rationale in the Antebellum South for justified ownership of another human being.
Also, we will never undermine your right to free speech. But when you attempt to silence others, as you did with Dr. Farrell, we will act.
Men and boys are human beings, worthy of rights, worthy of academic investment and interest. They are human beings who deserve ameliorative help when their circumstances dictate that is necessary. They do not need permission or approval from anti-male ideologues. You are not the arbiters of who deserves human rights, or who does not.
We will no longer tolerate the activities of organizations and individuals who undermine these basic truths.
To The University of Toronto Student’s Union
