A recent article at the Humanism.com website attempted (without much success, considering the comments to the article) to link Men’s Rights Activists to mass shootings and other bad behavior. The absurd article, entitled Sounds Nothing Like Humanism: MRAs and Mass Shootings by feminist Merrill “Mendacious” Miller (who serves as an official at the website), is the usual feminist hodge-podge of her “feelings,” faulty statistics, and outright lies about the Men’s Rights Movement.
There is a lot to refute in her screed against men but let’s look at just a few of that liar’s statements to see how reliable she is.
There is evidence that some of the perpetrators of recent mass shootings in the US were motivated, at least in part, by the stud and “tough guy” images of masculinity upheld by men’s rights activists.
Mendacious Miller’s understanding of causality is somewhat weak. There is actually more evidence that all perpetrators of recent mass shootings in the US were influenced by breathing oxygen and humanist values, which means all oxygen breathing humanists should be banned, of course. We do know, for example, that when mass shooters are denied oxygen and humanism, their shooting sprees end.
In addition, while the MRM might uphold “the stud and ‘tough guy’ images of masculinity” (I’ve never heard that before, but I suppose it is possible) we also uphold the masculine images of gay men, sensitive men, thoughtful men, nurturing men, gregarious men, trans men, loner men, funny men, poor men, rich men, men of all races, and men of all religions (or no religion at all). Masculinity is not toxic, it is not intrinsically bad nor good any more than femininity. I do wonder, though, what Mendacious Miller thinks of women who act with the same confident sexuality and toughness as the “stud and tough guys” she demonizes so readily.
Is the demonization of men, men’s sexuality, and masculinity a Humanist trait, Ms. Medacious Miller? I ask because as a humanist official who works for humanism.com, you sure do make it sound as if it is your official policy. I would recommend that humanism.com reconsider your continued service to them in light of the horrible anti-men message you are associating with humanism.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, Ms Mendacious, the MRM has no problem with confident, tough women – indeed, they are among our élite advocates and activists. We treasure them.
But let’s get back to Mendacious Miller’s article.
Just last week, a high school student in Idaho threatened to “kill all the girls” at his school because the cheerleaders wouldn’t send him nude pictures…[omitted]…That Rodger and Mercer would go to such lengths as to kill others in an attempt to prove themselves men reveals the disturbing definitions of masculinity perpetuated by our wider culture and amplified by the MRA community.
I can’t help but wonder if Mendacious Miller links violent lyrics in rap music to crime. I mean, that would be sort of racist, right? It is no less sexist to link common images of masculinity to shootings.
But let’s assume for a moment that Mendacious Miller’s linkage is valid. Who is more culpable for these shooting rampages – MRAs who discuss and affirm various abstract images of masculinity, or Humanists who demonize masculinity? By Mendacious Miller’s own faulty “link” reasoning, the women who declined the shooters’ sexual advances would be the direct, proximal cause of the rampages. Of course, neither those women nor MRAs are responsible for the shootings – the shooters are – but Mendacious Miller’s brutal quest to hurt the rights of men knows no such sober reasoning.
What is more likely to diffuse men’s anger – assuring their rights, or increasingly repressing them? Those feminists who torture men and restrict men’s human rights look awfully stupid when a few tortured men lash out in anger. It is amazing to me that so few men do – the strength and restraint of their masculinity seems like a good character trait in this light.
Let’s apply Mendacious Miller’s reasoning to another case, that of Oxford feminist Annie Teriba, a recent confessed serial rapist. Rewriting Mendacious Miller’s shitty, ill-reasoned prose to cover this case:
Just last week, a college student and feminist activist at Oxford admitted to raping a series of other students at her school because those students would not agree to have consensual sex with her…[omitted]…That Annie Teriba would go to such lengths as to rape others in an attempt to prove herself a woman reveals the disturbing definitions of femininity perpetuated by our wider culture and amplified by the feminist community.
Although the shooters were not MRAs and had no links to the men’s movement, rapist Annie Teriba was an active feminist involved in fighting “rape culture”:
Teriba was well-known in student activism circles and had spoken publicly about the need to tackle rape culture at Oxford, even writing a think piece on the issue for a university feminist blog called Bad Housekeeping. She wrote: “We are at a turning point. Unless something gives, we run the risk of reaching a point at which society can never solve the issue of sexual violence.”
By Mendacious Miller’s reasoning, feminism is now directly linked to serial rapists, quite more so than the tenuous link she fails to prove about MRAs and violence. By her shitty logic, this means that humanists should disavow feminism and feminists who claim to be humanist. The case here is unassailable and stronger than Miller’s indictment of MRAs – the shooters were not proven, admitted MRAs but here, the rapist was a proven, admitted feminist. Feminists claim that rape is worse than murder, which literally makes the case against Mendacious Miller bulletproof by her own logic.
If it turns out that rapist Annie Teriba was studly and tough, or wanted to be, does that mean women should avoid acting like men? Of course not, it means that people should stop shooting people and committing rape.
Clearly, humanists and humanism.com need to dump Merrill Mendacious Miller. She sounds nothing like humanism, and certainly is not like humanist Meryl Streep.
If Mendacious Miller wants to repudiate her wretched article and return to humanism, I suggest Mendacious Miller prove her humanist activist bona fides: register for the military draft like all U.S. men are forced to by law – but not women, yet.
