To: Tom Matlack and Lisa Hickey, goodmenproject.com
Dear Tom and Lisa,
As a fellow writer and website manager in the realm of sexual politics, it is my pleasure, both personally and professionally, to offer this letter of recommendation for Erika Jarvis.
I hope this recommendation comes at an advantageous time to GMP, as I am aware that you have recently purged a great deal of content from your site and may be seeking to fill the deficit.
Ms. Jarvis is a talented young writer with a flair for language and creative outcomes to her writing. She is not afraid to tackle tough subjects and then to remove all traces of her work when it is politically or financially expedient. Of course, that very fact brought both of you to mind immediately.
As an example of what I am talking about, Jarvis recently wrote an interview with me for the Toronto Standard. It was a good, balanced piece that covered different perspectives, using a critical, mostly objective pen. It drew a lot of traffic to Toronto Standard and was listed at the top of their “Most Popular” section.
When feminist ideologues objected to the piece, however, she asked the Standard to take it down without hesitation. This apparently happened after she got threats from feminists who preferred that she toed their line, ideologically speaking. The capitulation was a brilliant move on her part. Not only did she save enough face with the sisterhood to remain viable, she ensured that her name and this story will remain out there far, far longer than it ever would have if she had just left it alone.
Tom. Lisa. You know this is your girl.
In fact, I am thinking you might want to consider her for a management position. The reasoning is simple. In my discussions with her, Ms. Jarvis presented as a talented and intelligent woman with a high degree of integrity. Her questioning of me was fearless, while her reactions to my answers were conspicuously balanced and thoughtful. She literally brimmed with credibility.
That is why when her piece was removed from the Standard, it did not even dawn on me that it was at her behest; that is how much I actually believed her. And while the Standard is still responsible for the article coming down, the fact that she pulled this off behind a façade of journalistic integrity should put her on your short list for management. More than a keyboard jockey, this girl is. It is like she was born to work with Matlack and Hickey.
And as a last appeal on her behalf, I hope you will consider that you may well be one of her few remaining options. Given the fact that she wrote in the manner she did about me, AVfM, the protest in Toronto (which you somehow missed covering) and then pulled it down because feminists said, “fetch,” she has painted herself into the same corner as GMP.
The only writing role left for Jarvis now will be that of aggrieved, MRA hating, blindly biased feminist. It is the only way left for her because they will not let her have anything else. I know how much you both identify with that position, and how well you have taken to it.
I think, now that she has learned the limits that must be placed on the truth, she will prove to be an integral and invaluable member of your team.
Sincerely,
Paul Elam, publisher, AVFM
