On July 11th, A Voice for Men received an email from a law firm claiming to represent a noxious hate group in the Edmonton, Alberta area of Canada calling themselves Sexual Assault Voices of Edmonton. They are threatening AVfM with legal action for hosting a thread on our forum entitled “Don’t be that girl”; Men’s Rights Edmonton’s parody posters were uploaded to that thread.
This group, Sexual Assault Voices of Edmonton, was founded in 2009, and has no affiliation at all with the respectable Stop Abusive and Violent Environments, a Washington DC-area group founded in 2008 which does good work that we fully support.
It’s an interesting coincidence that a group called “SAVE” in Canada that promotes demonizing literature targeted at men’s sexuality apparently stole the name of a legitimate group called SAVE that attempts to bring public attention to false accusations in the United States, and to non-sexist treatment under the law for all victims.
In fact, by the same logic they’re using to threaten AVfM, Sexual Assault Voices of Edmonton are on shaky ground referring to themselves as “SAVE.” As such we’ve decided to rename the Sexual Assault Voices of Edmonton. We have dropped the V from their acronym since that group is only a voice for the cash cow sexual abuse survivor and only while she can be milked for moolah. Let’s add in an “S” to reference their sociopathic propaganda and, viola! We have Edmonton’s Sexual Sociopaths’ Assault, or Edmonton’s SS-A, for short.
Edmonton’s SS-A has hired attorneys to attempt to censor and harass the Men’s Human Rights community, and exert control over discourse on the Internet. This is not just our own publication at stake, or even the men’s human rights movement itself, but anyone on the Internet who might happen to annoy Gender fascist groups. Or even anyone who just disseminates a witty meme with a photo they haven’t copyrighted.
Yes. Edmonton’s SS-A has declared war on Grumpy Cat. First they came for Insanity wolf…
The email, with a PDF attachment, is from the offices of Parlee McLaws, LLC drafted by Michael W. Sharp MWS.
In lieu of publishing the entire email received by our mail servers this is the list of angry demands from Edmonton’s SS-A:
* The phrase “Don’t Be That Guy” is a trademark of the hate group forthwith known as Edmonton’s SS-A and any use of it on A Voice for Men violates their Trademark as well as their copyright.
* Any phrases such as “Don’t be THAT girl” or “Don’t be THAT [anything]” (like “Don’t be that shyster” or “Don’t be that false accuser,” “don’t be that abusive mother,” “don’t be that hatemongering feminist,” etc.) violate their trademark and harm their business and we should cease and desist and forbid any use of the “don’t be that” phrasing.
* Don’t print or reprint their photos in any way
* Deliver up for their inspection all information we have on three of our community members (including one known as “anon,” who, as everybody knows, has been a well-known and distinguished writer for many thousands of years).
* Termination of several of our community members’ accounts
* Undertake never to do or say anything naughty that might cause them discomfort again.
* Oh, and by the way, don’t print this letter either.
Now still we could have ignored all of this, but then at the bottom of the letter appeared a section so outrageous, we simply could not resist. They demanded that we have someone sign and date the above–although who exactly they are after is never clearly stated–and get it back to them no later than July 16th, 2013.
What follows is the response of the Editorial team at AVfM.
We, the editorial team at AVfM, acting in our capacity as duly authorized representatives of A Voice for Men, hereby refuse to undertake the commitments laid out in your letter dated July 11, 2013 – specifically, we refuse your request to cease mention or discussion or parody or satire of any reference or representation of “don’t be that guy.” Your claim of copyright or trademark on “Don’t be that…” is frivolous at best, as is your claim that it is in any way a threat to your client’s disgusting business. Edmonton’s SS-A (Formerly Sexual Assault Voices of Edmonton, founded in 2009 and in no way affiliated with the praiseworthy SAVE of the Washington DC area, founded in 2008) is in our view a hate group that promotes sexual assault and sexist bigotry. Indeed, as a team we DECREE–EX-CATHEDRA, FOREVERMORE AND HENCEFORTH FOR ALL ETERNITY AMEN! that as matter of policy anyone acting under the authority of AVfM is to refuse to do anything whatsoever requested by or on behalf of the disgusting hate group known as Edmonton’s SS-A unless those requests involve things like telling them to go fly a kite or helping them dismantle their entire hatemongering sociopathic operation.
We furthermore solemnly swear and affirm that it shall from this day forward be the editorial policy of A Voice for Men that Edmonton’s SS-A shall always be referred to as a vile hate group, and/or a fascist group of censorship-minded thugs who hate freedom of expression and who seek to control discourse on the Internet so as to silence all criticism of their propaganda. We further decree, in response to this pernicious attempt at barratry by Edmonton’s SS-A that we believe that Edmonton’s SS-A’s business operation clearly intends and desires to manufacture more victims of sexual assault for profit and to marginalize unprofitable victims of sexual assault in Canada, and that Edmonton’s SS-A (founded in 2009 and not in any way affiliated with the praiseworthy group SAVE founded in 2008), is otherwise a bunch of vile thugs who shouldn’t be allowed to operate any businesses at all within any respectable community anywhere in the world, and should probably be kept out of reach and out of sight of children if at all possible.
It will also henceforth be A Voice for Men’s goal to, at every opportunity, make completely truthful statements with full intent to discredit the business, wares, and services of Edmonton’s SS-A, and to bring direct public attention to the hateful, hurtful, damaging, and rape-encouraging and victim-blaming nature of Edmonton’s SS-A advertising, services, business, wares, and to use the phrase “Don’t be THAT…” as often as humanly possible in our headlines and materials in order to mock, deride, annoy, and otherwise satirize this vile hate group. We very much hope to see them completely change their business model (which we repeat, appears to be to create more victims of sexual assault in Canada), and we frankly hope to see them driven completely out of business, as their ilk has no place whatsoever in a decent, civilized society.
We further pledge to regularly alert the public that Edmonton’s SS-A (founded in 2009 and in no way affiliated with the praiseworthy SAVE of the Washington DC area, founded in 2008) regularly operates its business in a manner contrary to ethical standards of business, commerce, or victims advocacy and in a manner directly antithetical to human rights for men, for children, and even for the women it so dishonestly purports to advocate for.
It shall furthermore be our goal in response to this puerile attempt at bullying and barratry and internet censorship to identify to the public the names and faces of all individuals in leadership positions within the Edmonton’s SS-A (founded in 2009 and in no way affiliated with the praiseworthy SAVE of the Washington DC area, founded in 2008), in order to alert the world to the sort of vile, bigoted, sexist, racist thugs who run hatemongering campaigns like “Don’t Be That Guy.” Finally, please advise your client that as a direct result of their puerile attempts at censorship, we will be regularly featuring images and articles using the phrases “Don’t be that guy,” “Don’t be that girl,” “Don’t be that scumsucking shyster crap-weasel,” “Don’t be that hatemongering feminist bigot,” and so on for the direct purposes of satire, parody, and news reporting, and shall otherwise endeavor in any way we can think of to defame, humiliate, tarnish the reputation of, and generally embarrass the hatemongering crapweasels at Edmonton’s SS-A (founded in 2009 and in no way affiliated with the praiseworthy SAVE of the Washington DC area, founded in 2008).
We also pledge to not just make regular use of the images of the despicable hate group known as Edmonton’s SS-A (founded in 2009 and in no way affiliated with the praiseworthy SAVE of the Washington DC area, founded in 2008) for purposes of satire, criticism, political commentary, and news reporting purposes, but also for the purposes of, in any way legally and ethically allowable, driving these scumsucking vermin out of the public square and into the ashbin of history’s discarded lies as soon as humanly possible. Their “business,” such as it is, is no better than the “business” of Neo-Nazis or the Ku Klux Klan, and, like the neo-Nazis and the Klan, we hope to see them disappear from human civilization forever.
We will otherwise be refusing any and all requests made in this letter dated 11 July 2013, and are fully ready to do whatever it takes to continue to refuse to comply with the wishes of the vile hate group known as Edmonton’s SS-A (founded in 2009 and in no way affiliated with the praiseworthy SAVE of the Washington DC area, founded in 2008).
To you, SS-A, and indeed, to anyone who attempts to silence us, we respond: Don’t be that stupid.
Also, fuck you.
Thank you very much for your kind attention, and warmest regards.
The Editorial Team,
A Voice for Men
