I’ve spent a few recent posts slamming the blog Return of Kings over its hugely offensive content, particularly articles like “5 Reasons to Date a Girl with an Eating Disorder” and “Why Society Owes Men Sex.” A reader informs me that this is no simple trolling blog. It’s part of a larger movement in the US.
Mood music:
According to the reader:
That’s not a troll blog. That’s actually an extremist movement you’ve stumbled upon. Look up “men’s rights” movement and you’ll find opinions ranging from blaming feminism for all problems to strange arguments like you just saw there decrying the lack of sex despite the fact that females are 50 percent of the population. There is even more crazy but it all stems from deriving self worth from women and the resulting obsession about women.
Strange that the men’s rights movement doesn’t focus on fatherhood etc issues. It actually puts very little focus on that.
I did a Google search and the reader is right. I came across several articles like this one in TIME, which notes, among other things, that these groups
tap into fear and insecurity and turn it into blame and rage. Often the leaders of these groups are men who feel as though they got screwed in a divorce. They quote all sorts of statistics about child custody and unfair alimony payments, because in their minds, the single mother who has to choose between feeding the kids or paying the rent is a myth. They believe passionately in their own victimhood and their creed goes something like this: Women are trying to keep us down, usurp all our power, taking away what it means to be a man.
My take on this movement is that you have a bunch of guys who failed to confront their own faults as husbands, fathers and lovers, and that they instead choose to blame women for their lot in life.
It’s certainly not unique. We all have our flaws, and when confronted about it our first reaction is often denial and defense. I’m sure they also believe their own bullshit and believe women were created for nothing other than serving males in the kitchen, bedroom and nursery.
Reasonable people look at this sort of thing and wonder how it can be in the 21st century. We’re supposed to be beyond it, right? But then there are still plenty of gay haters in the world, as well as those who despise Jews and African Americans.
I can’t change them. None of us can. They can only change themselves through a lot of personal growth and soul searching. I hope that’s how it plays out for them.
Meanwhile, I choose to weaken their hand by being the best man I can be.
