Advanced Apathy

Those that are close to me would say that I am a very opinionated person. There are a few things I have taken a rather strong stance on (PS3 vs. 360, Pluto being a planet, dairitarianism, etc.) but none of those come close to the vigor I put in my arguments for Men’s rights. Let me be clear about this to begin, I am not a sexist. I grew up in a house with 4 sisters and a mom. I don’t carry any negative feelings towards them, but I do believe that living that way has given me a slightly different perspective on the problem than most others.

Before I launch into my rant, let me give a little background on the subject:

The feminist movement started in 1790, when a woman named Mary Wollstonecraft stated in a pamphlet the inequalities in society (Britain) and that they should be equalized. This, I wholeheartedly agree with and endorse. All I want in society is equality and fairness regardless of gender. This was the core principal the feminist movement strived for, unfortunately it has strayed from its path. Up until 1967, the movement was about woman demanding (as they rightfully deserved) equal pay, and non-discriminatory laws giving them a footing in the modern world. This was good. However, soon we start to see a shift in motives. In 1968, feminists start to use the phrase “Sisterhood is Powerful”. According to my research, this is a corner stone to a more hostile attitude that is now know to be associated with feminists.

In 1969 a group called Redstockings was formed with the purpose of “Holding the view that all men oppress all women as a class and that it is the responsibility of individual men to give up male supremacy, rather than the responsibility of women to change themselves.” Yeah, their a bit nutsy. They are known as one of the more radical groups to date, as they staged many illegal, disruptive, and annoying protests with the goal of converting men and women to their cause. They are still around, but operate more in the background with legal matters.

At this point in time, we are in the third wave of feminism. From what I have seen and experienced, the third wave of feminism is sexist. The things feminists now hope to achieve (although they will never admit it) is greater rights for women, than men.

Which leads me to my argument, Men’s Rights. Very few of you have probably even heard of the concept, because society loves to paint the woman of the country as the victims rather than a class of people looking for equality. A good example of obviously blinding sexism is court cases involving rape. In most states if a woman says she was raped, she does not have to provide any physical evidence from her body. This is usually achieved by claiming the event was severely emotionally traumatizing, and that she doesn’t want to be examined. With a convincing lawyer, this can be achieved. However it should be noted that in cases of jail time over 10 years/the death sentence the woman is almost always pressured to get examined.

Another example of the court’s sexism is custody battles. Where a couple is divorcing and children are involved, women get the children in almost 70% of cases. Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against the mother taking care of children. I simply believe that the children should go to the parent who can give them the best opportunity possible for success in life, and I don’t believe that 70% of mothers make more money, and are as loving as fathers are. But in this area of issue, my real concern is that feminism is nowhere to be found! If feminists were out to really get what they claim “Equal Rights under the law” than they would also fight against blatantly obvious showings of sexism, regardless of the circumstances.

Also, how often have you heard of a police officer responding to a scene of domestic disturbance, and had a couple quarreling? Many times domestic violence is insinuated, but if it is made by the man saying the woman did it, it is many times defeated in trial, or never goes at all. Feminists groups don’t fight this at all!

Seeing how long this is running I’ll try to wrap it up with this last point.

I would not have an issue with these blatantly hypocritical showings of feminism, if it weren’t for the fact that most Men’s Rights groups are not taken seriously, and are many times ignored. This goes back to the faulty assumption that women are victims. They are not! They are a group of citizens that want to be given equal footing in society, and should be seen as such.

Here is my statement to all feminists. If you want equal treatment, you should. If you want equal rights, fine. If you want to be recognized as people and not sex-objects, that’s just dandy. All we men want in return is for you to STOP BEING HYPOCRITICAL! If your stance on a subject is equal rights, then don’t try and get more than men. If you want to be taken seriously, take a hint from Martin Luther King Jr.: make it clear what you want, fight for it, and when you get it, be content!

Stop the Stupidity!

-Trenton Stahl

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