Männerrechtler antworten auf feministische Morddrohungen

Auf die Morddrohungen kurz vor der internationalen Männerkonferenz in Detroit antwortet Jonathan Taylor von der männerpolitischen Website A Voice for Male Students mit einem Offenen Brief an Emma Howland-Bolton, eine Anführerin des Protestes gegen die Konferenz. Ein Auszug:

I am writing to call upon you to take an opportunity to enhance the credibility of your protest. In summary, you have been heavily invested in organizing a protest that has included threats of violence and death against organizers, attendees and hosts of the upcoming conference at the Double Tree hotel in Detroit. Indeed, these threats of violence and death have become so pervasive and severe that the hotel is now requiring an entire squadron of police to station themselves at the premises for 24 hour-a-day security for three days straight so that people cannot be killed for simply listening to academics and advocates speak at a conference.

(...) I am calling on you to immediately remove from the Facebook group of which you are the administrator the posts and users which advocate violence and other forms of criminal conduct (examples here and here). In addition, I am calling on you to make an immediate public announcement on that Facebook group and any other social media channels you use to organize your event in which you denounce all exercise and suggestion of criminal conduct for both the current and all future protests. I am calling on you to do all of these things – not pick and choose those you prefer.

As you well know, the upcoming First International Conference on Men’s Issues unites academics and advocates from diverse backgrounds and across the political spectrum. The roster of speakers includes Dr. Warren Farrell (three-time board member of the National Organization for Women-New York), Senator Anne Cools (the first black female senator to be elected to Canada’s upper house), Erin Pizzey (the founder of the first battered women’s shelter), Dr. Paul Nathanson (a gay academic who has written numerous books on gender issues), and many more.

While your protest is ostensibly predicated (as you erroneously claim) on the notion that this group of academics and advocates are responsible for violence against women (including the likes of Elliot Rodger, who – it would be apropos to note – murdered twice as many men as women), you have provided no evidence of a direct link to support these accusations. Furthermore, no one has ever been able to directly link Rodger to any Men’s Human Rights website, social media channel, or organization. My own website – the leading Men’s Human Rights website for men and boys in education – published an article sternly criticizing his actions.

Simultaneously, as an event organizer and facilitator you have failed to exercise discretion in taking any stance whatsoever against protesters who make threats and suggestions of violence and other forms of criminality among your own rank and file as today, 5-31-14 at 12:51 PM. These threats and suggestions of violence and criminality have remained on your group for at least three solid days while countless posts by men’s advocates asking for nothing more than a calm, civil discussion were deleted left and right.

(...) Last year those protesting men’s advocates who were sponsored by the Canadian Association for Equality (CAFE) to speak at the University of Toronto called for violence if their demand that the university close down the event were not met. In pursuit of a sexual misconduct policy which defined rape so broadly beyond its legal definition that it essentially eviscerated due process, the Feminist group "Radical Womyn of Antioch" threatened Antioch College with violence if they failed to adopt their policy (...).

Given that there is historical continuity and precedent among those who oppose the human rights of men and boys with threats of violence, it is imperative that we challenge it.

(...) Leading men’s advocates have had no problem denouncing violence in the past. In a "heads up" for an academic speaking event last year at the University of Toronto the staff at A Voice for Men – in strong and clear language – threatened to automatically sever ties with any men’s advocate who engages in violence (attacking or defending) and hand them over to the police. Indeed, they have told men’s advocates to not even defend themselves if under attack, but rather to either retreat or – if they cannot – to curl up on the ground in a fetal position while others filmed and contacted police.

A Voice for Men and their affiliates have also partnered with men’s advocates at the Canadian Association for Equality (CAFE), offering a reward of $4,000 for a Feminist student who was allegedly (but not confirmed to have been) assaulted. When they encouraged Feminists to match it they were met with silence.

And Voice for Male Students has always maintained a policy of nonviolence. Indeed, it is one of its nine founding values.

In an ideal world there would be no need to explain to you why a policy of nonviolence is essential to any human rights endeavor. I belabor this because it is unfortunately not so apparent to our opponents. Violence can be compared to George Washington’s characterization of government: a "dangerous servant and a fearful master." Violence does not breed peace, but only more violence, and it inevitably harms those who initiate it.

(...) It doesn’t take a lot to openly denounce violence. A Voice for Men has done it. A Voice for Male Students has done it. We can do it easily. We’re still waiting on you to do it.

I look forward to your substantial and more evenhanded public reaffirmation to nonviolence by the end of tomorrow, 6-1-14.

Hier findet man den vollständigen Offenen Brief.

Einen weiteren Offenen Brief hat Paul Elam auf der männerpolitischen Website A Voice for Men online gestellt: To All the Feminists Who Aren't Like That.