Activism is not Enough

Doing good things for men - opening DV shelters, men's centers, passing male-friendly laws, and so on - is all very excellent and fine, but it does not strike the root of the problem. It only hacks at the branches. No, activism is not enough! The problem is structural and systemic, and this fact must be reflected in our rhetoric and our message. So you must strike the root!  In addition to activism, there must be agitation - a continual barrage of speech and writing which underscores the systemic evil  and makes that evil more and more plain to the world at large. This aspect of the revolution is IMPERATIVE, and without it you might as well be shoveling mud uphill.

So the next time some feminist asshat, or worse, some non-feminist asshat, says "you don't really care about men, you're just anti-feminist," then you shouldzt set that idiot straight in pretty square terms:

"If you really care about men, then why are you letting feminism off the hook?"

Anybody who claims to care about men, but doesn't scour feminism pretty strongly on a regular basis, is either a damned liar or a lazy, muddled fool with his head up his ass. There is simply no way you can care about men if you are not attacking or at least consciously undermining feminism in one way or another. 

And if I absolutely had to make the choice, I would even say that agitation is MORE important than activism. Yes, I would rather have a thousand people loudly slagging off feminism in my town, than to have one men's DV shelter open while nobody makes a squeak about feminism! And you can quote me on that. 

No, it is not enough to recover the stolen property (i.e. our lives and human dignity). It is well to do so, but in addition you must manacle the thief (i.e. feminism) and haul him before the magistrate (i.e. unfettered counter-feminist interrogation). It will not do to let the thief slip away into the night, to thieve again.

Ideally, we should have both activism and agitation. And I am happy to report that we do have groups and individuals who are tending to both ends of the business. I salute all who fight the good fight, whatever their battle front might be.  

Thank you, and have a wonderful day!