Sunday, October 2, 2016

MGTOW - Benefits of Feminism?

MGTOW - Men Going Their Own Way, a somewhat strange organization, has a somewhat strange video on The Benefits of Feminism. It isn't really much of a video just someone speaking while a few pictures display on the screen.

MGTOW and the video, as near as I can tell, appear to be a reaction against injustices men have experienced taken a bit too far. They essentially believe that men are better off without marriage or even loving relationships with women. They would rather men buy sex and companionship when needed outright rather than essentially do so, as they believe, through marriage.

The mistake they make is applying actions committed by individuals to an entire group. Which is pretty much the way racism, discrimination and sexism work. Some examples:

  • They state that all women are bad at managing money. That is patently ridiculous. I know many women who are good at managing money and many men men who are atrocious at it. 
  • They believe that all women are essentially predatory on men. Love is just a tactic to get money. Maybe I differ with them on this because I have been in a quite good loving relationship for over five years now. And it isn't like I have a lot of money anymore. 
Nevertheless, there are some quite interesting points made in the video. For example, they discuss how (some) women use men as a back-up retirement plan. I personally know of two women that are doing just this. Both date older men with money. They are seemingly head-over-heals in love and hint often of marriage. Yet, it is clear to me that if the man's wealth was at the same level as theirs, essentially flat broke, they would have nothing to do with him at all. But, and this is where I differ from MGTOW, is that it is clear to me that not all women are this way and certainly there are men that do the same. 

MGTOW makes many other very good points about how men are unjustly treated. These include the fact that nearly all military deaths are of men, the preponderance of dangerous jobs are done mostly by men and that most health research dollars are spent to help women. Where the organization fails is that rather than pointing these out as examples of unjust treatment instead devolves into an attack on women.  

I believe in justice. It doesn't matter what the gender (or race, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, whatever) is. Maybe that is why I am far less outraged by Spring's actions, despite being unethical to the extreme and criminal to boot. She is just a person with serious moral issues. The world is full of them. What is far, far worse is a legal system that not only promotes injustice but where criminal actions are routinely committed and covered by as a matter of course. Society cannot "fix" bad people. But they can make just laws and enforce them consistently and equitably. 

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