Rant/Rave- Men's Rights Activism (Red Pill Movie Review)

I recently rented a documentary filmed by Cassie Jaye, a self-described feminist who examined Men's Rights Activism and came away with a very much different point of view.  The film touched on issues such as combat deaths, alimony, paternity rights, media bias, criminal justice and domestic violence.  It's an eye opener and I would recommend it to anyone with an open mind.  Although I am right of center politically, I am open-minded and intend to critically examine these issues with a balanced point of view.

Where do I stand?
I am all for gender equality and that includes everything that goes with it.  Yes, there are biological differences between the sexes and for that reason certain professions such as elementary school teaching and nursing will always be female dominated while fire fighting and the military will be male dominated.  Still, with that being said, any and all professions ought to be open to both genders and if the best qualified candidate for an upper management position is a woman, she should ABSOLUTELY be hired with equal pay for equal work.  I'm all for that.

If any woman is a victim of rape, sexual assault or domestic violence, I share your outrage and if any women reading this have been victims, I assure you that I am on your side and condemn those actions in the strongest terms with no ifs and or but.  Drawing attention to the fact that men can be victims as well does NOT mean that I condone violence against women nor does it diminish the impact.

Here are some statistics cited by film regarding men's issues:
-99% of combat deaths
-93% of workplace fatalities
-75% of murder victims
-76% of sucides
-63% longer prison sentences for the same crime
-much more likely to drop out of school, become homeless and imprisoned
-much less likely to be sheltered from domestic violence
-only a 15-20% chance of winning a child custody battle

How do radical feminists react when MRAs cite these statistics?
Like many on the extreme left, they often shout them down in protest with profanity and accusations of bigotry. In one case, a protester pulled a fire alarm in order to shut down an MRA speaker and subjected them to profanity laced screaming outside the building.  Not real classy.  One chant was "Racist, sexist, anti-gay, MRAs go away!"  This has absolutely NOTHING to do with race or sexual preference.  In fact, you could make the case that the black community has been hurt the most by radical feminism and absentee fathers.  I've also heard that gay men are more likely to be raped.

Workplace Issues:
Nobody in their right mind will deny that women have been historically oppressed and many professions were pretty much off limits to women as recently as 50 years ago.  That said, things have changed a great deal since then.  Today, you can choose to be a stay at home mother, a career-first woman or a balance between the two.  All 3 choices ought to be applauded and you should be encouraged to make the best choice given your unique situation as well as your goals, needs and wants.  Same with men.  I knew a man who had to quit his job due to health problems and became the primary care giver for 2 children.  This is also admirable.

Feminists point to issues such as the wage gap and the fact that 95% of CEOs are men and 80% of politicians are men as evidence of continued oppression. I will cede some ground on this point.  The film claims the reason for this is that men are more likely to be willing to work those long hours and make other sacrifices.  While I believe that to be true, I do acknowledge that women may have a harder time climbing the corporate ladder and talented women are under-represented in upper management. Still, the wage gap shrinks considerably when occupation and hours worked are factored into the equation.  Women are also under-represented in dangerous manual labor jobs, which certainly should be pointed out as well.

Paternity and Child Custody:
Here, there can be little argument that women have the upper hand over men.  Feminists respond that since women carry the babies for 9 months, it is only right.  That's a fair point but I do not agree with it because it takes a man and a woman to create a life.  While 70% of divorces are initiated by women, they win 80-85% of the custody battles while the father gets visitation rights every other weekend. In the movie Mrs. Doubtfire, Sally Field's character coldly asks Robin Williams, "Are my children ready yet?"  His response was "No, OUR children are not ready because you are an hour early and you were late dropping them off."  Child support and alimony payments also strongly favor women.  Typically, a man will win only if the woman has severe anger management issues and/or a drug and alcohol problem.  For this reason, many men will balk at marriage and we will see more absentee fathers, which leads to a plethora of social problems.  I'm not at all suggesting to take children away from loving mothers but joint custody ought to be the norm rather than the exception.

The film also brought up several cases in which women became single mothers by choice with no intention of continuing the relationship. This is one of many reasons to remain abstinent until marriage but this should be resolved with joint custody with all else being equal.   The film also brought up a case in which a mother gave up her child for adoption without the father's knowledge even though he was willing and able to care.  There was another who was forced to pay child support for a child that a DNA test proved was not even his under the penalty of jail time.  Any fair minded individual should agree that those 2 situations are clearly unfair to men.

Education and Criminal Justice:
Men's rights activists point to statistics that girls do better in school and are less likely to be disciplined and more likely to attend and graduate college as evidence of oppression.  In that case, I do NOT buy into it.  Achievement gaps are due to the fact that girls are more likely to do homework assignments and take Advanced Placement classes while boys are more likely to misbehave and get into fights.  It's true today and was true when growing up in the '90s.  Perhaps more father involvement will close these gaps.

Men are also more likely to end up in jail because they commit more crime.  It is sad but true.  That said, I do believe girls are less likely to be disciplined for hitting other students and women do receive more lenient sentences for the same crime.  Though the film did not touch on this point, I do believe the gender of the VICTIM plays a significant role of sentencing disparity as well.  If a man murders a woman, the death penalty is a strong possibility.  If a woman kills a man, not so much.

Domestic Violence:
Regardless of whether you are a man or a woman, if your partner lays a hand on you and it is not an affectionate or playful touch, get the hell out of the relationship immediately and don't look back.  No ifs and or but.  I agree that a man should NEVER EVER hit a woman.  A woman should NEVER EVER hit a man either.  Perhaps the most shocking aspect of the film was that 42% of victims of domestic violence are men yet while there are hundreds of shelters for women, there is only ONE for men.  Nary a word about this from the mainstream media.  While it is true that men are on average, stronger and capable of inflicting more bodily harm, it is not always the case.  Men are often ashamed to report being beaten by their wife or female partner because of the wimp factor.  In cases where both men and women threw punches and there are similar injuries on both sides, both parties should be punished equally and there should be no dispute.  In a case involves severe bruises and broken bones versus a couple of scratches, whichever party committed the greater violence should get the most punishment.  Simple.

Rape and sexual assault:
Again, I condemn these horrific actions in the strongest terms possible.  Have I ever experienced it myself as a "privileged" male.  YES.  Many times in Jr. High and high school, I was touched in private areas and kicked there as well.  It wasn't by girls however.  It was done by bullies pretending to be gay just irritate me.  One scary event took place about 10-15 years ago.  After an early morning run on the beach, I was followed into a restroom by a 250 pound man who wanted oral sex.  Fortunately, he backed off when I said NO.  Men can be raped or sexually assaulted as well but get little sympathy.  I've never discussed this event until now.  Though such cases are a slim minority, bringing attention to it does NOT diminish women's issues.

All forms of prejudice and injustice are wrong on all sides.
This could be my most controversial post.