On the Acts of Activism

The comic that caused a flame war.

I recently got into a little online spat with someone regarding feminism. I thought that feminism is a valid drive for gender equality, and he thought that feminism is a form of gyno-fascism whose only goal is to enslave the Y-chromosomed masses and use us only as human tables, man-chariots for their hoisted thrones, and involuntary sperm donors*. He even informed me that female privilege exists, which is why 90% of prison inmates are men. First of all, what are you women doing that you’re getting away with so many crimes and not going to jail? Second of all, what a yutz. After I stated a few counterpoints to his non-points, he accused me of “White Knighting” and ended with, “They’re not going to sleep with you”.

So...yes...a yutz.

This is also reminds me of the first time I protested anti-gay protesters at a Pride parade. Every one of them thought I was gay, which is why I was out there making fun of them. When I told them that I was not, they were dumbfounded. Why on earth would I be out here if I were not gay myself???

More yutzes.

This seems to be an ongoing train of thought: if one is an activist for a cause, or even just agrees with it, then that person is a member of the group that will benefit from the cause’s goal. If the person is NOT a member of the group, then the reason he/she is upholding the cause is because he/she wants to have sex with members of the group. Let us venture down this rabbit hole: I once started a Fundly account to raise money for a homeless woman who was working her way through university. I have spoken out against the post-9-11 anti-Muslim sentiment that permeates society. I once voted for a candidate on the grounds that she wanted to mandate that all buildings have access to entry for handicapped individuals. I that Dan Snyder is a stubborn oblivious idiot because of his refusal to change the NFL Washington team’s name to something that is NOT a Native American racial epithet. If we go by the general train of thought, my ideal sexual partner is a homeless partially college educated paraplegic Muslim Cherokee hermaphrodite. That is ridiculous. Obviously, I want a quadriplegic.

All I was thinking during Pride was, "I'm
gonna get so much dick for this..." -_-

The only thing that is true is that I do like to have sex with women. However, that is not why I would support the tenets of feminism as I see them; that has everything to do with me not being a myopic putz. There is no other way to describe the idea that people only fight for causes that do not directly benefit them because they want to get “benefits” from those who do except utterly stupid. People fight for causes, especially ones regarding equality, because they are not selfish assholes. This lapse of logic is also the infuriating reason why some black people, when approached about supporting LGBT equality, will reply, “We have our own problems. We need to get our rights first!” Blacks in America did not free themselves from slavery’s shackles, nor did they combat Jim Crow on their own. Women didn't gain suffrage by their own means. Men with some common sense supported them. Gay and lesbians are MAYBE 9% of the population in the States. Marriage equality is favoured by over half of the nation. Is over half of the nation gay now? No.

It is hypocritical for me to fight for the rights of one at the expense of the rights of three others. We all work together, or we all fall. When we get out of the habit of assuming everyone fighting for the rights of those outside of their Venn diagram or only doing it for their own benefit. We’ll be a lot better.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to meet my friend Runs with Scissors al-Shahid.

*Actually, the man chariot thing sounds kind of hot. Don’t you fucking judge me!