Writing about the LA Fitness murders this week, Naomi Lakritz scolds women (or rather, “womyn”) for what she predicts will be the tarring of all men with the George Sodini brush:
OK, ladies (or rather “womyn”), let’s not go there. Let’s not turn George Sodini into the new Marc Lepine, the next poster boy for those who insist that these sick individuals represent the violence that lives in all men’s hearts. [...]
You’re all in this together, guys. You’re all Marc Lepine. You’re about to morph into George Sodini. Get ready for the onslaught.
Right on, Naomi. The actions of a few sick individuals should never be used to demonize an entire group of people. Nope, not ever.
Let’s not go there.
OK?
(h/t News of the Restless)
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ugh. Naomi Lakritz. If she is raising her two sons to be as virulently anti-feminist as she is, they will end up with women who believe in “The Rules”.
Let’s not turn George Sodini into the new Marc Lepine
Er, why not?
those who insist that these sick individuals represent the violence that lives in all men’s hearts
Who would that be?
Oh, barf. Thanks JJ, I was just enjoying a post-tubing Saturday afternoon beer, and now I pretty much want to vom all over the computer. Any idiot who things this guy’s misogyny exists in a vacuum needs their head checked, to say the least.
I am really unimpressed with the level of internet fail that has been unleashed around this murder.
deBeauxOs – The irony is, she’s the first person I’ve read who actually “went there”, albeit from the opposite direction.
I commented that at first glance Sodini appeared to be some kind of Marc Lepine-style crazed misogynist. You’d have to be an idiot to miss the SIGNS — strolling into a gym full of women and opening fire — but I wouldn’t suggest that all men were evil sick fucks like Sodini or Lepine, nor do I recall reading anyone else who did. (Granted, I haven’t read every blog in the feminist universe, but still…)
Chet – There might be an extreme and embittered minority who feel that Sodini and Lepine are “typical men”
though in all my years I’ve only met one of them, and she had issues that went far beyond her relationships with men.
To imply that all feminist-leaning women feel that way is like implying that all pro-choicers consider Scott Roeder a “typical” anti-choicer, which he’s clearly not. There is, however, a culture of rhetorical support among anti-choicers that made Roeder feel his actions were acceptable, and there’s a similar culture of misogyny that does the same for crazies like Sodini.
pedgehog – Sorry!
One of the creepiest things about the aftermath of the Sodini murders is that there are people out there saying “Good on him”, which doesn’t prove that Sodini is in any way a “typical” man, but it would suggest that he’s not the only sick fucker out there, there’s a minority culture. 
To think they exist in isolation is naive at best.
Lakritz is being deliberately obtuse. News items or opinion pieces written by men regarding Sodini have made the connection between this “crazed loner” and the various elements of mainstream media culture that fed his gynophobia. Including the odious books and programs produced by the R. Don Steele empire.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jCr-8hvMxT_o93eW1whvXEAyJfqAD99UACK81
Apparently Ms. Lackwits hasn’t read all the blogging going on over this in the pickup-artist “community”. It seems that in actual fact, “those who insist that these sick individuals represent the violence that lives in all men’s hearts” are not feminists, but…drumroll, please…EMBITTERED MEN WHO AREN’T GETTING ANY. To hear some of them talk (and I’ve listed some of the more egregious findings at my blog), this is what’s in store for women if they don’t stop with the self-esteem and start puttin’ out and falling for the lame lines of the “men’s rights” wankers.
Somehow, the word “stoopid” just doesn’t seem to do it all justice.
It’s all so degrading to men. The men I know and love are so far beyond this crap I can’t imagine where there’d be room for them in the universe if ‘the “men’s rights” wankers’ created the world. Maybe it’s their male betters the men’s rights wankers really want to do away with. The way they insult them, it’s hard to imagine anything else. Interesting, then, that it’s women that they either blow away or support the blowing away of.
This may be tarring an entire group with a broad brush, but what the hell–I’ve never seen any evidence that the “men’s rights movement” is about anything other than hating women, and (re-)institutionalizing that hatred in every arena possible.
I’ve never seen evidence that the “PUA community” is about anything else, either. Their entire “culture”, if you could call it that, is about overriding women’s wants/needs/wishes/defences and imposing their own demands on them.
But nooooo, let’s just go on calling feminists man-haters instead. Let’s just pick up the corpses of dead women and use them to bludgeon the live ones who dare to stand up for themselves and others (I see Ms. Lackwits does this all the time). Let’s “understand” the killer as a poor, frustrated soul victimized by evil, overbearing feminists! That sort of thing will get you all kinds of contrarian brownie points.
deBeauxOs – Yes, Jezebel had links to some pickup sites the other day where the comments were just execrable. “He’s one of us”, etc.
These douchebags aren’t by any means representative of the average guy, at least IMO, but there’s no doubt that there’s a douchebag culture out there that supports guys like this.
orange – Well, exactly. While I’ve certainly met my share of douchebags, most guys aren’t that way at all, especially not my favourite ones. I don’t think anyone with their head screwed on would suggest that they were.
Bina – Well, exactly. I read some of the posts at those pickup sites and wow — hard to believe. These guys think men who have a job and take a shower once in awhile deserve to get laid? No wonder women run don’t walk when they meet these guys, what a bunch of losers.
So yes, there’s a subculture of support out there for guys like Sodini — they don’t exist in a vacuum. But I think Lakritz & fellow travellers are being disingenuous to imply that feminists think ALL guys are like that, when they’re clearly not.
Bina – Re the “Mens Rights” movement (if that’s what it is) — they tend to be divorced guys who’ve got problems with women, bitter and paranoid types. Some probably got shafted, some with good reason and others not. On the whole it doesn’t strike me as a particularly healthy situation for them to get together and commiserate about how much they hate their ex-wives.
The pickup community is in the same ballpark — also not a really healthy situation. But, I think most guys aren’t into this kind of stuff. So while I’ll go out on a limb and say most of the guys involved in those things are probably douchebags, I can’t see them being representative of the entire male sex, most of whom are not losers or misogynists at all.
There’s nothing man-hating about pointing out that there are some pretty misogynist scumbags out there — misogynist-scumbag-hating, maybe. But then, the average guy would think the pickup guys and MR’s guys are douchebags too.
Well, so, I feel that the root problem behind both the MRA business and its lesser cousin, PUA (poo-ah?), is the lack of exterior support for men in psychological distress—however that may have come about. The MRAs band together into a self-reinforcing cycle because…they offer each other support. And afterwards, they reach out to other men suffering relationship failure.
Well, I think a big part of the problem with that is the fact that gender roles are beaten into kids from an early age, and part of that is the ridiculous notion that boys/men are NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER, EVER under any circumstances to EVER show any emotion whatsoever. As such, they are culturally discouraged from seeking any sort of mental health treatment, which leads to more George Sodinis.
Just one more way in which the patriarchy hurts men.
Yeah, but in the MRA/PUA cases (I don’t know if this applies specifically to Sodini), they *are* motivated to seek out support.
I completely disagree with Bina’s comment:
I’ve never seen evidence that the “PUA community” is about anything else, either. Their entire “culture”, if you could call it that, is about overriding women’s wants/needs/wishes/defences and imposing their own demands on them.
That is so not true. I always advocate having grace, dignity and honesty in all your relationships no matter what.