Stop Violence Against Men It is time to get angry about the fact that there are no campaigns to try to stop violence against men. Men make up the vast majority of victims of violence, and yet it is very rare indeed that one ever comes across anybody arguing that we should try to put a stop to this. While billions of dollars across the world are poured annually into campaigns to try to reduce the amount of violence against women, there is virtually nothing, as far as I can see, that aims to achieve the same kind of reduction in violence when it comes to men victims. And yet violence against men is an enormous problem right across the planet. And has been throughout history. wars throughout the whole of history have, essentially, been wars against men. Indeed, wars throughout the whole of history have, essentially, been wars against men. All of them. The misery and the destruction that they have wrought has been both colossal and unimaginable. So why is there no ongoing public campaign to address this issue in a such way that it could easily have an enormous effect? And the answer, as ever, is that men victims of violence do not seem to count for very much in the minds of people and, further, that it suits some very powerful groups to continue to demonise men and, hence, to encourage violence against them and between them. Whether it be domestic violence, prison rape, wrongful arrest, detention without charge, rough treatment at the hands of the authorities, gang violence, muggings, Bobbit jokes, Hollywood, war, etc etc, violence against men - or the inciting of it - is generally seen by the population as nothing to be concerned about. With women, of course, the situation is completely different. And women's groups will also always attempt to make a huge fuss about numerous issues surrounding violence against - or the mistreatment of - women. And who can blame them? And it is about time that men started supporting a similar campaign to stop violence against men. From what I can gather, the most common arguments against the view that a campaign to SVAM would be effective are fairly feeble - not in the sense that they are invalid, but in the sense that they can easily be overcome with thoughtful activism. Here are some of them. 1. Well, sometimes you need to inflict violence on men in order to protect others. Yep, that's true. But the same goes for women; or even children if, for example, they are pointing a gun at you with malicious intent - which often happens in warzones. Besides which, an SVAM campaign is never going to eliminate all violence against men any more than will the typical campaigns engaged in by women's groups to eliminate all violence against women. The point of the campaign is to keep alerting people to men victims of violence in an attempt to reduce it and, while doing so, to make a fuss about it. And this notion can be applied to a whole range of issues; prison rape, mistreatment by the authorities, domestic violence, war etc etc 2. Why not campaign to stop violence against all people? - i.e. not just men. Fair enough. But women and children have billions of dollars worth of funding every year to campaign against violence against them. You could say the same to them, couldn't you? Well, since they do not spend their dollars campaigning to SVAM then what can possibly be wrong if men start campaigning on behalf of themselves when it comes to this issue? Or are men supposed to accept that violence against them is OK? Well, I'll tell you something of importance if you believe that. a. You can go and fk yourself. b. You would be advised not to say it where MRAs can see you saying it. Especially if you work for a large company or a government department. There is almost nothing that enrages MRAs more than seeing someone inciting unjust violence against men, disregarding it, or laughing about it. 3. A campaign to SVAM will never take off. No-one gives a damn about men. Good point. But think about the following ... a. MRAs do care about it - and they can use their influence to get other men to care about it. b. It is not wise to get on the wrong side of an angry group of MRAs. c. There is absolutely nothing to stop MRAs from pursuing a campaign to SVAM, because no-one has a leg to stand upon to oppose such a campaign. What legitimate arguments could anybody possibly make to oppose effectively a campaign to SVAM? None, as far as I can tell. As such, the only reason that such a campaign would never take off is because MRAs, themselves, had failed to see how hugely important such a campaign could be. Indeed, can you imagine just how different the world would be if, say, the notion that violence against men was wrong entered into the consciousness of even a quarter of the Earth's population of men? And what if thousands of them, all over the place, were actively campaigning to SVAM whenever the situation was appropriate? Just think of the impact of that! Furthermore, it is an issue that pretty much unites all MRAs - almost no matter what are their own personal concerns - though I do accept that, at the moment, many MRAs cannot yet see how it is that what they are mostly protesting about is usually, at least in some way, related to violence against men. For example, removing a man from his own home is an act of violence by the state as far as most MRAs are concerned. Being held in custody without charge for long periods of time merely following an accusation of some sexual sort is also seen as such an act. Indeed, the way in which 'violence' is nowadays defined in the minds of westerners is such that it includes the mistreatment of people in ways that do not necessarily entail beatings, stabbings or physical injury. 'Mistreatment', therefore, is probably a more appropriate word to use in many circumstances; but the word 'violence' will do given the way in which it is currently used. In short: there is no effective argument that can block an effective SVAM campaign. No feminist, or women's group, or politician, or newspaper can turn round and say that such a campaign is 'wrong' or 'outrageous' or 'unfair to women'. To repeat: It is not a campaign that can be effectively opposed. 4. Promoting an SVAM campaign would make MRAs sound like a bunch of wussies. Ha. Ha. Ha. Let them think so. The more that they underestimate MRAs the better. Besides which, many MRAs on the internet are, indeed, wussies. They are Neurotic-Introverts who have 'their own way of knowing' - LOL! - and fighting - and they are going to exert an increasingly effective force; e.g. Neurotic Introverts Unite. They will fight their enemies with their brains, not with their muscles. Furthermore, on this particular issue, they cannot actually lose, can they? As such, it is the men naysayers whom they might come across who are likely to end up looking like wussies if they handle the situation correctly. For example, when it comes to this issue, it is not very hard to turn what appears to be a (wussie-like) plea into an attack - a fairly vicious one too. ... "Violence against men is wrong." "What's so important about men? What about women and children?" "Of course violence against women and children is wrong. And there are billions of dollars every year poured into campaigns to reduce such violence. That's good. But what about trying to reduce violence against men? Or do you approve of violence against men? Does it turn you on in some way? If not, explain to me why trying to stop violence against men is a bad idea. Or are you too scared to stand up for yourself? I thought that real men stood up for themselves. You're not a real man. You're a wussie." ... "What's so important about men? What about women and children?" "Aha. I see. You are Mr Macho Man. No, Sir. You are not afraid of violence. No, Sir. Not you. Bring it on, is what you are trying to tell us. From behind a screen! Perhaps you see yourself as Rambo. Or the Hulk. Have you got big muscles as well? And, perhaps, a gun? Ha. Ha. Ha. What a prat. The women round here are not impressed. You're in the wrong era. Your time has gone." ... Yes, Yes, Shaming language, I know. But it works! And the above examples probably represent the only type of counter-viewpoints that might impart an effective blow. And, clearly, they are relatively easy to deal with. Furthermore, not many people of importance are going to dare to stand up and say, or imply that, "Violence against men is nothing to be concerned about." They just wouldn't dare. At 'best', the idea can just be ignored by them. So what we have here is a notion that strongly supports (often indirectly) many issues that MRAs are concerned about and it is a notion that cannot be countered effectively. Furthermore, the more that this notion spreads, the better off will all men be. I promise you that these trails lead in many directions and that they can impact massively and positively on many areas of concern to men. As such, implanting the associated memes hither and thither both across the internet and inside your own heads, and using them - often by attaching them to issues of particular concern to you - will empower you hugely with regard to your various MM battles. Furthermore, MRAs are accustomed to taking on one of the most powerful and most protected groups of all - feminists. They have been in direct conflict with them for much of the time. But, to repeat myself, when it comes to a campaign to SVAM, there is no real group to conflict with. And so no-one is going to be calling you a scumbag over it. Indeed, when compared to fighting feminism, a campaign to SVAM should be a piece of cake for MRAs. A walkover. Furthermore, as we all know, speaking up against the feminist agenda can have significant negative consequences for one's career and reputation, but this would surely not be the case for those who simply protest about violence against men. As such, a campaign to SVAM could well attract supporters who would normally be too fearful to support openly the MRM. I should also point out that it is, surely, not an exaggeration to claim that the world seems to be teetering on the brink of some disaster or other for much of the time. Global warming. Terrorism. Shortage of energy, food and water supplies. Financial crises. Excessive immigration. Spread of diseases. Civil unrest. And, as I wrote in my piece, Eight Horrible Facts, there is a good chance that the entire human race could be extinguished, or nearly so, by the creation of increasingly-sophisticated weapons and/or viruses that could be unleashed - by accident or by malefaction. And one way of reducing both the horribleness and the likelihood of such horrors is, surely, to get into people's heads the notion that violence against men is wrong. To put it bluntly: The only reason that an effective campaign to SVAM could not be launched, pursued and widely disseminated would be down to a failure of MRAs to get behind it. Anyway. In order to start the ball rolling, I am offering $500 to the maker of the best 10-minute YouTube video that inspires others to support the campaign to Stop Violence Against Men. And if anyone would like to add to this pot of money, please feel free to do so. Who knows, we might be able to get a few thousand dollars and then give awards for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. But even if we only get just one really good video about the issue, I shall be very pleased indeed - because even just one really good video about the issue would be extremely useful for activist purposes for many years to come. (Indeed, some of my most popular pieces on Angry Harry - judging by Google hits - were written over a decade ago.) I would also like to see websites (not necessarily MRA websites) displaying some kind of banner or logo that publicises the campaign fairly starkly ... STOP VIOLENCE AGAINST MEN ... with perhaps a clickable link to a piece that is likely to fuel further activism. I haven't yet figured out who is going to judge the winning video. Perhaps me, perhaps a small group of MRAs, or perhaps a general vote. And I also haven't figured out the exact basis on which the videos should be judged. So I will discuss these points with some other MRAs. But the video will not need to be 'professional' in terms of how it looks. A talking head will do. It is the impact that will count. Hopefully, sites like AVFM will also chip in to help with the campaign. Maybe, they could even lead the campaign and take control of it. However, ManWomanMyth will probably be banned from entering - because, otherwise, I might as well just give him the $500 and be done with it! To make the process easier, nominations can come from anybody; i.e. not necessarily the video producer himself - or herself. With luck, we could end up with maybe 5, 10 or even 20 videos sitting on YouTube all promoting the view that violence against men is wrong and that men should support a campaign to SVAM. And, surely, every MRA would also like to see such videos on YouTube. So, please post a link to this page if you would like to see some videos on YouTube supporting the view that violence against men is an issue that should be addressed far more often than is currently the case. Thank you. AH