An article in an online magazine recently referenced a fellow named Paul Elam and the misogynistic website he maintains. It’s devoted to the utterly fabricated cause of “men’s rights,” and it pretends that men — primarily white men — are besieged by evil feminist forces who want to oppress men. Primarily white men.

So, I went to check out Paul Elam’s website. I didn’t know whether to laugh at the absurdity of its content or cry because this bozo pretends to represent “men.”

I don’t suppose anyone will ever be able to explain it to him, but Elam’s world view can never result in constructive thought or dialog because it is shot through with what I call “little boy syndrome.” This is the tendency of men to classify all strife as an us-vs-them struggle. As I scrolled through, I found horror story after horror story about men who allegedly suffered at the hands of crazy-bitch girlfriends and wives.

What I did not find was the inclusiveness that women’s rights movements invariably have. Websites urging people to join the effort to eliminate misogyny, which is not confined to violence but is a cultural failure to value female humans equally with males, almost always include acknowledgement that women are not alone in suffering oppression from dominating males in our society. And they always seek to enlist the help of men – indeed, some even make it primarily the responsibility of men – to change the societal rules that devalue the lives and minds of women.

Aside from the dubious credibility of the anecdotal horror stories that are the staple of Elam’s website, the overall tone is a loud “thunk!” I was raised to believe that “fair” doesn’t always mean “equal,” and equality isn’t always fair. Fair, I was taught, is better. While it is absolutely fair to pay two people with the same qualifications the same wage to do the same job (equality being the only fair thing in this case) it is ridiculously unfair to equate men with women when it comes to accommodating the physiological differences between the sexes. Major venue designers have finally figured out that, because of the design of their bodies, women need a lot more restroom space than men. It isn’t funny, it isn’t degrading, it isn’t overly empowering, and it isn’t a weakness. It is the reality of our physical beings that fairness isn’t derived from equality.

I’ll admit that women can be abusive and downright hostile to men, but I gotta’ tell ya’, that hostility is usually the result of abuse at the hands of … that’s right, men. Aileen Wuornos is an extreme example of this. She killed six men in cold blood, falsely accusing all of them of trying to rape her. That’s one angry woman. Of course, being raped at the age of 11 can make a girl pretty damn angry – or a poet laureate.

Elam’s website – indeed, his whole philosophy – reminds me of the pathetic mewling of white supremacists who bemoan the passing of the old order because they no longer have an iron grip on power by virtue of their “race.” The privileged – the white male Protestant Christians of America – claim to feel threatened, pretend to be in “danger” of minority status because the people they have so long oppressed are learning where to find the levers of power.

As a man I’m here to tell you, we men are doing just fine, thank you very much. I don’t need Paul Elam or anyone else to fight for my masculine rights.

Jeff Rice is a former newspaper reporter and editor. An expanded version of this column can be found on his weblog, https://mostlypathos.blogspot.com.