COMMENTARY — A feminism protest at a major Canadian University has found its way to the front page of Reddit, and as of this writing, is up to more than 3,300 comments and counting. The reason: a small group of self-proclaimed “feminists” disrupted gender equality advocate Dr. Janice Fiamengo’s visiting lecture.

Fiamengo is a former feminist, who now speaks at universities (when allowed) on men’s rights issues. As Fiamengo began her recent lecture, the feminists started shouting over her from the back of the classroom and at one point blew an air horn.

Fiamengo threw in the towel early, shaking her head and burning her disrupters with, “Afraid to hear a dissenting opinion? You’re pathetic.”

A lot of people on Reddit agree, and they’re not all from the Men’s Rights board either.

One commenter said it was “really frustrating to watch as a feminist.”

“I’ve had to call out friends on some male-hating banter, reminding them that feminism is about the equality of the sexes, not the superiority of women,” she added. “Both movements would be so much stronger if they joined in solidarity while focusing on their gender specific issues.”

A male commenter had this to say: “I’m having difficulty putting together a sentence that does not question the merits of my own thoughts on feminism. I grew up in a loving, largely female household. What I do find within me however is a growing lack of sympathy for the plight of equality, largely due to these organizations that would sooner bring a fight than a right to the table. These feminists and really most fanatics of an ideal make a mockery of what human life should be. In short: F fanaticism.”

And therein lies a point about why, for many, the modern form of feminism protest is killing the entire idea of feminism in the 21st Century.

Rather than moving forward with gender equality, the “loud, fanatical feminists” are turning what was once a necessary movement into something that is more about screaming so loudly real issues can no longer be addressed, another Redditor said. “They’ve joined white supremacists, neo-Nazis, and anything Al Sharpton oversees as just another hate group.”

To prove a similar point, another Redditor posted a video where a feminism protest resulted in university students being berated as they walked into a lecture hall to hear a lecture from former feminist Warren Farrell.

The protesters at this event lashed out at police and, taking a talking point Farrell had used out-of-context, labeled him as a date rape supporter. In another instance — same event — they lambasted a man who was attending Farrell’s lecture to get a sense of why two of his male friends might have committed suicide.

You can see that video here, but warning: it is NSFW.

From some of the behaviors you see in the above videos, it’s pretty clear why modern feminism is on the decline. The loudest and most fanatical seem to be positioning themselves as flag bearers. Rather than compassion and a sincere desire to see better lives for all, they take opportunities like a celebrity dying to make an offensive, off-color Tweet that has no bearing or relevance on the situation.

As Fiamengo says, “You know, it’s the signature of a totalitarian ideology to attempt to quash dissent. So every time you interrupt, you’re merely showing your repressive tendencies. You’re not showing anything about your virtue.”

[Image via YouTube]