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Obviously on here we spend a good deal of time discussing matters relating to the problems within the criminal justice system in regards to false allegations of rape, but as I have now been on bail / under investigation for over 5 years I have given substantial thought to how as a society we have ended up in this sort of shape in the first place.
One of the things that has always struck me about this site is how "reasonable" we are generally as a community. Whilst many of us can see the injustices of the Law, the way it is applied and the general unfair treatment of those accused of Rape/Sexual Violence, our thoughts on the subject (whilst we do not all agree ll the time) tend to be measured and well thought through. For example, nobody on here (as far as I can tell) has ever advocated the legalisation of rape, (which would of course "solve" our immediate problems) but plainly would damage society as a whole.
Whilst it might feel sometimes that we a lone voices in the search for justice, actually this does not go entirely unnoticed.
Cassie Jaye identified as a feminist before embarking on her film "The Red Pill" (worth googling) about Mens Rights Activism (MRA) and (reading between the lines) was expecting to find the sector stuffed with a gang of sexist nut jobs. Having immersed herself in some of the issues, she has made a film that tackles some of the issues that MRA's want to talk about. She no longer identifies as a feminist even though she says she is passionate about womens issues.
This to me kind of demonstrates that actually not only is our cause "just" but actually it can be "sold" despite it being a bit of a David and Goliath struggle against (in my view) the radical feminist lobby.
Anyway all this lead me to do a bit of investigation into MRA, a subject that I didn't really know about. The "definitive" website on the issue seems to be an American website called "A Voice for Men", definitely worth a google, and one thing I was truly shocked at was the amount of female contributors.
Something even more shocking was that there is a UK political party addressing some of the issues "Justice for men and Boys". So say they are a little "niche" would be an understatement (I think that they got 216 votes last time across two constituencies) however they are "professional" in that they (for example) publish a manifesto.I cannot say that I agree with all of it (who can agree with any party's entire manifesto) but they do clearly outline their issues and what they think needs to be done about it.
Anyway, I am actually comforted that there is some recognition (however small that recognition might be) that if you let any pressure/lobby group run riot without any challenge (in this case I believe radical feminism) you are going to end up with an inbuilt "skew".
I am giving some consideration to how best I can support either the political party or the voice for men website or the filmmaker or a combination of all of them.
I have to say this touched "a nerve" because I was upset when I saw someone wearing a "this is what a feminist looks like t-shirt. It had never bothered me before, but more recently I have been thinking: Firstly you are probably not a feminist, if you understood what 21st Century feminism was all about you probably would not identify as that and secondly being a feminist doesn't mean you are cool, actually when you understand some of the issues it might very well make you very uncool.
Anyway, I appreciate that this post might not be for everyone, but if you are looking to take some action to prevent some of the issues discussed on here - maybe this might be something you should consider.
In strictly political terms whilst I can see supporting a political party that gets 200 votes might not be for you, do remember that your prospective MP will be around soon, knocking on your door - Why not ask them what their policy is on false accusations of rape? why not ask them what their policy is for the police? Childrens Social Services?
When they role out the party line of "we are putting more money into the Police", why not say "actually, thats not what I want - I want them to have less money until they are accountable!"
Just some ideas, I am not advocating who to vote for or why, just laying out some options.
One of the things that has always struck me about this site is how "reasonable" we are generally as a community. Whilst many of us can see the injustices of the Law, the way it is applied and the general unfair treatment of those accused of Rape/Sexual Violence, our thoughts on the subject (whilst we do not all agree ll the time) tend to be measured and well thought through. For example, nobody on here (as far as I can tell) has ever advocated the legalisation of rape, (which would of course "solve" our immediate problems) but plainly would damage society as a whole.
Whilst it might feel sometimes that we a lone voices in the search for justice, actually this does not go entirely unnoticed.
Cassie Jaye identified as a feminist before embarking on her film "The Red Pill" (worth googling) about Mens Rights Activism (MRA) and (reading between the lines) was expecting to find the sector stuffed with a gang of sexist nut jobs. Having immersed herself in some of the issues, she has made a film that tackles some of the issues that MRA's want to talk about. She no longer identifies as a feminist even though she says she is passionate about womens issues.
This to me kind of demonstrates that actually not only is our cause "just" but actually it can be "sold" despite it being a bit of a David and Goliath struggle against (in my view) the radical feminist lobby.
Anyway all this lead me to do a bit of investigation into MRA, a subject that I didn't really know about. The "definitive" website on the issue seems to be an American website called "A Voice for Men", definitely worth a google, and one thing I was truly shocked at was the amount of female contributors.
Something even more shocking was that there is a UK political party addressing some of the issues "Justice for men and Boys". So say they are a little "niche" would be an understatement (I think that they got 216 votes last time across two constituencies) however they are "professional" in that they (for example) publish a manifesto.I cannot say that I agree with all of it (who can agree with any party's entire manifesto) but they do clearly outline their issues and what they think needs to be done about it.
Anyway, I am actually comforted that there is some recognition (however small that recognition might be) that if you let any pressure/lobby group run riot without any challenge (in this case I believe radical feminism) you are going to end up with an inbuilt "skew".
I am giving some consideration to how best I can support either the political party or the voice for men website or the filmmaker or a combination of all of them.
I have to say this touched "a nerve" because I was upset when I saw someone wearing a "this is what a feminist looks like t-shirt. It had never bothered me before, but more recently I have been thinking: Firstly you are probably not a feminist, if you understood what 21st Century feminism was all about you probably would not identify as that and secondly being a feminist doesn't mean you are cool, actually when you understand some of the issues it might very well make you very uncool.
Anyway, I appreciate that this post might not be for everyone, but if you are looking to take some action to prevent some of the issues discussed on here - maybe this might be something you should consider.
In strictly political terms whilst I can see supporting a political party that gets 200 votes might not be for you, do remember that your prospective MP will be around soon, knocking on your door - Why not ask them what their policy is on false accusations of rape? why not ask them what their policy is for the police? Childrens Social Services?
When they role out the party line of "we are putting more money into the Police", why not say "actually, thats not what I want - I want them to have less money until they are accountable!"
Just some ideas, I am not advocating who to vote for or why, just laying out some options.
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