We have a bone to pick with BuzzFeed.
Following the Democratic presidential debate on CNN Tuesday, BuzzFeed staff writer Matt Stopera penned a listicle about candidate Martin O’Malley’s body, calling him a “true gift to this political race” and “a dad of monumental proportions.” This brand of objectification is exactly why meninism is a needed cause in today’s society. Picking men apart based on body shape, visible abs and handsome features takes away from their potential as active, giving members of society.
Ha! Got you! Did we have you cringing?
Well, while we may not believe that meninism is actually valid, many do. And many so-called “activists” will likely speak out against this BuzzFeed post in defense of male significance, as they have done against others in the past.
But true activist movements are actually tailored toward groups who didn’t have rights to begin with. As a white male in the United States, Martin O’Malley has been given at least some forms of privilege that others have never had access to. By attempting to make activist movements more inclusive by saying “all lives matter” or that you are a “humanist” or “meninist” instead of a feminist, you are, in layman’s terms, acting stupidly.
Black lives matter, for example, is an activist movement to equalize black people with white people. And feminism, on that note, is a movement to equalize women with men. Notice that neither of these movements aim to take freedoms away from others, whether those others be white people or men. They aim instead to bring equality to groups that have continuously been marginalized and systematically oppressed. Maybe instead of creating groups to maintain superiority, so-called “activists” should look in the mirror and check out the privilege that they’ve been granted with their whole lives.
White people certainly don’t know what it’s like to be black, and men certainly don’t know what it’s like to be women. But if we were to look at our lives with a more holistic view and listen to what others are saying about their lives, we could be more in tune with others and not be so offended by articles like this one on O’Malley.
A perfect example of one who misses the point of these movements entirely is Republican presidential candidate and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee.
One of his tweets in response to Tuesday’s Democratic debate reads, “Black lives matter because ALL lives matter. Haven’t we learned from history? #DemDebate”
Another reads, “ALL lives mater. It’s time we stop burning cars, shooting cops, & recognize that life is a gift from God. #DemDebate.”
Saying “all lives matter” is like going to an Alzheimer’s walk and saying “all diseases matter.” It simply isn’t the same thing. It’s obvious that all diseases matter. It’s obvious that white people matter. People don’t need to be reminded, though, because their rights as white people aren’t being taken away, whereas others’ rights as citizens of this country were never secure in the first place. Even still, any small step toward equality certainly doesn’t mean that the fight is over, for any group of people. When the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in June, many people were overjoyed that the fight for gay rights was over. But in reality, the fight has only just begun. Just as giving women the right to vote didn’t make them equal to men. Just as the fact that we have a black president doesn’t mean racism no longer exists.
Many people talk about how they want equality, but they refuse to understand the other side of the argument. Understanding the problems or issues others deal with on a daily basis doesn’t take anything away from your life. On the contrary, learning and understanding others should enrich our lives.
But many don’t realize that, and the reasons one makes these asinine comments are many. Perhaps people say these things because they want to be a part of something. Maybe they want to feel that identifying as a part of an “activist” group provides something of an individual identity. Or maybe being a part of something makes them less victimized or forgotten. As ridiculous as this “activism” seems, perhaps people find solace in being a part of a group that may or may not be oppressed, and will fight to maintain that.
Perhaps people aren’t satisfied with just being mainstream. Most people who are privileged are far from horrible and discriminatory, and yet some feel the need to follow the idea of meninism, or to belong to white rights groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. Both groups are rooted in the threatening feeling that giving another group the same rights as you may take away from your own ability to live freely and happily.
This isn’t a misunderstanding — it’s just that people don’t want to understand. People don’t want to understand that feminism isn’t the same as female supremacy, for example. And, in all honesty, it may be difficult and uncomfortable for those who are privileged to acknowledge that they are privileged, because it makes them feel like they didn’t work as hard to get where they are. We would rather be victims than admit that we are privileged. But we need to understand that acknowledging our good fortune doesn’t make us bad people.
We also understand that “reverse racism” is a real enough thing, but it arguably isn’t a big enough issue to make a movement out of. Getting heckled because you are white isn’t the same as worrying that you are going to be stopped and frisked, or taken down by police or being harassed on the street for wearing a short skirt when you go out with friends.
Realistically, the idea of activism is to lift these marginalized groups out of the fringes of society and put them on the same level of groups that enjoy privilege. But when you have to explain your way of addressing inequality, the implication is you’re worried about falling away from privilege. It implies that you’re ensuring that, for yourself, there isn’t a loss of status. And if you can identify with this type of activism, then you’re missing the point of the real movements entirely.
This is so stupid
Yes. Yes it is