The Punch, an Australian website, employs Tory Shepherd, a feminist activist that has done some bit writing for a few mainstream outlets. She has recently pledged to debunk the men’s rights movement and has begun a series of articles to that end. However, all that has materialized is two short, poorly articulated rants, completely devoid of substance.
In her first piece, she created her own talking points for the men’s rights movement. Yes, she created them, herself, without speaking to or even quoting any men’s activists, and then asserted that she was going to debunk the points she had written, representing them as coming from the MRM. This particular fact seemed to go unnoticed by a following of fellow ideologues, most of which appeared to have no more interest in journalistic integrity than The Punch, or indeed Shepherd herself.
The second piece, recently released, was a cursory overview of conspiracy theorists that didn’t even address the men’s movement, except by loose and tacit implication. It looked to be written in about 10 minutes; an even less involved effort than the first article. Shepherds failure is complete, but it did not emerge from a void.  It was not a coincidence she came out at this particular time and with puerile conduct and taunting that she alleged was a critique of the men’s movement. Lest anyone forget, AVfM is engaged in an ongoing exposé of the corrupt influence currently within the Australian government. It is well researched and meticulously documented. Shepherd is fabricating MRA talking points and using the approach of diversionary ridicule because she cannot contend with the facts in the case, which have been made available in abundance by AVfM research editor Kyle Lovett and managing editor John the Other. A review of her articles reveals she does not dispute any of those facts. She doesn’t because she can’t without digging a deeper hole for herself.
So while she is useless in terms of vetting facts and meaningful discourse, and has presented her series clearly to attempt to personally malign the messengers bearing the information, she has nonetheless brought more attention to the matter, which does help us present it to more Australians who will not hear about it from their own mainstream media.  For anyone visiting this site for the first time, a great deal of that information is available here, and here.
Since Shepherd is not delivering on “debunking” her own assertions as promised, I hoped to fill in some of that gap here. There is debunking that needs to happen, mainly of the idea that there is no need for a men’s movement as a reaction to feminism. Shepherd alludes to it, as has every gender feminist ideologue that I have ever seen address the subject. It is a common theme that feminists are increasing in volume and frequency as the numbers of men participating in the men’s movement continues to steadily increase.
For those that want the basics on the issues faced by men and boys, we have many of them documented here on our Facts Page. Then there is the matter of why men face these issues but have taken so long to even begin doing anything about them. Part of the reason is biology and socialization. Despite feminist rhetoric, men, by their nature, are much more apt to take care of women than themselves. Then there is social pressure. Men don’t take very good care of themselves and that is pretty much the way society likes it. We like men to be strong and independent. It makes them good protectors and providers. Unfortunately, we don’t much like them to be weak or in need. Socially speaking, it is not considered very masculine.
But there is another force at play here; one that also works against men and women who have evaluated the male gender role and found aspects of it detrimental to men and boys in modern times, as well as observing the various ways men and boys face discrimination and prejudice. Those who act on those observations, politically and socially, are who we refer to as men’s rights activists/advocates, or MRA’s.
Let’s take a moment, aside from the information on The Facts page, to consider just a few recent events that have induced even more people to take a stand:
The current ridicule and dishonest “journalism” being presented at The Punch is just another example in a long list of attempts to mischaracterize the men’s movement.
Meanwhile, the predominant social narrative is that we live in a patriarchy that operates for the enrichment of all men at the expense of all women. That narrative includes the frequent characterization of men as inferior and sub-human, deserving of every misfortune this society can manufacture and inflict upon them, including the draconian and outrageous matters listed above. Those who vociferously object to these injustices are now targeted with increasing invective and condemnation. The default criticism rests on the allegation of pathological anger.
Yes, we are accused of being angry, about gross injustice, as though we are not supposed to be.  We are accused of having hostile feelings about sweeping social  bigotry; which is to say, in all earnestness, we are accused of possessing human compassion and good values; accused of advocating for a more fair society. In the eyes of ideologues like Shepherd, those values and the compassion are the real problem. She just attacks the anger because it is easier, and she plays on the perception of men as all-powerful to excuse and justify it.
Normally, in the routine course of my work, I would spend at least some time donning a psychological and emotional biohazard suit and plumbing the depths of this mentality in order to try to understand what is driving it. And indeed I am truly curious as to what festering, morally atrophied deviation of humanity could look at anything approaching this level of discrimination and suffering without becoming angry. But I honestly think at this point there is more value in prognostication than etiology.
What is more significant here, and speaks directly to the core of the men’s movement, is the probable fallout from continued neglect of, and indifference toward, these issues. What feminists fail to understand, by choice or ignorance, is that we are attempting to prevent the likes of Thomas James Ball, not inspire it. His inspiration came from policies feminists support; the very policies which we oppose. Thomas Ball represents a tragic, dysfunctional reaction to chronic, systemic abuse. There are many possible reactions. Some even worse than his. And while we cannot, must not, condone violence, we had better learn to expect it as long as an ideological war against men is allowed to make a battlefield in our justice system and within the heart of our own families.
When people are subjected to hatred, bigotry and legal persecution – they always eventually react. Anyone who does not believe that has never cracked a history book. Some of the stories are chilling. There have been acts committed in the name of legitimate civil rights that are inexcusable. But they are an unavoidable part of the human condition. Inflict enough pain, as America did on blacks, and you get cities ablaze. There were burning buildings, bodies in the street and a nation torn apart. All of it could have been avoided with justice and compassion.
When you look at what is happening with feminist influence across much of the planet, you see the same formula coming into play. Pressure is building. That is precisely why even Tory Shepherd expressed caution about a men’s movement that is on the rise. The only release valve for that pressure is the recognition and amelioration of injustices against men, but we are moving, horrifically, in the wrong direction.
This isn’t some specially privileged information that we MRA’s hold license to. All you have to do is read the articles of Kyle Lovett or John the Other, visit The Facts Page here, or investigate the bullet points laid out above and you will see the problem, and why we are angry about it. It is all there in open view available for anyone. The only thing preventing anyone from seeing all this and being angry about it is apathy, indifference, and frequently, evil.
The good news here is that things will eventually change. The bad news is that it will not be easy or comfortable. The social pendulum cannot be controlled. It will swing, back and forth, seeking as always to find balance and equilibrium. It will at times knock people and institutions over in the process. Surely as physics apply in the physical world, they similarly govern our societal existence. Men and boys are under fire, in deep trouble. Most of those problems have emerged in a zeitgeist that fosters hate and indifference toward them. They are losing in our families, our schools, our courts and our media. And they are not losing to women’s rights. They are losing to hatred and depraved indifference. Regardless of anyone’s judgments or prejudices, it is fostering a reaction that is gaining visible momentum. Even as the likes of Tory Shepher denies all else, she is not denying that at all.
Whether it becomes a wave of social change, or a violent tempest of indignation and fury, the pendulum will continue to swing. The men’s movement is pushing for the former, because without that, the latter is the only thing we are left with.
Sources
[1] Free Keene, June 2011
[2] http://familyrights.us/news/archive/2011/june/thomas_james_ball/wiki.html
[3] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-immolation
[4]http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903596904576516232905230642.html
[5]http://www.fahcsia.gov.au/sa/women/pubs/violence/np_time_for_action/national_plan/Pages/default.aspx
[6] http://www.avoiceformen.com/feminism/feminist-lies-feminism/fostering-discrimination-through-lies/
[7] http://hahajk.com/newz/world-news/man-beaten-off-womans-train-in-india/
[8] http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2010-12-15/kolkata/28244162_1_constable-ladies-compartment-train
[9] http://www.deccanherald.com/content/193470/pati-patni-ten-thousand.html
[10] http://translate.google.ca/translate?hl=en&sl=sv&u=http://www.pellebilling.se/2011/11/scum-forestallningen-kontext-ar-allt/&ei=k9rKTuCyMuPZ0QHN0_hn&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CC8Q7gEwAQ&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dpelle%2Bbilling%2Bscum%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D695%26bih%3D835%26prmd%3Dimvns
[11] http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1000&context=psc_working_papers
[12] http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshcfoi1.htm
[13] http://www.suicide.org/suicide-statistics.html
[14] http://www.womenshealth.gov/
[15] http://www.glennsacks.com/mens_silent_health.htm
[16] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_women’s_organizations
[17] http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mas2/V70-Gender-symmetry-PV-Chap-11-09.pdf
[18] http://books.google.com/books?id=5g4tc4WZRvYC&pg=PA71&lpg=PA71&dq=Letter+from+richard+gelles+on+death+threats&source=bl&ots=jUCfrWEYdB&sig=2Ci_MpDNSwjo3HhabY36hw4fCzI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=CR0OT_LwAaKbiQKq_bzHDQ&ved=0CE4Q6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=Letter%20from%20richard%20gelles%20on%20death%20threats&f=false
[19] http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/sexist/2010/04/08/mens-studies-too-feminist-for-you-meet-male-studies/

Tory Shepherd writes for The Punch, an Australian online outlet for political news and opinion. One of her available online bios presents her as a worldly, devil-may-care sociopolitical guru, steeped in hard news coverage and life experience:

Tory Shepherd studied anthropology, then travelled, then studied some more, then travelled, then ended up with a cadetship at The Advertiser in 2006. She covered police rounds, politics, general news and health, while working at The Punch on the side. Now Tory is working full time at The Punch. She can be seen and heard on ABC local radio and Radio National, PM Live on Sky, and in other nooks and crannies. She is passionate about words, wine, chilli, soccer, and people (even the ones who hate her or keep praying for her soul).

Let’s add some more credentials to infuse some credibility into all the fluff. Feminist, ideologue, yellow journalist, liar.
It appears that recent articles presented here that exposed the corrupt ideological influence on Australian government have Tory’s panties in a bit of a twist (which is only sexist if she doesn’t wear them), and now she has gone on the attack in an adelaidenow.com article, rolling out big guns like Michael Flood, and, well, Michael Flood, to discredit the lot of us as a bunch of bitter, moustache twirling, hypervigilant, middle aged white guys who present an egregious threat to the rights of wimmen everywhere.
She softens her readers a little by feigning some understanding of men’s issues (more and more required these days), bestowing on us the following bits of her egalitarian largess:
“Men’s outcomes in some areas really are poor. Male suicide rates are three to four times higher, their life expectancy is lower. Girls often outperform boys at school. Males are more likely to be incarcerated, more likely to be addicted.”
And then of course, true to her agenda, she puts her foot in it with the following:
“But these genuine issues are not the ones that concern the new breed of men’s activists. These men are aggrieved because they see misandry – the hatred of males – everywhere in society, from government down.”
Oh really? Since Tory quite pointedly attacked AVfM as Paranoid Central, then she might have done some searching on our website and read into the more than 50 articles that either target these issues or make significant reference to them. She might have even stumbled onto our Facts Page, where these issues and a score of others are documented. Sorry, we don’t have a Misandry is Everywhere page. I will have to talk to our managing editor John about that, as I am sure it is his fault.
Generally speaking, though, we only tend to see misandry where it exists. For instance, I am having Chinese for lunch as I write. I note that my eggrolls are misandry free, as is the Kung Pao Shrimp. The young man who delivered did not “appear” to be a misandrist that I could tell. And while I am not quite through eating, I do not anticipate that my fortune cookie contains a secret misandric message. Admittedly, I cannot vouch for what is written in Mandarin on the Chinese side of the fortune.
I do, however, see misandry in a law that would have me in jail without bail because my wife got angry and accused me of giving her the silent treatment, which is exactly what is on the agenda in Australia, courtesy of real misandry. Color me creepy for seeing it that way, I was born like this.
Shepherd goes on to highlight all the things that make us paranoid and stinky and extreme, as well as white and male. Let’s take a look at her list, and see what we can make of it. I will try to stop the misandric voices in my head long enough to be more objective than Tory.
Women have never been worse off than men – this is a feminist lie and is part of the plot to subjugate men.
Well, so far – so good. Women never have been worse off than men. Well, only if you consider being dead, unhealthy or incarcerated as “worse off.” Did I mention dead? Remember those items you seemed to acknowledge about men, Tory? All that stuff about life expectancy, suicide, education, incarceration and addiction? Well, here in Texas those things rank pretty high in the “worse off” department. And when they happen to men a lot more than they happen to others we consider it a “worse off” qualification. Pretty much the gold standard as far as worse off goes. We can add plenty more, like conscription, combat death, workplace mortality, victimization by violence, etc.., etc.., but I don’t want to belabor the point.
Now, I don’t recall anyone here saying that this was all a feminist lie and part of a plot to “subjugate” men. Just that it is a feminist lie and used to con government and everyone else out of more special considerations and money. I know, I am just being extreme.
Women are all gold-diggers who use marriage and divorce to extort money from men.
Well, I should hand this one over to any one of the women that write for this site, but I can tell you what they will anyway. No one ever said that. You’re lying again. What has been said, and is quite true, is that the system is set up for women to do that very thing with State muscle behind them, and way too many of them do. So many, in fact, that marriage is a role of the dice on a man’s future. I just checked my fortune cookie. No misandry there.
Family law courts let women legally steal children from men, and let women get away with false accusations of child abuse.
Thanks for admitting it. Now go do your homework and come back with the complete laundry list of family court corruptions and we can talk some more.
Women routinely falsely accuse innocent men of rape.
Well, duh, yeah. A little hint here, Tory. If you want to paint men as having extreme ideas you need to allege they are saying things that are not true. Be sure they can’t instantly reference studies[1] and news stories[2] that completely back them up. Just saying.
Domestic violence statistics are warped; men are victims as much as women and women make false claims about violence in courts that are too inclined to believe them.
Same problem, Tory. Lordy mercy grrl, you got it bad, doncha? Not only are domestic violence statistics warped, so are the ideologues doing the warping. The problem is so pervasive, in fact, that the warping itself has been made the subject of study by one of the most preeminent authorities on domestic violence research in the world, Dr. Murray Straus. [3] His conclusion? Feminist ideologues have intentionally corrupted the study of domestic violence and the dissemination of information from research results. Oh, a slight hint here, Dr. Straus is an esteemed academician, not a blogger, or a paranoid white guy who is angry because they let women vote. Neither is anyone else I know, though I still have my suspicions about the guy who delivers Chinese. Something kinda funny about him, in a possibly misandric way.
So now, according to Tory’s veiled “threat,” it appears that over at The Punch the lot of them are going to come out with a series of articles condemning the men’s movement. I trust they will be delivered with the same top flight, cutting edge drivel just dished out by the desperate and disingenuous Shepherd. And I am sure they will be ready to block comments as they come in. Can’t have an open discussion about this, can we?
The long and the short of it is simple. The plans of corrupt ideologues in Australia have just been outed, big time. And now they’re pissed. They want to come on the attack.
Alrighty then..
The really wonderful thing about the internet, Tory, is that it does not give a fuck if you are a woman or a feminist. It affords all people the opportunity to make their case. Those that have relied on the silence and acquiescence of others to further their ideas are screwed in a world where everyone gets to speak, and will.  So by all means, take your shots. Come at us with everything. In the end, you will be exposed for the liars you are and you will see your ideology continue to crumble while you see men and women increasingly defy your agenda.
We are here to fuck your shit up in just that precise way.
References:
[1] Kanin, 1994
[2] Orlando Sentinal, June, 2010
[3] Straus, 2007