IMPress Polly
07-26-2018, 01:55 PM
So, if you hadn't heard, Disney has recently fired James Gunn, director of the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise over pretty disgusting jokes he tweeted about rape and pedophilia a decade ago (https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2018/07/20/Disney-fires-James-Gunn-from-Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-3/6281532121338/). The fiasco has been used by opponents of the #MeToo, of course, to diminish the cause. In fact though, this campaign was not led by the #MeToo movement, or by women at all for that matter. The online movement demanding the termination of James Gunn was, in reality, one of several recent cynical campaigns led by the infamously misogynistic alt-right blogger Mike Cernovich (https://www.theguardian.com/media/2018/jul/25/alt-right-old-tweets-trump-critics-dan-harmon-james-gunn), who has frequently complained of James Gunn's opposition to U.S. President Trump. Mr. Cernovich is perhaps most famous for spreading the ridiculous Pizzagate conspiracy theory about Hillary Clinton.
If one takes Mike Cernovich's complaints about the decade-old quotes by Gunn (which are indeed pretty disgusting) seriously, here are just of Cernovich's own that are all more recent (https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/mike-cernovich):
“Do a Google image search for ‘lions mating.’ That's basically rape and it's also the natural form of sex.” Twitter, 2013
"Rape via an alpha male is different from other forms of rape. We can't really understand this, as our culture is too detached from instinct.”
—Twitter, September 2013
“Not being a slut is the only proven way to avoid AIDS. If you love Black women, slut shame them.”
—Twitter, February 2016
“If you’re a woman, go out and tell a group of men that that man raped you. See what happens. They’re going to believe you probably, especially if you’re crying and hysterical. It’s pussy privilege. If you own a pussy, men will white knight for you, they will risk their lives to save you, they will believe you. You go tell five men that I raped you they’re not going to believe me unless I’m really persuasive and my life will literally be in danger if you said that. Pussy privilege is real, you got it. You also get the pussy pass.”
—Youtube, “10 Types of White Male Privilege,” March 2017
“I went from libertarian to alt-right after realizing tolerance only went one way and diversity is code for white genocide.”
—Twitter, October 2015 (This one I included as just a bonus to highlight some of his broader worldview.)
Mr. Cernovich's obsession with the topic of rape and defending it in principle while claiming that "false allegations" are the rule seems to stem from the fact that he was arrested on rape charges in 2003. (He reached a settlement for $50,000, which, to translate legalities, suggests he was probably guilty.)
Don't get me wrong, the quotes by Gunn that have been dredged up are pretty despicable, but I just disdain Mike Cernovich's transparently self-serving, cynical motives here. The Pizzagate guy who thinks that "rape via an alpha male is different from other forms of rape" is NOT a champion of women's lib, sorry.
He cynically leads this opportunistic crusade to get a Trump opponent fired by Disney for decade-old tweets and somehow the #MeToo movement, which didn't even participate, gets the blame. Of course, that's the whole point. He gets a political opponent fired AND gets sexual violence against girls and women taken less seriously as a subject all at once. I hate him.
If one takes Mike Cernovich's complaints about the decade-old quotes by Gunn (which are indeed pretty disgusting) seriously, here are just of Cernovich's own that are all more recent (https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/mike-cernovich):
“Do a Google image search for ‘lions mating.’ That's basically rape and it's also the natural form of sex.” Twitter, 2013
"Rape via an alpha male is different from other forms of rape. We can't really understand this, as our culture is too detached from instinct.”
—Twitter, September 2013
“Not being a slut is the only proven way to avoid AIDS. If you love Black women, slut shame them.”
—Twitter, February 2016
“If you’re a woman, go out and tell a group of men that that man raped you. See what happens. They’re going to believe you probably, especially if you’re crying and hysterical. It’s pussy privilege. If you own a pussy, men will white knight for you, they will risk their lives to save you, they will believe you. You go tell five men that I raped you they’re not going to believe me unless I’m really persuasive and my life will literally be in danger if you said that. Pussy privilege is real, you got it. You also get the pussy pass.”
—Youtube, “10 Types of White Male Privilege,” March 2017
“I went from libertarian to alt-right after realizing tolerance only went one way and diversity is code for white genocide.”
—Twitter, October 2015 (This one I included as just a bonus to highlight some of his broader worldview.)
Mr. Cernovich's obsession with the topic of rape and defending it in principle while claiming that "false allegations" are the rule seems to stem from the fact that he was arrested on rape charges in 2003. (He reached a settlement for $50,000, which, to translate legalities, suggests he was probably guilty.)
Don't get me wrong, the quotes by Gunn that have been dredged up are pretty despicable, but I just disdain Mike Cernovich's transparently self-serving, cynical motives here. The Pizzagate guy who thinks that "rape via an alpha male is different from other forms of rape" is NOT a champion of women's lib, sorry.
He cynically leads this opportunistic crusade to get a Trump opponent fired by Disney for decade-old tweets and somehow the #MeToo movement, which didn't even participate, gets the blame. Of course, that's the whole point. He gets a political opponent fired AND gets sexual violence against girls and women taken less seriously as a subject all at once. I hate him.