By Christopher Quinn
In order for the men’s rights movement to go mainstream it needs a Spartacus who will lead the oppressed in fighting their oppressors
The men’s rights movement has made great progress in recent years, but the movement has not gone mainstream. There have been no major demonstrations, no real coverage in the mainstream media, and no best-selling book that has caught the attention of the general population. Until this happens, the movement will only be able to gain limited ground. What the men’s rights movement needs is a Spartacus. The historical Spartacus was a man who emerged from the crowd to lead a revolt against his oppressors and fought for the rights of his people. While the men’s rights movement may not need a single leader, it does need a man who can communicate the message of the men’s rights movement in a way that will persuade the rest of society that our cause is just.
The real Spartacus was a Roman slave who demanded freedom for himself, and the end of all slavery, in Ancient Rome. Spartacus was from Thrace, which was an area of modern day Greece and Bulgaria that was part of the Roman Empire. Spartacus was not born a slave; he was either a Roman soldier or was taken captive by Roman soldiers, and was condemned to slavery. Once a slave, he was be trained as a gladiator. Gladiators were a special class of slaves who were forced to fight each other in Roman arenas to entertain the public. The gladiators received rigorous training in special schools, and were treated cruelly by their captors.
In about 73 B.C., Spartacus and approximately seventy other gladiators escaped from a gladiator school using stolen kitchen tools to fight their captors. Once free, the men chose Spartacus and two other escaped gladiators, named Crixus and Oenamus, as their leaders, and took up a position on Mount Vesuvius. Spartacus and his men held their position on Mount Vesuvius and won battles against the professional Roman army. They inspired more slaves and local peasants with a grudge against Rome to join their cause, and their numbers grew to between 70,000 and 100,000 men.
Spartacus was apparently a brilliant military leader, using clever tactics to outwit the Roman commanders. Slaves had rebelled before, and eventually been defeated. In fact, Spartacus and his men mounted what became a full-scale war that is now known as the Second Servile War – essentially a civil war within the Empire in which the underclass attempted to overthrow Roman rule. The Roman Senate attempted to stop this slave rebellion and sent eight Roman legions, about 40,000 to 50,000 soldiers, to defeat the slaves. After successfully holding their own against the Romans, the Senate sent reinforcements. Spartacus’ men made a last stand, and suffered their defeat. Most were killed on the battlefield. It is believed that Spartacus himself died while attempting to take down the Roman general, Crassus. The remainders of the slave army fled, and were hunted down by the Romans. Some likely escaped, but over 6,000 slaves were caught and crucified along the road leading to Rome as a warning sign to others.
In truth, we don’t know what Spartacus’ motives really were. Some historians believe that he was simply trying to win freedom for himself and his men, and escape from the Romans over the Alps and into Europe. Others interpret Spartacus’ actions as an attempt to reform all of Roman society and abolish slavery in Rome. Whatever his goals may have been, Spartacus ultimately failed. Slavery continued after Spartacus’ death, and Roman society went on to force men to kill each other as gladiators for another 477 years, when the gladiator games were finally banned in 404 A.D. However, Spartacus has become a symbol for the lone man who leads the oppressed in fighting their oppressor.
A Spartacus is needed to transition the men’s rights movement into the mainstream so that it can achieve the broad support of the public. Although forces have been gathering against men for years, the men’s rights movement developed because of the anger and frustration of men who felt the discrimination for the first time. These men, who were busy working and taking care of their families, suddenly realized that they were not in control of their destinies anymore – the courts were, and their wives were. As more men became frustrated with their new second-class citizen status, they joined the men’s rights movement. However, they are still only a small percentage of the population. Most of the population is not even remotely aware that a men’s rights movement exists. To most people that are aware of men’s issues, the men’s rights movement likely consists of a man dressing up as Batman or Spiderman while protesting a family court decision. Activism such as this will get media attention, but the average man is not going to join in that activity, and the public, the legislatures, and the courts don’t take these protests seriously.
Most men understand the problems that men face on some level, but they do nothing about it. Some men don’t speak up because they fear disagreeing with women, preferring to play it safe. Some men may be cowed into submission, fearing that they can’t win the argument. Some men actually advocate feminism without truly understanding feminism’s hostility to men.
What the men’s movement needs is someone who can find a way to make it acceptable for all men to state their grievances. Surely, men’s rights organizations are having some success, particularly involving father’s rights by lobbying state legislatures for shared parenting bills and challenging outrageous increases in child support obligations set by the courts. These groups are doing fine work and will surely continue to make progress on these fronts. The Tea Party Movement is proof that a leaderless movement can work, but even the Tea Party has some figures who articulate the movement’s ideas. Sarah Palin and Glen Beck may not be the leaders of the Tea Party, but they are prominent figures who articulate the movement’s message to the public.
This is what the men’s rights movement needs. If the movement does not find some individual to be our Spartacus, the men’s rights movement will go on achieving successes, but in a limited way. For the men’s rights movement to go mainstream and achieve the society altering changes that men deserve, the movement needs a Spartacus.
