Herald Sun interviews Paul Elam

aussiehank · 2012-08-24T13:44:36+00:00

HS have published the article, behind a pay wall :

Courtney Crane, Stephen Drill From: Herald Sun August 25, 2012 12:00AM

A MAN who is littering the city with posters promoting a website that encourages men to support rapists has declined the opportunity to explain himself.

The website, which the Herald Sun has chosen not to name, is campaigning to get men sitting on juries for rape trials to "vow publicly to vote not guilty, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that the charges are true".

The group says the campaign is necessary because it claims women lie about being raped and men are unfairly treated in the courts.

Women's rights campaigners questioned whether the group's members had the courage to make the same statements to women in person.

Posters promoting the website have been posted at Monash and Deakin universities and around Melbourne's law courts precinct.

Frank James Spencer, who has been putting up the posters around Melbourne, told the Herald Sun he became involved with the website as an extension of the "atheist" movement but declined to answer further questions.

The website claims women hate porn because they cannot compete with a "porn actress who has a beautiful face, a perfect body".

The website's publisher, Paul Elam, told the Herald Sun he was too busy watching the movie Air Force One to be interviewed, but later said by email he stood by the campaign.

He did not hate women but they had an unfair advantage.

"Only when they are in court for anything," he said.

Women's rights campaigner Melinda Tankard Reist said the website did not represent the majority of men's views.

Jess Boccia, of women's group Reclaim the Night, said the website was disgusting "especially when it's so hard for women and children to report rape".

www dot h e r a l d s u n dot com.au/news/true-crime-scene/website-that-supports-rapists-branded-disgusting/story-fnat7jnn-1226457731237

The_Patriarchy · 2012-08-24T07:55:28+00:00

I don't understand why you had to start off so damn hostile towards him. Sure he asked a loaded question, but you could have used that as an opportunity to change his mind and positively impact whatever article he's writing.

For example, you could have done something like this:

Are you surprised that women have found the website offensive?

Are you surprised that women have found your articles offensive? I'm not surprised that some people, whether they be men or women, take offense at anything...because there are billions of people out there and some of them are quick to take offense. We don't advocate bigotry here; we advocate equal rights for men. The fact that some people take offense to that speaks more about their character than ours.

Furthermore, I feel it's important to mention that women, as a class, don't find AVFM offensive. There are quite a few women who not only support AVFM, but actually contribute to AVFM both financially and by writing articles. If "women" found AVFM offensive, those supporters and contributors would not exist.

MaunaLoona · 2012-08-24T06:15:30+00:00

I see there are some high caliber journalists in Australia who will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of what those posters mean, with such insightful questions as "Do you hate women?"

Is Herald Sun anything more than a tabloid?

betaprime · 2012-08-24T09:02:42+00:00

Drill is a careerist who knows which side his bread is buttered on. Don't expect him to do the right thing.

MaunaLoona · 2012-08-24T07:02:11+00:00

By the way, this interview reminded me of something I read recently at Breaking The Glasses:

The general social and legal treatment of males has begun to remind me of a book I studied in a high school literature class; Richard Wright's Black Boy. The passage that comes to mind as a highlighting parallel is the recounting of Wright's first job interview.

"Do you want the job?" the woman asked.

"Yes, ma'am," I said, afraid to trust my own judgment.

"Now, boy, I want to ask you one question and I want you to tell me the truth," she said.

"Yes, ma'am," I said, all attention.

"Do you steal?" she asked me seriously.

I burst into a laugh, then checked myself... I had made a mistake during my first five minutes in the white world. I hung my head.

"No, ma'am." I mumbled. "I don't steal."

She stared at me, trying to make up her mind.

"Now, look, we don't want a sassy nigger around here."

"No, ma'am." I assured her. "I'm not sassy."

I'd have to say that Stephen Drill was a wee bit disappointed that Dr. Paul saw through his "cunning ruse".

drinkthebleach · 2012-08-24T12:50:22+00:00

Greaaat. The movement is now represented by a loud, angry guy in an Australian tabloid.

Ted8367 · 2012-08-24T07:12:04+00:00

KARMA MRA MGTOW's comment is worth repeating:

Yep and he asked me these. I quote.

How long have you been a men’s activist?

Why have you have been putting up posters at Monash Univesity and around the law courts? Did you want to spark a debate about this issue?

One of the articles on A Voice for Men states Should I be called to sit on a jury for a rape trial, I vow publicly to vote not guilty, even in the face of overwhelming evidence that the charges are true.’ Do you agree with that view?

Have you personally been treated badly by women? Are you a father who has no access to children or have you been falsely accused of rape?

What is your response to criticism of A Voice For Men from women’s groups. Do you think they are wrong to complain about the statement on the website that women are “half the problem in domestic violence”? That’s all the questions. Happy to take any other responses.

In addition he was very pushy in wanting my phone number, address and place of employment!

Stephen Drill suggested an interview at my home, but when I joked that an MRM film crew would be present he changed his mind.

2012-08-24T10:54:17+00:00

Great! Thanks Paul.

JockeVXO · 2012-08-24T21:24:23+00:00

As a man who's never been (to my knowledge) screwed over by anyone, woman or man, I fail to see how that would affect my views on matters pertaining to equal rights and protection.

Title	Herald Sun interviews Paul Elam
Author	avoiceformen
Upvotes	25
Comments	125
Date	August 24, 2012 5:49 AM UTC (13 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/yqogp/herald_sun_interviews_paul_elam/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/herald-sun-interviews-paul-elam.1015136 https://theredarchive.com/post/1015136

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