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Melbourne Men...

whackPanther · 2018-08-26T07:32:33+00:00

AWESOME JOB TODAY! You guys will be known as pioneers of this movement no doubt. Such an awesome shameless display of male pride and a willingness to fight for...

whackPanther

August 26, 2018

12 upvotes

/r/MensRights

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Post Information

Title	Melbourne Men...
Author	whackPanther
Upvotes	12
Comments	3
Date	August 26, 2018 7:32 AM UTC (7 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/MensRights
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/MensRights/comments/9adwpn/melbourne_men/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/MensRights/melbourne-men.1185526 https://theredarchive.com/post/1185526

Comments

[–]Jex117 3 points4 points5 points 7 years ago (2 children) | Copy Link

[–]actingverystrangely 6 points7 points8 points 7 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link

There are a number of posts already posted, including my own photos. Here are some observations from me...

I have written some 'vignettes' which you are welcome to use, either selectively or collectively.

We (my girlfriend and I ) walked past the protestors who were chanting nursery rhymes. One of them tried to pass me a leaflet. It read “Join the War Against Misogyny!”. I scoffed.

We approached the open air site for the event, and encountered row upon row of police officers standing around casually. We presented ourselves for a security search, and the police office declined. “Am I not bad enough to be searched?” I asked. He laughed. “It is a random search” he lied, unconvincingly.

We entered the space assigned for the speeches. The sun was intense, a welcome relief from the winter months, soon to end. "Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces. Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here. Here comes the sun!"

The main stage was to my left, and many people were wearing white T-shirts, sold to raise funds for ‘Dads in Distress’. It was clear that the police had located the protestors away from the site of the rally, and created a cordon to protect the people attending the rally.

The criteria for frisking people entering the rally seemed to be ‘no hair or pink hair’. Skinheads or feminists.

A lone protestor held a sign they had created from a piece of cardboard. It suggested that I am a misogynist, racist and asshole. I took a photograph, safe in the knowledge that I was not stealing their soul, as they had no soul to lose.

The event began with the Australian National Anthem. My partner was born in Australia, and I was not, but we are both Australians. I am aware of the politicisation of national anthems, and the behaviour of Kaepernick. I felt uncomfortable. It shouldn’t be a political act, but it is.

The speeches began, and were the low point of the rally. The amplification was inadequate, and the speakers held the microphone away from their mouths. The speeches were too long, and delivered in written English. I could make out sound bites every now and again.

The protestors left their holding point, perhaps 100 metres away from the rally, and approached the police cordon, singing nursery rhymes. An infiltrator let off a horn, and then another. They were escorted away very quickly.

The speeches continued, a low hum against the backdrop of the nursery rhymes. One speech went on and on and on. The sun blazed down on my skin. I had forgotten to put on sun protection. It is still winter, after all. Applause interrupted my thoughts. The speech had finally ended

The media were present, and many, many police. You can see that from my photographs. Suddenly, a horn sounded, loud and intrusive. It had been hidden in an Esky (a cooler box) located on top of a roof. The media duly reported on it in their bulletins. A brave soul used his tripod to nudge it off the roof, where a police officer stamped upon it, silencing the searing noise.

The police ushered the nursery rhyme chanters away. By this stage I had two flags bearing the logo of March for Men. With many others, we hung over the balcony overlooking the protestors and waved our flags at them. They reciprocated with more chants, and by raising their middle finger. For many, this will have been their most articulate act of the day.

The speeches went on, snatches intelligible. Eventually, we were told that the speaker I wanted to hear (Rob Tiller) was next, but that he had to be quick as the previous speakers had…well, the police wanted the march to begin soon. He held the microphone close to his mouth, and spoke in spoken English. A blessed relief. I could hear every word!

In an instant, we were told to start the march. We walked in procession with men and women, boys and girls, black and white, Caucasian and Westerners all united in supporting men and masculinity.

The march led us away from the chanting, down a boulevard (St Kilda Road) bathed in sunshine. Then, a short speech from Sydney Watson, and that was it. The marchers dissipated, like clouds dissolved by the warm afternoon sunshine

I had attended the inaugural meeting of Men's Rights Melbourne, an event so secret that we had to identify ourselves by congregating around a Rubik’ Cube. So I am not exactly new to the men’s rights movement.

But I had not previously encountered so many gender bigots located in one place at one time. I was disconcerted by the vituperative hatred on show, the indifference to others, and their toxic behaviour. But that’s enough about the protestors. Let’s celebrate that so many of us stood proud, the sun kissed our endeavours, and the police protected up against the scourge of hate-filled fascists.

[–]TheMythof_Feminism -1 points0 points1 point 7 years ago (0 children) | Copy Link