There have been any number of feminists accusing me of being a misogynist; and basically they don't know what they are talking about. I am not motivated in what I do by hatred of women. I am motivated to a very large extent by love for the women I love. When I care about a woman I adopt her concerns, and frequently I put in vast intellectual and emotional effort into addressing them. And the two main concerns that I hear again and again are the one about domestic violence and the one about vicious behavior of women who call themselves feminists. I am against both. I have every reason to be against both. It takes absolutely nothing for a man to beat up on a woman, and the men who do such a thing should be arrested or at least shamed. But neither is it rightful for some women to claim leadership over 50% of humanity without 50% of humanity having voted for them to do so, and use this usurpation of power to advance an agenda that is destructive both to women and to men. Now some of these women are of the belief that a man who takes objection to any aspect of feminism whatsoever is a misogynist. They are completely wrong. It is not just men that object to such things; many women – in my experience successful, intelligent women – do as well. We may as well say that any woman who dislikes the Taliban or Ted Bundy is a misandrist. The correct response to the state of affairs is that Andrea Dworkin and Catherine McKinnon do not speak for women any more than do Eminem or Michael Murphy speak for me as a man. Most people will like some people and not others. This is the case both with men and with women. Disliking some women does not make one a misogynist any more than does disliking some men make one a misandrist. So we see the other side claiming that anyone who agrees with any aspect of feminism is a pussywhipped idiot or a male feminist. The correct response to both sides is the middle finger. I agree with some aspects of feminism and not others. So should most other people. It is not rightful to viciously push on people a party line. But neither is it rightful to decide that all women are bad and that men should be beating them down. On both sides therefore we see a vast usurpation of power, with people claiming leadership of 50% of humanity without 50% of humanity having voted for them to do so. And both are using this usurpation of power to viciously bludgeon everyone into conformity with whatever party line they have. And it is about time that more people take my example and say to both sides that, no, they do not speak for 50% of humanity, and even more importantly that most of the 50% of humanity are better people than are they. This is the case both with men and with women. So no, the slanders that I am a misogynist or anything of the sort stand rejected. I reject a wrongful usurpation of power. And I hope that more people – both men and women – have the courage to do what I have done.
Most people do not consider the imposition of their best intentions upon others, by force of law, to be a usurpation of other people's best intentions for themselves. They see it as the only reasonable alternative to chaos or having their counterpart's best intentions imposed upon them by force, or by mere exposure. The only justification for force between equals, including the force of law, is in defense of self-possession (one's ownership of them self). Infringements upon individual life, liberty or property, other than the life, liberty or property of others, is an unjust infringement upon self-possession. Liberty is the individual's authority over and responsibility for them self. Too many are not satisfied with liberty because they simply cannot feel fulfilled, as individuals, unless they're telling other people what to do. In my opinion, theirs is a benevolence that should be reserved to the parents of small children.
