An Open Letter to Robert Brannon of NOMAS
To: Robert Brannon, Professor Emeritus, Brooklyn College, Co founder- NOMAS
Dear Dr. Brannon,
I just received a notification that your organization, the National Organization of Men Against Sexism (NOMAS), has announced it’s 35th National Conference on Men and Masculinity in partnership with the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV).
I share an active interest in the same issues as your organization, namely, as stated in your principles, “enhancing men’s lives.” In that light, I wish to pose some concerns to you regarding your conference and other aspects of your organization.
In answering these concerns, hopefully you can clarify precisely how your activities are designed to achieve our common goal.
First, I did an exhaustive search of your website looking for policy positions or other information related to matters that affect men and boys adversely in modern culture, especially as pertains to the following:
Men are nearly 80% of all suicides.
Men are over 80% of all homeless.
Men are 93% of all workplace deaths.
Male college enrollment has dropped to 42% and continues to decline.
In the recent, protracted recession, nearly 80% of all job losses have been those held by men.
Men die almost six years younger than women (in 1920 the variance was 1 year) and are victims of nearly all fatal disease more than their female counterparts. But the lions share of gender specific medical research is done to benefit women. Also, there has been a National Office on Women’s Health since 1991, and there is no such office for men.
In an egregious violation of basic civil rights, men are routinely severed from their children, their homes, their assets and future income by state functionaries, on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations in family courts.
Additionally, there remains a blatant bias against men in matters of child custody in divorce cases.
False allegations against men of rape, sexual abuse, spousal abuse and sexual harassment have become epidemic.
The anti-male sentencing disparity in criminal courts exceeds that of racial discrimination.
Though volumes of reviews and analyses, scholarly investigations and empirical studies prove that women are as likely or more likely than men to commit intimate partner violence, we continue to operate on the false assumption that domestic abuse is a “boys club” problem, denying services to male victims and refusing to acknowledge and treat female perpetrators seriously, often leaving men and children at the mercy of systemically enabled abusers.
And lastly, a prevailing culture of misandry -sexism that fosters the hatred of, or contempt for, men and boys- now flourishes in the media, politics, academia and the culture at large.
Unfortunately, Dr. Brannon, after a thorough search of your website, including a look at your past conferences, I didn’t see any attention at all paid to these serious and overarching problems in the lives of men and boys. It is as if these problems, according to NOMAS, do not exist.
Furthermore, what I did see was a wholesale promotion of the very stereotypes of men and disinformation about their character that often precipitate and aggravate the problems I cited.
And I was most disheartened to see that in 2005 that NOMAS successfully joined an amicus brief to help shut male victims of domestic violence in California out of state funded services, keeping them “women only.”
So, with all respect, your response to this query will help me, and I am sure many others, determine if NOMAS is fighting sexism, or simply practicing and promoting it.
I respectfully await your response, and in the meantime, I invite you to consider sponsoring another sterling effort toward enhancing the lives of men.
On April 7, 2010, the On Step Institute is bringing together a collection of esteemed academicians for a symposium on male studies at Wagner College in Staten Island, New York. The purpose of this conference is to promote the furtherance of male studies initiatives at the university level which will pursue a more enlightened understanding of men and boys with, as stated by On Step founder Edward Stephens, M.D., “global implications.”
Your active endorsement and vocal support of this vitally important initiative will go a long way in both achieving your stated goals, and in demonstrating your true concern for the condition of men and boys in modern culture.
Kind regards,
Paul Elam
Paul Elam is the Editor-in-Chief for Men’s News Daily and the publisher of A Voice for Men.
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Paul Elam and Dabir Dalton:
Here’s an article about most dangerous jobs. It mostly involves men. When a woman in highway worker claimed sexual harassment, including a “forbidden fruit” remark, she was awarded $2.4 million
http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/26/pf/jobs_jeopardy/
@ Dabir Daliton
And yet, men remain 93% of all workplace deaths.
The point was not to tag this as a corporate problem, simply one of putting men in the disposable position by rote. I too have worked at companies that went through great pains to promote a safety culture.
To the best of my knowledge, it has not affected the gender death gap at all.
I think that I would rather spend an evening in the company of the board of NOW than with the men involved with NOMAS.
Rarely have I seen so much man-hatred masquerading as man-help in all my years as I saw on the NOMAS website.
These men seem totally clueless about gender issues, and completely unaware of men’s current situation in western society.
In my view, they are either incredibly stupid and/or are merely an organisation set up by the usual culprits to undermine the growing MM.
Mr. Elam…
Re: Men are 93% of all workplace deaths.
_______________________
For the past 12 yrs. I have worked in a plant that makes metal components for metal buildings that in a few months will reach the goal of 0 that’s right zero accidents for the second year in a row.
The company that owns this plant and many others throughout the USA has for years now made a top down effort from management on down to those of us who make the products they sell to prevent their employees from becoming hurt and heaven forbid killed on the job.
Which includes:
Providing the personal protective equipment needed to remain safe while performing their job except for the steel toed shoes that are required. Indeed anyone coming to work without wearing their steel toe shoes will be sent home to get them.
Lock out tag out procedures are posted for each machine and every machine operator is issued a padlock and hasp while every employee involved in working on the machine must place his own individual lock on it that can only be removed by that employee.
Every year each employee must review and complete the safety course they were required to take at the beginning of their employment.
Plant safety meetings are held once a month.
Safety is discussed during the morning meeting each line/department is required to hold before starting. This includes any accidents that may have occurred at another plant, the reason why it happened and the action taken to prevent it in the future.
Any employee can and is required to take a machine that isn’t working properly and/or needs repaired offline after which he is required to notify his foreman who then contacts the maintenance dept.
They do this in spite of the fact all of the manufacturing employees are men while the women employed there work in the office.
I just wanted you to know that not all companies consider their male work force as disposable which is a far cry from the auto parts factory where I was employed for 18 yrs; which was just getting its safety program off the ground when the factory was closed down. During the time I was employed there not a single week went by that I am aware of that someone wasn’t being sent to the clinic because of a work related injury. So it is quite refreshing to now work for a company that cares about keeping their employees safe on the job.
It was. That is why I said “shared” in stead of “wrote”… Sorry I wasn’t more clear myself.
TMOTS
@ TMOTS
I do hope it was clear that the “men can stop rape” was not my views but it was from the director of the local domestic violence industry shelter. I wrote to the owners of that site but did not get anywhere. (BTW, the women’s shelter never replied to me either.)
I just took a look at this NOMAS homepage.
For example:
12 Steps Men Can Take to End Sexism:
1. Don’t interrupt women when they speak…
2. Support women’s leadership and help elect progressive women to political office..
…and so on…
I guess these things are written by something, but this something is certainly not a man.
@ TMOTS
What I especially like is that the world so loves our violence, trains it into us in order to make us willing to catch bullets, and then gets all aghast at “our nature” when some of that spills over into places unintended.
Shattered Men, I love this part you shared;
“Men Can Stop Rape mobilizes male youth to prevent men’s violence against women. We build young men’s capacity to challenge harmful aspects of traditional masculinity, to value alternative visions of male strength, and to embrace their vital role as allies with women and girls in fostering healthy relationships and gender equity.”
So in otherwords, men or more specifically masculinity, is inherently violent…
Pathetic.
TMOTS
Paul,
I hate to repeat this [not true, I love it] when a friend of mine who taught women’s history at the college level got tired of males who are indoctrinated by gender feminists attacking men (what’s worse, rape or losing a child. Sexual harassment, or getting charged with rape -DUKE- when no rape existed. You didn’t get to take shop class, or you got dafted.) she wrote to one guy and explained a few myths to him and then said he was “Philosophically castrated by victim feminists”
Over and over I see such men suffering from “Stockholme Syndrome” brought up by women to despise men. Critical of men to earn praise from women. You kicked ass on this one Paul. Good work.
NOMAS stand on sexism and domestic violence appears to be like the advice the director of our local women’s shelter gave me in the Shattered Men guest book.
http://shatterdmen.com/Guestbook.htm
“I would suggest you search and look at the web site for a group called MEN CAN STOP RAPE. They seem to be a group of men who are taking the issue of domestic violence and sexual violence and working on how to change society for the positive. ”
I looked at this web site and it blamed men for all the problems while id did not say anything about the false rape epidemic.
This site stated:
Men Can Stop Rape mobilizes male youth to prevent men’s violence against women. We build young men’s capacity to challenge harmful aspects of traditional masculinity, to value alternative visions of male strength, and to embrace their vital role as allies with women and girls in fostering healthy relationships and gender equity.
In reality, her suggestion was actually a slap in the face to any man who has or is a victim of domestic abuse.
Good Letter Mr. Elam.
I bet NOMAS is simply looking for crumbs of revenue by means of associating properly with Big Sister.
I suggest NOMAS extracts its head from Big Sister’s ****
Examples of Amicus Curiae. When the U.S. Department of Justice forced the male-only Virginia Military Institute (VMI) to go coed, National Womens Law Center was among those filie Amicus. but they left http://www.womenscolleges.org. continue to ban men. Link,
http://aclu.procon.org/viewresource.asp?resourceID=579#AmiciCuriae
Paul, I know we have our differences of opinions on some issues but I’d like to say this is a fantastic letter to them. Somehow, like TMOTS, I doubt you’ll be getting any genuine reply.
Because the title “Professor Emeritus” evokes an image of Albert Einstein looking wise man, it was great the Paul Elam dig deeper into NOMAS credentials and past activities. Also Paul enumerated the discrepancies in the “conventional wisdom” statistics men v. women.
But one Red Flag is a give away when an organization files an Amicus Curiae brief in a legal case. Because the title of a court ruling list only the Plaintiff and Defendant in a citation and et. al. (lLatin) and others, Amicus briefs are often overlooked by regular observers. So, Paul Elam did good research; Quote
“And I was most disheartened to see that in 2005 that NOMAS successfully joined an amicus brief to help shut male victims of domestic violence in California out of state funded services, keeping them “women only”
You forgot how baby boy’s genitals are routinely mutilated and many of them are done without anesthetic.
ha we dont need or should want those manginas at NOMAS to be anywhere near the mens studies conferance happining this april, I also looked at their website and its so obvious that its an organization where manginas and chivalrous men go to voice concerns about womens issues and only womens issues.
I mean come on Men Against Sexism=men for womens and only womens rights.
YEAH!
Get em Paul! Get those Nanny Boys! Get em!
I bet these guys watch lifetime over football…..
Oh, my fault….being distracted watching football, chasing skirts and drinking beer got us into this mess in the first place.
YEAH!
All I had to do was see the homepage for NOMAS to conclude this is not about men other than to continue the current sexism against them. Immediately after the title is the words “Pro-feminist, gay-affirmative… enhancing men’s lives” .
That’s more than enough for me to realize that is nothing less than more anti-male sexism in a new package. A quick glance around made me wonder if one of the hyperlinks lead me to one of the web pages of NOW or one of the similar male hating groups.
I have a sneaking suspicion that NOMAS’s ‘enhancement’ for men consists of something like the VAWA.
Well said, Paul.
Wow…thanks Paul. Like the broken record I am, I will say that one neednt look to NOMAS to find this set of beliefs institutionalised…..just attend your local church and pick up a bulletin, flip it over and read the offerings for mens “ministry” groups, and compare that to the offering for women.
This organization encompases ALL the misandry of the church, it just adds gay and lesbian to the list of parties who need advocacy.
Don’t hold your breath Paul…
TMOTS