MR-extremists

Shepherd: Men's rights extremists go online

THERE'S a movement that sees males - generally straight, middle-aged, white males - as the new oppressed. Seriously.

Men's activists have been around for decades, but thanks to the internet they're getting slicker, more organised, more professional, and more visible.

The core claims of the men's rights extremists include:

Women have never been worse off than men - this is a feminist lie and is part of the plot to subjugate men.

Women are all gold-diggers who use marriage and divorce to extort money from men.

Family law courts let women legally steal children from men, and let women get away with false accusations of child abuse.

Women routinely falsely accuse innocent men of rape.

Domestic violence statistics are warped; men are victims as much as women and women make false claims about violence in courts that are too inclined to believe them.

One prominent men's movement go-to guy, "Angry Harry", also says feminism is to blame for traffic congestion and global warming.

Over at The Punch we're devoting a series of articles to debunking each of these claims (although to be honest we probably won't bother with the traffic congestion and global warming stuff).

These false claims are not just sinister ideas confined to the interwebs - they're calls to action. Men's Rights Extremists are actively lobbying to change Australian laws. They are spreading misinformation and trying to discredit good policies and good programs.

The MRE world is a place for these wounded, angry men to come together and foment trouble.