An Open Letter to Ashley Lynch, in Defense of James Rolfe
No doubt there exist that element of sexism and hatred from a particularly reprehensible sort of man, if you choose to refer to such petulant and privileged men acting out in such a way as men. This kind of toxic nonsense from the likes of self proclaimed Mens Rights Activists such as Roosh V and “Angry Jack” is deserving of derision and we honestly have no place for it. The privilege of being a white man in this country is still extremely real. Being able to speak without fear of consequences, being accepted in many male dominated industries without feeling as if a single mistake or slip up will haunt you and reinforce negative stereotypes about your gender, being pulled over by the police and not having to fear even when you are innocent and have nothing to hide. I could go on.
I consider myself a Feminist.
I first saw the trailer for the new Ghostbusters reboot while at the movies for the new somewhat disappointing Captain America flick and being excited after watching it. I thought it looked a little cringey but ultimately one of those movies that I would definitely pay $1.27 to rent on a Thursday night from Redbox when that becomes available. But this isn’t about the movie at all.
I have been a James Rolfe fan for years.
Since I have first discovered his popular character, the Angry Video Game Nerd in the early days of Youtube, I have watched his entire web series religiously. There is sometimes a connection that one forms with an online personality that resonates and captivates, especially when you share the same stories and have the same past. James and I are both white males in our 30’s growing up as suburban middle class children of the 80’s and early 90’s, saving up that hard earned $25 for a brand new NES game at your local Target, only to experience the utter despair of a game so terrible that it is quite literally unplayable. After discovering that he also shared that past of staying up late at night to watch cheesy horror flicks on UHF band channels, I discovered the wealth of videos and content that he provided directly on his site http://cinemassacre.com/ such as his October special, Monster Madness where he features a new horror movie review every day of the month leading up until Halloween. His critical reviews of modern movies that tie back to nerd culture in some way were always something I would watch too, and I found myself agreeing with him most of the time.
There is nothing particularly misogynistic nor racist about the idea that since we share that same story and past that we would connect on that level. This is no more untrue of how perhaps a generation of Mexican youth connected with Selena and mourned her untimely death. Our shared past in no way interferes with or cheapens women or minorities by itself.
One would understand then possibly why the majority of James followers are white males in their 30s. It might be unfair to criticize someone simply on the basis of who chooses to follow them. One cannot make more than a superficial speculation as to why the demographics are the way they are.
Its about the things that are not said.
Indeed. Lets compile the circumstantial evidence and make a public judgement on what James is actually not saying here.
James publicly stated in this video that he thinks the original Ghostbusters movie was the greatest comedy of all time.
What did he NOT say though? He did not mention that Beverley Hills Cop was also a movie that came out in 1984. Why did he choose to praise the original Ghostbusters but not other excellent movies like Beverley Hills Cop that also were considered game changing at that time?
He clearly must hate Eddie Murphy compared to white comedians like Bill Murray and Dan Akroyd. He must be racist. It is important what he is not saying here.
Now before anybody goes and accuses me of doing mental gymnastics here, know that I will block you if you disagree with me. That is how I roll. I won’t let basic logic shame me into taking coincidental evidence that could be accurately explained first with good intentions to distract from my witch hunt against enemies of the excellent movie Beverley Hills Cop in a slanderous rampage where the ends justify the means.
Good Intentions and the Moral High Ground
If you actually just watch the video you will see a man who has never really take a political stand on much of anything in a public statement, make an honest criticism of a particular type of Hollywood cash grab that has become a trope in its own right, the Hollywood Reboot of old classics. He brings up a number of flaws and opinions in general, none of which really go into the gender swap. His only mention of it being a minor distraction from the obvious flaws of a film that he rightfully points out will never live up to one of his self proclaimed favourite comedies of all time.
And as you start to pick away all the little complaints, there’s nothing still that can explain why this film of all films has sparked such vocal outrage when so many other “geek culture affronts” have passed without conflict beyond the fact that it’s a movie with women instead of men. And while they’ll jump up and down to proclaim that it’s not because they’re sexist, it’s explained with all the subtlety of someone who’s clearly hiding something while screaming, “there’s nothing in the closet!!”
Well that is because you are not engaged in active empathic listening. There are a multitude of very fair and very valid criticisms he brings up in the video, and he makes no secret that Ghostbusters in particular is a very special movie to him. He makes it very clear why he will not see the movie. If you chose not to listen to what he is actually saying and try to read between the lines, then you are missing the main message he is trying to convey while you actively look for evidence to support your own hypothesis.
Making assumptions about the supposed hidden message he is trying to convey to his rabid MRA fans sounds like the kind of thing a stoned guy will tell you about being able to play Dark Side of the Moon in sync with Wizard of Oz.
Don’t play this game. Don’t sink to their level. As feminists we clearly have the morally superior stance from the outset, and there are a sea of public figures that are far more worthy targets of criticism than to stoop to the level of injecting our opinions into the context of something that was not said for somebody who has virtually no history of pandering to the MRA community.
Ashley Lynch, What you and others have done to James was slander him publicly to a wide audience, on statements that can be perfectly explained with the best of intentions.
We can do a better job as feminists if we focus instead of proving our point and dehumanizing those who disagree with us, to try and bridge that gap with the moral superiority that we hold in that we fight for justice in this world, and in that we don’t need to attack, but to defend. We don’t need to listen to prepare our argument, we need to listen to understand. We don’t need to make assumptions about what others are saying but instead ask for clarification to remove all doubt. The consequences of slandering a potentially innocent person are unacceptable.
