A columnist writing in the Washington Post asked this question: "Why can't we hate men?"  with a photo of Harvey Weinstein as the hero image. Someone on Twitter asked that I rebut the OpEd, and I thought why not? Sometimes you have to nibble the low-hanging fruit.

It’s not that Eric Schneiderman (the now-former New York attorney general accused of abuse by multiple women) pushed me over the edge. My edge has been crossed for a long time, before President Trump, before Harvey Weinstein, before “mansplaining” and “incels.” Before live-streaming sexual assaults and red pill men’s groups and rape camps as a tool of war and the deadening banality of male prerogative.

Seen in this indisputably true context, it seems logical to hate men. I can’t lie, I’ve always had a soft spot for the radical feminist smackdown, for naming the problem in no uncertain terms. I’ve rankled at the “but we don’t hate men” protestations of generations of would-be feminists and found the “men are not the problem, this system is” obfuscation too precious by half.

First, thank you to Suzanna Danuta Walters for her honesty. She hates men. She's not hiding it. Which makes an honest discussion of her OpEd that much easier.

Notice Suzanna conflates Weinstein, a criminal rapist (allegedly, as he's yet to face trial) with Donald Trump, who once said "grab 'em by the pussy" and may have porked a consenting porn star. Weinstein is a rapist deserving of things I don't feel comfortable writing. Donald Trump is kind of a doucheburger with an extra order of sad exclamation point fries. Not the same.

Seems Suzanna is purely focused on the negative side of some men. Confirmation bias, is strong with this one. Suzanna is looking for any reason to justify her hatred of men. Hey, it's still a free country, and an LGBT professor's gotta make some PR splashes.

After acknowledging she's using a broad brush, Suzanna proceeds to justify her hatred of men by flapping her arms. Hitting issues we've already rebutted on this website:

Pretty much everywhere in the world, this is true: Women experience sexual violence, and the threat of that violence permeates our choices big and small. In addition, male violence is not restricted to intimate-partner attacks or sexual assault but plagues us in the form of terrorism and mass gun violence.

I broke up this paragraph like a pair of real life-lesbians bust Hollywood's pretty lesbian trope. She's partially right. Women do experience sexual violence from men, and it does affect our choices. What I do, day to day, involves thinking about my bodily safety. I'm not that fearful of what other women may do to me. But I do, as a woman, have to make considerations based on the threat of terrible men. Which may be news to men who weren't raised with sisters. Who never were told at an early age, usually by their fathers, to be careful of boys and men. That's just the reality of growing up female. And one reason I carry a gun. Oh, rape is what you want? Say hello to my little friend.

Here's where Suzanna gets a few things wrong: men have plenty to fear from... other men. Sorry to say, but men are far more likely to experience violence than women. From other men. It's kind of like some men are just violent assholes. Keyword there is "some."

Women are underrepresented in higher-wage jobs, local and federal government, business, educational leadership, etc.; wage inequality continues to permeate every economy and almost every industry; women continue to provide far higher rates of unpaid labor in the home (e.g., child care, elder care, care for disabled individuals, housework and food provision); women have less access to education, particularly at the higher levels; women have lower rates of property ownership.

Suzanna strings together her men suck sentiment with issues we've debunked repeatedly: that some mythical patriarchy is stifling women's careers, pay, and domestic life choices. I blame the patriarchy for underwire. Also having to wait as some man insists on backing his car into a parking space. Seriously, what is that?

She then cites less access to education (um, clearly not in America), and lower property ownership rates. Except many of her sources aren't limited to the first world. Which is kind of cheating.

Third world nations aren't perfect for women's rights. Hello Iran and every Islamic nation in existence, bringing down the global average. So I'm not going to argue that women's rights across the globe are all that and a bag of free tampons.

But Suzanna opened her OpEd with Harvey Weinstein, Trump, incels, rape camps and the popularity of Justin Beiber. Kidding on that last one. Seems unfair to lump crappy conditions for women in the third world with "mansplaining."

In America, women are free to choose lives they want to live. And as we've seen repeatedly, sometimes the choices they make don't please feminists. Like choosing a wife who takes care of her husband and children instead of a CEO. Which, by the way, are still her choices.

The pay gap issue is a simple one: on average, women's career choices don't pay as much as men's choices. Teachers are largely women. Petroleum engineers are largely men. Men who are teachers get paid a teacher's salary. Women who are petroleum engineers get paid an engineer's salary. People are paid based on experience and the worth of their job. Not on if they have a front hole or a wang. We've talked about this so many times I'm frankly bored with the topic. Here: The Gender Pay Gap is Explained by Women's Choices. Say The Young Turks.

It's almost like Suzanna is willfully ignorant on the facts so she can continue demonizing men.

Also, personal pet peeve as a career women who does well, thank you. I get miffed when feminist twits like Suzanna assume a woman can't succeed unless a man gets out of her way. Here's how she closes her OpEd, with a plea to men:

Pledge to vote for feminist women only. Don’t run for office. Don’t be in charge of anything. Step away from the power. We got this. And please know that your crocodile tears won’t be wiped away by us anymore. We have every right to hate you. You have done us wrong. #BecausePatriarchy. It is long past time to play hard for Team Feminism. And win.

Bitch, if I want something, I won't need a man to "step away from power." I'll just take it from him by being better than he is. As a woman who's perfectly capable of handling herself, I'm not going to ask a man to do anything for me so that I might succeed. A win tastes sweeter if it's soundly earned. A man's crocodile tears are more delicious if you beat him fairly at his own game. Not by using his cock to disqualify him.

Last point: If it's okay for women to hate men, as Suzanna does, is it okay for men to hate women? Because if a man wrote an OpEd "Why can't we hate women?" and cited only those cases of women in the negative, would the piece make it past the first round of edits? And would the male writer not be doxxed, exposed to the rest of the country for his beliefs that all women are frantic harpies like Suzanna?

Want make sure I'm clear on the rules of "equality."

~ Written by Courtney Kirchoff