Comedian Chris Gethard's Fight Against MRAs

There are many reasons to adore comedian Chris Gethard. He's funny, he's smart, appeared on one of our most-favorite television shows of 2014 , Broad City (he played Derek, Ilana's beleaguered boss). You might also remember him from his portrayal of Trevor on The Office. But you should really love him because in the wake of the UC Santa Barbara shooting he's become a very vocal proponent in the fight against the supremely misguided and often lady-hating group otherwise known as Men's Right Activists. And for that we think he deserves a lot of praise.

It all started three weeks ago when he posted an incredibly thoughtful blogpost about his own experience with not only that tragedy, but how it related to his own feelings as a young lad growing up. Titled "Overcome Your Programming and Be a Better Man," the message was essentially demanding a wake up call for all those "good guys" out there that feel misunderstood by the world.

"I'm a nice guy, girls don't pay any attention to me." Are you sure you’re a nice guy? Because if your main concern is getting girls to pay attention to you for how nice you are, it sounds to me like maybe you’re not actually nice and you’re presenting yourself as nice to trick a girl you crave into thinking you’re nice. And that’s not very nice.

Hot girls don’t have it easy. Neither do ugly girls. Or ugly guys. Or black people. Or white people. Or poor people. Or rich people. Everyone struggles. Everyone worries.

Which is, well, a really good dose of reality to give. Gethard understands what so many men's rights activists seem to miss: that we are in control of how we are viewed by the world, and that by becoming a compassionate, thoughtful, empathetic human with respect for all people, regardless of what's going on between their legs, we achieve the life we want and deserve. That women are not the cause of men's problems — their inability to accept that we are all equally created people and that women should not be reduced to sexual playthings and objects to "win" does that.

A few days ago Gethard did a video for NowThis News, wherein he lambasted, again, these Men's Right Activists who feel owed so much by the world (read: women).

Which, naturally, upset quite a few of them — including a YouTuber named RamzPaul, who made his own video response to Gethard's rant, to which the comedian responded with maturity, grace, and intelligent real talk. It's so refreshing, frank, and honest, we're sort of obsessed with it.

This is a guy who really, really gets it and for that he should be, in the very least, given a pat on the back and an Internet high five. Because he's right: the nice guys are often anything but, though he's not smug about it when he tackles the notion. Gethard remains compassionate to their insecurities and the terror that pushes MRAs to feel so bitter and slighted by women and this modern world (which ends up leading to straight-up hatred of women and all that other gross and terrible stuff).

So thank you, Chris Gethard, for being generally great. And saying exactly what needed to be said (and doing it for us since we know all those Men's Rights Activists wouldn't appreciate us saying the same thing because, you know, vaginas):