Episode 92: MAPs Of Meaning

An annoying West-Coast trend hits Jesse’s home region, a discussion about fake babies and ALLEGED BUT LEGALLY UNPROVEN cult affiliations, and a rather disgraceful attack led by online buffoons against a young academic. If you’re a premium subscriber and would like to discuss this episode with other BARPod listeners, you can do so here.

Show notes/Links:

The battle between furries and NFT bros escalates:

More: https://candid.technology/usd-100k-nft-meme-war-twitter

Reborn doll basics:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reborn_doll#Social_issues_and_reactions

https://www.reborns.com/

https://old.reddit.com/r/RebornDollCringe/top/

Nopenopenope:

Start of the feud:

The plot thickens:

ALLEGED evidence here: http://nlovewithreborns2011.org/lawsuitdonations

The plug incident:

The book about MAPS (or whatever you want to call them): “A Long, Dark Shadow Minor-Attracted People and Their Pursuit of Dignity”

More Noah Berlatsky background than any healthy human could possibly want or need:

Berlatsky interviews Walker:

Outrage appears to have started with 4W: https://4w.pub/old-dominion-university-assistant-professor-comes-out-in-support-of-destigmatizing-pedophilia/

November 11 Libs of Tiktok:

Famous people join the pileon:

Let’s get them fired:

James Lindsay quote-retweets, simply saying ‘groomer’:

Lindsay is really losing it:

He also went after one of Allyn’s coauthors, with a tweet reading: “Allyn Walker didn't work alone. Who is Vanessa Panfil, and why is she a sexual predator disguised as a scholar?”:

On November 16, Old Dominion puts out a statement:

https://www.odu.edu/news/2021/11/a_statement_from_old#.YZZpU9DMJPZ

Old Dominion University has placed Dr. Allyn Walker on administrative leave, effective immediately, from their position as assistant professor of sociology and criminal justice. Reactions to Dr. Walker's research and book have led to concerns for their safety and that of the campus. Furthermore, the controversy over Dr. Walker's research has disrupted the campus and community environment and is interfering with the institution's mission of teaching and learning. "I want to state in the strongest terms possible that child sexual abuse is morally wrong and has no place in our society," said ODU President Brian O. Hemphill, Ph.D. "This is a challenging time for our University, but I am confident that we will come together and move forward as a Monarch family." The actions we are taking today are motivated by our obligation to maintain a safe and conducive learning environment for our students, faculty, and staff.

By October 17th, the story has gone completeley mainstream and gets written up in the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/11/17/old-dominion-professor-allyn-walker/

The president is quoted as saying in a message to the campus: “Many individuals have shared with me the view that the phrase ‘minor-attracted people’ is inappropriate and should not be utilized as a euphemism for behavior that is illegal, morally unacceptable, and profoundly damaging. It is important to call pedophilia what it is.”

The Milo Outrage Cycle: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2016/04/how-breitbart-is-milking-the-milo-yiannopoulos-campus-outrage-outrage-cycle.html

Jezebel interview: https://jezebel.com/professor-on-leave-after-comments-about-people-attracte-1848089269

Thomas Hubbard outrage campaign: https://www.chronicle.com/article/a-professors-writings-about-pederasty-enraged-students-so-they-protested-at-his-home/

Walker resigns: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/11/24/allyn-walker-odu-professor-resigns/

FIRE’s involvement: https://www.thefire.org/in-joint-statement-old-dominion-and-professor-allyn-walker-signal-end-to-campus-controversy-walker-thanks-fire/

The lead image, of a creepy-looking fake baby with the catch phrase “So Truly Real” above it, comes from Ashton Drake.