Monday, January 4, 2010 at 8:45:00 PM EST
When I was little, my mom had a few signature phrases. She served us foods that were “good and good for you,” she relished hearing “you were right and I was wrong” when we realized that, yes, Mother does know best, and she reprimanded my brother and me for roughhousing, because “it’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt.” This last warning may well have stopped the facebook fan page for “The D.E.N.N.I.S. System” before it spiraled out of control; before a memorable element from a so-so episode of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” became a potpourri of frightening, violent, and misogynistic acronyms posing as “jokes.”
Yes, I know, the page is meant as an Internet troll—an empty provocation meant to amuse its 85,000 fans, and provoke gullible Internet roamers. One of the group’s photos pictures a sign labeled “Don’t Feed the Trolls!” and maybe my reaction is the one they were hoping to elicit.
But, even if it started out as “fun and games” as my mother would say, its disgustingly threatening wall posts reveal that the troll has surpassed any reasonable level and merits concern. The original D.E.N.N.I.S. system outlines a “tried and true” method for men who want to take advantage of as many women as possible. It instructs men to Demonstrate value, Engage physically, Nurture dependence, Neglect Emotionally, Inspire hope, and then Separate entirely. While this system may bother, offend, or annoy many women (including myself, to be honest), it’s a fairly pedestrian, if idiotic, method that many men seem to employ, whether consciously as a “system” or otherwise. It may be misogynistic, but not necessarily a cause for outrage—Dennis, the character from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” and the creator of the D.E.N.N.I.S. system is just that: a character, and, whether for good or for bad, a pretty realistic one.
The acronyms littering the wall of
the D.E.N.N.I.S. system fan page, however, paint violent images of date rape, sexual and emotional violence, and physical threats. Let’s take a look:
(TRIGGER WARNING: The following relay violent images that may upset some.)
The BRIAN System
Buy her a drink
Roofie the drink
Initiate Sex
Alight from the scene
Never go back
The DAVID System
Dick her hard, very hard
Act like an asshole
Violet [sic] every orifice on her body
Ignore her
Dick her best friend
It gets worse.
The FOURNIE Method
F*ck her til she cums
Order some Chinese take out
Use the chopsticks on the bitch’s pussy
Rip it open wide
Nail-gun her ass to the bed so she doesn’t run away
Insert the Chinese food into the void you’ve created
Enjoy
The fact that so many people (85,222, to be exact), consider these acronym-based “systems” and “methods” acceptable forms of internet debauchery and amusement both frightens and infuriates me. And although I can’t guarantee it, with so many members, I can bet that you have at least one friend in this group, whether as a troll or as a devout fan of “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.” Whatever their excuse, a message needs to be understood: sexual violence is not funny.
Talk to your friends and encourage them to remove the D.E.N.N.I.S. System fan page from their profile, or just repost this blog on facebook.