Hyperbolic sarcasm does not a good argument make.
1. There are fathers who abdicate their responsibilities.
2. However, there are even more fathers who indeed, have every interest in parenting but "the mothers won't let them".
I acknowledge #1; do you acknowledge #2?
And the point of father's rights groups is that systemic sexism in the court system and the legislatures subsidizes and promotes #2, and thus makes it the prevailing case.
When my own parents split up, in 1967 (really showing my age here), my father filed for custody and won. I love my mother, but I think the court made the right decision. My dad was better at being the primary parent. The court did not seem biased in favor of my mother.
I've been handling custody cases (not the only thing I do, by a long shot) since 1990. Due to my own upbringing, I don't care whether I represent men or women, I just care whether my client really has the best interests of the children in mind.
Based on my own experience, I do not believe that courts are biased in favor of, or against, either sex.
I do believe that courts are biased in favor of the status quo, if it is working. I think they have an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality.
And, truth be told, more mothers than fathers act as the primary caretaker before the parties split up.
So, I think the judge looks at the history of the parties, and says, well, if the parties thought the mother should be the primary caretaker prior to the split-up, why should I change that?
I will always believe that fathers are just as good, in principal, as mothers at being the primary caretaker. And the child's needs changes as the child matures.
I have a case right now where I am arguing that the father should have custody because the minor child is a boy who is interested in math, and the father is an engineer, while the mother is a seamstress, so the father would be better as the primary custodian because he can help the boy with his homework. Also, the father lives in a better school district.
This is consistent with my own beliefs. My own kids are interested in math and my own husband is an engineer. If my husband and I (God forbid) split up, I think my husband would meet their needs better than I could.
I do believe that children do better with a father AND a mother. I think people should tough it out. Marriage isn't a bed of roses. Hey, even beds of roses have thorns.;^)