Pickup guru Roosh Valizadeh is not only a terrible, terrible person. He is also an abuser of language.
In a post entitled Culture War Predictions For 2015, Roosh forecasts great things for the “manosphere” in the coming year. Or perhaps the coming 9 months?
Prepare yourself for the most belabored (heh heh) pregnancy metaphor the world has ever seen:
In 2013, we saw a large increase in manosphere readership that began to ejaculate our ideas onto the mainstream. In 2014, these ideas became the morning sickness that left the enemy unprepared and unwilling to respond with logic, reason, and facts. In 2015, you will see the birthing on our side of semi-formalized alliances between various groups that use more organized action to deal crushing blows upon panicked feminists and SJW’s. Media owners will reconsider their usefulness. At the same time, our mob will grow to a frightening size after growing big and strong on breast milk, and they will be lustful for blood.
Obviously, there is nothing in that paragraph that isn’t awful. But I’m a little hung up on that first sentence. Roosh: I know you probably watch a lot of porn, dude, but you are aware that in order to make a baby, you need to deposit your sperm into a woman, not onto her, like certain kinds of squid.
Actually, I’m a little confused about exactly what happens, with the squid in any case; their sex parties get pretty freaky. But I am pretty sure that to make human babies the sperm needs to get inside the woman somewhere in that whole region down there.
Could it be that Roosh learned everything he knows about reproduction from Men in Black?
Her ‘clarification’ renders that highly charitable reading moot, I’m afraid.
Yeah, I didn’t refresh before replying before I missed it. I was hoping that she was talking about squids though. 🙁
OK, I was trying to be nice, but this?
You just erased all the women and girls who were raped by their husbands or fathers or uncles or brothers over much of human history. That’s not acceptable, and you need to stop it.
Overcrowding is a factor in rape only in the respect that if a rapist were totally alone on an otherwise deserted island, no rapes would occur.
Going any farther than that is just wrong.
Seriously, this is such a classic rape culture narrative, and I’m disgusted to see it show up on a site like this, from a regular.
I can’t help but think that you’re referring to the let’s-allow-rats-to-breed-out-of-control-in-a-limited-space-and-see-what-happens experiments. I don’t recall rats raping one another in those experiments. There was a lot of pathology in the group, but it doesn’t transfer over to humans very well because rats are not human.
You’re just factually incorrect that rural people experience less rape. They report less rape to the authorities, often because the rapist is known to, and liked by, the authorities and the victim knows nothing will occur, and also because of all the usual victim-blaming bullshit that we all know and loathe. That doesn’t mean that rape doesn’t happen in the sticks. I am from the sticks, and I know better.
Rape is for the most part an opportunistic crime. The research is out there if you wish to pursue it.
Yes, it does still happen in places that are sparsely populated. It always has happened, throughout human history, and we know this, yet for much of human history we have not talked about it, at all, or else blamed the victim, or even sometimes treated it as “romantic.” Uggggh!
Don’t even get me started on Zeus.
I’m just curious though, what are the numbers? Is the percentage higher in over-crowded areas than in sparsely populated areas?
I’m not blaming crowding. I place the blame squarely on the people who choose to act in such a heinous way.
However, I am curious if they feel more enabled to act that way, when there are more people around than, or if they feel more enabled when there are fewer people around them, or if crowding makes no difference on the percentage of rapes per capita.
I don’t know how such a thing could be studied in any ethical way. If it could be studied, would it give us any useful information about how to lessen the number of rapes? Would it change how we choose to date, for example? I’ve always gone for public places and crowds as preferred date venues, but now I’m just not so sure.
After all, look at subways. Look at “Hollaback” and the horrible incidences of harassment that happen on crowded city streets, as well as mass transit.
And while you’re looking at those numbers, look at all the bystanders who think “Not my responsibility. Someone else will step up.”
And how many rapes are actually an attempt at performance – being macho to show off to the rapists’ peers? Or to try to fit in with the gang who are already being horrible?
One thing I do know – if more bystanders were to stand up and say “STOP THAT!” we’d have a lot fewer rapes.
And if just one person on that crowded bus had said “STOP THAT!” to the fellows harassing me, how much better I would have felt.
Instead, we have people sharing video of rapes, and laughing about it. It makes me very sad.
We need to teach people not to rape, not to be rapists. That is first and foremost. Until that lessons sinks into every human’s heart, what else can we do to protect people?
I want us to have every weapon available to fight this battle, and sometimes that means asking the “What the…?” questions.
Rape is also not about men “losing control”. There’s pretty much nothing in that comment that isn’t Rape Culture 101, honestly.
Michelle, you’re not helping. Not even a little bit. Stop.
I am literally fucking nauseous right now.
Most rapes happen in situations where there are no bystanders. Again, all you’re doing is shoring up rape culture here. Stop it.
No.
Again, no. Stress does not cause rape, and neither “evo-psych,” “alphas” or “betas” are a real thing that exists outside of the feverish mind of pick up assholes.
Fucking no. There is no “magic” level of crowding that turns men into rapists and frankly it is incredibly insulting that you would even try to make such a connection.
The fuck are you on about? That we (culturally/societally) now, however tenuously and conditionally, view women as actual people with agency rather than “chattel” or “baggage” is why we are now hearing more about the frequency of rape, because the women who experience it now see it as a crime instead of their lot in life, or their role in gender relations.
I’d let you share my puke bag, gillyrosebee, but it’s already getting kind of full.
Instead of repeating the MRA myths Michelle you could look into the research done on the small number of rapists who were incarcerated and are willing to name what the did the crime of rape. The info is out there if you wanted evidence rather that repeating zombie lies.
This particular question is not only insulting to pretty much everyone, it’s completely pointless. What if we did determine, contrary to all evidence, that rape is caused by overcrowding. What would be your solution? Ban cities? Good luck with that.
Overcrowding is not a problem with nightclubs, it’s a problem with where you sleep. Being unable to get any peace and quiet, or just be away from everyone for a little while, is what results in overcrowding stress. “Stay out of crowded nightclubs!” doesn’t resolve that problem at all. People go to crowded nightclubs because they like them (duh: that’s why they’re crowded). People live in the suburbs because they like the quiet at night.
So even if your completely bullshit premise were to be, in whatever way, proven true, there is no solution offered by that knowledge. And let me reiterate: the premise is bullshit. People are not rats.
@POM
See, this is what I’m talking about – actual comparisons of numbers, on a per capita basis.
Now, I was not raped, but I was pounded on because I refused to have sex with my assailants, and they said I did not have the right to refuse. I did NOT report it, because I had my reasons at the time. Also, because on a crowded bus, not ONE person stood up to stop them.
However, in a small classroom, of only five people, someone DID stand up for me.
Group dynamics are different. That is what I’m talking about.
Yes, I’m aware of the rape that happens within families. I have relatives who have told me some awful stories I’m not prepared to share. And some I have shared, elsewhere. I never meant to “erase” anyone who was victimized in private by family members.
Clearly, I have made people uncomfortable by asking the question, and for that I apologize. The topic of group dynamics and “Not my responsibility” and enabling of bad behavior is a topic of meaning for me, and I will continue to ponder the question, but not here, as I do not want to cause any of you pain. I’m sorry.
Mods, please feel free to delete my offending posts.
Actual studies, studies that have come up frequently on this very fucking blog, have demonstrated that people feel enabled to rape when they are sure they are surrounded by misbegotten fuckwads willing to look for any reason or excuse for their behavior other than the fact that they wanted to rape someone, i.e. rape culture.
There is absolutely zero protective factor, with respect to rape, to being in a small group. What protects people from rape is other people choosing not to be rapists. Small towns experience rape, but the victims don’t bother to report it if the rapist is the sheriff’s son.
The question is not uncomfortable. The question is bullshit. There’s a big distinction there.
Don’t you dare try to turn this into a case of other people being unable to handle tough questions. That’s not what’s going on here. It’s abundantly clear that you have no understanding of how rape culture works. Either go do some reading before you comment on this again or just keep your ill informed splaining to yourself.
It wasn’t the pointless question that made me uncomfortable Michelle. It was the zombie lies.
Michelle, are you actually talking about reporting of rape or numbers of actual rape and suggesting that people who are raped in crowded areas are more likely to report being raped than people who are raped in rural areas are? If so, is this some roundabout way of trying to bring attention to the plight of rural rape victims?
Or is this a way of talking about the bystander effect potentially stopping people witnessing a rape from helping the victim? Granted, rape cultural attitudes also contributes to that, as this blog has demonstrated. Still, if is one of these things, you should clarify that quickly because it reads like you’re asking a very, very different question that sounds like apologetics.
Bonus points for the victim blaming in the comment about crowded clubs, btw. Oh, those women who hang out in clubs, if only they wouldn’t do that then men wouldn’t be able to rape them as easily. They should stay at home, where only the men they live with can rape them, and that almost never happens.
(BRB, vomiting again.)
@gillyrosebee
Hopeful stuff here:
This is truth. More and more people ARE looking at women as actual people with agency, rather than chattel or baggage. More and more people are talking about the issue, and supporting the actual victims of rape, rather than their families, and the laws are changing to reflect that. Marital rape laws protect wives. Child abuse laws protect children. Honor killing is not acceptable. The plaintiff isn’t the rape victim’s father or spouse, but the actual victim.
This is all good progress, and for that I’m very glad.
Again, I apologize to all of you I offended. It was not my intention. I only intended to spark a discussion of possibilities, and perhaps see if anyone had some links to good articles on the topic. Clearly, I went about that all wrong.
I guess I should have gone straight to links, and not said anything myself:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_responsibility
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect
I still don’t know about rates per capita in relation to population, but that’s beside the point now.
It’s just that the thing with the squids reminded me of this, and I hoped that someone could help me understand. When faced with rape, it’s human to ask, “Why?” as well as “What can we do about it?”
Enough of this, now, though. No more pain today.
@alaisvex – Bystander effect. I was talking about the bystander effect. Thank you!
I was NOT victim blaming, and am very sorry it came off that way. I was seeking to understand if the rapists had better and more opportunities in crowds, not blaming victims for being parts of those crowds. The term “target rich environment” seems to apply, but that does not blame the targets. I place the blame firmly on the one wielding the weapon.
Thank you for understanding me, Alais.
Just another example of bad writing and poor communication, it would seem.