Tomorrow, pickup artist and rape legalization proponent Roosh Valizadeh’s four-country “world tour” comes to Montreal, Canada and it’s fair to say it has hit a few snags.
The first little snag, as you may already have heard, was a petition asking the Canadian government to bar Roosh’s entry into the country as a literal hatemonger. It drew nearly 14,000 signatures, while a counter-petition, demanding that Roosh be let in, has so far managed to get six.
The snags continue. Though the wily Roosh has apparently been able to make his way over the border, he wasn’t able to keep the Montreal hotel originally scheduled to hold his event from cancelling on him, in the wake of complaints from local activists and some less-than-adoring media coverage of the terrible Mr. V.
Roosh says he’s found a new location, but the cancellation and the campaign against him have clearly been wearing on him.
In an an angry and at times unhinged video that he made before he secured the new venue, Roosh declared that his life’s work was at stake, and that if he was unable to book his event at another location he would show up at whatever protest materialized and, he strongly implied, start fighting everyone there until he got carried off to jail.
Hoping to forestall such an embarrassing spectacle, Roosh rallied his internet army and called on them to dig up dirt on the organizers of the planned protest. Posting on his own forum earlier this week, Roosh announced the start of “Operation Medusa,” the name an apparent reference to his belief that feminists are ugly monsters.
Naturally, Roosh’s five-prong plan was steeped in ethics. Among other things, he urged his followers to
1. Infiltrate main staging area for the enemy on Facebook and gather information. Use a fake Facebook account that is not linked to your real identity to message the organizer pretending to be a sniveling male feminist and asking for access to the private group. …
2. Spread disinformation on the event page. On the public page, contribute updates that distract them and lead them astray. You can also attempt to goad them into making illegal statements that can allow me to pursue legal action (civil or criminal).
3. Counter opposition research on the main perpetrators. With the help of an ROK writer, I am commissioning an investigative journalistic piece that focuses on [the three main organizers].
Given that he announced this super seekrit plan publicly on his forum, and that his opponents found it fairly quickly, it’s safe to say that prongs one and two were not likely very successful.
But Roosh seems to be going forward with prong number three. Posts attacking two of the three names at the top of Roosh’s enemies list have already appeared on Return of Kings, though they are less muckraking than simple poop flinging. The conclusion of David Garrett’s post will perhaps give you a sense of the general tenor of both pieces:
Aurelie Nix and her not so merry band of affronted, free speech-hating witch hunters are currently in the self-immolating throes of their violent opposition to Roosh’s truth.
Both posts quote Roosh without mentioning that he’s the guy “commissioning” and presumably paying for them. Smearing someone for money on Return of Kings, on behalf of the publisher of Return of Kings, is not “investigative journalism” as it is practiced anywhere on planet Earth.
You’d think that ace reporter Matt Forney, the author of the other of these lovely posts, would know better. After all, he was until recently the, ahem, “editor” of Roosh’s Reaxxion website, a #GamerGate-aligned video game site ostensibly big on media ethics. Indeed, it had this as the first plank in its “ethics policy.”
We give full disclosure if writing about a topic that we have personal or business relationships with, including investments. All disclosures will go at the very beginning of an article. Failure to disclose relationships will result in an immediate blacklist from publishing on Reaxxion.
But I digress. Forney’s piece, in addition to its many ethical failings, is also a terrible work of journalism, a blustery assault on what he describes as a “frenzied hate mob” of “authoritarian, Pharisaical” feminists, whose allegedly “violent campaign” against Roosh is “built on lies and intimidation.”
Uh, isn’t that a pretty spot on description of Roosh’s “Operation Medusa?”
You know, the one where he openly and unapologetically urges people to “spread disinformation” and dig up dirt on his opponents in order to scare them into silence?
In response to this nasty little campaign of intimidation and insinuation, many of those publicly associated with the planned protest of Roosh’s event have deleted and taken their social media accounts private. The original proposed protest of Roosh’s event has also morphed into a more broadly focused Demonstration Against Rape Culture, to be held tomorrow at noon, with the organizers of the new event declaring
In the last few weeks various women have mobilized to protest the hate speech disseminated by an American “pick up artist”. These women were victims of intimidation, trolling, harassment, and even some rape & death threats. Cuntamponary Art has decided to lend its voice to these women and to serve as an anonymous platform for them to express themselves freely. Due to said harassment, public facebook events have been canceled. The Cuntamponary Art Collective refuses to play into this petty “internet war” that has been targeting and abusing individuals instead of focusing on the larger issues at hand: preventing the promotion of hate and rape culture.
Roosh and his followers see this a giant victory. Which, looked at narrowly, I suppose it is.
But by responding to charges that Roosh is a disseminator of hate with a hateful, misogynistic campaign of intimidation aimed at feminists, they have succeeded only in making clear to more people just how staggeringly awful Roosh and his ilk really are.
Nest week, Roosh heads to Toronto. I don’t think he’s going to get a very warm welcome.
EDIT: Added some stuff about Roosh’s three-prong plan.
This reminds me of the South Park episode where NAMBLA came to town. The closing speech sounds like Roosh’s whinging about now.
(Sorry about the quality. It’s the only one I could find with the whole speech)
I’d love to see a feminist retelling of that story in movie or miniseries form.
@WWTH:
I’m pretty sure Lauren Faust is working on a movie exactly like that right now.
Sweet! I don’t know who Lauren Faust is. I’ll have to look her up.
Lauren Faust is the producer for My Little Pony and worked on the Power Puff Girls.
Also Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends.
@ PI
Unfortunately the narrative is more “If you hadn’t looked so sexy Poseidon wouldn’t have been forced to rape you thus defiling my temple” hence the ‘ironic’ punishment of poor old Medusa’s looks being turned into a man killing machine. Ultimately she ends up with her head stuck on Athena’s shield.
Of course that’s just the version that got passed down. Could be unreliable narrator. Some early MRA changing things so it was all a woman’s fault.
Having said that, Greek women could be quite horrible to women. One of the earliest examples of slut shaming I can think of is how other Greek women had the pejorative term “phainomērídes” (thigh flashers) for Spartan women because they wore mini skirts.
Roosh made a big(ger) mistake in Montreal. He declared war on a Québécor Média journalist. MRAs are so used to punching down, to only go after vulnerable victims, have they forgotten some ennemies are stronger than them? Do they think mainstream media outside the US has no influence, money or very experienced lawyers?
I am very disappointed that Canada allowed this hatemonger in to spread his misogyny. Also sad to see that Roosh’s supporters successfully bullied protesters using death and rape threats. Sigh.
“These women were victims of intimidation, trolling, harassment, and even some rape & death threats.”
Bullying works, I guess.
@Pandapool:
She’s also working on Wander Over Yonder.
I’ve still never seen My LIttle Pony (at least not that version) but I loved the Powerpuff Girls. I used to have a Buttercup keychain.
@semaphore:
Obviously, I can’t speak for all french Montrealers, but I think the problem is a whole lot of us haven’t heard of the manosphere too much. Personally, I have only been made aware of these types through American web sites like WHTM. I know there is some mobilisation against Roosh’s conference, but for most of us, the most common reaction is likely to be “what the hell is a PUA?”
Then again, I have been told in the past how Quebec had been “ruined by feminism”, mostly from anglophones. I don’t know why it was mostly anglophones (and to be fair, some francophones seem to believe the same) but if my personal experience is anything to go by, I would guess that maybe antifeminism is perhaps less prevalent here.
I just watched that Roosh’s video. It was heartbreaking to listen what the evil feminazis are doing to this poor kind-hearted man. My eyes teared up.
Just kidding lol, the video is hilarious. The way he is trying to make himself to look like a victim and provoke compassion in viewers. Lol. My favourite part of the video was when he said: “My work is all about self-improvement and truth.” HAHAHAHAHAHAHA sure it is, Daryush.
I guess the tables have turned. Roosh and his ilk thought they could spew woman-hating bullshit forever without facing any pushback and now that they’re facing it, of course they’re whining about “authoritarian feminazi freeze peach censoring radical left”. I don’t know why this man is so surprised, he is a misogynistic hate-monger but expects not to get any opposition?
On the other hand, perhaps the petition and the protests were a wrong thing to do as they will only get this asshat more publicity which is exactly what he wants, but, what is done is done.
It is also very convenient how AVfM will publish a piece defending this troglodyte but they won’t publish a piece considering the option that Bill Cosby really is a rapist. Talk about human rights, eh?
And the sad thing about working on My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is that it has/had fans that are some of the most entitled, sexist, anti-feminist bags of horse shit I’ve ever seen.
Which is funny considering that Lauren Faust is a feminist, and the show is not only for girls, but has a majority of girls in the cast (who don’t fall into stereotypes and are great friends), and takes place in a country only run by women in a matriarchy.
In fact, there was a storyline about the main characters defeating an evil king and he was eventually replaced with a Queen. Misandring everywhere.
TL;DR: The fact that anti-feminist assholes like MLP:FiM baffles me to this very day.
I didn’t know that! Admittedly the only reason I watch Disney TV is for Gravity Falls.
My Little Pony is alright. I’ve seen a couple of episodes of it, but I wouldn’t say they were anything to write home too. It’s been a while though.
It shouldn’t surprise you. They manage to miss the point of every single TV show, movie and book they consume.
Much of Roosh’s work seems to be barely legal (no pun intended) in the US. It’s arguably inciting criminal activity, but he’d likely get away with claiming he’s just joking or exaggerating. He’s self-conscious about not making explicit threats at least most of the time.
The…site “for gamers” that Roosh shut down because no gamers wanted to visit?
Oh dear.
I’m pretty sure those 14000 petition-signers are rabid Maenads that most of the silent majority here in Canada secretly can’t stand anyway.
As for the six on the pro-Roosh side, that doesn’t really say that much. When fully pressed most Canadians wouldn’t care either way that Roosh is coming here to speak but most also know that politically-incorrect speech will result in a “Feminazi” backlash. So really, it’s probably fear and some apathy that constitutes that number.
Hi everyone! I think I posted a comment the other day about how he had driven his opposition from the field and was hoping it would fare better in Toronto. Obviously, the anti-Roosh forces have rallied and there is the more general protest at noon tomorrow, which has been officially filed for, is likely to get media coverage (there has been a lot already, including a CTV interview with Aurelie.
There are people worried about going to the protest tomorrow, because they may end up as official targets of RooshV’s crowd/manospherians. Even if the harassment did reach the point where someone could be arrested, the damage to freelancers, small business owners, independent contractors, etc, can be too much.
The petition thing is kind of misleading though. Most people thought Roosh was already in Montreal since he announced he was going to spend a few weeks here. Then there is the fact that while we do have hate crime propaganda legislation here, that would just mean you could stop his books from being shipped to Canada. There was no way he was going to be stopped at the border, so no one ever took that seriously, I suspect. (Well, some of the signers to keep him out did, because they were under the mistaken impression that Action Johnson was stopped from entering the country by a petition like that.)
If the protest tomorrow stays as a rally about rape culture, then it should be well attended and all that will happen is that Roosh’s gang will try and film and identify their new “Big Red” to dox and harrass. If the location of the actual event leaks, then I suspect at least some will march there, which may result in arrests because it is illegal to hold rallies or marches in Montreal without advance permission from the police.
If that were true, wouldn’t he be advising men NOT to rape, NOT to take advantage of disadvantaged women, and above all, to look like something other than lazy sacks of shit? Wouldn’t it be about manners, courtesy, and general basic human decency?
Nope. It’s all about how to “bang” (i.e. RAPE) women of various other countries. And how to bore them to sleep with your inane prattle before you move in for the kill.
Wow, I screwed that link up GOOD. :*(
@raysa:
Valizadeh is an Iranian name. That indicates he’s literally aryan.
@lightcastle
From my limited understanding of Canadian law, Roosh probably wouldn’t be prosecuted for hate speech or harassment unless he was publicly disturbing the peace. Like, e.g., he was standing on the street and passing out misogynistic literature in a way that draws attention to himself.