So our dear friend Roosh V is getting support in some unexpected places. And by “unexpected” I mean “completely expected, what, are you kidding?”
Consider this little exchange last night on the Twitter:
Anglin added:
It’s a veritable far-right shitweasel convention!
In case you’re not a regular reader of the far-right shitweaselosphere, the first Andrew in this conversation, Andrew Anglin, is the dude behind the neo-Nazi online rag The Daily Stormer.
The second, Andrew Auernheimer — who despite having the same first name and the same avatar is an entirely different person — is the infamous hacker-turned-white-supremacist better known as weev.
The reason they both have the same avatar? They’re showing support for a fellow right-wing shitweasel, the alleged journalist Chuck Johnson, who was banned from Twitter for, well, I don’t remember exactly but I’m pretty sure it was for a good reason.
Birds of a feather, huh?
@Pook
Firstly, did you really just write that Roosh isn’t a threat? Did you not read this article yesterday?
https://www.wehuntedthemammoth.com/2015/08/14/are-roosh-vs-bang-books-how-to-guides-for-date-rape/
He advocates raping women. He brags about being a serial rapist.
Secondly, read the comments policy before armchair diagnosing someone with a personality disorder. Are you Roosh’s psychologist? If not then you shouldn’t be diagnosing him.
Pook, I disagree. I think Futrelle’s reporting serves a good and necessary end and does nothing like promote or aggrandize his subjects.
The right’s fringe has proven again and again that it can influence, infiltrate, steer, and overwhelm the less extreme right. One small but very current example is how 16 presidential candidates are now frantically fending off the game/gamergate/MRA label, “cuckservative.” That’s a mere label — entire issues have vaulted out of the fringe swamp Futrelle covers and into the mainstream, and the adamant, destructive positions many in the right assume are invented and enforced from the fringe.
Ignoring that, ignoring where the memes are generated, ignoring who drives the process would be a death-by-stupid approach.
Beyond that, Futrelle’s one of the few who examines the sexualized distortions and animosity shaping political discourse. He does it without the false equivalencies that make traditional media coverage too much like traditional publicity. I hope he continues this work for as long as it’s necessary – or for as long as he can stand it (shorter time horizon on that last one, I’m sure).
Well, as they say… Hitlers gonna hitle.
NicolaLuna:
Regardless of whether Roosh is actually a rapist, or simply claiming to be a rapist to upset people and gain attention, rewarding his behavior with the attention he craves is hardly the solution. Also, you may be interested in the diagnostic criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder, as outlined by the DSM-IV:
1. Has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements).
2. Is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love.
3. Believes that he or she is “special” and unique and can only be understood by, or should associate with, other special or high-status people (or institutions).
4. Requires excessive admiration.
5. Has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations.
6. Is inter-personally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends.
7. Lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others.
8. Is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her.
Shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes.
Please note, I didn’t say I am diagnosing Roosh with anything. I said I genuinely believe the aforementioned is primarily what is wrong with him. Given the above, I’m sure you can see why I think Roosh seems like a pretty good candidate for NPD.
@sn0rkmaiden: I’ve heard it said “You are judged by the company you keep”, but it’s the same sentiment.
It’s interesting to see that neo-Nazis called Andrew evidently think of the white race as just being a male thing. Goodness knows how they think white people reproduce.
@ Snowberry
Stealing that for next time someone claims ‘Godwin’ 🙂
Peta, dunno if you’re Poot’s sock (accidental or otherwise), but seriously – read the comments policy.
And quoting the DSM is tantamount to diagnosis, whether or not you attach a rider at the end. I mean, what’s the point of the quote if you’re not trying to imply that Roosh is an asshole because he’s mentally ill?
Also with respect to narcissism, Gaslighting…
Something Roosh does a lot.
@Peta
You’ve been asked to stop. You should stop.
Peta, let’s avoid anything that smacks of a clinical diagnosis. Roosh is certainly narcissistic in the colloquial sense, as are any number of the people I write about here. I’m not sure wy that means I shouldn’t write about them. Donald Trump is a narcissist but he’s worth writing about.
In the case of Roosh, I think its’ worth writing about him because he’s a predator that women need to know about; this publicity may make it harder and harder for him to prey on women, and may lead to some of those he’s preyed on in the past to come forward. But also because writing about him helps to make clear many of the really pernicious elements in PUA culture, which influences a lot of people. (Return of Kings gets lots more traffic than AVFM, for example,and he’s sold a lot of books.) And it’s also helped to spur a bigger discussion about consent and rape culture.
@David
Ooh, really? Excellent. Shoulda double-checked that before posting, really; I guess I’m just used to hosts looking the other way. ^^;
@otherwise
Has anybody else noticed that we’ve had a major influx of people all saying “You should just ignore Roosh, he just wants attention!” since his world tour of epic failure began? Even though it’s bloody obvious that the past few days have done more to destroy his reputation and bring him to the well-deserved attention of law enforcement than the past few years combined?
Yeah. I’m calling Rooshite concern trolls.
He might do it, considering it’s another man who’s asking him to step down. After all, when a woman says “Fuck off”, she really means “fuck me”, but when a man’s telling you to stay away from his fictional daughters, he’s “protecting their honor” and “being a good father”. [/sarcasm]
I’m just going to quickly second this entire paragraph. Cockroaches don’t scurry away until you flick the lights on, and this is the same thing.
Roosh and his ilk rely on being not well-known for their “game” to work. He relies on lies and deception to coerce women into bed with him. The reason he got a beer tossed on him in Canada was because his face was all over the news, and a woman recognized him, despite the fact that he wore a wig and lied about his name.
The more people who know Roosh’s name and face and what he advocates, the more women are informed, and are protected from his rape-y bullshit. While Roosh may be enjoying his infamy at the moment, we’re also preventing him from doing his “work”.
If anyone is reluctant to believe that rape culture is aided by silence, they only need to think about Bill Cosby. He got away with decades of serial rape because his predatory inclinations were never openly discussed.
Rhoosh may enjoy the attention. I could give a fuck if he feels like the attention is a victory. The controversy is finally starting to expose the lie that PUA is about helping men improve themselves or aiding men in finding sex partners who have enthusiastically consented. In the short term Rhoosh is going to thrive on this, in the long term it’s going to make it harder for him to continue to get away with rape and it’s going to make it harder for him to find platforms to give talks and sell books.
As they say, sunlight is the best disinfectant.
@Pook
You don’t believe serial rapists are threats? Well, it must be nice living a life of certainty that your bodly autonomy will never be violated. The rest of us don’t live in that world.
SFHC: I’ve noticed that on other sites, too, but I don’t think they’re necessarily Rooshites- just the same sentiment towards cyberbullying and people saying horrible things. “Give him attention and he wins; you’re giving him free publicity!”
My opinion hasn’t changed since writing a similar comment a few days ago: he can have it, all the attention he wants. Everyone should know about him. And if mainstream sites want to toy around with their shiny controversial find and his “satirical article on rape”, they should especially know about his books.
Keep writing about him.
For as many followers like the sturmers he’s attracting, he’s alienating others who aren’t into the rapey Nazi ideology.
@Scented Fucking Hard Chairs: It’s a common silencing tactic. It’s something they don’t want to worry aboutthey don’t think is an actual problem, so to them silence means they don’t have to deal with it. With silence the problem absolutely goes away… For them, because they don’t have to hear about it, and they can go on believing it doesn’t exist.
This is a big problem on the internet where anything bad said has been tagged “trolling”. And they still think of it as the same as people being loud in a 90s chat room. So harassment and threats meant to completely silence and terrorize a person rather than to get a reaction is “just trolling” and the victim is blamed for stating it’s happening as “feeding the troll.” This has the added benefit of feeding their beliefs that nobody on the internet says what they actually believe and aren’t affecting real people (“the internet isn’t real life”) so again, there’s not really a problem. And the harassers also don’t have to feel guilty because their victims aren’t real and they are “just trolling” which isn’t actually bad.
I used to read roosh’s blog and early books by the way.
I left in disgust and am appalled with the direction he’s gone
Racists and neo-Nazis think Roosh is the bee’s knees? Really? No shit? (just joking around)
Actually, it’s a good thing that Doosh is exposed to the light of day. I mean, if he’s got far-right Neo Nazis siding with him, he’s got a major problem. Not all publicity is ultimately good. I feel that over time, this kind of exposure (that he’s a racist, anti-Semitic, misogynist piece of excrement) will reduce his “value” in the eyes of everyone but those who should go the way of the dodo. Trolls (and he’s not just your average troll–he’s a criminal who should be arrested and convicted for sexual assault) aren’t silenced by our silence. They won’t just “go away.” They continue to spout their disgusting garbage without accountability until we all hold them accountable–be that through mocking, protests, or legal action.
Now, I have to lay curses upon him, because I’m just sick of this prick: May you fall into a pile of legos, Roosh, while sneezing uncontrollably due to the clouds of pollen that surround you. May acne plague you, and all the wine you drink be horribly oxidized–and taste like cardboard! May all the chicken you eat be dry and overcooked, and your bowel movements be difficult and require much straining. May there be worms in every peach you eat and your car have terrible gas mileage.
I have much more violent fantasies (and curses) in mind, but I’m trying to cultivate a peaceful disposition…and not succeeding too well, thanks to the existence of douche-canoes like Roosh.
Roosh needs all the attention he can get; from people who will push back. The beer(s) he was doused with weren’t because the women spotted Game in the wild (because that’s all to fucking common) but because they spotted Roosh.
They spotted Roosh in a wig. He was trying to disguise himself, why? Because the exposure made him feel nervous about being able to ply his wiles without being spotted.
Spending the amount of time Dave does is a public service. Amplifying it (or just spreading a greater awareness of the PUA/MRM?etc. into the wider world is what we, as readers, need to do. Will they say “any exposure is good exposure”? Of course they will. If they didn’t say that they’d need to admit the philosophy they follow is mock-worthy.
So they, like any other hate group, need to be held up to the light ,and ridiculed for what they espouse.
BTW, this also applies to anyone saying “Don’t write about Roosh, it’s what he wants.” Really? A rapist being exposed so he can no longer rape anyone else, because everyone knows who he is and can avoid him, is “what he wants”? If you say so…
Well, I’m not sure what to say here, but I know a gif that would be good.
http://33.media.tumblr.com/5a22938952ef069d3f406824f8434e68/tumblr_nnbthviyGD1riyvqbo1_500.gif
Considering that like 30 guys attended each of this “World Tour Events” and at best he broke even financially, I don’t see how this notoriety is a win for him.
He can’t parlay it into more “mainstream” success. The only way forward is deeper into the sewer.
Another dark episode was when the Eliot Rodgers event happened in Santa Barbara. Roosh shamelessly tried to use that to raise his profile.
The way I look at it, exposing stupidity and dickishness (let alone actual criminality) may not always work, but it’s still worth trying. In this case, the women of Toronto have been warned that Roosh is coming, men who might go to his speech are aware that they may be exposed as fools, and men who might buy his books are being made aware of what that says about them. We can’t shut him up but we can expose his disgusting views and make it harder for him to make money by spouting them. If the attention makes him happy, so what — I’m more interested in obstructing his ability to make a living by advocating rape.
I had a word with some friends in military research and they designed the ultimate anti-Roosh weapon:
