If you haven’t heard of Roosh V yet, you will today. Daryush Valizadeh is an American blogger and self proclaimed pick-up artist. He’s made waves around the world for his derogatory blog posts where he’s advocated that rape should be made legal inside a private home and he currently edits a website that published an article entitled “5 Reasons To Date A Girl With An Eating Disorder”. If that doesn’t already make you terribly uncomfortable, read on!
“I thought about this problem and am sure I have the solution: make rape legal if done on private property. I propose that we make the violent taking of a woman not punishable by law when done off public grounds.”—Roosh V, an excerpt from How to Stop Rape
Recently Roosh V has met widespread opposition on his world tour. Feminists and citizens alike of Canada have been protesting Valizadeh’s appearances in Montreal and Toronto. Roosh posted to his YouTube on August 6th, two days before his August 8th appearance in Montreal. He expressed his concerns over feminists delaying or even preventing his seminar from happening, so he went calling on his “followers” to aid him in his fight. Roosh went as far as stating two outcomes: one where he would host his event and another where he’d end up in jail, his reason being he’d confront the protesters verbally but “we know how that’s going to end up and if there is any physical altercation, the person going in jail is me”, suggesting that he would meet anyone who opposed him with physical action.
Recently Toronto Mayor John Tory spoke out on the situation, voicing his opinion over Twitter and refusing to support Roosh or allow him to host his event without a fight.
“While free speech is the law in this country, promoting violence against women is wrong. #topoli“
Toronto Counselor Norm Kelly was also not one to stay quiet, instead opting to add his commentary to the discussion as well.
“Urging all venue locations in Toronto to deny @rooshv the opportunity to use their space. He and his views are not welcome in Toronto.”
Roosh V’s appearance drew protests and a petition of more than 40,000 signatures arguing that he should not be allowed entry into Canada, however the petition did not succeed and Roosh V entered the country and successfully hosted his Montreal show at a different venue after the original venue cancelled. While his event may have went on despite the mass amount of opposition, there is hope that his hopes of hosting an event in Toronto will fizzle out.
Haley Firkser, a feminist who helped organize the Montreal protests against Valizadeh spoke out, stating:
“Some people say it benefits him, but if you look at the petition, there are more than 45,000 who signed up,” she said. “That’s 45,000 people who are learning about this who hopefully are taking part in discourse surrounding consent.”
While some fear by adding to his popularity, more men will follow his ideals, others argue that by sparking discussion it will help raise awareness surrounding women’s issues. If you’re looking to get involved, I urge you to educate the men and women in your lives on the importance of women’s rights and why rape is wrong. By recognizing that what Valizadeh does as misogynistic and incredibly offensive, we are one step closer to ensuring that his hate speech won’t influence/or reach anyone else.
