Controversial pick-up artist defends anti-woman views

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Mayor John Tory and Coun. Norm Kelly don’t want a pick-up artist with disturbing views on rape coming into Toronto, and they’ve taken to Twitter to ask for his show to be cancelled.

Roosh V, also known as Daryush Valizadeh, is an author and blogger who has said rape shouldn’t be a crime on private property. He often gives speeches and talks about his views, which include adherence to “traditional” gender roles.

Valizadeh was recently in Montreal and is scheduled to be in Toronto on Aug. 15. Tory and Kelly are asking for his show to be cancelled, with Tory calling his views “hate speech.”

Valizadeh defended himself and his words in a response to the mayor. 

“Mr. Mayor, my speech doesn’t promote violence, harassment, or hate against any group. You were lied to about me,” he wrote.

Tory wasn’t the only one criticizing Valizadeh. Coun. Kelly, who in recent months has become one of the most interesting and unexpected Twitter-users in Toronto, said Valizadeh’s views were “worthless garbage.”

Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie is also opposed to Valizadeh’s tour.

While Valizadeh was in Montreal, a woman threw beer at him. The incident was described on his website, Return of Kings: “This anarchist smashes the patriarchy by using a mob of men and enjoying the fruits of her capitalist white male ancestors’ multimillion dollar business.”

His appearance in Montreal last weekend was denounced by that city’s mayor, Denis Coderre.

One of Valizadeh’s most controversial blog posts, published in February, argues that making rape legal in a private home would eliminate any ambiguity surrounding consent by forcing women to fend off unwanted sexual encounters.

“I propose that we make the violent taking of a woman not punishable by law when done off public grounds,” he wrote.

“Without daddy government to protect her, a girl would absolutely not enter a private room with a man she doesn’t know or trust unless she is absolutely sure she is ready to sleep with him.”

An older entry from 2013 lists 15 reasons why Toronto is “the worst city in North America for men.”

Among them, according to Valizadeh, is the fact that women in the city prefer food to sex and have egos that vastly outstrip their attractiveness.

There was a petition on Change.org that hoped to prevent Valizadeh from entering Canada, but it was unsuccessful.

A protest is planned for Saturday at Queen’s Park. The ‘Demonstration Against Rape Culture’ will begin at noon.

The blogger seemed to relish the uproar, saying in a tweet that “40,000+ Canadians couldn’t stop a lecture attended by only 34 men, even with media & govt help. Stunning humiliation.”

The website for his tour also acknowledges the controversy and warns the location of each event will only be released a day in advance “due to the high risk of mob action by feminists and social justice warriors.”

While many on social media hailed Tory for speaking out against Valizadeh, some said cancelling the show would undermine free speech.

“Freedom of speech isn’t supposed to be comfortable. It only works if it includes those whose messages bother you,” one wrote.

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