Maybe Ignoring Pick-Up Artist Roosh V Is The Way To Go

Controversial writer and pick-up artist Roosh V hasn’t had very good few days in Canada.

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Controversial writer and pick-up artist Roosh V hasn’t had very good few days in Canada. Despite a petition signed by almost 45,000 people to deny Roosh V entry into the country, he still held a lecture in Montreal this past weekend aiming to give contemporary men “practical solutions for helping them improve their intimate relationships with women.” 34 people attended. After the event, he went out to a bar only to have beer thrown in his face by a mob of angry men and women.

The incident was video taped by someone with a cell phone and has made the rounds on social and tradition media. Clearly, Roosh V has a lot more haters than fans. Which is a good sign. His antifeminist views often border on hate speech, and he has no problem saying things like rape should be legal, and women shouldn’t be allowed to vote.

Although he’s scheduled to do another event in Toronto this Saturday, mayor John Tory has tweeted that Roosh V is not welcome in the city. Tory also tweeted, “I am calling on those hosting this tour to do the right thing - cancel this show.” The venue for the show has been kept secret to prevent protestors from showing up.

But despite all the hate Roosh V is getting, it’s clear that he thrives on that kind of attention. He knows the things he’s saying are controversial, and that’s part of the reason he’s saying them. He bragged on Twitter about being the number one trending topic in the entire country, so obviously for him, no publicity is bad publicity.

A CBC article points out that although Roosh V’s views may truly be considered hate speech, trying to charge him is unlikely to happen. The best course of action with someone like him is probably to just ignore him and not give him the attention he’s looking for.

Toronto criminal lawyer, David Butt asks, "When you have, what to most contemporary sensibilities is a raving lunatic, do you give them a platform by making them a martyr? Or do you just let him speak to his little group ... and then have him slink away without a trace?” Most of us never would have heard of him if it weren’t for all the outrage, and it seems like now, he’s getting exactly what he wants— an audience for his tantrum.

Unfortunately, there will always be people like Roosh V who will say outrageous things just to a reaction, and right now, that’s exactly what we’re giving him. Hopefully all the bad publicity will at least convince the venue to cancel the appearance, or discourage people from showing up to hear what he has to say. If no one is there to listen, nothing Roosh V has to say matters anyway.

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