The Better Devils Of Our Nature

The first thing you'd ask of Roosh Valizadeh is, are you serious, or is this some type of performance art?

The blogger is a firm believer in rape, taking a man's rights, anti-feminist, approach. Women are the enemy because they won't have sex with men on demand and that must be stopped. Or so he says. Can he be serious?

Maybe he's just being radically Islamic, coming from a background in which women who dare to go out in public without a guard are considered nothing more than prostitutes who deserve what they get. Leaving the confines of one's home is akin to asking to be raped, therefore, give the lady what she wants.

Look at me, Mommy, look at me!

Mr. Valizadeh is trying to organize a gathering of like-minded individuals, all men of course, and men who would like to be permitted to rape women who are not cowering behind locked doors.

You can find his philosophy at Return of Kings, if you're wondering how serious this man might be.

Some took him seriously, however. The proposed rally has been cancelled.

That's how it is with the Internet and the blogosphere and social media these days. Any fool can find a forum and an audience for any nonsense he or she wishes to spout. Those looking to spoof others are equally able to find an outlet for their joke.

There's no telling which way a post is meant to lean, comedy or tragedy.

In the case of Mr Valizadeh, his claims that he is skilled at picking up women and can show you, one of life's losers, how to seduce the ladies, smacks of the old ads in men's magazines from a by-gone era. All a guy needed was a dose of Spanish Fly and he could make a woman desire him. It was laughable then, and Mr. Valizadeh is laughable now.

Just like in those long-ago days, there are those who take his philosophy seriously, who really believe that it is the women at fault and not some personality defect preventing a guy from access to casual sex. Had the rally gone ahead, there would have been a few followers at Devon and Sheridan Roads on Saturday, milling about looking for answers to their emotional problems.

Women would have been excluded because they are bad, not falling on their backs, dazzled by the virility of the men who turn to Roosh Valizadeh for help in achieving their goal.

Those who did not see 'satire' in the proposed performance raised such a protest that it would have been impossible to stage a rally and maintain the anonymity of the attendees. Everyone has a camera on their cell phone, and photos would have been snapped and posted to shame any man so socially inept as to stand with the legalized rape contingent.

So the enemy has won. Or the performance art fell flat.

It doesn't much matter, in the end. Roosh Valizadeh got himself a big load of attention, his name in the news and his blog site advertised. He won.