Roosh Vörek (real name: Daryush Valizadeh)—a pick-up artist, pro-rape-on-private-property activist, and self-declared chauvinist who goes by the name Roosh V.—had to cancel international meet-ups he had organized in cities around the world for his community of “heterosexual, masculine men,” Return of Kings. The meet-ups, comprising “165 meetings in 43 countries,” were meant to happen on Feb. 6 and had been organized as a way to connect “fellow tribesmen,” or followers of Roosh V.’s blog and “neomasculinity” philosophy.
Neomasculinity, Vörek writes, is a combination of “traditional beliefs, masculinity, and animal biology into one ideological system” and includes beliefs such as, “The idea of ‘gender equality’ is a myth that has no scientific basis.” Profoundly misogynistic, Vörek’s “philosophy” suggests for instance that “we make the violent taking of a woman not punishable by law when done off public grounds.” (After media backlash, the author added a note qualifying that line as satiric.)
Those wanting to participate in the meet-ups were given secret words with which to identify themselves, after which they’d be taken to an undisclosed location. (“‘Do you know where I can find a pet shop?’ If you are asked this question, answer in the affirmative: ‘Yes, it’s right here.'”) And they received specific instructions on how to defy the group’s opponents, whether regular citizens or ”social justice warriors.” Yet that was not considered enough safety by Vörek, who canceled the meetings because he could “no longer guarantee the safety or privacy of the men who want to attend.”
Before this final decision, he had declared the network under threat and in a “state of emergency” because of protests against the meetings. Amongst the group’s “opponents” is Jim Watson, mayor of Ottawa, who publicly attacked the group, and other government figures around the world.
But the protestors who tipped the scale, leading to the final decision to cancel the meet-ups, New York magazine reports, might have been the Toronto Newsgirls Boxing Club. The tough female boxers told the Metro Toronto newspaper that they were ready to show up at the meeting points in full gear: “Pictures will show up online of women wearing boxing gloves, and blah, blah, blah,” a club representative told the publication.