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Fierce pushback causes an alpha male of the online "manosphere" to retreat.
"There will be no official Return Of Kings meet-ups" Saturday night in Southeast Michigan or anywhere else, posts Roosh Valizadeh, who adds:.
I can no longer guarantee the safety or privacy of the men who want to attend on February 6, especially since most of the meet-ups can not be made private in time.
While I can’t stop men who want to continue meeting in private groups, there will be no official Return Of Kings meetups. The listing page has been scrubbed of all locations. I apologize to all the supporters who are let down by my decision.
Takeaway: Watch what this Return of Kings founder does, not what he says.
Tips for men in blog posts and books by Valizadeh, 36, include "just do it and see what happens. . . . Choose to spend your free time with men so your masculinity remains strong and steady."
Or not, as announced protests, news coverage and social media pushback make him blink Wednesdy night. Among the 165 canceled events on his first International Meetup Day are gatherings in Ann Arbor, Clinton Township, Rochester Hills and Lansing.
Original article, Wednesday night:
Gatherings planned near the University of Michigan, in Lansing and at two Metro Detroit suburbs Saturday night make women uneasy.
The "meet-ups" are for followers of a "pickup artists" group called Return of Kings. "Its primary goal is to give men a set of tools and beliefs that allow him to more easily enter sexual relationships," founder Daryush ("Roosh") Valizadeh says ungramatically in a "What Is Neomasculinity?" essay..
The movement's first International Meet-up Day is Feb. 6, when members are invited to show up at 165 events in 43 countries. A women's group plans to protest planned events in Chicago.
Part of the Return of Kings website.
Instructions for how to gather sound like something from a bad novel for adolescents:
Hosts have been instructed to wait at the meeting point from 8-8:20 p.m. before moving on to the final location. If you arrive at the meeting point at 8:21 p.m., you will miss the meet-up. Arriving on time within the window is absolutely paramount.
To identify your fellow tribesmen, ask the following question to a man you suspect is there for the meetup: “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.”
You can then introduce yourself and get details about where to proceed at 8:20. If you ask someone for the pet shop and they appear confused or actually try to direct you to a real pet shop, they’re not there for the meetup.
To some outsiders, that's no laughing matter. Neither are the battle illustrations of aggressive men that accompany event announcements from the anti-feminist group.
"Many students, parents, staff and faculty have reached out to express concern or voice their outrage regarding the planned 'meet-up,' " says a University of Michigan statement posted Wednesday. "The U-M Division of Public Safety and Security is . . .working collaboratively with the Ann Arbor Police as well as other local, state and federal law enforcement partners to monitor the situation."
The announcement adds: "Our community values respect for all persons and rejects language and actions that promote sexual and gender-based violence."
That language alludes to blog essays and paperbacks by Valizadeh, 36, a self-described "pickup artist" in Maryland who posts as Roosh V. His publications include two "Bang Guides" with "powerful techniques, moves, and lines that make it easier for average guys to get laid."
Campus concerns are covered Wednesday by The Michigan Daily, where Riyah Basha writes:
Posts in multiple campus Facebook groups, such as the Ladies of UofM Facebook group, on Monday and Tuesday warned females on campus of the group’s activities. . . .
Diane Brown, spokeswoman for the Department of Public Safety and Security, confirmed Tuesday night that after receiving tips, university police are working in conjunction with the Ann Arbor Police Department, as Nickel’s Arcade [the rendezvous-up site] is within city police’s jurisdiction, to look into the meet-up.
Brown said University police plan to meet with campus leaders in the days to come about the planned event. “We don’t know what we’ve got right now,” Brown said
Return of Kings (ROK) adherents also are invited to join others at these sites Saturday night:
- Clinton Township: The Mall at Partridge Creek
- Rochester Hills: Elizabeth Park
- Lansing: Lansing River Trail
In Des Moines, Iowa, police Wednesday posted a safety alert on Facebook advising against any protests. "We recommend that no one, men or women, go to any of the sites," the department says.
