Netizens start petition to ban controversial pickup artist from S'pore
He was kicked out of Australia with his tail between his legs after an online campaign brought his controversial dating advice to light.
And if netizens here have their way, pickup artist Julien Blanc will not be allowed to set foot in Singapore.
An online petition on change.org has asked Minister for Home Affairs Teo Chee Hean to keep Blanc and his US-based group, Real Social Dynamics (RSD), out of Singapore.
The petition was started by Singaporean Charis Mah on Friday (Nov 14), and has attracted more than 600 supporters by 11.20pm on Friday.
On the petition to Mr Teo, Miss Mah writes: "Julien Blanc and his group, RSD (Real Social Dynamics) are a group of sexist and racist 'pick up artists', who have made a living by teaching men how to violate women through physical and emotional abuse.
"Julien gives seminars on how to pick up women using a variety of highly abusive techniques, such as economic abuse, isolation, coercion and threats, intimidation, emotional abuse, and 'male privilege'.
"According to information earlier obtained from the RSD website, he may attempt to enter Singapore in the near future.
"...Do not associate Singapore with a man who chokes women around the world as part of his pick up game. Please help us stand with the women of Australia, Canada, Korea, Japan, Brazil, the UK, and women everywhere, and do not let Singapore play host to events where men are being taught how to violate and harass women."
You can find the Singapore petition here.
Controversial
Blanc has come under fire for giving men sexist and racist advice as well as advocating the use of violence in their quest to seduce women.
In one video, Blanc boasts that "you can do as you want" as a white male in Tokyo, with accompanying footage showing him grabbing women and trying to shove their heads towards his crotch. One instance shows him grabbing another woman by the neck and choking her.
Blanc said: "I’m just romping through the streets, just grabbing girls’ heads, just like, head, pfft on the d**k. Head, on the d**k, yelling, ‘Pikachu.’"
A global #TakeDownJulienBlanc campaign started by American Jenn Li persuaded Australian authorities to cancel Blanc's visa last week.
Speaking to Sky News, Australian immigration minister Scott Morrison said: "This guy wasn’t putting forward political ideas, he was putting forward abuse that was derogatory to women and that’s just something, those are values abhorred in this country."
Since then, petitions from various countries including Japan, Canada, the UK and Brazil have been set up to keep Blanc from spreading his message on those shores.
Sources: Change.org, The Guardian, TIME.com
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