Hate the Player, Not "The Game"

The men's pick-up community often gets a bad rap.  In some segments, and in some men, this bad rap is often deserved.  But in some, it is not.

I usually blog about women's seduction, and specifically, explanations of various ubiquitous social phenomena that women can use to their advantage in their hopes of snagging the man (or men) of their dreams.  But today I'm going to share my thoughts on the men's seduction, or pick-up, community.  Because the subject was bound to come up eventually, and my thoughts on it are admittedly rather complicated. 

And also because the recent murder of several women in a gym in Pittsburgh by an involuntarily celibate man who had been involved in the pick-up community has PUAs and feminists and everyone in-between ranting about how much the pick-up community's philosophy is to blame for influencing his degree of rage over an unfulfilled sexual entitlement.

Gunman Murders Gym-Going Women; Misogynists Approve

I was a girl who watched VH1's The Pick-Up Artist (seasons one and two) and cheered the guys on.  I read The Game and The Mystery Method and enjoyed them both.  I've hung out with Mystery and Matador, and I liked the guys -- in fact, the humanity beneath their avatars fascinates me in the artificial/natural sense that Robert Greene talks about in The Art of Seduction when describing Oscar Wilde.  I will admit that I get disgusted when Ross Jeffries calls himself a "guru of gash" or says that Valentine's Day should be renamed "Hershey Highway Day" (to get guys to stop supplicating themselves on the holiday), and I am outright offended that Major Mark (or any man who willingly grows a bad cop moustache and speaks like the teacher from South Park) actually has sex at all.  But overall, I am in favor of philosophies that allow men to increase their smoothness with women.

Why?  This is why:  If/when I am single, there are X number of eligible men in my city whom I could potentially date -- however, only roughly 20% of them know how to talk to a woman like me; the other 80% disqualify themselves with bad lines (PUA-learned or not), supplication ("Hey, you're beautiful, can I buy you a drink?"), poor sense of style and/or body language, or lack of balls to even talk to me in the first place. If there is an instructor out there who through his teachings can begin to move several men from the 80% into the 20% by giving them the tools to engage me and hold my attention, then that means that my selection of eligible men to date is only going to get higher, which means more choices for me, and fewer douchebags to get in the way. What, a guy who can take ME on an emotional journey? Someone who will do the work FOR me? Yes please! Remember, seduction, at its best, is a gift to the seduced. If someone can make you feel in love, and then return those feelings to you... that's awesome.  That's amazing.  I WISH more men had the capability of making me feel that way.  (A secret?  My greatest fear of being single is that I will not be able to find a man who inspires me.  Not that I will be rejected, or that I will find no one who wants me, but that I will find no one who I believe is actually worthy of my seduction.  True.)

But let's face it, some pick-up communities really suck, and instead of churning out men who are more capable of building attraction with you, they just churn out more brazen assholes. The concept of the "neg" (a backhanded compliment intended to make a girl seek validation from the guy -- i.e., "Your nose wiggles when you talk") has been stretched so far that it often turns into a flat-out insult when executed ("Wow, that is the orangest tan I've ever seen"). Guys who go too far in trying to say something nasty about me in a playful manner just come off like jerks. My response to it is always, "Wow, good neg, very nicely played. Shall we do a little spin now?" (The spin is another overused pickup move.) Basically, the bare bones of pickup, when taught poorly to guys who already have poor social skills, only gives them a new set of poor social skills -- one that is still self-conscious, but one that is instead now brazen and rude rather than shy and wussy, and that makes guys think that they're somehow cooler because rude is always a better option than shy, apparently, when you want to seem like an alpha.

Nowadays, with the advent of the PUA community, women are becoming more and more fearful of being played by a so-called pick-up artist.  There are even articles for women about how to spot a pick-up artist so that they can know not to get played. On an intellectual level I understand their defensiveness (a fear that some previously unqualified douchebag who learned a few tricks on an internet forum will be able to magically work his way into her panties is... perhaps a legitimate fear).  But they really ought to give themselves a little more credit for their own judgment of character: A guy who was a douchebag to start with is likely not going to be able to learn a behavior that will make him appear any less douchey unless he actually undergoes an authentic transformation on the inside.  But a nice guy, or even an average guy, who can learn to understand human behavior in a way that will render him more attractive?  What on earth is wrong with our cities becoming populated with more attractive guys?  Seriously.

The trouble is that lot of PUA philosophy is misunderstood by its own members, and understandably so.  The PUA community is one big game of Whisper Down the Lane: someone will go and develop a technique in-field that works for him, and then he'll post it on the internet, and then someone else will read it, and they'll teach it to someone else and charge them for it, and then that person will go use it on a woman in a bar somewhere... well, guess what, somewhere along the line, things are bound to get lost in translation. Someone comes up with a concept like the harmless "neg" and then soon guys all over are insulting women and thinking it will get them laid. Someone creates a technique to improve men's chances in relationships with women, and then soon guys all over are using it to try to land strings of one-night stands. Someone creates a technique to improve men's chances of sexual success, and some fringe group starts acting like women owe men sex and that feminism is entirely to blame and that their murder is justified if they don't put out.

Which brings me to the Pittsburgh Gym Gunman.  As stated in the article, George Sodini was a sad, involuntarily celibate man who felt that the approximately 30 million desirable women out there were collectively rejecting him.  His journal entries, quoted in the linked article above, show that he was unhappy, unstable, unbalanced, and probably in need of mood stabilizing medication.  Pick-up is not going to help this man.  However, pick-up should not be blamed for it, either, not even though Sodini was a member of one or more PUA communities.  It is kind of like saying that the entire cosmetics industry is to blame for a woman's ugliness because the makeup she used couldn't make her beautiful.

And there are indeed people out there who are blaming the philosophies of the entire PUA community for this tragedy.  Only, strangely, most of them are placing their blame due to the now much-circulated writings of one man's blog.  The writer of a blog called Roissy in DC writes,

"When men kill women, the underlying reason is almost always an unfulfilled psychosexual need. This goes for spree shooters, rapists, and serial killers. I'm not surprised Sodini hasn't had sex in nearly 20 years. As I've written before, to men celibacy is walking death, and anything is justified in avoiding that miserable fate."

Despite the stupidity of releasing a statement that said anything other than "This is an awful tragedy and is not condoned by any part of our community," other bloggers are taking their interpretations of Roissy's writings a bit too far.  Tiger Beatdown blogger responds:

"There you have it, ladies -- fuck or die... We can pretend that it's 'fringe' behavior, and yeah, maybe some people on the extreme fringes of that fringe will take it to a level where everyone can agree that it's gone 'too far' - like, for example, mass murder - but it's not. It's a bestselling book, and it's a series on VH1, and it is totally acceptable within a misogynist culture."

And Arden Leigh responds:

What?  WHAT???  Really?  And I mean, really -- to umbrella the ENTIRE PICKUP COMMUNITY (including the book and the TV show) as condoning or promoting MURDER??? REALLY??? Where do you get that from??? Did Mystery himself murder anyone? Did he tell anyone to murder anyone else? And we're going to put the entire seduction community under the umbrella of literal lady-killers? Really? That's like having one rotten egg in your fridge once and then assuming all eggs are evil.

And I will also add a few other considerations: a.) the Roissy in DC blogger does not represent the whole of the community and in fact I had never even HEARD of Roissy in DC before today, b.) I'm not really sure what a gunman in Pittsburgh has to do with a blogger in DC, and c.) despite the blog being named after a fictional community where all women were put into sexual slavery, let's remember that The Story of O was written by -- gasp! -- a woman.  To blame the entire PUA community for the actions of one deranged man due to writings on one poorly written blog is a far stretch at best.  Sodini was just the smoking gun that a lot of angry feminists were waiting for so that they could blame pick-up artists for something more damaging than the few bad opinion openers they had to hear during a guy's ugly-girl warm-up set.  Yeah, I said it.

Every community is going to have its bad apples.  And the PUA community is notorious for them, since its material gets so distorted as it spreads from group to group.  There is nothing appealing about a badly executed neg or a guy trying to kino escalate when he's really just annoying the hell out of you. 

But really... at its core, the desire of a man to learn the skill set he needs to create attraction in you is a gift.  Despite what you may think, he's trying to give you what you want.  You want to fall in love and feel that chemical rush that makes your heart pound and your stomach flutter.  You love that feeling; you have loved it since you kissed that first boy on the playground, and you wish you had more of it in your life because it makes you feel so alive and so whole and so in touch with the reason that we all are put upon this earth.

And if you're worried that some guy is going to learn how to do that on the internet and that he's going to make you feel all those wonderful things only to go off and do the same thing to another girl in another bar tomorrow night?  Then get some game yourself, girl, and learn how to make him keep coming back to you.  You too can get what you want.

Comments

[Alithea]

I agree that we can't place direct blame on the entire PUA community for mass murder but I think there was some a ring of truth in the tiger beatdown article, especially this quote
"the entire Pick-Up Artist culture, is based on the idea that men are nothing unless they fuck, and women exist solely and entirely for the purpose of being fucked, and women matter so little that lying to them, coercing them into sex, or hurting them emotionally (or physically, apparently, in some cases) are actually good, desirable behaviors"

You have to admit that there is an element of that in the pick up community and it deserves to be questioned. Just like how the fashion industry can't be directly blamed for an anorexic starving herself (or himself) to death, they probably should be criticized for creating an environment that motivated such behavior.

I would *love* it if the PUA community helped nice guys get the girls they want. But nice guys don't want to trick a girl into liking them, and like it or not, that is what the PUA community is publicly known for. If that's not the image they want, they have the skills to change it.

I agree that there are a lot of good things about the community, most of what I know of it I've learned from you and james and you know I love you guys, but those good things don't mean that the bad things don't exist or should be ignored.

[Arden Leigh]

Unfortunately I think much of the core of it is misunderstood, as much by its own members as by the rest of the world, and it's impossible for the community itself to have control over its image when it's become so widespread and every jackass who watched a Ross Jeffries dvd is teaching pick-up. I don't believe that the entire pick-up culture is based on women existing solely for sex. Even Mystery himself has stated that when he first started studying the art of building attraction, he really just wanted a girlfriend. At the time he started teaching, he was in a four-year relationship. And I also think Neil Strauss has really tried to use his public image to promote the good parts of the PUA work, and in fact I think the ending of The Game (where he gets into a relationship with the girl of his dreams) shows that nicely.

I'll tell you what James has rather likened this whole Gym Gunman situation to though, is the David Krieg/Jade Vixen's boyfriend murder -- which was attributed largely to the so-called deviance of the BDSM community (much the way Sodini's actions are attributed to pick-up). I probably don't need to tell you how much Jade Vixen's boyfriend's friends trashed her on every website for being his downfall and how his "dark side" did him in. To blame all of BDSM, much of which is incredibly enlightened, on one lunatic's actions is basically the same amount of ridiculousness.

And we all know the BDSM community is also highly misunderstood by outsiders. I think it's hard to judge a community without being inside it in the same way, and you and I would both get mad at someone non-kinky who tried to tell us what our own community was about. :)

That said, the same way there are plenty of jerks in the BDSM community, yeah, there are a lot of jerks in the PUA community too -- and the difference is that they're out there approaching everyday women while the BDSM jerks are just haunting Paddles and MaxFisch. So it's understandable why many people draw negative conclusions about pick-up artists when the bad ones get so in their faces. :)

[qwerty]

This is an excellent, very clear summary of Game and why it is a ultimately a benefit for both men and women.

You are clearly a smart woman who seems to be able to sympathize with the male perspective to an unusually high degree, so I'm disappointed that you're turned off by roissy's writings. Read more deeply into his blog, I'm sure you'll find A LOT to agree with. Also, calling it a "poorly written" blog is pretty funny. Whatever his flaws may be, roissy is obviously a gifted writer, the fact that you included that jab at him (for no apparent reason) is testament to the fact that you probably recognize this.

As to the now infamous quote--" As I've written before, to men celibacy is walking death, and anything is justified in avoiding that miserable fate."--for as much as you understand about the male condition, I'm disappointed you, just like all the feminist commentators out there, couldn't comprehend the meaning of the sentence.

To me, and the vast majority of roissy's readers, it obviously DID NOT mean, "Sodini's murder was justified."

What it DOES mean--"The male condition is such that, when deprived of sex for long periods of time, the male psyche will become twisted to the point of being able to RATIONALIZE TO HIMSELF any number of horrific acts, if it aids his sexual release."

A reformulation of roissy's sentence that would have been less controversial, and yet have precisely the same meaning: " As I've written before, to men celibacy is walking death, and any behavior can be rationalized--specious logic or not-- in avoiding that miserable fate."

Again--from Sodini's SUBJECTIVE PERSPECTIVE, the act was justified. Most men in touch with their male sexuality can hypothetically imagine how such an act could be justified from their subjective perspective, if they were deprived of sex for 20 years. No sane man (probably 98% of roissy's readers) would justify Sodini's act from the perspective of an impartial observer.

[Arden Leigh]

@qwerty

Thank you for your compliments. I'm afraid you've misunderstood me on a key point -- I did not, like the other feminist bloggers out there, condemn Roissy's statement as being a justification of murder. What I said about it was that it was stupid for him to make ANY remark other than something along the lines of "This is an awful tragedy that no one in our community would condone" so that his words would not go misinterpreted (as they obviously have on many blogs).

As for Roissy's blog being "poorly written," I could have clarified my point better: I meant "blog" as in "blog entry," not as in the entirety of the blog itself. And I stand by that, in that this particular blog entry of his was so widely misinterpreted... I mean, come on, the very article I linked to (which was not written by a crazy feminist) held in the title "Misogynists Approve" regarding the murder. And, as any NLP-cert will tell you, the meaning of your communication is the response that you get. So if everyone is misinterpreting your writing, there's something poorly written about your writing.

My point in this whole entry is that it is statements like those that get the PUA community such a bad reputation in the first place. If we could get seduction bloggers to think before they write something that becomes construed as extreme misogyny, if we could get Ross Jeffries to stop talking about the hershey highway, and if we could get Mystery to make some better millinery choices, then maybe women out there wouldn't have to feel like they have to avoid being "scammed" by a pick-up artist. Maybe they could actually start to accept seduction as the gift that it is intended to be.

[Acksiom]

Maybe women out there don't "have" to feel anything. Maybe they're supposed to take primary responsibility for their own emotional state as a default case, instead of trying to foist it off onto complete strangers.

And therefore maybe they're supposed to accept seduction as the gift that it is intended to be from the start, like any normal adult should, without having to be coddled and jollied into it like spoiled brats.

And maybe, just maybe. . .women don't need you reiterating and reinforcing the common social denial of their own autonomous agency.

'Cause, y'know, really, that's what your last couple of sentences up there actually do. And you're not going to get very far with the seduction community by trying to use shaming and blaming language on them, or by trying to get them to continue supplicatorily treating women like pwethiouth pwinthetheth -- something that could be construed as extreme misogyny? Oh, the poor dears! They may faint!

Uh, no. Pass; next.

[Arden Leigh]

@Acksiom

Wow, I can see why you turned to the PUA community. With hostility like that toward women, it's easy to see why you're not getting laid.

Listen, seduction may be a lot like warfare in the sense that it's about claiming and keeping territory, but in the end, the opposite sex is not the enemy. I LOVE men. LOVE them. That's why I do what I do; because I enjoy being able to give men a positive, enjoyable emotional experience.

Maybe if you stopped viewing women as spoiled brats, maybe they'd like you a little more! :) You're welcome, that'll be $50.

[Arden Leigh]

Also? My FIRST HATE MAIL!! SCORE!! Now I know I'm making an impression. ;)

[Rob]

Honestly, you've got to wonder if some of these PUA guys even like women. All that talk about bitches, hoes, sluts etc. It's vulgar. No wonder these guys struggle when they meet a woman, their dislike of women must be obvious.

I LOVE women. Always have, always will. But I needed to learn how to relate to women, to communicate, to charm. It's a learned skill, and like all learning, you need to make mistakes. That takes balls, because you WILL get knockbacks from women. Even the smoothest guys get knocked back. You have to learn to get back on the horse. But most guys get there.

There is truly a place for men to be taught better social skills, helped to build confidence, groomed to be better men, built up to be more confident and self assured individuals. That would lead to more success with women. Instead they're being pushed down this ridiculous sex-focussed path with cheesy lines and insults. It's a shallow veneer guys, and women will notice. If she falls for it, she was probably into you already - the PUA stuff just make you get off your butt and talk to her. Guys, women aren't just there for sex. Start seeing them as people first. You never know, you might just learn to love them like I do.

[Acksiom]

[sigh]

Okay, from the top:

Ardeth, are adults supposed to be by-default primarily responsible for their own emotional states?

Yes, we do of course choose to share that responsibility to certain degrees with family and friends and colleagues and so on, but that's not what you were addressing. You were talking about complete strangers -- seduction community bloggers in general, and Jeffries and Mystery in particular. And, again, we choose to share that responsibility with those people to those specific degrees; it isn't decided for us.

So again, now that things have been clarified: are adults supposed to be by-default primarily responsible for their own emotional states?

[Arden Leigh]

@Rob

Ideally, the PUA community should be as you describe. There IS a skill set that needs to be learned when it comes to building attraction with women, and I am all in favor of that skill set being taught as far and wide as possible. Unfortunately, many branches of the PUA community have branded themselves with the hoes and bitches mentality, and yeah, that sucks... because it's not attractive, and therefore does not build attraction.

I've sat through a lot of PUA dvds and read a lot of material, and much of it is on-target. But much of it is not. Were the community more centrally focused, it might be able to brand itself positively and cut out the bad stuff that muddies the waters. Unfortunately doing that at this point would be like herding cats.

[Arden Leigh]

@Acksiom

Let's remember that this is my blog, and therefore MY TURF -- and misspelling my name or speaking to me in any derogatory manner in the future will get your comments deleted, no matter how amusingly stupid they may otherwise be.

But to address your question, when was this blog entry ever talking about whether adults are responsible for their default emotional states? When did I ever imply that they weren't? Furthermore, whether I as a person am by default sad or happy does NOT make a difference as to whether a man is capable of building attraction with me. Sure, if I'm happy or slightly drunk I may feign interest for a while out of a desire to be polite, but the actual level of attraction that is built has nothing to do with that, and the interaction will not continue past that night (seriously guys? stop texting me). A man who can build attraction with me can pull me out of the deepest funk or can further elevate the happiest state of bliss.

As for Jeffries and Mystery, I think Jeffries' intentions are good, as is much of his material, though his choice of language is damaging. As for Mystery, I've already said I like the guy a lot -- in fact language-wise, I'd say he's my favorite PUA instructor in that he can remain attractive to me even when I'm watching a dvd of his workshop where he's teaching all guys and isn't in his "around women" mode (by which I mean he doesn't during his teachings fall into language or philosophy that I find unattractively misogynistic -- which I can't say for Jeffries -- and yes I have watched much of both of their dvd material). Oh, and while I've never met Jeffries; Mystery, Matador, J-Dog, and Style are not complete strangers to me, as I've hung out with them before. And I think they're all great guys.

But seriously, all of this is stuff that I've mentioned already in the original entry... can't you just read the blog thoroughly the first time before you decide that you're dead set against what I'm saying? OH, that's RIGHT, I'm a woman, so, naturally I'm the enemy.

[Arden Leigh]

@Rob

Also, when you write "There is truly a place for men to be taught better social skills, helped to build confidence, groomed to be better men, built up to be more confident and self assured individuals," -- is there a specific place you're talking about? Part of or separate from the PUA community? Because if something like that does exist formally, that would be awesome. Add in teaching the guys some knowledge about scotch and cigars, and supply each student with a monogrammed silk smoking jacket, and I'd be SO on board.

Come to think of it, maybe I need to branch out...

[Rob]

Arden, by "a place" I meant there is clearly an opening in the market. One that isn't being fulfilled by the PUA crowd by the sounds of it. I'm not really aware of any particular group that is addressing it.

I learned my ways with women the old fashioned way - from my father, my grandfathers, uncles and fathers of friends. Taught to be a gentleman, to have confidence, to stand my ground when appropriate but yield where necessary, know your manners around a woman, keep your clothes pressed and shoes shined etc etc. I now have a son, and I'll be passing on the same lessons to him as he grows up.

Sadly, I fear many young men are growing up without good male role models. Primary schools are mostly a male free zone these days. Many boys grow up without their father present. Many previously boys-only opportunities to be socialised as a good man are now co-ed or part of history. A lot of these issues have their roots in childhood. Dealing with these shortcomings in adult men is a big job. The internet and PUA crowd are not adequately taking up the slack.

This is a broader issue than learning how to relate to women. Basically men need to learn how to become a more complete package. To have a life, be a risk taker, treat others right, be smart. Once they've got a solid foundation to base their confidence on, learning to deal with women is just skills. But to use those skills without a foundation of being a well-rounded guy? Your shallowness will show through and women won't fall for it - you'll be using tricks instead of appearing genuine.

Yeah, I am old school, and I do get called grandpa by some of my mates (I'm 34). But in my opinion I'd much rather conduct myself like my grandfather did than like some of these PUA fools do today. Good conduct, confidence, excellent grooming and self belief never go out of style.

[Sam]

After reading this entry, I can now see why this blog isn't popular and only gets 10 comments/views a week.

Arden you're nothing but a rat. The material you write is very questionable, even for the subjective ass-clutter mish-mash piece of trash you call an opinion, this is horrible.

It's a well known fact that the worst place you can get advice about women is from another woman. The reason is because women do not know what to do when they've got something good in their hands.

And it's pretty obvious that someone as cynical and arrogant as you, Arden Leigh, would use the typical and oh-so-cliche line "Hey I can see why you're so angry and you don't get laid!" on one of your readers. Don't forget, that poor soul makes up 10% of your viewing count.

So, Arden, I'm not going to read your reply nor do I care what you say because I've given you a chance and am not impressed. I know who you are. You're that girl who stands by the bar with her friend, gives the 'eye' to every guy who passes by, and then acts surprised and disgusted when he walks up to you trying to dance or talk to you.

Well, guess what, Arden? There's a reason why you're nothing but a poor and lonely bitch. There's a reason why no-one wants to put a wedding ring on your finger and show you a good time! It's because for horrible, evil and absolutely retarded females like you, the only good thing we can ever see happening for you is a penis in your mouth. A dirty, rotten, penis.

As for the rest of us Men, we will continue our loving relationships with loyal women who are not as sad and pessimistic as you.

You mouth and your mind are poisoned constructs of phlegm and diarrhea. Arden, I wipe my ass crack with your mouth because you are nothing but scum.

Take this next advice with the up-most importance because all the pussy-minded men in your life are probably too scared to tell you:

Go and fuck yourself.

[Arden Leigh]

@Sam -- or is it @Ross --

Wow, I must have said something that made an incredible impression on you for you to have taken the time to write such a vehement and offensive reply! Of course, you didn't mention what that WAS; you just threw some body fluid-related words around instead of actually debating me, and so I'm not quite sure how to respond.

I'm sure you would love to imagine me as lonely and bitter, but I'm afraid I have to disappoint you, as I have a boyfriend of over four years as well as plenty of other offers when I want them. After all, darling, there is a reason I do what I do.

Now if you'd like to come out and speak like an adult and tell me what it is about my material that you find so horribly offensive, then maybe I will be willing to give you a second chance and hear you out for an actual discussion. Otherwise I'm just going to consign your comment to my hate mail hall of fame so that everyone can read it and laugh at what a pathetic sort of man has to write nasty and disgusting insults to a woman on her own blog in order to feel better about himself.

[Fuck you]

You stupid liar, the shooter from the a gym in Pittsburgh wasn't connected with PUA.

[Fuck you]

And Rob is a fucking hypocrite. When you are good looking you can easily say that meeting women is easy. And your stupid feminism... I hope you enjoy when you wife is cheating on you.

[Meeting Women In Bars]

But let's face it, some pick-up communities really suck, and instead of churning out men who are more capable of building attraction with you, they just churn out more brazen assholes.

[Samsonitus]

@ Arden

I agree that there is no excuse for any killing of unarmed people. I spent a year in IRAQ and I can tell you that anyone who kills unarmed people is a coward and as far as I am concerned are 100% deserving of whatever punishment they receive in this life or the next.

You, however, are extremely unfair to men in general, and you showcase this with your completely off base dismissal of this statement, "As I've written before, to men celibacy is walking death, and anything is justified in avoiding that miserable fate."

Maybe you are unaware of this (I doubt it, you seem fairly well informed) that over the course of history 80% of women have passed on their genes and that only 40% of men have. What this means, is that quite literally, not having sex is walking death.

Maybe you have not looked into the cause of most suicide bombings in Islamic dominated societies but one of the biggest carrots that are held up to these young men is the "72 virgins". Add that to the fact that most of these men live in a society where a few very powerful men have all of the women and you begin to see the tip, just the tip of the iceberg of how true this statement is. "As I've written before, to men celibacy is walking death, and anything is justified in avoiding that miserable fate."

Please feel free to email me if you require sources.