Ordinarily I wouldn’t pay much attention to Gad Saad. But his announcement this week illustrates something larger about life lived through social media.
If you haven't heard about him, there's very little reason that you would. Saad is an undistinguished marketing professor specializing in something called Behavioral Sciences and Darwinian Consumption at Concordia University in Montreal. On Rate My Professor Saad scores a barely passing grade average of 2.7 out of 5 from 96 student ratings.
He may not excel in academia, but he certainly does in marketing himself, particularly online.
He has a popular podcast and YouTube channel called The Saad Truth. His online career really took off when he started appearing on Joe Rogan's podcast in 2015. He's made almost annual appearances since, most recently just last week. Saad has built a significant online following with 1.3 million followers on X and over 360,000 subscribers on YouTube.
He's published a number of books, veering away from academic audiences and toward a popular conservative-oriented readership. His most recent book "Suicidal Empathy: Dying to Be Kind" has really taken off, thanks to recommendations by Rogan and Elon Musk, and television appearances on Fox News.
The book is essentially an anti-woke screed, arguing that we in the west are too kind, empathetic and tolerant for our own good. That message has been Saad's ticket to fortune and fame over the last decade. One that's been wholeheartedly embraced by right-wing broadcast media and the online manosphere.
Saad made mainstream headlines this week by announcing that Canada has become too woke and antisemitic for him. He is taking a position at the University of Mississippi, and will apply for permanent residency and eventually U.S. citizenship.
Saad, who is Jewish, says he has not felt safe at Concordia for a while. It is true that since October 7th 2023 especially, the university - which is decidedly more progressive and diverse than its crosstown rival McGill (my alma mater) - has been a hotbed of pro-Palestine political activity.
I guess Saad is unaware that on January 10, 2026 the venerable Beth Israel congregation in Jackson Mississippi was firebombed. The assailant allegedly used an axe to break into the synagogue, douse the lobby and library with gasoline, and set it ablaze. Fortunately no one was hurt. They sure do have a tradition of embracing their ethnic minorities down in Ole Miss.
So if you've been keeping score, Saad and Jordan Petersen have left Canada for refuge in the US, and two well known highly respected Yale University scholars, Jason Stanley and Timothy Snyder, have taken up residency in Toronto. As we hockey fans say, we got the better of that trade.
I think it's pretty clear that Stanley and Snyder made their moves on the basis of principle, arguably taking a step down in prestige by coming to the University of Toronto. For Saad the move is academically-speaking lateral at worst, and a big step up self-marketing and money-wise.
Antisemitism is inarguably on the rise, not just in Canada, but in the United States, Australia, Europe and everywhere else. Saying you are moving to the US to escape antisemitism is on the face of it absurd. So take Saad's talk of feeling unsafe in this woke country with a giant bushel of salt.
But there's a bigger point. This is what happens when your online existence eclipses your real-world one. And it doesn't matter if the bubble you live in leans right or left. Your worldview gets warped either way. If you're Jewish you think armed Pro-Palestine activists or neo-Nazis plotting to kill you lurk around every corner.
I've seen it over and over again with friends and acquaintances. Their paranoia and fear is directly proportionate to the amount of time they spend on social media.
The Saad truth, as Gad would put it, isn't that he can't distinguish Montreal from Mississippi. Mississippi, in fact, has the most permissive gun laws, open and concealed carry, in the U.S. It's that life lived primarily through algorithmic outrage eventually makes everywhere look like a war zone.
The bottom line is that Gad's big announcement is really just a Saad and cynical ploy for self-promotion.
I read about this (his leaving Canada for Mississippi) but it didn't really register for me because I am not familiar with Saad's body of work. Thanks for filling in the blanks. Hehe, I get where you may not be such a fan of this guy.
ReplyDeleteGood riddance Gad! I say. My advice is if he wants to feel safe in Mississippi, he should probably apply for his gun permit before he applies for citizenship.
DeleteI heard Gad Saad when he made his announcement on radio a couple of weeks ago. The comment that struck me most was how Canada (read politicians, read Trudeau) “care(d) more about women with penises than real women” and that one can be too empathetic to the world. I happen to agree with both comments. Too much empathy - without a proper structure in which to contain it - has led to an influx of people who don’t leave their historical hatreds behind them when they choose Canada as their new home, unlike past waves of immigration. I was shocked when he said he was moving to the US, though; he may no longer feel safe in Canada, but the US is an infinitely more dangerous place with its white supremacists, rednecks, and more guns than people. He did say it was also for his health (warmer weather for his aches and pains. What about British Columbia?). He might be back after experiencing Mississippi hospitality with its guns.
ReplyDeleteA comment like 'women with penises' to denigrate the LGBTQ community - yeah that sounds like Saad. And no, read: Trudeau/politicians never cared more about the trans community than 'real women' by which I presume he means the kind that are barefoot and in the kitchen. As for 'too much empathy without a proper structure in which to contain it' I wonder what that might mean? Laws? Maybe you can elaborate such a 'structure' so I understand. I presume you don't mean an anti-democratic-type of 'structure'. And I guess you are referring to Jewish immigration (past waves) as opposed to Muslim immigration (the present kind with 'historical hatreds'). Just trying to de-code. Actually, if you looked into it, you'd find that immigrants (of all kinds) are far less likely to commit crimes (actually all crime) than native born people. Just this morning I heard there was a white supremacist rally held Shawinigan. Fortunately it was forcefully denounced by all our politicians. Hatred is kind of like that. It's inside all of us.
Delete