She may have inadvertently miscategorized some pick up artists as Facebook stalkers, for better or worse, as it's a fairly well known opener to talk about horses: http://becomingpua.com/blog/pua-opener-horse-girl.html
The term PUA has a negative association in the mainstream because there is a perception it uses jedi mind tricks to bed the girl. This is not helped by myriad of products aimed at newbies that promise overnight success. On average though, most decent PUAs become decent after lots of practice to become less shy and more charming. Many many of them are nerds(my wing is a RoR programmer and also very good with the ladies).
Maybe among some people. The rest of us look at crap like 'negging' and see that the whole thing's a tactic to get the emotionally damaged to sleep with the socially stunted.
Except for the moral aspect, which PUAs seem dead-set on ignoring.
On the other hand, there are entire "systems" that are premised on being dead honest about your intention.
That said, although I have more or less agreed with you with regards to the 'social stunted' part (as a generalization) 'negging' is not particularly targeted at the emotionally damaged who respond to being put down. It is a tactic charged at the supremely confident, attractive girl who is used to blowing off guys who approach her. The 'neg' is, consequently, first and foremost, an expression of confidence by the person who is approaching her. He is not approaching her as a fawning wretch, but someone who thinks of himself as her equal or even superior.
That this can be a turn on of sorts, esp. when contrasted with the usual types of social interaction encountered by very attractive women at bars and clubs, should be obvious. That the usual types of social interaction at bars and clubs are far from ideal or normative is hopefully also understood.
That initial shock at the lack of deference allowed that person to have more of an interaction than most people got.
To be more specific if snake oil really did solve the world's problems snake oil salesmen would still be snake oil salesmen. They are trying to get something by convincing others of a thing whether or not it is true.
In pick up artistry, the goal is to be and act like a natural. Sometimes there are a lot of silly hoops on the way and it does not work for everyone, but it does work in the end.
Worse is pickup artists who actually keep score of their conquests. Ugh.
If I'm trying to come up with a list of groups of people I would never want to know, let alone hang out with, pickup artists would be near the top of the list.
You've described one type of pick up artists.
Also, PUAs are as insecure and put up as much of a fascade as women in high-heels with pretty make up to hide their wrinkles.
I will say that I've done some coaching and it isn't uncommon to run into men bitter about women due to their past break ups. The very first thing I teach em is its not healthy to do this if you hate women; not to mention you will probably have a better chance if you appreciated them(even their flaws) than walk up to one with years of built up bitterness.
Pick up artistry isn't about sex, its about power exchange with total strangers. Sex is the socially acceptable prize you win for manipulating someone you hate or resent at least as much as yourself into spending time and attention on you.
It comes from a place of isolation and frustration, it has flying fuck-all to do with appreciating women or integrating them into one's life, and it doesn't solve a goddamn thing.
Thinking you aren't worth someone else's time is the goddamn problem.
Reading your perception of what PUAs are is similar to hearing someone describe hackers as evil people and Hacker News as a bad place.
I am not sure they have much to do with reality though.
A well dressed man with zero confidence is not an attractive man. A man can learn things, change his behavior, and become more confident. It is changing a pre-state to something more desirable to others. Dressing up increasing desirability as well, but behavior is by far more important than looks for how attractive men are.
Is it fair to say that some women dress up to increase their attractiveness?
I'm sure you get enough validation from women which you use to justify your ways. Doesn't make you any less sleazy.
If the goal was to have a meaningful lasting relationship with another human being then PUAs wouldn't exist, because they would have all retired from 'the game' with their SOs before they built up internet 'cred'.
For example, when I started my local goal was only to be able to not be shy and to be able to hold a conversation with a lady I am interested in. Today, my goal is to be the best boyfriend to my girlfriend. If/when we break up, this goal will likely change.
So even if your goal is to find the SO ultimately, there are steps to getting there. That said, I know it isn't for me but I don't see much wrong if your only intention is to have one night stands. It's not like you are dragging out a girl forcefully to do so; more often you are end up with a girl with also a similar goal to yours(vast majority of girls aren't hanging out in a bar looking for their SO...in fact they will find that idea creepy).
What is glossed over by the PUA community, is that the practice leaves a wake of doing things to women over and over that they don't want. It's written off, like "you win some you lose some!" but you just made someone's day a little worse, and caused the general animosity between men and women to be turned up a notch. The reason a man can't just say hello to a woman and have it just be a friendly hello is because of PUAs and others who follow this principle.
Women walk around totally shell shocked because of the constant "numbers game" onslaught of men who are trying to "pick them up" and I personally think it needs to stop. There are respectful and disrespectful channels for meeting new people to date, and PUA literature drives people into the disrespectful ones. That they "work" doesn't cover up the collateral damage.
That just made me chuckle considering I know I've made so many women's day, even ones that have turned me down. The first words out of my mouth is a genuine compliment. For vast majority of women, it's a flattering and memorable thing.
It is why I've had girls blog about or post to criagslist missed connections about the experience of being hit on by me. It's why I'll regularly get girls tell me something to the tune of "wow I needed that" or "omg are you serious?".
Your perception that women dislike being hit on is a common armchair belief albeit not grounded in reality. Rest assured, I make way more girls' day than most other guys.
I'll note that I don't hit on girls in bars and clubs. I do so on the street almost exclusively and vast majority of girls I meet have never been approached while walking on the street. That debunks your point that women are tired of being hit on.
The reason a man can't just say hello to a woman and have it just be a friendly hello is because of PUAs and others who follow this principle.
You have it the other way around. The reason you can't just say a friendly hello to a woman is because most men beat around the bush, pretend they just wanna be friends etc. when in reality they have other intentions. Compare this to a guy who walks up to a stranger, tells her he may like her and in a straightforward manner asks her out.
So, to answer your question, girls are suspicious of mere hellos because of past experience of guys trying to be friends when really they had a romantic interest. These guys are probably not PUAs because almost all PUA styles emphasize getting to the point relatively quickly.
Fuck off.
"PUA" is one of the most amusing internet subcultures, I'm very surprised that I haven't yet seen it used as a target by a comedian or comedy show.
[1] http://www.reddit.com/r/seduction -> sidebar guides
It's working for some people.
What I find amazing is when some of the more hardcore PUAs declare that hookups without the sleazy tactics "don't count", as part of the cultish nature of the community.
Edit: fwr, yes, the real benefits come from a bit of confidence, and it is often enough to overcome the ridiculous tactics.
For me, I know if I talk to 8 random girls on the street on average I will score one date. It is normal for me to get 2-3 dates over the course of a weekend.
How much of that was due to the fact the girl liked him already (Women don't generally invite single guys over on their own unless they have at least some interest in them, or are already good friends) and how much was due to his "swagger", "DHV", "negs" and "kino" is up in the air.
As an example, my results shot up significantly when I went from talk to 1 girl every 4 hours at the beginning to 5-10 an hour. I happen to try and find a girl who naturally digs me than one who needs convincing.
A lof of PUA stuff is oversold, but there is plenty of good advice to be found as well. It definitely made a difference for me.