283) Domestic Terrorism, Part 2 -- A challenge to men, all men. Yes, I'm talking to you.
While we're talking about terrorism, and the societal problem of disenfranchised young men who are responsible for the VAST VAST VAST MAJORITY of violence in our society, let's be honest about why this is happening, who is spreading hate, who is reaching out to exactly those young men, and who is radicalizing them to become agents of terror.
(And then, let's talk about YOU.)
Here are several of the more influential of those people. Their cumulative audiences are in the hundreds of MILLIONS. Their wealth is in the unknowable millions. Their financial backers' wealth. In the hundreds of BILLIONS.
These people already have inflicted, through the actions of their followers, a horrible death toll on people, and gotten very rich, very famous, and extraordinarily influential in the process.
And then, in addition to considering the straight-up death toll, think about the rape toll, the assault toll, the hate speech toll, the fear toll. Talk to some women, go on some reddit threads, and find out how right-wing extremism, incel culture, and "bros before hoes" rhetoric is playing out in the dating world. Ask women who are in the dating pool what their experiences have been like when they end up on dates with MAGA guys, even guys who are fans of Jordan Peterson and most certainly people who are fans of Andrew Tate. It's illuminating. Truly, it's horrifying, in the literal sense of the word.
Then extrapolate from there, multiplying these consequences in classrooms all over the country, families all over the country, sports teams, bars, teenage parties and friend groups, dating apps, etc., all over the country.
Then take it one step even further, and imagine what it feels like to be a queer person, trans person, non-white person, living in a society where people become millionaires by advocating for hate against you. Imagine what it feels like to know that at any moment, any day of the week, the target could be placed on your back. Because THAT IS THE REALITY.
And men? Most of the men I know anyway (note: "most", not "all"), thank the gods, do not subscribe to these beliefs. But we all know some of them. We know who the misogynists who are "just joking" are in our friendship groups. We know who they are in our towns. We know who the ones are that we grew up with in high school. They're not hiding. They are, in fact, very vocal on social media; they are proud of their beliefs, although they'll often couch them in either humour or "I'm just being logical" terms. But the point is, we know who are they, and most of us know how sadly deluded, how angry, and usually how woefully uneducated they are.
So men, in a demographic sense, THESE ARE YOUR PEOPLE. So what are you doing about it? How are YOU reaching out to them? Or are you simply "not getting involved", because after all, this doesn't affect you directly?
No, it only affects every single woman in your life. It affects your girlfriends, wives, daughters, and friends. It affects every teenager in every classroom. Every teacher. Every LGBTQ+ person. And everyone whose skin colour isn't White. It also affects every election, every school board, every government at every level of government. AND EVERY CHURCH. And make no mistake, it affects every boy to, who has to now navigate a world where many of his social influences are leading him down a path of hate.
But it "doesn't affect you", so it's easy to stand by and keep your head down.
So I challenge you, men. Have some courage. Stand up for what's right. Get involved. Because these people sure as hell ain't gonna listen to a trans woman, for example. But they just might listen to you. And if enough of you, men, get vocal and stand against this, it will make a difference.
Right now, teenage boys and young men all over the country have countless "influencers" telling them to hate. They need role models telling them the opposite.
Be one of those.