https://www.vox.com/world/2018/4/25/17277496/incel-toronto-attack-alek-minassian
a brief on incels. You probably want to consider the whole thing ugly and if you're put off by graphic words, avoid. Blech.
I haven't really encountered incels or similar in *years*. most of my social interactions have been work or church, both of which sort of self-select out of that crew.
thoughts?
@pnathan
On one level, wanting a romantic connection and not being able to get one is genuinely irritating and depressing. If you've got poor social skills, it's easy to think that you're mostly alone in that.
Add in a worldview warped by sitcoms (where even the people who are stereotyped as unfuckable get a supermodel girlfriend once a season but the stereotype of an unfuckable young woman is rare) and their view seems sensible -- so long as you avoid reality.
@pnathan
It's pretty easy to fall into that crowd & from what I understand a lot of the toxicity seeps in gradually.
Film & TV make mild social isolation & being a virgin at age 20 seem super unusual and scandalous. For somebody who already has poor self-esteem, it's easy in the absence of a diverse friend group to develop very warped ideas about what 'normal' people are like. The "chad" stereotype is, I think, mostly a media artifact. Once you have something to fixate on & an Other to blame..