A three-year old girl, her father, two passers-by, and the gunman's mother were murdered in cold blood in Plymouth, southwest England last week. Mainstream reports attributed the blame to Jake Davison identifying as an incel, a term short for involuntary celibate.
According to them, the subculture is creating dangerous killers.
As proof of how that narrative is being consumed by the public, an online petition was created to have incels formally recognised as a terrorist group in the UK. The direct link with terrorism was repeated by platforms such as Sky News and The Guardian, which wrote that previous shootings should have "brought misogynist terrorism into the awareness of law enforcement around the world."
It's true there have been several high profile incidents, most notably when Eliot Rodger killed six people in a stabbing spree in California, back in 2014 and when Alek Minassian took 10 lives by driving into pedestrians in Toronto in 2018.
But the reality is, incel culture is vastly misunderstood.
RT.com spoke to academic and incel researcher Kyle Stewart, who has studied the movement as the focus of a masters degree in Homeland Security. He said: "We should feel sorry for them, they seriously need help."
The term incel was created by a woman named Alana who started a love-shy forum in 1997, to detail her relationship troubles. In interviews, she admits to regretting coining the term that has taken on a life of its own.
The first basic misconception is that incels are solely seeking sex, despite their name. Stewart, who's based in Texas, explained:
"It boils down to companionship, the feel of being hugged, being given love, they are missing that segment of relationship skills.There are some incels out in the world who have jobs and successful careers but can't seem to get a relationship."The reason why this is commonly linked back to sex by the mainstream media is a manifestation of the incels inability to adapt to normal life, particularly as teenagers and young adults. Whilst it's viewed mostly in a light-hearted fashion, there is a common perception that teenage boys should be chasing girls, and the inability to 'get' a girl is emasculating.
Stewart added:
"Hollywood puts out these teenage movies, the ones where you've got to have sex by the age of 16, think of Superbad, those boys trying to get laid before they graduate high school. That's what incels think life is and how it works in the real world."This pressure and expectation to lose one's virginity causes the first cracks to appear. The fundamental stage that sections of society fail to grasp though is the power of the internet. Those who are over-40 did not grow up in an online world and for the younger generation who don't succumb in the same way, it's difficult to appreciate what incels undergo.
There is an entire global community based on Reddit, a social media and discussion website where incels complain of being 'black-pilled'. It's a term they use to describe how most of the media, medical journals, governments and articles reaffirm their way of thinking.
Stewart said:
"They have a sense of stress and social anxiety, they feel they are being attacked and laughed at by people, they assume that's happening. If two girls are looking at their phones in a coffee shop and are laughing, one of these guys would think the girls are laughing at them. They misconstrue something that is totally benign and blow it out of proportion. They are incredibly self-conscious.They also feel that psychology in the current fashion is controlled by feminists and the left, so therefore it is against men entirely. Their online forums are echo chambers."It's a self-enforcing cycle.
As they develop more anxiety and paranoia, they retreat online, compounding their fears and pushing them to seek solace in ever darker corners of the internet. It's a pressure cooker waiting to explode.
A key part of being an incel is self-loathing, which connects to their scale of looks, which goes from 1-10. At the top are males called 'Chads', who are tall, good looking and popular. Stewart feels a good example of that is male model Mark Vanderloo. By contrast, being short, wearing glasses and not being stereotypically good-looking results in lower marks.
Stewart said:
"One is an ultimate incel, isolated and views that he is ugly, thinks he is sub-human and feels he cannot continue anymore.They have this LMS term, which is Looks, Money, Status and they think you need all three to find a relationship."This continues online, as the incels start to consume more content that reaffirms their beliefs. In essence, they become brainwashed and unable to view reality as the rest of society does.
Their parents are normally clueless to what their son has been consuming online, so in a few isolated cases, the person explodes, Stewart added:
"Video games aren't working, porn is not working, so where do they turn? Nobody can help, what can I do to get everyone to listen to me? I know, a mass shooting or get a few bombs to blow up a building. 'Listen to me, please!' is what they are saying, but they can't convey that in a regular manner, other than typing on a computer all day.A common theme is that incels tend to live with their parents into adulthood, often in a broken home and receive social security benefits. Both are true in the case of Davison. But it's not these similarities that are jumped on by the mainstream media and law enforcement, it's the incel link.
"Some of these guys can't deal with the stress anymore and I think that's what happened with Jake Davison in Plymouth. It sounded like he was under tons of stress. With this pandemic, male suicides have gone straight up, here in the US it's gotten bad as people have lost their jobs. Many people are now going to lose their homes as the eviction moratorium is about to end, so the stress will get worse."
Part of that is fed by another online subculture, which is against incels. The best known is the subreddit IncelTear. Users there target and call out incels, often with baseless accusations.
Stewart recalls an incel meet-up in 2019:
"The first post that popped up on IncelTear was 'look at all these incels, these bastards are probably thinking about raping women'. But these guys were happy, reading books, showing Pokemon cards and doing their hobbies. It was all calm and peaceful but it was blown up out of proportion as if they were stereotypical paedophiles."Another problem is infiltrators visit incel forums and post content to harm the subculture's reputation. Commonly they post insults or even illegal material like child porn and allow it to be discovered, creating more anger towards incels. They are then banned but either create new accounts or use VPNs to get around their IP address being blocked. Stewart said:
"Many of them are young teenage girls who have no idea who they are messing with, it is demonising incels. It's basically planting evidence."As a result, incel websites end up moving servers and end up further underground, out of the gaze of parents, family and the authorities. The irony is that incel is a name that's becoming increasingly famous but exists already in another form.
The Japanese documented this decades ago with Hikikomori, meaning social isolation. They noticed a sizeable amount of young people struggling with the pressure of expectation. Whether it was to be a success professionally or have a family, they couldn't cope and became hermits. So they withdrew and their issues became bigger. Stewart added: "We have the same thing here in the US, we call them incels. It's a complete circle of destruction."
It appears Britain's police and security services are set to now crack down on incels. That would follow what happened in the US, after the mass shootings. Some incels regard Stephen Paddock, the gunman who carried out the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay attack in 2017, as a hero. That kind of worship is because they feel ignored and sadly viewed Paddock as making a stand (though Paddock himself was not part of the movement). It's clearly wrong and violence is never to be encouraged, but they are suffering extreme paranoia.
Stewart explained:
"Another issue is the parents are out of touch with their kids and can't connect. On their forums they talk about things like a mom saying they are worthless as they don't do anything or have a job. Some parents don't help and just say it's hormones, and that they should talk to girls. And there's the media frenzy, in some of these shootings you see 'incel' being picked up within an hour of the shooting, even before the evidence from law enforcement comes out, they tell their audiences that there is an incel problem."For example, the teenager Kyle Rittenhouse who shot dead two protesters during a BLM rally in Kenohsa last year was linked to being an incel, but had a girlfriend.
Stewart feels censorship will cause more incels to radicalise.
He said:
"Some countries Canada, UK, Australia and New Zealand have started clamping down on free speech, they are arresting people for making jokes on Facebook. After the Christchurch shooting, New Zealand set up a law saying if you own the live stream video on your computer, you will be charged with a felony, they charged two people for sharing it online. Many incels feel the government is spying on them. They are afraid of the free speech laws, so they're going more underground and untraceable."There is no simple remedy to the issue. But using the full force of the law to scare incels seems like it may only do more damage than good. Violence and murder cannot be excused, neither can misogyny, but this behaviour doesn't occur in a vacuum. These young men are disenfranchised and feel there is no one to turn to.
Proving just how fragile and naive they are, Stewart revealed:
"To incels being called a virgin is the ultimate insult, that reinforces the fact they won't have love or have a girlfriend. They want to have a life and a family.If someone says they self-identify as an incel, the problem is now you get so much scrutiny. You're called a paedophile, terrorist, criminal, sex offender, so they won't ask anyone for help."
Reader Comments
In essence, they're people who are so stupid they can't get their heads around the concept "Boys will be boys and girls will be girls". The Lord helps he who helps himself.
R.C.
You need to go out and get laid, Ro.
Along with: Scared of blacks, scared of whites, scared of teachers, scared of "other", scared of own shadow, etc. Fits in neatly with all that DARPA digital inclusion/splendid isolation thing: internet porn, home working, smart cities, etc. Where people spend 24 hours flipping arse-ove-tit trying to form fake relationships over the internet 'cause they can't deal with real world relationships. Well, it is an eternal truth that the average spree killer or serial killer has usually had what you might call "a difficult adolescence".
Using that as an excuse for a nefarious internet crackdown on every guy without a gal wouldn't surprise me at all.
By the way, as every married man can tell, one can definitely be happy without a female companion/commander. In fact, most men married for 10 years or longer define "real life" by being away from the shrew.
Here an informative channel for incels:[Link]
Here another one: [Link]
BTW, I am still married after 20 years. Because I did not let her take command.
Same coin, different face.
Feminism is a cry for help.
As psycho-terrorists for sure.
The negative side of the feminine genital character is "constriction".
The negative side of the masculine genital character is "explosive violence".
That's why feminists always want to censor everything, ban everything, restrict and constrict everything, etc.
They never blow up buildings, go postal or anything like that.
" Tightening the noose" is their thing.
I'm sure they'd like to ban incels, just as some incels would like to blow up feminists, etc.
I suppose vegan couples are nothing but a convenience partnership between a frigid feminist and a meek incel. Why else would they "couple" and simultaneously promote sterilisation ?!?
That constriction/explosive violence thing was most well-expressed in America during the Women's Temperance Movement, Prohibition and Al Capone era.
The testosterone/oestrogen thing is a very real thing in what might be called the kaleidoscope of masculine/feminine relationships.
Raise your T levels, everything changes. Raise your O levels, everything changes.
Nirvana sued by the baby from Nevermind's album cover.
Spencer Elden, the man who was photographed as a baby on the album cover for Nirvana's Nevermind, is suing the band alleging sexual exploitation. [Link]
It's all about the hand shandy these days.
I think lack of shame is the root of the problem.
Who made 'incels' feel shameful for not having a girlfriend? Why do 'incels' have such thin skin?
How many of the 'incels' try to improve themselves to attract a woman? You know, exercise, dress decently, learn how to treat other people.
Is there a common denominator amongst them, like 'no father figure'?
Or is it the old, "If she doesn't want me for who I am then she's no good" line of thought? How many million 'spinsters' have passed through history thinking this?
I think that they should all be forced to watch Sean Connery do James Bond until they get it.
As disappointed as I am with the 'millenial' generation, he (AA at [Link] ) has more right to be disappointed with what came after. (Of course, we know how/where/when this slippery slope got past apparently terminal phase - my best guess is 12/23/1913. (I wondered if that might have been the Winter Solstice, and it was damn close - winter solstice 22 Dec1913.)
RC
Sure enough.
The 'stormer' is an interesting place to get your news!
I guess some honorable . . . wait! I remember! I'd heard of Daily Stormer (always adversely) and THEN I read an article from there and thought: 'Though I've not bothered with him - sure I've heard the BFM denigrations - but this guy is on the ball and his humor is over the top.' and as typing I just recalled where I (think?) I first read a thing by him: HERE!
RC
That's what a male impersonator would do.
Women don't tend to like male impersonators.
Anyone remember when someone, assuming that HFL was claiming that image WAS HLF, {sure - and that's me back in Korea in mine) gave HFL grief about it?
(Me, I've not yet written off that maybe he IS MC but a better guess is that he might be MC's son. (Hmm. . . ) Just decided to look that up. I learn that one of his early parts was in a film my father found interesting: Zulu.
RC
Anyway....
The first thing an incel needs to do to stop being an incel is to leave the house.
The second thing is to stop second-guessing women.
The third thing is to realise "You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off"....[Link]
SWIM played with M cocktails in their youth - and though those aren't really explosives (I'd guess that they're considered liquid incendiaries etc.) they were more than scary enough to make one be afraid.
RC
RC
If a guy has been rejected by the entirety of womanhood, and that guy hasn't been forthright enough with himself to work out why that might be, and is content instead to blame the entirety of womanhood for exercising their free choice in that regard, he bloody well should be ashamed of himself.
"Work" will probably only make things worse.
It's actually very simple. Just as with dogs, cats and furry animals, if you like women, there's a tendency that they will probably like you back.
If you're all fucked up in the head about women, they definitely are not going to like you. Especially if you pretend that you're not fucked up in the head about women.
A lot of these communications between men and women, especially as regards sexual matters, exist on a sort of animal level, and shouldn't be intellectualised too much.
It's like a dog or something. If you're walking down the street and you see a dog, and the dog senses that you like dogs, it will probably come running up to you, wagging its tail, lick your hand, etc.
If you're walking down the street and you see a dog (could be the same dog), and the dog senses that you're uncertain of dogs, or that you might be scared of dogs, it will probably start growling, might even bite you.
Humans are the same.
Apart from break up time, I've always had an easy time with women. Not 'cause I look like Rock Hudson or whatever, more 'cause I tend to like women, am generally easy in the company of women, don't project a lot of designs onto women.
As for shame. If it's appropriate to feel shame, you should feel shame.
Even dogs feel shame.
Undeniably true but I think you like to live dangerously. Do you carry treats in your pockets ?
It's always been the same since I was a little boy. I've always tended to like girls, they've tended to like me.
I mean, there really is.
And there is the one lesson one should have learned early:
Women are not man with nice attractive body. They think and act very differently, since their brains are wired very differently. Just accept it, and take them for what they are. And trying to "buddy up"with them does not work at all, quite the opposite.
They're called "feminists".
" I think of a man, then take away reason and accountability."
From 'As Good As It Gets' [Link]
''Women are not man with nice attractive body. They think and act very differently, since their brains are wired very differently. Just accept it, and take them for what they are.''
What kind of idiot do you think I am ? What made you think I did not know that ? I've been around and back a few times. I have re-read my previous comment and I still don't get where you got the idea that... Whatever. As far as buddying up, once you go down that road there is no turning back. I've never met a woman willing to have sex with a friend.
Your comment was patronizing and borderline insulting and I'll leave it at that.
I add you to the long list of people who hate me.
Not that I am out to insult others, but my live will still go on about the same as before.
But at average they are much better at socialisation and manipulation. There is a good reason they mostly fill the jobs dealing with people, and men fill the jobs dealing with things.
Just my opinion.
RC
As do others with mine some times.
But I don't have the time to answer any loosely related comment, nor to feel insulted.
"You're everywhere and nowhere, baby".
HFL, FOAD TOAD.
RC
"Bitches from Hell!!! Bitches from Hell!!!"
Incel creep.
I can imagine (in a parallel universe in which Rowan Cocoan actually leaves his house), RC going on a date with some groovy chick in some groovy bar, somewhere in Florida, jumping all over the poor woman like a hyper-activated Tigger, yapping on nineteen-to-the-dozen about Billy Joel, while the poor beleaguered woman makes a desperate escape bid onto the street through the ladies rest room window, hastily throwing her stilettos into a passing trashcan so she can run.
"Bitches from Hell!!! Bitches from Hell!!!"
LOL.
But this is female nature. If you know this, and don't expect anything else, you don't get burned.
Only now in the end days of feminism and "toxic masculinity", it is not PC to express this simple facts, or teach your sons.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia....[Link]
Incels: Always looking for the rule book.
T he intersection between nerds and incels is quite substantial in my experience. Women just can't be understood by algorithms...
I don't remember ever having asked a woman out on a "date", as such.
If there was some already developing "atmosphere", I might follow it up in a casual, informal fashion.
The natural, organic method, as opposed to the contrived, formularised "dating" thing, where just about everything has been placed in the wrong order.
The whole idea of dating is a very American thing.
They formalise and formularise.
That's why they like to get married and divorced a lot.
Yes, the 'organic thing' is wonderful, when it happens but admittedly I have trouble telling the 'organic thing' from the 'lust thing' and that has spelled doom for me a couple of times LOL!!
Although, as a young man, I did put it about a bit.
Mind you, that's what young men do. Or used to do, anyway.
I don't watch much TV, but sometimes I watch those true detective stories they have on The CBS Reality Channel.
They have this show called "Deadly Vows".
The storyline is usually the same...
"She was a Homecoming Queen. He was the School Football Hero".
Then you get the wedding photos. Loads of cheesy grins and bad 1980's suits with shoulder pads, etc.
Then a long preamble about their problematic fake marriage.
And then the climax: They end up trying to murder each other for the life insurance, and then it's orange jump-suit time..
Watching a lot of those shows has convinced me that most murders have a root cause of very basic asshole-isms and misreadings of reality.
It didn't have to be that way.
Thank you for your thoughts, most enjoyable
The last time I was between girlfriends, one thing I noticed was how many tall, willowy blondes you'd see walking around with short bald guys.
You can only really hope to understand that kind of thing if you realise that women don't think like men.
Either way I am once again reminded of why I loathed humanity. That sense of silent contempt I feel when the standard reaction to the mention of men having emotional issues is to say that they just need to "Shut up and be a man." No wonder suicide rates and drug abuses for men are through the roof. Have a shitty night incels.
I'm still wondering how LindaMay managed to find an incel that owned a camera with a lens thick enough so it wouldn't break when he took her photograph.
Maybe she knows someone who works for NASA.
Loot is forever jealous
Dude: It's time to step back and proverbially 'look at yourself'.
RC
Trying to get laid and failing at it is suppose to be fun and adventurous. Take for example the cult classic movie "Revenge of the nerds". They win in the end!
Social media has ruined EVERYTHING. These damn kids have taken control of the internet, something they don't even understand.
I like Revenge! Seen it a couple of times. An uplifting if not sometimes cringe-worthy bit of celluloid.
[Link]
Be ready for Santa
[Link]
I like the part where Uranus is going to relieve my frustrations...
Reading the thermometer is not considered divination
((The comment section has precise time-clocking lollll))
I thought you'd prefer the chicks ruling the nasties ... to the sound of music.
Check out these pictures, imagine the STORMS.
[Link]
RC
RC.. girls rule.
Here's the thing about Qlippoth, Malkuth and the "freemason" veil.
[Link]
And here's like a theme song I have.
[Link]
Well, I had to look up what in the heck was an "incel"..HA!
Now that I know; well, some of these incels are that way cuz women know better than to hang out with them! Some I have seen are like an Oriental dude named Sum-Ting-Wong with this guy!
Some of these incels couldn't get laid in a brothel! They were the kid in kindergarten who ate all the glue from the jar made from horse hooves like it was candy.
Pravdaseeker
You know, there was this Moldovan lesbian/bisexual (I dunno), she called herself Maya...probably the only girl ever that was like "I fuck you". But we were in a mental ward, so the closest I got was her waking me up by kissing me, which is a bizarre thing btw. But that says a lot hey, she probably thought my long hair is pretty.
I'm not even making this shit up.