How young men are radicalized online against modernity

It is tragic but almost unsurprising that such awful violence can arise from what borders on the nonsensical — a group of mistaken, disaffected young men who view romance as transactional, and women as objects. Such patterns are all too common in our world. But incels are unfortunately also part of a broader “manosphere,” a set of online subcultures that cater primarily to young men and traffic in misogyny, racism, and a general antipathy to a perceived mainstream, whether that’s liberals, a demasculinized culture, or postmodernity in general. Some of these include MGTOWs (Men Going Their Own Way) who resist relationships with women, men’s rights activists, pick-up artists, and more.

If there’s a common thread that unites these factions it’s a feeling that masculinity needs to be reclaimed and reasserted, a sentiment that is almost always accompanied by a deep-seated misogyny. Importantly, the incel forum groups that were overjoyed at the carnage — at least behind the ironic distance of their online usernames — seemed most happy about being thrust into the limelight. The helpful explainers that have emerged this week are thus a victory of sorts for incels; finally, they say, their unappreciated suffering is being brought to light, and in the most extreme way. It is, at least in its shape, analogous to other movements, most obviously Islamist or white supremacist terror: Recognize us and our legitimacy, or face our violent wrath.