The rise of the angry white man
Abi Wilkinson keeps an eye on the region that Stephen Bannon comes from:
That loose network of blogs, forums, subreddits and alternative media publications colloquially known as the “manosphere”. An online subculture centred around hatred, anger and resentment of feminism specifically, and women more broadly. It’s grimly fascinating and now troublingly relevant.
I’m well familiar with it, and have been since 2011. It’s a sewer.
In modern parlance, this is part of the phenomenon known as the “alt-right”. More sympathetic commentators portray it as “a backlash to PC culture” and critics call it out as neofascism. Over the past year, it has been strange to see the disturbing internet subculture I’ve followed for so long enter the mainstream. The executive chairman of one of its most popular media outlets, Breitbart, has just been appointed Donald Trump’s chief of strategy, and their UK bureau chief was among the first Brits to have a meeting with the president-elect. Their figurehead – Milo Yiannopoulos – toured the country stumping for him during the campaign on his “Dangerous Faggot” tour. These people are now part of the political landscape.
Indeed. I keep underlining that. President Pussygrab appointed the Breitbart guy to a major role in his government – it’s grotesque.
When we fret about young people leaving western countries and going to fight with Isis, it’s common to focus on the role of the internet in their political radicalisation. It’s time we discussed the radicalisation of angry, young white men in a similar way. The manosphere gave us Elliot Rodger. He was a regular on the forum “PUAhate” – populated by bitter men who had tried the techniques advocated by so-called “pick-up artists” to attract women and failed.
Reading through the posting history of individual aliases, it’s possible to chart their progress from vague dissatisfaction, and desire for social status and sexual success, to full-blown adherence to a cohesive ideology of white supremacy and misogyny. Neofascists treat these websites as recruitment grounds. They find angry, frustrated young men and groom them in their own image. Yet there’s no Prevent equivalent to try to stamp this out.
I guess because there’s no IS equivalent? But if you added up all the rapes and all the violence, including murder…maybe there is?
At any rate it’s not just a harmless joke, and it never was.
You know, I’d like to know when the ‘angry white man’ has NOT been rising. I remember similar headlines back in 1993 (specifically, in relation to the movie “Falling Down”). So, pretty much my entire adult life, I’ve been told I’m supposed to be angry about something. But they never really quite pin down what, so I haven’t tapped that rage. Well, ‘cept for this year, but it’s been at other white men, so I don’t think that counts.
I remember being annoyed by what I heard about that movie and the advertising etc. Yeah yeah yeah poor angry white guys – fuck off.
Now they’ve eaten the world.
Yes, but try being an “angry woman”. Or an “angry black youth”. Or anything angry except white male. That is unattractive, unpolitical, and wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. You’re supposed to be cooperative, and wait until the grand ruling masters of the universe hand you the gift you so desire, the gift of a share of the power, which you are then not really supposed to use because that would make you a “ball buster” or “anti-white” or something like that.
But white males? Oh, they are the forgotten class, the ignored class, the ones that have been sitting silently in the corner for so long waiting for the attention they deserve, while all the goodies go to these…other….undeserving…women and POCs (not to mention LGBTQ and Jews, or LGBTQ Jews, who apparently run everything, if these angry white males are to be believed).
What iknklast said. White male anger is to be taken seriously and empathized with. Anybody else–well, your anger is scary, or cute, or neurotic, or you’re just having hysterics.
As someone once said, it all comes down to what “IS” is :-/ (Sorry, bad taste joke fail)
@ Freemage: The most white men are angry about is something not rising, at a personal level.
@#3&4: Agreed. Problem is, all “other” categories have been defined away now — HTF that happened!
Back to lurking, maybe even working.