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For most people this seemed kind of extreme and bizarre, but it turned out that there was a whole community of involuntary celibates in the darkest corners of the internet, talking to each other about how they hated women and their lives and were still virgins.
Stemming from events such as the 10 people who were run over and killed by a man in Toronto, to the UC Santa Barbara shooting – wherein the shooter promised to “slaughter every single spoiled blonde slut” on campus – it’s clear that the motivations of certain “Incels” or involuntary celibates, have reached severely dangerous proportions.
The subject of the VICE short, Joey, is a seemingly normal dude who spends most of his time isolated on his laptop, on which he runs chat rooms with like-minded individuals who also identify as Incels:
There is no doubt that mental health plays a role when trying to rationalize the hateful motivations of these people. Simply put – these dudes are just online hating themselves, their lives, doing self depreciating sh*t, and ultimately getting so sick of normal life that they commit heinous acts upon themselves and/or other innocent people because they have nothing else to do – its become a vicious cycle.
As the documentary stated, four of Joey’s friends have committed suicide. Despite this, he still seems to believe that this mindset and the community is harmless. It’s a truly sad reality of the world. A lot of us have experienced rejection or heartbreak, and it’s totally ok to be angry or sad over, but going out and murdering innocent people just because you don’t have a partner or haven’t had sex? Even if you’re not a murderer – to harbor so much hate inside you is a destructive and torturous way to go through life.
This is a scary reality of society that needs to be addressed – with mental health being the forefront of the issue. Believing that women owe you sex is an extremely harmful way to think. There may be some rationality in disliking show-offy, immoral, and typically douchey guys & girls, whom Incels refer to as”Chads” and “Stacys,” – some people may be deserving of such titles – but to perceive anyone in a healthy relationship as such, to slut shame girls, and to have an overall disdain for normal society which may cause harm to others is absolutely evil, and the truth is these guys just feel like they don’t have another choice, they’re just hateful people who feel like the world owes them something. The truth is we need to open a dialogue and get to the psychological core of these issues, because Incels feel their attitudes and actions are totally justified. These people need help.
If you know anyone struggling with depression that may be a threat to themselves or others, talk to them, try to have open and honest conversations and/or get someone who can: