Of the 50 plus shades of online anger, one fascinates me more than the rest: the anger of the Incel. Beneath the euphemistic portmanteau of “involuntary” and “celibate” lurks a sinister mass of self-loathing men. They know they are unattractive, and in online forums they blame women.
The Incels speak a specialised language. “Stacy” and “Becky” aren’t individuals, but types of women who sleep with attractive “Chads”. Incels obsess over their “beta” status and how to become “alpha”, like the Chads. And occasionally Incels talk of taking arms against their seas of troubles, ending their “#incelnightmare” in an “#incelrebellion.”
In their excited talk about rebellion and revenge, they often venerate Incels who have committed mass murder, even as the rest of the world condemns them as pathetic cowards. The young man who rampaged through Isla Vista, California in 2014, killing six people and then himself, is considered a celebrity. Likewise, since an Incel killed five people in Plymouth, UK, last August, traffic to UK-based Incel forums has increased sixfold.
Read the full article at Quillette
