The eighteen year old white male whose exploration of the outside world leads him to a world of chauvinistic and fascistic imagery and rhetoric has only redefined himself in relation to a world he already believed in. The incel, alt-righter, and religious fanatic went to the logical extreme of a world the so-called non-political created. In this world, the conservative and the liberal are flavors of the same debauched ecosystem.

The incel sees their self-worth in their sexual relationships with women. Early on in the path toward radicalization, a young man will begin to notice and then obsess over their “lack” of sexual encounters. A lack always defined by the other: an array of authority figures whose job it is to choose for us, to limit our freedom so as to save us from the trauma of freedom. Celebrities, entertainment, and pop culture are a few of these authority figures we’re taught to obey. The joke is that we’re never able to find full satisfaction in our subservience. The incel falls head over heels for this subservience. They begin to fetishize the patriarchal world that equates women with objects, and sexual prowess as a necessary accomplishment.

Since the incel finds self-worth in obeying the cultural (read: patriarchal) status quo, but is unable to satisfy the authority because of continued failure to find a “mate,” they develop a victim-status. This status is designed to protect themselves against the authority figures’ demands. “It’s not my fault I haven’t had sex, and no woman will be with me!” The catch is, incels not only craft their victim-status from patriarchal values, but they make their enemy the cream of the patriarchal crop: the Chads. Chads are the muscular, testosterone exuding cliche of the American masculine man (a comedic cliche if it weren’t for the fact that these tools exist).

This contradiction is one of the most damning aspects of the incel community. Incels are, in terms of the toxic masculinity of the patriarchal system, failures. Yet they double down. Incels can’t realize that the patriarchy did this to them, and that they’ve made the crown jewel of toxic masculinity their enemy. By doubling down they continue to dig their own graves. It’s easy to see incels as victims of their own assholishness, which is exactly why so many reactionaries can dismiss them so easily. The crux of the issue is patriarchy wasn’t doing incels any favors, yet they still cling on for dear life. They’re still trying to prove to the patriarchal other that they’re worthy enough. Eventually going to further and further extremes to prove their loyalty.

Incels are not an issue because they hold any substantial cultural power (there’s a very real reason why they’re largely an internet group), but because of what they’re intensification signals. The patriarchal system is very much alive and well, as exhibited by the “Chads” incels have demonized. To fail to meet a system’s standards, a system must first exist and carry weight socially.

The same applies to alt-righters (neo-nazis, white supremacists, and fascists) and religious fanatics (the anti-abortion, anti-lgbtq+, xenophobic American religious right). Both groups are expounding on values already present in our culture. None of these groups are resurrecting anything that wasn’t already culturally prevalent. The US government has been prohibiting non-white immigrants since it could form legally enforceable laws. It’s used its police state to harass and pick off radicals for just as long. It has subjugated Black and Indigenous peoples for even longer.

It’s the classic role of reactionary forces. Once the bourgeoisie become threatened, or begin to lose control, they stir up reactionaries to do their dirty work for them. Reactionaries are the auxiliary units of the neoliberal, capitalist state.

Every policy reactionaries propose is a form of suppression to benefit those in power. Some reactionaries might think those in power are their enemies, but just like the incels, they’ve been sadly misled.

Reactionaries come in many flavors, as I’ve shown already. Covid-19, for example, has brought out another wonderful brand of reactionary consciousness. As landlords, capitalists, and politicians do the absolute minimum to protect their subjects against the onslaught of a pandemic, reactionaries distract attention away from the man behind the curtain. Conspiracy theories, blame games, and flat out denial abounds as those in power continue to literally fuck us over.

This is why I don’t give much consideration to the ridiculous amount of Covid-19 diversions. If you’re experienced in how scams work, why would you take one seriously? A diversion is a diversion no matter what you might like to think. Landlords are chomping at the bit to evict people from their homes during a pandemic, when many of them are unemployed or strapped for cash. It doesn’t matter what you personally think about the pandemic, the fact is, the people with power don’t give a shit about us. They never fuckin’ do! 

Covid-19 reactionaries are, just like their incel and alt-right peers, logical ends of what most people already hold true: I come first; everyone else be damned. Every able-bodied fucker gladly reassured themselves that only the old and weak would die from covid, so why take precautions? They’ll obviously die regardless.