LRN70 - Introspection

The conservatives need to take a beat and look within, but is that even possible?

Sep 18, 2025

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Editorial note: This piece was written before 9/15/2025. On that day, the body of a young black man, Demartravion “Trey” Reed was found, hanging from a tree, on the campus of Delta State University, in Mississippi. The authorities are claiming “no foul play”, but that seems unlikely to anyone who knows the history of lynching, and more broadly violence towards black people, in the United States. Do not let those who would seek to normalize white supremacy, by way of denial, take over the narrative. They are trying to silence our history and, this week, our current voices by acting like the First Amendment doesn’t exist. We cannot allow the past to continue to be our present and future. Justice for Trey.

Consider this…

Hello readers.

I hope, despite the state of our union in the United States, you are having a good end of summer. At least, I wish you some time to rest and breathe before getting back in the fight. And yes, it seems that a fight is what we are in. Fascism is not backing down and it is time for everyone to get on the right side of history.

Our elders didn’t fight and sacrifice during WWII, beating back the nazis, only to have fascism gain this level of power, 80 years later. So let’s do those folks proud. Let’s come together as one and push back on this anti-semitic, anti-black, anti-woman, anti-lgbtqia++, anti-immigrant, rhetoric, and get this country back on track - moving toward freedom and equality for ALL.

Before we can do any of the above, though, the conservatives need take some time to look within and get their MAGA folks (and yes - the conservatives ARE responsible for the red hats) under control. The ramping up of this rhetoric over the last decade has been to our detriment. Although our country has never seen true equality for all, we were moving (however slowly) toward that goal. The MAGA movement has swiftly turned us around and if the conservatives don’t do something about it, we will lose our democracy. There are certainly days when it seems like they want to replace democracy with authoritarianism, but if they are TRUE conservatives, in name and deed, they will reset and gain control of what they tell us is the fringe of their party. There may still be time.

In the meantime, let’s talk about guns and angry white men, because this combination continues to be the biggest threats to our lives in the United States today.

Incel culture is (literally) killing us

This past week, right wing pundit Charlie Kirk was shot as he was giving a speech at a University in Utah. If you didn’t know who he was before this shooting occurred, you are likely aware of him now. One minute after Kirk was shot, another shooting occurred at a high school in Colorado.

Shortly after Kirk was shot, and then pronounced dead, the media started reporting that the shooter was a Trans person. This was an untrue prediction and quickly debunked by Politifact, but the damage was done. The news cycle ran with it and the President pointed to “radical leftists” as the problem, further ramping up his plans to deploy the national guard to very specific cities (dog whistles abound).

48 hours after Kirk died, we found out who the shooter actually was and, surprise surprise, it was an angry white guy - Tyler Robinson. Apparently, Robinson is a follower of Nick Fuentes, a far far right nazi, who had often come up against Kirk on specific issues. This infighting on the far right and far far right, is something that we haven’t seen outside of reddit, or more insidious websites (4chan/8chan/etc), geared toward Incel culture and the manosphere. This is dark web, internet meme culture, stuff that has not been brought to the surface, but has been plaguing our country for decades.

If you haven’t been ‘very online’ since the 90s, like me, you may not be aware of these right wing groups that are interwoven with more mainstream venues like discord, twitch, and overall gaming culture (See: Gamergate). And honestly - that is for the best. I research this stuff so you don’t have to. But I do think we could all do with a little bit of background to better understand the current state we are in. This isn’t just ‘boys being boys’ (which I would argue is not even a thing, but I digress) - some of it is real, true, hatred of women that has morphed into a way to radicalize (mostly white) boys into a culture of hatred across the spectrum of people in the United States. The venn diagram of racism and sexism in these spaces is almost fully a circle.

Toxic masculinity

Incel is short for Involuntary Celibate. Incels believe that the reason they cannot get a date with a woman is the fault of women, in general. They do not look inside to see what might be their own failings or faults, but just simply jump to the conclusion that all women are against them because they can’t get a date. One of the recent trends, in reporting, has been to discuss the ‘male loneliness epidemic’ and Incels also play into this narrative. There are many things that intertwine in this culture, but what is important to note about Incels is that they are heavily steeped in internet (manosphere) culture and often feel personally assaulted by women who are not willing to have sex with them. Loneliness is the spark that leads them into these dark web spaces, not the outcome of their real life interactions.

If we trace back many of the mass murder assailants in the last few decades of American history, I believe we might see a pattern emerge that intersects with this Incel/manosphere/pick-up artist culture. Men, many of whom were radicalized when they were still boys, who are moving through the world with a chip on their shoulder and white male grievance in their hearts. Men who see a country, that they thought they would inherit because they are white and male, slipping away from them.

Many of the things that they believe are unwarranted and they are almost always racist, sexist, transphobic, and homophobic. They lean heavily into anti-semitic, anti-woman, and anti-black tropes and the MAGA movement is a perfect vehicle for them to latch onto. Think Charlottesville. Think January 6th. Think Alligator Alcatraz. When the President of the United States is a (alleged) sex offender, it appears that anything goes, and although there are ALWAYS crackdowns on the left, the right, far right, and far far right always end up with a pass.

Combating hate

Now that we know where to focus, we should NOT be allowing the MAGA folks to deter us. I have been mired in this information for years now and was hoping that Incels and Nazis were being put under surveillance and/or investigation by the FBI, but it feels like that might not be the case.

If we don’t stop the move down this road, we will lose our democracy and our rights.

Speaking of our rights - I realize that conservatives like to pick and choose what they believe, to suit whatever current situation arises, but I believe it is a fact that you can’t have the 2nd amendment without the 1st amendment. It appears that they would like to do so though, and the stress-test is underway.

Video break - some ways to combat the hate…

@therapyjeff Parents of white boys, don’t want your kid radicalized online? Do these 5 things. #mentalhealth #therapy #parenting

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Authoritarianism has taken hold

The United States has never reached the ‘more perfect union’ that many of us have been striving for, mainly due to the few who did not want that version of the union. Mainly due to those who seek to hold power, no matter the cost to the majority of us. And yes, WE, the people who want to see equality, equity, justice, and peace - WE are the majority. Authoritarian regimes can only survive when the majority complies, so we must NOT comply.

I began writing this post on 9/14 and, since then, changes have occurred at high speed. This has been the case since the beginning of this Trump term as they use the strategy of “flooding the zone” to disturb and confuse the general populace while making changes that nobody is paying attention to. But, in the past 1 1/2 weeks, the changes have been done in full view. The killing of Charlie Kirk seems to have given the administration a free pass to do whatever they will, which includes ignoring the First Amendment.

In just these last few days Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) has pressured 3 colleges to fire professors for their tweets. And the universities complied - with no process. Whether you agree with the sentiments of these tweets or not, you should be very angry and fearful of the standard that is being set here. Yesterday, ABC/Disney pulled Jimmy Kimmel’s show after Kimmel criticized Republicans for the handling of the Charlie Kirk shooting aftermath. This happened after Trump commented that he should be removed. Again - you don’t have to agree with Kimmel’s speech, but you should be protecting it. The First Amendment protects all speech - full stop. Charlie Kirk, himself, was an advocate for the First Amendment, and the conservatives have railed against hate speech laws for decades now.

And yet - since 2021, the amount of book banning attempts by conservative pressure groups, elected officials, and boards has increased year over year. Prior to 2020, the number of books that were challenged hovered around 200-300 per year. In 2021, that number grew to 3,926; to 6,863 in 2022; to 9,021 in 2023; and 5,813 in 2024. Although it decreased from 2023 to 2024, you can still see the number remains about 16-times more than the average. (ala.org) I realize that I talk about this all the time, but it is important to see those numbers. Freedom of speech isn’t a luxury, it is a right.

Last night, just before going to bed, I saw the news that the President has deemed Antifa a ‘terrorist organization’. This, most of all, is a sign that authoritarianism is here, on our shores, despite what our elders (mentioned above) fought and died for. Deeming anti-fascism, terrorism, basically denotes that our POTUS, and his administration, is pro-fascism, right? Remember - you are either with us or against us? Remember - If you see something, say something?

I’m seeing something in the White House and I’m saying something about it. If that makes me anti-fascist I’m happy to be on the correct side of history.

WE SHOULD ALL BE ANTIFA.

We need to stand up for educators and fight against anti-intellectualism. Because, at the end of the day, that is what this authoritarian turn represents. MAGA Republicans wouldn’t be able to continue holding power if the people following them were more informed. Only empty headed racists are on the side of fascists. And that, my dear readers, is the worst side to be on.

Links for more information on the current state of academic freedom

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