In his recent SNL monologue, Dave Chappelle noted that there are two words celebrities should never say together, in sequence: “The” and “Jews.”
But I’d venture to say that there are at least two more: “Men’s” and “rights.”
In my article, Andrew Tate And The Male Empathy Gap, I wasn’t foolish enough to talk about men’s rights. But I did point out that along with the gender wage gap and the racial wealth gap, there’s a male empathy gap.
Very few people are interested in the needs and struggles of young men in 2023. Even though there are quite a few. And worse, Andrew Tate is one of a very small number who at least pretends to be. I asked whether his popularity, despite how gross he is, might have something to do with our #killallmen, #menaretrash, culture.
SC was more focused on the man himself.
SC:
“But he doesn’t treat hurting them as a hobby.”
That depends on whether or not he enjoys his work, because there's no doubt that he's making money off their pain by poking at the scabs. Given the level of pompous prancing around showing off his goddamned cars and toys he does, I'd argue he enjoys hurting men a great deal. There is also copious amounts of footage, tweets, etc of him expressing the utmost contempt of other men. Grade school bullying classic. Total Malfoy, dick move. Again, given the sneers....I'd say he enjoys it immensely. He certainly acts like it.
Steve QJ:
I think this is way too abstract a way to think about it. 15 year old boys aren’t losing any sleep if they spend $100 dollars or whatever it is on Andrew tate’s stupid course and don’t get rich. Especially if spending that money brings them a little sense of community or support or the feeling that somebody out there is trying to give them advice that goes deeper than "be better you toxic pig."
They’re only paying for his stupid course because they feel worthless and purposeless and hardly anybody is speaking to them with any compassion.
They’re losing sleep over 15-year-old things like dating and how to get rich. They’re losing sleep because they’re constantly being told that they’re guilty of things that happened before they were born and their teenage, hormone-filled brains aren’t developed enough to not take it personally (though frankly, I don’t think they should have to do the rationalisations required not to take it personally). They’re losing sleep because they don’t know what’s expected of them. Both by society and by women.
And they're listening to Andrew Tate because in amongst all the grossness and misogyny (which they're too young and self-centered to care about, just like most teenagers), he does speak in terms that they understand. Maybe you're tempted to dismiss this because he's awful. I understand where you're coming from. But again, that's really why these young men are so lost. There's far too little desire in society in general to actually understand what these guys are dealing with. In fact, simply positioning yourself as a man who speaks to young men is a good way to get yourself in trouble.
SC:
Interesting, but it is an aside to the comment I was making.
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