A Farewell to Kings?

“Our Young Men are Failing” –Professor Scott Galloway (ProfG)

“How did we get to the point where loving your enemy is weak and loving your neighbor is woke?” –James Talarico

If you are a young male in the United States, voting for the first time in 2024, the only ‘politics’ you have known since you were in middle school (10-12 years old) is a politics where a ‘man’ who reverberates with the rhetoric of EVERY SINGLE dictator/strongman/autocrat of the past century has informed your reality. The language of dehumanization and division mirroring the language of all tinpot dictators throughout history.

This language has been echoed to today’s young men by an avalanche of Edgelord talking heads whose message is directed toward the male youth and INCELS who have given up on character and motivation.

Boys to Men

ProfG’s “No Mercy/No Malice” recently outlined the very real Crisis that boys face in today’s world. The cultural, societal and economic environment has created a situation where boys are consistently being seduced into the “Manosphere,” a place that is truly dark and despicable and the opposite of what healthy masculinity should represent.

“The lack of an open dialogue about these issues has created a void filled by voices espousing thinly veiled misogyny, demonization of vulnerable groups, and a vision for masculinity that wants to take non-whites and women back to the fifties and Old Spain, respectively. The good news is the dialogue has become much more productive recently. There’s a growing recognition of the size and severity of the challenges facing young men, and we can now turn our focus to solutions.” –ProfG

INCELS are hardly ‘thinly veiled.’ The Edgelords like Andrew Tate, Jordan Peterson, Elon Musk, Kevin Samuels, Ben Shapiro, Charlie Kirk, Gary Vee and a host of other MRM (Men’s Rights Movement) dipshits are entertaining today’s young men with mountains of misogyny, racism and violent rhetoric. The depressed and unmotivated young males are drawn into these worlds of fantasy, violence and crypto-bro bullshit that embraces Nazism and a far-right theology. The genesis of the current freak-fest Manosphere was born in gamer communities and 4Chan threads. GamerGate was the preface to Steve Bannon’s (“I want to bring everything crashing down”) appropriation of disaffected young males and INCELS to drag them into his polluted worldview of Leninism and the ‘deconstruction of the state.’

These ‘men,’ (AKA asshole weirdos) are living out their own deeply, psychologically broken personalities and taking advantage of young men who are depressed and unmotivated and in disturbed mental states. Rather than offering understanding and help (mature masculine energy), they are exploiting young men for their own sickness and fantasies.

It is no mystery as to why The Joker has become the icon of the Edgelord/Manosphere movement…and to see how easily these young men could/would be played by someone like Bannon to bring them into his diseased worldview of ‘burn it all to the ground.’ The Joker is nihilistic and evil. “Some Men Just Want To Watch The World Burn”

Who better to assimilate depressed young men to the lunatic language of someone like Donald Trump? “Only I can fix it.” “I am above the rules and laws.” If you have been ‘let down’ by your society, I am your voice. Follow me in my authoritarian movement to reject this failed society and together we will create a utopia that will give you back your power over your life.

The antidote to this fucked up view of masculinity is an early introduction into self-exploration. What am I feeling? How does what I am feeling affect the society that I want? I don’t want to destroy my society, I want to learn how to interact with others in this society and to create a better world for myself, my family and to make myself into someone that people will look up to as a leader.

It is bad enough that, as boys, we are taught early to gird our loins, take the blows, don’t cry, and…most importantly, never, ever show “emotions.” Men are ‘tough,’ ‘rugged,’ powerful.’ Pumping this message into boys from the time they are two feet tall has created a false world view and left new generations of young men emotionally illiterate and unable to navigate a world of human feelings and experiences.

When a young man learns emotional literacy early, he is on track to be a leader, to be a ‘man’ of empathy, integrity and understanding. If my fists clench and my body temperature rises, I most likely am experiencing anger. If my chest tightens, my breathing becomes constricted and my body gets rigid,  I am most likely feeling fear. If my body feels light, if gravity seems less, if I am more aware of my surroundings, that likely means I am feeling joy. If my body feels heavy, if I feel listless, there is a very good chance I am feeling sadness.

Mad, sad, glad, afraid. When young men are introduced to this language early, they develop a sixth sense for life and for the human experiences happening around them. They also learn how to ‘process’ these emotions and not ‘act out’ from them. If I am ‘running hot,’ I do a gut check. I am angry, do I act out of this place or find a way to process my anger? Am I willing to look deeper? Is it possible that my anger is a ‘mask’ for a feeling that I am afraid to look at; such as sadness? (Typically, this is the case).

The culture needs healthy mature masculine role models. The Manosphere Edgelords are manipulating today’s young men into a culture of violence, misogyny and hatred. If we want to build strong men, then we require healthy male role models to exhibit strength through compassion, listening and affirming. "It is easier to build strong children than fix broken men."

Daily, we see evidence of this vacancy gone wild. Perhaps no one more at odds with what it means to be a healthy male role model today is Elon Musk. Maybe he fried his brain with the drugs, maybe he needed hugs as a child. Whatever the cause, Musk has put himself on full display over the past few years since acquiring Twitter (XChan) as a leading example of how NOT to be a man. This has been on display in a monumental way now that a person with a VAJJ is running for president. Musk is the antithesis of healthy masculinity. Musk has millions of young men following his rabid posts. These ‘Elonstans’ are following a disordered individual who, daily, pollutes the world with his feverish nonsense. If there has ever been a more clear example of someone who needs to do their ‘work.’ It is Elon Musk.

“Beyond success, a good leader needs to develop followers, boost their confidence and sense of efficacy, and treat them with respect. The very best leaders are positive role models for their followers—demonstrating positive and ethical behavior, and giving credit where credit is due.” -- Ronald E. Riggio Ph.D.

We need a movement of men willing to make the time to feed the hunger of today’s young men. Not with misogyny and racism and violence, but with a curriculum of assisting in the navigation of their emotional landscapes and helping them to become the leaders of tomorrow. Leadership is given, not taken.

“And the men who hold high places

Must be the ones who start

To mold a new reality

Closer to the heart”

--Neil Peart & Peter Talbot: Closer to the Heart