By David Bozeman
This is how behind the times I am.
I only recently learned what an incel is. I had to Google it because, well, I was called one!
We are living not, as some claim, in a Matrix, but an echo chamber of snark, soundbites and crude fourteen-year-old humor masquerading as intelligent conversation. The way out is to tune out. In my forum, however, your conscience and freedom of thought are always welcome.
So, for those of you even further behind than me, an incel means 'involuntarily celibate' and refers to young men, largely in online communities, who consider themselves unable to attract the opposite sex and thus blame women. According to some definitions, these young males harbor rage and even violent fantasies, but mostly, incels are just bitter, rejected losers, and the word is used derisively, to disarm one's opponent in any disagreement over politics/current events.
So, this is how we unify and hash out differences - we employ schoolyard taunts attacking one another's manliness and body parts. Game over - I win. They don't just call you an incel. 'Less' manly men are called Betas (reserved mostly for men who supported Vice President Harris), soy boys, cucks, p*****s and other terms I would rather not repeat. Dare to criticize a popular candidate on policy, prepare for retorts on how you are less sexually satisfying to your wife than her boyfriend! Simply questioning someone's choice during the '24 election, I was savagely informed that I knew of multiple uses for a tampon, and I was summarily offered advice for further and deeper uses for a product I have never held in my hand! The same people afraid of their own narrow shadows, who avoid eye contact with you in a hallway (the infamous keyboard warriors) are the first ones to assail someone's manhood to win an argument.
Yes, women certainly endure criticism, but how often do women assail each other's femininity and sexual orientations to win a policy debate? Somewhere between seldom and never. And speaking of women, before you dismiss 'incel' insults as mere guy humor, note that women employ this line of verbal assault as well. Yes, society encourages women to attack the real or perceived sexism of any man by means of - you guessed it! - sexism.
Debate has always been rough and contentious to some degree, but society overall used to take pride in having manners. People did, at one time, read newspapers, and their attention spans weren't addicted to social media blather and soundbites. The American electorate wasn't always divided almost equally by two sides, each one sure that the other is not just wrong but evil.
So, that's my latest foray into social media, which, sadly, comprises much of modern life. My advice to everyone (particularly myself): pick up a book, take a friend to lunch, or call someone you haven't talked to in a while.
To those who defame their opponents with such terms as 'incel,' 'Betas' and 'girly men:' YOU are the reason some men are timid and weak. Your schoolyard taunts left boys no self-confidence or will to assert themselves. You're bold when you call a guy an incel - but what have you done today to lift anyone? Did you ever consider that a brother might need a word of encouragement - or did you take the easy route of sarcasm instead?
I don't consider myself an incel or a beta, nor do I consider personal information pertinent to broader societal discussion. Simply, I have nothing to prove. But being an incel does not negate your humanity or your right to voice an opinion or vote. Many incels no longer want admission into your club, and that is what frustrates you name-callers the most. Where were you when your brother needed you?
Comments welcome.
davidbozeman63@gmail.com
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