Matt

I’ve also had adults my own age say basically the same thing. It is not harmful to talk to men and just say yeah I know that you are lonely right now and that you’ve been socialized to try to be stoic, that’s not your fault, but you do need community and we can help you find it.

…I got a lot of direct pushback but I also got half a dozen direct messages from straight-identifying young guys asking for advice, asking me (they knew I was gay) how they can improve themselves to be more attractive to women or just feel better in general.

I also want to say this. I am a 39 year old gay male. 2 weeks ago I went into a Gen Z Reddit group arguing over this very topic and I said a lot of these young guys are lonely and desperate for mentorship and will take it from anyone...

Collective action problem.

If they all worked in unison, they could marginalize Trump or damage his political effectiveness. But if anyone acts alone, their business interests will be punished.

In 2017 they all knew they’d be acting in unison. Now it’s the opposite.

The article isn’t about white supremacist groups. It’s about the demographic and ambient factors that appear predispose people to that ideology (income, gender, economic struggles etc) so why wouldn’t we want to be reaching those groups now?

I don’t understand the persistent conflation between the known phenomenon of people with radical ideologies, and a bunch of young boys who could be enticed by them but are currently not part of their movement. What’s the point of pretending like those groups are the same thing?

I agree with that. So, if we don’t want to be seen as minimizing or tolerating hate, why don’t we go straight to the source and help boys work on fear, insecurity and self-awareness?

You said those things come from the same place… what is that place?

If the sexism and homophobia we were all raised in and had to see through is extremism then I guess we should all have been cast out and disqualified as teenagers 🤷‍♂️

OK, I hear you on that, regarding the white nationalist movement. But the group that we’re talking about is not white nationalist, it’s broader. Pretty much all of us can probably identify a toxic belief we were raised with. Sometimes to break free of that you just need permission.

What made you stop?

Hmm. I think structural analysis is useful and individualism is a right/conservative conceit. On a case by case basis there are a lot of things I think boys/men need to take responsibility for but generally, cultural hegemony is not determined by common individuals.

Why do all these people look and talk like comic book villains?

I’m sorry for whatever your personal experience with the police has been. It can be really frustrating when you’ve been a victim of a crime and they are dismissive.

In any case smashing a window or lighting a car on fire would count as “real criminals” under local law. Regardless of your sympathies for the protest that is their job. I don’t know why there were so many cops there, I can’t answer that. But of course they’re gonna have some there.

My car got stolen in Denver 2022 and it happened again this year, and it was a totally different experience reporting it. Cops were either on strike in response to protests or just checked out over Covid in 2022. But a lot more responsive today.

lol in that case I would definitely want to ask them why they needed so many people there, it looks very goofy.

The number of cops in the line would be based on the number of people they think are potentially coming to do vandalism at that time. But it’s a good question to pose to the police.

Idk about this… if there’s a credible threat of vandalism against the store then the police are supposed to stop it. Doesn’t mean I’m not rooting for the vandals, but the cops are supposed to do that. There are also cops protecting the entrances of gay pride events for obvious reasons. It’s the job.

They’re both apparently pretty good for reasons I can’t understand, because for both of them the game is so obvious. Who is “better?” Depends on variable circumstances. The grift will probably fall apart for Elon first because he’s not president.

They always planned on handling it “poorly” so it’s interesting seeing those retroactive headlines describing what was happening in plain sight.

YouTube video by Human Rights Campaign Meet the Girl Who Lawmakers Want to Ban From Playing Sports

I want people to watch this video and honestly tell me why it should be made *illegal* for this 14-year-old girl to play field hockey with her friends. youtu.be/yf9MfYZ-Bl4?...

It’s a federal offense as well so the feds can prosecute

Ruh roh 👀

What’s the entity providing images to Russia?

Why is Pete Hegseth having a bad time?

Every LGBTQ person deeply understands that a political fad can turn family and friends against you, and those captured by it will come up with all sorts of excuses for sticking the knife in.

Historically activist and resistance groups built independent organizations. The thing that is really lacking in society today is named activists who can articulate and negotiate. Amorphous, leaderless social media activist movements can’t define themselves and get defined from outside.

By definition legislators are supposed to be followers (of their constituents) moreso than leaders.

Read the dude’s profile, he’s a nihilist. No ideology except opposition and destruction. There’s no point arguing with it.