BRATTLEBORO — The vicious lunatic who killed 10 people by driving a van down a busy street in Toronto recently fancied himself a member of the so-called “incel” movement. Short for “involuntarily celibate,” the implications of this bizarre, pathological self-identity are mind boggling. I had never heard of this sad phenomenon.
Evidently, their primary motivation is a deep feeling of oppression based on their rejection by and failure to establish successful relationships with women. They see the cause of their “predicament” as rampant feminism rather than any personal shortcomings on their own parts.
Implicit in this view is the assumption that as males, we have an inherent right to get laid and that any woman who denies us our natural rights as men deserves to be at least assaulted or, at worst, killed.
This echoes the dominionist view of some extreme, conservative religionists who believe that all of “God's” creation exists solely for the benefit and exploitation of men because, after all, we were made in his image and are therefore his messengers on Earth, to the exclusion of all others.
In truth, it's little more than just another rationale for patriarchy, the rape culture, and virulent misogyny.
That another member of my gender could take such a sick notion seriously and then act upon it with such tragic results makes me deeply embarrassed to be a man.