SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Ten people were killed when Alek Minassian allegedly drove a van into a crowd of pedestrians on a sidewalk in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo: Can Pac Swire/Flickr/cc)
As Online Misogynists Praise Toronto Attacker, Authorities Urged to Examine Link to Anti-Woman Worldview
"If involvement in misogynistic online communities is indeed part of the picture here, we need to resist any narrative that would push this into the background."
Apr 25, 2018
In online communities celebrating misogyny and decrying men's so-called "involuntary celibacy," the suspect in Monday's van attack in Toronto was being lauded as a "new saint" this week, causing some on social media to urge a closer look at the link between such groups and mass violence.
Alek Minassian is the latest suspect in a mass killing to be linked to the "manosphere," an online culture where men have spread misogynist rhetoric for years--often condoning rape and vehemently promoting the assumption that they are owed sexual relationships with women, declaring themselves "involuntarily celibate," or "incel," if they lack success in dating.
As Common Dreams reported, the often violent discussions that take place in such communities led Reddit to shut down its incel subreddit last November, when it banned content that "encourages, glorifies, incites, or calls for violence or physical harm against an individual or group of people."
According to Toronto police and Facebook officials, minutes before he allegedly drove a van into a crowd of pedestrians walking along a busy thoroughfare, killing 10 people, Minassian posted a message on his since-deleted Facebook account, stating "The Incel Rebellion has already begun!...All hail the Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger!"
Rodger was the attacker in the 2014 mass killing in Isla Vista, Calif., where he killed six people after uploading a video to YouTube in which he described himself as "the supreme gentleman" and explained that he wanted "retribution" for women who had not been attracted to him.
Other recent attacks that have been linked to misogyny include a shooting at a Pittsburgh-area gym, where George Sodini killed three women after writing about his history of sexual rejection, and the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, whose perpetrator had "left a rambling note raging against women and rich kids" and had previously stalked and harassed women.
While law enforcement officials have pointed to Minassian's reported mental illness as the motivating factor behind the attack, critics have stressed that the suspect's praise of an avowed misogynist and references to the "incel" community should not be dismissed.
"In the weeks to come we'll learn more about the killer's mental health, about his childhood, his education, his work, his social relationships," wrote Emer O'Toole in the Guardian on Tuesday. "These are important windows on to the tragedy. But if involvement in misogynistic online communities is indeed part of the picture here, we need to resist any narrative that would push this into the background. Hatred of women is not a mental illness; it is a widespread and dangerous social problem. It is a problem we need to address before more people die."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
In online communities celebrating misogyny and decrying men's so-called "involuntary celibacy," the suspect in Monday's van attack in Toronto was being lauded as a "new saint" this week, causing some on social media to urge a closer look at the link between such groups and mass violence.
Alek Minassian is the latest suspect in a mass killing to be linked to the "manosphere," an online culture where men have spread misogynist rhetoric for years--often condoning rape and vehemently promoting the assumption that they are owed sexual relationships with women, declaring themselves "involuntarily celibate," or "incel," if they lack success in dating.
As Common Dreams reported, the often violent discussions that take place in such communities led Reddit to shut down its incel subreddit last November, when it banned content that "encourages, glorifies, incites, or calls for violence or physical harm against an individual or group of people."
According to Toronto police and Facebook officials, minutes before he allegedly drove a van into a crowd of pedestrians walking along a busy thoroughfare, killing 10 people, Minassian posted a message on his since-deleted Facebook account, stating "The Incel Rebellion has already begun!...All hail the Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger!"
Rodger was the attacker in the 2014 mass killing in Isla Vista, Calif., where he killed six people after uploading a video to YouTube in which he described himself as "the supreme gentleman" and explained that he wanted "retribution" for women who had not been attracted to him.
Other recent attacks that have been linked to misogyny include a shooting at a Pittsburgh-area gym, where George Sodini killed three women after writing about his history of sexual rejection, and the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, whose perpetrator had "left a rambling note raging against women and rich kids" and had previously stalked and harassed women.
While law enforcement officials have pointed to Minassian's reported mental illness as the motivating factor behind the attack, critics have stressed that the suspect's praise of an avowed misogynist and references to the "incel" community should not be dismissed.
"In the weeks to come we'll learn more about the killer's mental health, about his childhood, his education, his work, his social relationships," wrote Emer O'Toole in the Guardian on Tuesday. "These are important windows on to the tragedy. But if involvement in misogynistic online communities is indeed part of the picture here, we need to resist any narrative that would push this into the background. Hatred of women is not a mental illness; it is a widespread and dangerous social problem. It is a problem we need to address before more people die."
In online communities celebrating misogyny and decrying men's so-called "involuntary celibacy," the suspect in Monday's van attack in Toronto was being lauded as a "new saint" this week, causing some on social media to urge a closer look at the link between such groups and mass violence.
Alek Minassian is the latest suspect in a mass killing to be linked to the "manosphere," an online culture where men have spread misogynist rhetoric for years--often condoning rape and vehemently promoting the assumption that they are owed sexual relationships with women, declaring themselves "involuntarily celibate," or "incel," if they lack success in dating.
As Common Dreams reported, the often violent discussions that take place in such communities led Reddit to shut down its incel subreddit last November, when it banned content that "encourages, glorifies, incites, or calls for violence or physical harm against an individual or group of people."
According to Toronto police and Facebook officials, minutes before he allegedly drove a van into a crowd of pedestrians walking along a busy thoroughfare, killing 10 people, Minassian posted a message on his since-deleted Facebook account, stating "The Incel Rebellion has already begun!...All hail the Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger!"
Rodger was the attacker in the 2014 mass killing in Isla Vista, Calif., where he killed six people after uploading a video to YouTube in which he described himself as "the supreme gentleman" and explained that he wanted "retribution" for women who had not been attracted to him.
Other recent attacks that have been linked to misogyny include a shooting at a Pittsburgh-area gym, where George Sodini killed three women after writing about his history of sexual rejection, and the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, whose perpetrator had "left a rambling note raging against women and rich kids" and had previously stalked and harassed women.
While law enforcement officials have pointed to Minassian's reported mental illness as the motivating factor behind the attack, critics have stressed that the suspect's praise of an avowed misogynist and references to the "incel" community should not be dismissed.
"In the weeks to come we'll learn more about the killer's mental health, about his childhood, his education, his work, his social relationships," wrote Emer O'Toole in the Guardian on Tuesday. "These are important windows on to the tragedy. But if involvement in misogynistic online communities is indeed part of the picture here, we need to resist any narrative that would push this into the background. Hatred of women is not a mental illness; it is a widespread and dangerous social problem. It is a problem we need to address before more people die."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.