By David Futrelle
The Internet’s incels long ago adopted Isla Vista killer Elliot Rodger, the maladjusted twentysomething who murdered six in cold blood as a kind of revenge for his “involuntary celibacy,” as a patron saint of sorts.
Now they are doing the same with Nikolas Cruz, the Florida teen who allegedly murdered 17 students and teachers at a high school in Parkland, Florida today. On Incels.Me — the web forum that Reddit’s incel population migrated to after the admins at Reddit shut their forum there down — one enthusiastic commenter got the discussion started by posting a thread titled “A hERo rises on this day of incel exclusion (Florida Valentines Day School Shooting).” (All links in this post go to archived pages.)
The capitalized “ER” in “hERo” is of course a reference to Elliot Rodger.
In the thread, assorted incels cheered as the details of the shooting came out over the course of the day, declaring their “immense respect” for their new “HERO.” And some wondered — with more than a little justification — if the shooter wasn’t one of their fellow commenters on Incels.Me.
“Respect to him if he kills over 60 normies,” a commenter called Towncel declared. “Hopefully he isn’t just using 2 pistols and actually has an assault rifle,” he added in a followup comment.
Vman, a prolific commenter with over 2500 posts on the site was already set to declare Cruz his new idol.
holy shit its on valentines day! what a fucking hero! we have a new model! PLZ BE UGLY PLZ BE UGLY. WE NEED INCEL AWARNESS
Spicycurry was a little more reserved. “Watch the news blame incels rather than the femoids who mock us and oppress us,” he groused.
lonelyistheworld has a rather different fear. “The media will probably try to cover up the fact that he’s an Incel,” he complained. “The elites know that there’s a huge problem with lonely men in the west.”
Naturally, many of the commenters hoped that most of the victims would be “femoids.”
“Hope his roastie kill count is high,” Reddit_is_for_cucks opined
Roastie contribute nothing to the society anyway, sll they do is shopping and suck chads dick and get free stuff from cucks
Incel_Dikshit concurred, expressing his hope that the shooter had “snagged some degenerate roasties and depsrate beta orbiters with him.”
“Roastie” is a favorite incel slur for (cis) women, whose labia are thought (by incels) to resemble roast beef.
Many of the commenters took great pleasure in the fact that this murder spree took place on Valentine’s Day. “LIFEFUEL,” declared one. “The best Valentines Day in history buddy boyos.”
When several commenters expressed their uneasiness at this open celebration of mass murder, they were denounced as “Jooz.” Indeed, one prolific commenter called knajjd went so far as to justify the murder of young girls because, in his view
female children can, at best, be considered a timebomb. even if you believe that children are totes innocent creatures, etc. etc. that argument makes no sense since they’ll inevitably develop into roasties.
Comments like these continue for page after page; all of those quoted so far come from the first three pages of what is currently a ten page thread.
It didn’t take long for some of the commenters to wonder if the shooter hadn’t frequented Incels.Me. Several mentioned a recent Incels.Me thread in which a lurker posted an elaborately detailed threat to shoot up his former high school and other schools in the area (including an elementary school north of his high school) on February 12 before escaping by blending in with the those fleeing from the scene.
More than a few of the details match up with what happened today. The alleged shooter today targeted his former high school. There is a middle school northwest of the high school, though it is more west than north. Some reports suggest the shooter escaped the school by blending in with fleeing students. The date of the threatened rampage was only two days different from the actual assault. The gun he reportedly used is similar to, though not the same model as, the one mentioned in the post.
You can see the screenshotted post here.
It’s certainly possible that the threat posted to Incels.Me was nothing more than a fantasy, and that the similarities between it and the events that unfolded today mere coincidence.
EDITED TO ADD: But even if Cruz wasn’t the anonymous commenter on Incels.Me, he may well have thought of himself as an iucel. The Daily Beast reports that someone calling himself Nikolas Cruz left a comment on a YouTube video a year ago declaring that ““Elliot rodger will not be forgotten.” (Meanwhile, a self-described paramilitary white supremacist group in Florida is telling The Beast that Cruz had trained with them.)
Was Cruz an incel, a white supremacist — or both, or neither? The clues to his motivation are certainly unsettling. As is the existence of a forum overloaded with so many bitter, furious young men who look upon mass murder as a kind of righteous retribution for the refusal of “roasties” to offer them sex.
NOTE TO REGULAR READERS: I was planning on returning to regular posts here shortly. I’m sorry it had to be with a story on this horrendous incident.
Cruz himself, maybe not? But the group bragging about training him? That’s exactly why they did it. If ISIS had trained someone who went on to kill Americans kids? You bet your ass that would be defined as terrorism. There’d be fracking military strikes overseas to avenge it.
I’m not seeing how this doesn’t fit the definition of terrorism other than of course the skin tone and religious background of the people involved.
Whoa. Someone did something to stop a similar threat. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/02/15/grandmother-foils-alleged-washington-state-school-shooting-plot/340101002/
David, thank God. I was starting to think you might be terminally ill, if not dead.
But yeah, I’ve lost count of the times I’ve seen posts on conservative/MRA/MGTOW/PUA/Nice Guy/incel/Neo-Nazi/white nationalist/alt-right/neoreactionary websites or social media pages where someone has either expressed an intention to kill women/blacks/Latinos/Jews/Muslims/LGBT people/feminists/liberals/college students, or encouraged others to do so, and the commenters have lavished praise on them for it. Such spaces are pure time bombs. If the FBI isn’t already monitoring them, they damn well need to start doing so.
Hi David
It’s great to see you back. So sorry to hear about all your woes though. Please take care of yourself and don’t feel you need to rush into things until you’re fully recovered. I’m sure we can continue to sustain things here for a while until you’re fully on the mend.
@wwth
And there is a possibility that they’ll be treated as a terror group for that reason. I wish I could say a high likelihood, but no, I can’t.
Even ignoring the fool in the White House, the American security services are very reluctant to define domestic terror groups, and have been ever since the massive political backlash against the FBI over the Black Panthers (which was really over Hoover’s overreach, but eh – same result. No one wants to pin the tail on the domestic terrorist donkey).
Sorry for the diversion. These incel sods have me in a very bad mental place and I can’t handle them right now, so I’ve got to look at the edges.
RE:Washinton School Shooting Planning
Looks like Granny knew something was going on with her grandson and decided to do some SNOOPING in her grandson’s journal. Good for her, that she didn’t refuse to see all the subtle signs like EVERYONE ELSE did.
ImmmmHmmmm.
@Shadowplay
the American security services are very reluctant to define domestic terror groups
They’re only reluctant to define you as a terrorist if you’re a white Xian.
The Boston Marathon Bombers were white, American Muslims. Guess what THEY get called?
The story of the teacher who died protecting his students is heartbreaking.
Welcome back Dave. I wish we could have given you a nicer world to be in.
In terms of ethnicity this isn’t true. White people are actually underrepresented in the mass shooter statistics (54%) when compared to percentage of the population (73%). Source: https://www.statista.com/statistics/476456/mass-shootings-in-the-us-by-shooter-s-race/
*These kinds* of mass shootings, perhaps, but there’s no info on that.
However the overwhelming majority of mass shooters are male… https://www.statista.com/statistics/476445/mass-shootings-in-the-us-by-shooter-s-gender/
@Bryce
Please no, we really don’t need a “well actually” on white shooters.
@David, I really understand that struggle with depression, and why you didn’t want to talk about it here. Don’t feel bad about that! The trial of getting a medication that works is tough, and that’s when you’ve got capable diagnosis and care! I’m really glad you’re pulling through, and don’t you feel guilty about leaving things off for awhile. If you need more of a break you go ahead and take one!
apparently shooting random people to instill terror in the population out of a vague sense of retribution is only bad if you shout allahu akbar while doing it
David, YAY! Here’s hoping you continue to be on the mend.
Yes, bureaucracy and run around. For me lately, the legal and financial fields. Could you imagine if medical things or even 911 had one of these complex phone systems?
If you are having a stroke, press 1
If you have contracted ebola, press 2
If you are constipated, press 3
To speak to a representative please stay on the line….
All representatives are presently assisting other customers
The projected wait time is 10 years …..
(Cue “Smooth Jazz” or Classical music)
ARGH! And then, when you do talk to someone, OK yes, I think I’m having a stroke and am constipated, what should I do?
Phone rep: Those cancel each other out. Bye.
o0
Yes it IS this bad, in the financial arena it sure is. In fact, I do believe I was asked these questions. Do you have ebola? Um, I wanted to talk to a broker about a stock transfer ….
So, you’re saying that you DO have ebola?
I am pretty sure that in all the run around I’ve had, I DID have this exact conversation with someone.
Gah. You really do need to advocate for yourself, do your own research, and keep on top of it all.
Trying to stay positive here too. I think the flu I had is winding down, I feel better, I even took a little walk a short time ago, get some fresh air and a bit of exercise. More ??? Why is the mail just getting here at 6 pm?
Here’s a cute video I just stumbled upon, for Olympic fans….
Good to have you back David, I’m just sad it’s under such dire news.
Welcome back, David. Please take good care of yourself. As a spoonie, I can empathize with the incompetent doctors/nurses issue. I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with that.
As others have said: happy to see a post, if not for the horrific subject matter. This blog has a certain tone that (despite the occasional commentariat blow-up) helps ground me for some reason. A welcome feeling, particularly in today’s atmosphere of cultural gaslighting.
“Spoonie”?
Welcome back, David! I hope things get better now that you’re seeing someone who knows what they’re doing. I’m just sad that this is what brought you back.
There’s not a whole lot I can add, but I’m not really surprised that Parkland’s Some Asshole admired Isla Vista’s Some Asshole. I’m also not surprised that the Nazis are trying to say that Some Asshole’s not one of them while lionizing him at the same time. The cognitive dissonance must be something.
@ischemgeek
Not to be an asshole about it, but you kind of seem like you’re taking a page out of the conservative playbook in order to deflect because you made a mistake and felt embarrassed when it was pointed out to you. Maybe that’s not what you’re doing, but it is what you look like, and you might want to consider that.
There’s nothing disrespectful or inappropriate about not staying 100% on topic in a teeny tiny internet community thread about a tragedy, even if the tragedy was very recent.
David, it’s great to see you again – and horrible that this is the proximate why.
I thought it was a telling point made upthread about the huge difference in numbers of killings compared with Canada and Switzerland in terms of gun ownership and accessibility – in relation to the old chestnut “argument” that it’s not the guns, it’s the people; obviously it is, massively and by orders of magnitude, the easy access to guns – with cultural aspects playing a part in making it worse.
@Surplus to Requirements, I’m guessing Mels was referring to “spoon theory”?
@David, thank you for letting us know what’s been happening. That’s a horrible space you’ve been in. I was discussing metaphors for depression with a friend via Twitter recently: he likened his to an ongoing war, while I see mine as a dark stain on everything, even good things.
I’m really thankful that you seem to be winning your war and/or vanquishing that dark stain ?
The Editrix of Wonkette says it best: https://wonkette.com/629807/of-course-florida-school-shooter-was-a-girl-hating-white-supremacist-of-course-i-am-tired-of-writing-this-article
Emphasis mine, but I highlight that sentence because I’ve witnessed it firsthand on YouTube and social media. Especially on YouTube, where unscrupulous charlatans make their living off ad revenue or Patreon, there’s no incentive to stop escalating or dial it back. Hence the GamerGaters of yesteryear “just asking questions” about why everything has to be “multicultural” are now reciting neo-Nazi slogans and brandishing tiki torches and Kekistan flags.
And the thing that really gets me is I don’t know what can really break that programming. It’s one thing to literally hack into your dad’s email and unsubscribe him from right-wing newsletters like in The Brainwashing Of My Dad, but a tech-savvy shut-in won’t have someone to intervene or remind them of common decency and humanity. They’re not going to listen to us because we’re their beta-cuck feminoid enemies. All I can think is to support the work of Hope Not Hate or other organizations from former members of hate groups to offer another form of belonging. Because absent the NRA evaporating or a sudden outbreak of universal health care in the US, I don’t know what else can be done to reduce the frequency of these tragedies beyond just reminding people that we’re all human….
@ Katamount: Thanks for the kind words. Also, you bring up a good point: why are these young men so alienated in the first place? We need to address the root causes of their nihilism as well as working on gun control and similar measures. The old cliche is true: “Hurt people hurt people.”
@Surplus to Requirements & @opposablethumbs
Yep, spoon theory. “Spoonie(s)” is a term adopted by a lot of chronic illness communities to describe ourselves, because we’re always counting spoons.
For those unaware of spoon theory, it’s a framework devised to explain the experience of disability to abled people. Here’s a link.
Oh, poor sad sack Vman must be so down now that it’s clear that Cruz was somewhat handsome
He may have been an incel, however, as the thing that made him a shooter may also have caused people to avoid him.
That is, he may have been an incel due to his being a shooter, not a shooter due to being an incel