Incels | ContraPoints
Why Hacker News recommends it
Recommended as an empathetic, non-judgmental analysis of incel radicalization and how to counter it.
What it is
ContraPoints' 35-minute video essay on incels, examining the community, its worldview and how people get radicalized. It is delivered with theatrical style and an empathetic tone.
Recommended by 7 HN commenters across 7 different months, 2018 to 2024.
What Hacker News said
Strong rec sascha_sl · 2018-10 · on “The Internet Will Be the Death of Us”
There's a bit more to it than you might think, and not in a good way. Here's an excellent video essay on it: [this video]
Strong rec dijit · 2021-08 · on “Almost all of the top subreddits are moderated by the same people”
Radicalisation is actually very interesting and I (ashamedly) nearly succumbed to the same thing myself. There's a really good youtuber called "Contrapoints" that attempts to deconstruct with low judgement the kind of environment an Incel lives in and what the worldview is. Empathy is always at the root of deradicalisation, so I always plug her videos when I can. [this video] [LINK]
Strong rec JieJie · 2024-01 · on “Incels need more mental health help, have "fundamental thinking errors"”
Natalie Wynn's video^0 on incels always struck me as uniquely useful, not just for exploring their genesis and radicalization, but in generating empathy for those who suffer from it. 0: [this video]
Recommends hjek · 2018-10 · on “Ask HN: Is Reddit censorship healthy?”
It looks like Reddit hasn't censored TRP, just put up a warning. Reddit appears to be free software[0], so you can host your own if you're not OK with that. Haven't read what's on TRP, but if you'd like to listen to informed critique and considerations of it, I'd warmly recommend watching ContraPoints[1]. [0]: [LINK] [1]: [this video]
Recommends namlem · 2018-12 · on “Tumblr will ban all adult content on December 17th”
Boys instead fall into other toxic communities, like incels. The youtuber ContraPoints made a great video about such communities: [this video]
Recommends voltagex_ · 2019-05 · on “For many young South Koreans, dating is too expensive, or too dangerous”
The "incel" population also manage to be a self fulfilling prophecy. It's a little dramatic, but [this video] explains it well.
Recommends AlexandrB · 2020-02 · on “The Age of Instagram Face”
> You can't have a happy society where the top 5% of beautiful men are paying people to schedule their calendar of tinder lays while other guys buy thot bathwater, or where the top 5% of women get all the attention and the rest wonder where their prince charming is who's been denied them from all this as they sadly pass 30 alone. This is so reductive of human relationships. You’re basing your entire worldview on what happens on Tinder and Instagram. That’s not the world, not even close. Basically, I suggest that you watch this: [this video]
Recommends AlexandrB · 2022-10 · on “Fake Men on Hinge”
Ironically, this video focusing on "incels" has a pretty good understanding of the male online dating experience (starting around 17:00): [this video] I agree that the various "red pill" subcultures have done a terrific job of sucking the air out of the room RE conversations about men's dating experience. It's a hard conversation to have with any amount of nuance in 2022.