Thread by @gwensnyderPHL

Dirtbags have no concept of what a struggle it was almost exactly a year ago making clear that the Dayton shooter was motivated by misogyny, not antifascism.

They don't understand what it's going to mean when an incel they've welcomed in snaps and kills people.

Ultimately, antifascists were able to make that case because we are explicitly anti-incel and committed to fighting misogyny.

The dirtbag "left" isn't going to be able to offer that defense, because they're openly misogynist and now overtly welcoming of unrepentant incels.

The longer they tolerate incels and embrace post-Bernie blackpill nihilsm, the more likely it becomes that one of those incels is going to do what incels openly talk about doing: killing the people they blame for their misery.

Will they have handed that incel a gun?

No.

Will it matter?

Also, no.

They aren't going to be able to say "well that guy hates women, we're militantly opposed to misogyny," the way antifascists did.

Because they very clearly hate women.

When that happens, it's not going to be just the dirtbag "left" and class reductionists who suffer.

It is going to be the pretext Barr is hungry for, the last puzzle piece he needs to criminalize leftists as a whole and categories us as terrorists.

The dirtbag "left" will be responsible.

Most of them will also just be able to wash their hands and walk away.

It's going to be those of us who have taken risks for the left and dedicated our lives to the left who are going to be targeted first.

Not the podcasters.

Us.

The dirtbags are leaning into white male victimhood, "ironically" nihilist black pill-type memes, misogyny, overt violence, and welcoming incels and paranoid conspiracy theorists into the fold.

If this keeps up, it's only a matter of time.

TrueAnon is busy "joking" about how one of its hosts self-admittedly commited war crimes while on a selfie safari in Syria.

Chapo fans spent the better part of the day flat-out defending Nazi memes in my mentions.

They are enabling alienated young white men's worst tendencies.

Those of us who monitored 8chan and carefully watched the rise of terror Telegram in 2019 see the patterns.

It's not a matter of controversy anymore.

I am heartsick watching that history begin to repeat itself less than a year later.

It's just memserizingly bizarre seeing the folks at the center of this mess smugly resist even considering the possibility that they don't actually know everything.

It's like watching a car crash in slow motion, saying so, and having a bunch of people yelling at you that cars don't even exist, cars are just memes, lol.

Absolutely surreal.

At this point, I'm not sure what more I can do.

I've said my piece.

It's never fun being Cassandra.

I really, really hope people within the left wake up to the reality of this toxicity and danger, before it's too late.

I really hope people within the left find some humility and courage and actually use their voices before this possibility becomes an inevitability.

I'll amplify and support people doing that work, but at this point, I'm done spearheading it.

When dirtbags are responding to a thread documenting the origins of a Nazi memes with literally the meme it warns about, it doesn't really feel like I'm needed to out them as willingly laundering fascist culture into the left anymore.

They're literally doing it to show off.

When I warn that a podcast host has bragged and joked about committing war crimes, their fans say "lol corpse desecretion is the jaywalking of war crime," and the podcast itself makes jokes about it to an audience of 40,000, it's sort of a "that's all they wrote" moment.

When I point out that TrueAnon is telling people to murder Jews, they double down and tweet about wanting to "punish the freaks" who criticized Corbyn for tolerating antisemitism.

When I pointed out that Chapo Trap House had almost entirely avoided talking about BLM protest, they doubled down by inviting Taibbi on and gabbing about how cops are working class heroes.

TrueAnon associates with child rape legalization advocates.

Aimee Terese tweets literal Nazi memes.

Their fans mock tear gas miscarriages and practice rape denialism.

This isn't leftism.

It's sensationalist reactionary grift, it's a direct outgrowth of Gamergate, and its post-Bernie nihlism is disturbingly reminiscent of the post-Unite the Right nihlism that welcomed incels to the alt-right and evolved into online Nazi terror community.

I can't take the abuse any more, and frankly there's no point in continuing to offer myself up as a punching bag to tens of thousands of misogynists when most other leftists don't have the courage or strength to name what is going on and address it.

I suspect that I have a lot of "I told you so" moments coming down the road in the next six months, and I am not looking forward to them.

The left is supposed to play the role of conscience to the political mainstream, and it's heartbreaking to see it rotting from the inside.

Again, I'll be here to support and supplement folks when and if they find the courage to meaningfully address the rot.

It's beyond disappointing to see us collectively just shrug and say, I guess this is us now.

I hope we find the wherewithal to be better.

I'm done wasting my time trying to lead the horse to water, though.

There's no point in drowning myself trying to set a good example if it's deadset against taking a drink.

So, if you're doing this work, I'm here and I'll support you and chime in.

I'm not going away, and I hope you manage to make people listen in a way I couldn't.

And if you do, I'll climb on for the ride.

I'll keep praying for the podcasters to find a little humility and a little decency, that somehow they have the come-to-Jesus they need before it's too late.

I'm not optimistic, but I'll keep that candle lit anyway.

Good night, all.

Thank you everyone who fought the good fight with me on this.

I do believe we a difference, I do think we'll realize later that we had a bigger impact than we thought.

I'm sure white dudes will get the credit when the change finally comes.

We'll know, though.

Solidarity, comrades.

Keep walking that walk.

The end.