If the Joker movie incites violence, whose fault is it? Every Republican that tries to regulate a woman’s body. Every evangelical Christian that tries to force women into specific roles. Every anti-abortion activist that thinks they know better than any woman how to make decisions for her own body. Every right-wing pundit that attacks feminists. Why? Because they are the ones perpetuating this idea that women should be ruled by men – which is where this whole “incel” movement comes from.
Last week, the US Army sent out a memo warning people of possible violence in theaters during Joker screenings from incels – “involuntary celibates” – people who may identify with the Joker, who they see as a man who is rejected by women and society, and therefore becomes a violent murderer.
For a little background, here are a couple of articles:
Why Everyone Is Freaking Out About ‘Joker’
U.S. Military Issues Warning to Troops About Incel Violence at Joker Screenings
Incels are a group of men who are pissed off about women not having sex with them. They think sex is a right, and women should be forced to have sex with them – or at least be punished because they won’t.
Take a look at this longish article on Vox that outlines incel history, belief, and practice: Our Incel Problem
I hope people understand who is to blame for this kind of bullshit: right-wing pundits, conservative politicians, anti-abortion activists, and haters of feminism. This “incel” stuff comes out of a culture that denies women agency over their own bodies and life choices. “Incels” think that they should have a right to women’s bodies and are pissed off that women won’t have sex with them. At first it sounds absurd – until you really look at the messages and media that surrounds us. Our own politicians push policies that make women a second class citizen, stripping them of their rights, and preventing equality. That message is then perpetuated at the pulpit and reinforced by right wing talking heads – most of whom are white males that think they understand women’s bodies and should be able to legislate them.
When I go to protests and see signs like: “I wish my uterus shot bullets, so the government wouldn’t regulate it.” — it brings home, to me, how absurd the situation really is for women.
But there’s so much more – while some progressive Christians are egalitarian in their theology – so many fundamentalists don’t see women as equal. Such church doctrines explicitly advocate that men are meant to rule over women. And on top of that, by making abortion a matter of religion and morality, the people pushing this fundamentalism are suggesting that they know better how to make a woman’s personal decisions, denying the real-life situations that women face.
All of this creates a culture that doesn’t see women as equal and thinks that women should be controlled.
So, out come the incels – the logical consequence of this kind of thinking – men who think that having sex should be a right, and are ready to commit acts of violence when they are denied that right.
Not to mention the fact that gun manufacturers and the NRA have hard-ons to get assault weapons into the hands of every white male no matter how fucked up they are.
So yeah, we can lay all this violence down at the feet of Republicans, fundamentalist Christians, and 2nd Amendment activists. You’ve all got blood on your hands.
This is more insane than anything the Joker could dream up.