(contains weak, dated but offensive slurs against my masculinity, but also funny)
I recently posted an update on Threads, it was posted in haste and possibly not well thought through, but I think it was worth mentioning what had inspired me to write it.
Briefly, I went shopping, next to where I parked there was an expensive Italian car with it’s engine running. I only noticed because of the loud exhaust system the car had as part of its ‘nota di scarico sportiva e maschile.’ (Italian for butch exhaust noise)
A single and fairly depressed looking man was sitting in the car, and just for clarity, it’s ‘summer’ in the UK, so mild weather. Definitely not hot or cold, so no need for a heater or air con.
Anyway, whatever, people do weird things. I went shopping and when I got back to my car maybe 20 minutes later the engine of this expensive Maserati was still burbling away.
As I walked past the very masculine Maserati pushing my oppressed beta male shopping trolley, I was of course engulfed in a cloud of toxic, carcinogenic exhaust gas as a result of burning single use fossil fuel.
Just before I left the scene I discreetly took a picture of this old clunker, carefully blotting out the face of the occupant and posted it on Threads with the following.
Most posts I put on Threads get maybe 40 likes, maybe 2 comments and 1 repost. Threads is much quieter than the old twitters and up to now, far more benign. But as you can see from the screenshot above, this post triggered a little more interest.
The majority of early comments were supportive, positive and expressed similar bafflement, with various observations about the emotional issues the driver might be dealing with.
But for the first time on Threads, I was the recipient of many very toxic and hostile comments from men, not in the first 3 or 4 hours after posting, but in the last 24.
I would guess I’ve now blocked about 100 of them, just the ones who use threats or the more vile language, the rest I just mute because they’re using cut and paste arguments and slurs that are plain and simple boring.
But the point is, fool that I am, I had no idea these very sad individuals were on Threads. I was under constant flood of ‘cuck - libtard - eco fascist - sissy boy - lefty’ insults on Twotter and believe me, those are the repeatable ones.
As many of us know, after the Musk buyout, overnight twitter went from an interesting and challenging format for conversation and connection to a writhing vat of steaming hate. All the accounts that posted hate fuelled insults of direct threats on twitter had blue ticks and 3 or 4 followers. (ie they joyfully paid for the ticks and the ability to post torrents of hostility)
So back to Threads, (which is of course also owned by another barking mad, billionaire weirdo) but I think I should accept my mistake here. Hands up, I think it was possibly wrong to post the picture, because I think it’s the actual car that sparked a lot of the very insecure chaps.
If I’d just written, “Just seen stationary with man inside on mild summer day with engine running for 30 minutes. Why would anyone do this?” I don’t think it would have had the same triggering impact for these poor crushed men.
A car like the specific one in the picture, an expensive car with, in combustion terms, a ‘powerful’ engine, possibly represents some kind of masculine bulwark. I think admiring such a machine is seen by the gang as an angry rebuttal against all the annoying feminists, gays, immigrants, and whoever else is on the hate list. The people who the fantasy narrative suggest are ‘taking over’ and forcing beleaguered white men to conform to a vicious ‘woke’ agenda.
But wait for it, the best is yet to come. Because I dared to be critical of silly car with a combustion engine I’m a “cuck who would let my wife peg me while I cook tofu.”
Now, fair do’s, that is funny.
Yes, hugely offensive, immature, puerile and pathetic but it made me laugh. This particular brand of venom definitely comes from young male Andrew Tate followers. From the language used, I’m guessing mostly American immature virgin boys who fervently believe it’s a basic human right to pump toxic gas out of an engine for everyone else to breath, especially if it upsets the woke weak men who ride bikes and do cooking and don’t want to oppress women or minorities.
Misogyny and homophobia have, I fear, found a new home amongst many angry young men in the west. I understand why some violent thug like Tate might be attractive to them, I understand being told by a woman that you’re a sexist prick can be very tiresome. It’s nothing new, similar sentiments were swirling around when I was a young man. About 80% of men my age thought all feminists were lesbians and their hostility was angry and dangerous.
So, this is nothing new to me, it’s all very tired and boring. Insecure men are primarily dull, and then dangerous. I want no contact with them, so I have removed the offending update.
I’m not going to censor myself, I will continue to be critical of the status quo, both in terms of the fossil fuel industry and frail masculinity, but I’m going to leave sleeping hate screamers lie, I know I have nothing to learn from their bile.
It was odd behaviour, and to me shows that some ICE drivers just don't give a sh*t about leaving their engine running for that long. It's unnecessary pollution, and those who feel their masculinity threatened entirely missed the point of the post, but that's social media for you. I'm glad that I have no need to engage with it.
It’s one of my pet hates too. Hate it when people leave their engines running for no point what’s so ever.