I think the reason figures like Tate are able to garner the notoriety they do is precisely due to their characteropathy. One of the traits that comes with e.g. sociopathy is a lack of concern with what others think of you. The peculiar conditions created by a social order smothered by nonsensical and contradictory formal and informal rules, and suffused with obvious and absurd untruths, mean that those who dislike this state of affairs are primed to applaud any who speak against them. Normal people viscerally experience the social pressure to conform, at least publicly; sociopaths have no such emotional response. Thus a cheap e-pimp like Tate can present himself as a warrior against untruth, or whatever, and the less discerning will fall for the act.
As an aside, I'm extremely skeptical that he's as wealthy as he claims. It's much easier to project the image of success than to actually achieve it, and for someone like Tate the superficial image is all that really matters.
Nailed it. The age-old dream of the pathological scumbag to be free - free from anything decent, from morality, from normal man's society. Others begin to envy him because he seems to be free of fear, self-doubt etc. and get infected with the pathological mind. Like in the vampire archetype, normal people can become predators too once "bitten".
BTW, I'm always sceptical when people get widely succesful and popular but without any sign of a struggle, an inner hero's journey, without caring what others think.
One of the most amazing things about "successful" psychopaths is how shrewd they can be.
Under such conditions, we must be constantly vigilant about being played.
They take all our most favorite concepts and memes and use them to mock us.
We must realize how desperate and close to the edge they really are. We really need to learn to stop supporting them as soon as we spot them.
I had never known about this guy Tate before he came up in the news. His history of being involved in pornography should have been enough of a warning for anyone. Sane people don't do stuff like that. It calls into question the sanity and moral compass of all who continue to support him.
"I’ve talked a lot about the blindness to pathology on the “left” (it’s practically a doctrine—actually, it’s the explicit basis of queer theory)"
I admit I am mystified by the support for Tate. It was obvious to me the first time I encountered his story, which was shortly after he was arrested, that he is a sexual predator, pretty much exactly like the owners of the matrix except out loud and explicit, not at all a rebel but just another of our pathological elite preying upon us.
But I find myself drawn to this quote and wondering if you have written about this directly?
Speaking as a life-long bachelor (on the autism spectrum - Asperger's), I can say that I never found the Pick Up Artist scene attractive at all. Ever.
In the early days of PUA, I remember thinking to myself, that these PUA types would end up one of three ways. They would either go psychotic, commit suicide, or find God. Roosh Valizadeh has chosen the last of the three, as (apparently) has Milo Yiannopolis. Another one, Tom Torero, chose the second option.
Like Roosh, I am an Orthodox Christian. Unlike Roosh, I was never attracted to exploitative behaviors. All I ever wanted is what most people want - a stable family life. I never achieved that, and (at my age) probably never will. However, I have remained chaste, and my church parish is my spiritual family.
Even in this toxic culture, there are sane paths forward, even if they are not optimal.
Great piece. One of the more amusing Tate podcast appearances recently went something like this... "I'm a God fearing man. I'm a religious man, a Christian, because I understand the Matrix doesn't want religion around anymore." Two minutes later: "This idiot from Nebraska fell in love with a Romanian cam girl and we took that guy for a hundred grand in two months. The bitch was crying in emails for months. So after ghosting him, she pretended to apologize and said she wanted to marry him and then we took him for another hundred grand. F that guy!" Right along with the gospels. John 3:23 F-that guy and take him for all he's got.
Tate seems to attract followers for the same reason (some) people idolize Tony Montana from Scarface (though Montana at least had some moral bounds he would not cross, whereas Tate may have none). People, especially young and immature males with low status, look at a depiction of a guy who thumbs his nose at all the cultural norms they themselves are unable to navigate or overcome, and they vicariously experience a sense of power through seeing him live out their fantasies of taking no shit but instead being the onw shitting on everyone else. That only works if a very few people do it. Definitely not a sustainable model for a majority of people (or even a large minority of people) to live their lives by.
Thanks. A long time ago I was a driver for a bunch of whores (their preferred word) so I got to know a few pimps. One was a decent fella, the rest were absolute scum of the kind I didn’t even think possible. They looked and sounded exactly like Tate, just in kraut.
Having to read conservatives over the last few days somehow turning this creature into the embodiment of manliness is revolting. There was nothing mainly about those Luden either, although they were pretty fast.
What is the nature of the matrix is perhaps the question at the root of all philosophical speculations?
At a profound depth-level it is the Zero Point God Matrix Field in and from which everything spontaneously arises.
At another level it is the deeply psychotic collective hive-mind which now patterns and controls every minute fraction of human culture, from which there is no escape. That collective psychosis has been amplified by hugely enormous degrees by the now everywhere phenomenon of social media.
At a more primary level humankind is not all that much different to an ant or bee colony.
In essence, human society is no different from a beehive or ant colony. I a beehive, the queen simply pumps out eggs. And the other bees are "designed" in the grid-pattern of that particular species, to have their particular functions. Each type of bee has its own genetic and chemical triggers, as a result of which it acquires a certain appearance and functions in a certain manner. every bee unconsciously fulfills its pre-patterned role, including its participation in the necessary procedures of replication - and every bee eventually becomes obsolete, post-replication, in a pre-determined period of however many days or weeks.
Human society functions in exactly the same manner. There is a necessary biological replication-process, by which replacement organisms are made. And also a process of replicating states of mind and states of emotion, and then the temporary link becomes obsolete and drops dead. What we always cling to in or mortal fear as "me" is eventually shed, without a moments hesitation - like excrement.
From the point-of-view of the universe, the you or me that is the body-mind-complex is nothing but a temporary miniscule event.
Sep 15, 2023·edited Sep 15, 2023Liked by Harrison Koehli
I think it's interesting when cluster B solipsism collides with modern technology. Tate will make a video seeming to encourage and motivate incels, then he'll make a video about how incels are losers and he loves cheating them out of their money, and then he'll make another video for them. Anyone searching for "Andrew Tate" can find both streams of content.
I remember a clip from the late-00s of Glenn Beck professing his compassion for the 9/11 victims' families, at which point he wiped a non-existent tear from his cheek. This was a few years after he remarked ON THE AIR how soon after 9/11 he'd come to hate the victims' families!
Over the next few years, he practiced his fake crying on-air—a video emerged of him rubbing Vick's in his eyes right before he went on camera. He then posed for the cover of some magazine, sobbing in apparent agonized grief—an attempt at self-effacing humor.
Or Shawn King, who claims to be black but isn't, and when photos came out of him as a child with red hair, and when his white parents came out and confirmed their race, he claimed he has reason to believe his mother had an affair with a light-skinned black man. And when his mother responded that no such thing ever happened, he just announced that he's addressed the issue and is moving forward. He then went on to introduce Bernie Sanders' candidacy announcement in 2019!
King once tweeted that the white man clings to his guns because he sees them as an extension of his manhood. When someone replied with Shawn's own tweet from years earlier, stating that he loves holding a gun because he feels it's an extension of his manhood, he just deleted the tweet and "moved forward" yet again.
I think most people have some difficulty conceptualizing social dynamics on the Internet. If they post something, and no one replies, they don't know for sure if anyone saw it, or who saw what. The audience is not immediate or physically present, so it's hard to know how they receive you—and those lacking cognitive empathy will just say or do whatever, seemingly unaware of their "permanent record." And yet, it doesn't even matter! Because all three people I mentioned are active and successful!
In my opinion, Tate is a degenerate and I’ve seen enough horrific videos of what he’s done to justify saying that.
They did go after him for challenging the narrative. The things Tate is accused of doing land you a top tier government job, immune from prosecution if you’re on the “correct side”.
Tate is riding the train started by Jordan Peterson.
Peterson is also a phony. After his softball bj interview with Bibi, he was upset at the negative comments and was against online anonymity. Good job, freedom loving guy!
Mind you he was also saying "take the damned shot" before his awakening.
You would think a guy who is so pro freedom wouldn't have said that.
It's a lot of this crap these days... People saying one thing but doing another...
Don't get me started on Putin, who pretended to be against mandates but allowed them.
And the bill he signed right before the holidays (always shady bills done in that time) makes it cool to have a public private run electronic ID system. I'm done with "heroes".
I think the reason figures like Tate are able to garner the notoriety they do is precisely due to their characteropathy. One of the traits that comes with e.g. sociopathy is a lack of concern with what others think of you. The peculiar conditions created by a social order smothered by nonsensical and contradictory formal and informal rules, and suffused with obvious and absurd untruths, mean that those who dislike this state of affairs are primed to applaud any who speak against them. Normal people viscerally experience the social pressure to conform, at least publicly; sociopaths have no such emotional response. Thus a cheap e-pimp like Tate can present himself as a warrior against untruth, or whatever, and the less discerning will fall for the act.
As an aside, I'm extremely skeptical that he's as wealthy as he claims. It's much easier to project the image of success than to actually achieve it, and for someone like Tate the superficial image is all that really matters.
Nailed it. The age-old dream of the pathological scumbag to be free - free from anything decent, from morality, from normal man's society. Others begin to envy him because he seems to be free of fear, self-doubt etc. and get infected with the pathological mind. Like in the vampire archetype, normal people can become predators too once "bitten".
BTW, I'm always sceptical when people get widely succesful and popular but without any sign of a struggle, an inner hero's journey, without caring what others think.
Psychopaths everywhere we turn. They are like cockroaches. La Cucaracha Prison Planet on Steroids.
One of the most amazing things about "successful" psychopaths is how shrewd they can be.
Under such conditions, we must be constantly vigilant about being played.
They take all our most favorite concepts and memes and use them to mock us.
We must realize how desperate and close to the edge they really are. We really need to learn to stop supporting them as soon as we spot them.
I had never known about this guy Tate before he came up in the news. His history of being involved in pornography should have been enough of a warning for anyone. Sane people don't do stuff like that. It calls into question the sanity and moral compass of all who continue to support him.
This is a highly definitive take in a conveniently sized package, thanks Harrison!
"I’ve talked a lot about the blindness to pathology on the “left” (it’s practically a doctrine—actually, it’s the explicit basis of queer theory)"
I admit I am mystified by the support for Tate. It was obvious to me the first time I encountered his story, which was shortly after he was arrested, that he is a sexual predator, pretty much exactly like the owners of the matrix except out loud and explicit, not at all a rebel but just another of our pathological elite preying upon us.
But I find myself drawn to this quote and wondering if you have written about this directly?
Speaking as a life-long bachelor (on the autism spectrum - Asperger's), I can say that I never found the Pick Up Artist scene attractive at all. Ever.
In the early days of PUA, I remember thinking to myself, that these PUA types would end up one of three ways. They would either go psychotic, commit suicide, or find God. Roosh Valizadeh has chosen the last of the three, as (apparently) has Milo Yiannopolis. Another one, Tom Torero, chose the second option.
Like Roosh, I am an Orthodox Christian. Unlike Roosh, I was never attracted to exploitative behaviors. All I ever wanted is what most people want - a stable family life. I never achieved that, and (at my age) probably never will. However, I have remained chaste, and my church parish is my spiritual family.
Even in this toxic culture, there are sane paths forward, even if they are not optimal.
Great piece. One of the more amusing Tate podcast appearances recently went something like this... "I'm a God fearing man. I'm a religious man, a Christian, because I understand the Matrix doesn't want religion around anymore." Two minutes later: "This idiot from Nebraska fell in love with a Romanian cam girl and we took that guy for a hundred grand in two months. The bitch was crying in emails for months. So after ghosting him, she pretended to apologize and said she wanted to marry him and then we took him for another hundred grand. F that guy!" Right along with the gospels. John 3:23 F-that guy and take him for all he's got.
Tate seems to attract followers for the same reason (some) people idolize Tony Montana from Scarface (though Montana at least had some moral bounds he would not cross, whereas Tate may have none). People, especially young and immature males with low status, look at a depiction of a guy who thumbs his nose at all the cultural norms they themselves are unable to navigate or overcome, and they vicariously experience a sense of power through seeing him live out their fantasies of taking no shit but instead being the onw shitting on everyone else. That only works if a very few people do it. Definitely not a sustainable model for a majority of people (or even a large minority of people) to live their lives by.
Thanks. A long time ago I was a driver for a bunch of whores (their preferred word) so I got to know a few pimps. One was a decent fella, the rest were absolute scum of the kind I didn’t even think possible. They looked and sounded exactly like Tate, just in kraut.
Having to read conservatives over the last few days somehow turning this creature into the embodiment of manliness is revolting. There was nothing mainly about those Luden either, although they were pretty fast.
What is the nature of the matrix is perhaps the question at the root of all philosophical speculations?
At a profound depth-level it is the Zero Point God Matrix Field in and from which everything spontaneously arises.
At another level it is the deeply psychotic collective hive-mind which now patterns and controls every minute fraction of human culture, from which there is no escape. That collective psychosis has been amplified by hugely enormous degrees by the now everywhere phenomenon of social media.
At a more primary level humankind is not all that much different to an ant or bee colony.
In essence, human society is no different from a beehive or ant colony. I a beehive, the queen simply pumps out eggs. And the other bees are "designed" in the grid-pattern of that particular species, to have their particular functions. Each type of bee has its own genetic and chemical triggers, as a result of which it acquires a certain appearance and functions in a certain manner. every bee unconsciously fulfills its pre-patterned role, including its participation in the necessary procedures of replication - and every bee eventually becomes obsolete, post-replication, in a pre-determined period of however many days or weeks.
Human society functions in exactly the same manner. There is a necessary biological replication-process, by which replacement organisms are made. And also a process of replicating states of mind and states of emotion, and then the temporary link becomes obsolete and drops dead. What we always cling to in or mortal fear as "me" is eventually shed, without a moments hesitation - like excrement.
From the point-of-view of the universe, the you or me that is the body-mind-complex is nothing but a temporary miniscule event.
I think it's interesting when cluster B solipsism collides with modern technology. Tate will make a video seeming to encourage and motivate incels, then he'll make a video about how incels are losers and he loves cheating them out of their money, and then he'll make another video for them. Anyone searching for "Andrew Tate" can find both streams of content.
I remember a clip from the late-00s of Glenn Beck professing his compassion for the 9/11 victims' families, at which point he wiped a non-existent tear from his cheek. This was a few years after he remarked ON THE AIR how soon after 9/11 he'd come to hate the victims' families!
Over the next few years, he practiced his fake crying on-air—a video emerged of him rubbing Vick's in his eyes right before he went on camera. He then posed for the cover of some magazine, sobbing in apparent agonized grief—an attempt at self-effacing humor.
Or Shawn King, who claims to be black but isn't, and when photos came out of him as a child with red hair, and when his white parents came out and confirmed their race, he claimed he has reason to believe his mother had an affair with a light-skinned black man. And when his mother responded that no such thing ever happened, he just announced that he's addressed the issue and is moving forward. He then went on to introduce Bernie Sanders' candidacy announcement in 2019!
King once tweeted that the white man clings to his guns because he sees them as an extension of his manhood. When someone replied with Shawn's own tweet from years earlier, stating that he loves holding a gun because he feels it's an extension of his manhood, he just deleted the tweet and "moved forward" yet again.
I think most people have some difficulty conceptualizing social dynamics on the Internet. If they post something, and no one replies, they don't know for sure if anyone saw it, or who saw what. The audience is not immediate or physically present, so it's hard to know how they receive you—and those lacking cognitive empathy will just say or do whatever, seemingly unaware of their "permanent record." And yet, it doesn't even matter! Because all three people I mentioned are active and successful!
Both sides are right.
In my opinion, Tate is a degenerate and I’ve seen enough horrific videos of what he’s done to justify saying that.
They did go after him for challenging the narrative. The things Tate is accused of doing land you a top tier government job, immune from prosecution if you’re on the “correct side”.
Tate is riding the train started by Jordan Peterson.
Peterson is also a phony. After his softball bj interview with Bibi, he was upset at the negative comments and was against online anonymity. Good job, freedom loving guy!
Mind you he was also saying "take the damned shot" before his awakening.
You would think a guy who is so pro freedom wouldn't have said that.
It's a lot of this crap these days... People saying one thing but doing another...
Don't get me started on Putin, who pretended to be against mandates but allowed them.
And the bill he signed right before the holidays (always shady bills done in that time) makes it cool to have a public private run electronic ID system. I'm done with "heroes".