Four Books For Trying to Understand These Killers

I’ve read these four books in the last few years, and they’ve shaped how I see mass shooters, or the lone wolf that killed Charlie Kirk (and Trump). Instead of immediately asking, “Are they Antifa or far-right and politically motivated?” I now wonder, “What dangerous, fringe internet community gave them meaning, and who are they performing for?”

Most of these shooters aren’t truly politically motivated. They’re suicidal because they’re lost: deeply catechized by violent video games and porn, their only relationships are with other boys in crisis, and they see little hope of change. So they decide to leave a mark on the world, a mark we see as sick, violent, and disturbing, but one that feels logical to them because of the media they consume and the permission structures of the online world they inhabit.

1. Why Young Men: Rage, Race and the Crisis of Identity by Jamil Jivani - It is a book on why young men across cultures, countries, religions, political ideologies turn to violence.

2. Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male Is Struggling, Why It Matters, and What to Do by Richard V. Reeves - It is a sociological dive into the crisis of boys happening now

3. Kill All Normies: Online Culture Wars from 4chan and Tumblr to Trump and the Alt-Right by Angela Nagle - Don't let the title fool you, it is less about politics and more about the incentive structure of gaining popularity online to feel significance when your real life isn't going well, and how that produces transgressive behavior... and violence.

4. Men Without Work: America's Invisible Crisis by Nicholas Eberstadt - One in six men don't have a job. This produces a myriad of problems for them personally and society as a whole.

Wow. Four books? That’s a lot! You’ll feel less anxious if you step away from toxic online spaces with perverse incentive structures designed to keep your attention locked on death, sex, and drama, and spend that time reading instead. Two superpowers will help inoculate you against propaganda: reading and building a diverse network of real-life friendships. This will help you feel in control when reading the news and scrolling social media.