The Civic Cost of Male Loneliness w/ socialdynamicsnerd

One month after the deadly Côte-des-Neiges shooting, some questions remain about the “ideology” that allegedly motivated the attack. Initially, it was reported that the shooter was tied to far-left tendencies, that he was even enacting some anti-zionist terror. But those were quickly debunked. A screed linked to the shooter has set some of those speculations aside. What’s known is that the shooter, a 25-year-old man, left Lethbridge, Alberta, to drive to Montreal to kill the CEO of PornHub. The text, while verbose, is best described by writer Nora Loreto as “a dog’s breakfast” of a mixed and incoherent ideology. Central to the text are threads about male loneliness. This tragedy has reignited conversations about incel culture, misogyny and the growing number of violent attacks connected to online communities built around resentment and isolation.In this episode, Kalden is joined by Spencer, better known online as Social Dynamics Nerd. Spencer is a Montrealer familiar with male loneliness. She’s worked at Real Social Dynamics, self-marketed as the world’s largest pickup artist company in the 2010s. Many who were online back then might recall the momentum that the manosphere was gaining. That is the umbrella term given to the subculture of online pickup artists, men’s rights activists, and, central to this story, incels. Spencer doesn’t work for Real Social Dynamics anymore. Even her handle is a remnant of that time. She still gives some advice to men who wander the social wilderness. Spencer is careful not to call it life coaching when asked about titles we might assign her for the conversation. “Special interest” is the term Spencer uses, but for the sake of this episode and my editor’s peace of mind, let’s call Spencer a social connection specialist.Spencer joins Local 514 to unpack the death of social connection at the center of the shooter’s long-winded essay. It should go without saying that the male dimension of loneliness and isolation begets public violence like no other. Spencer and Kalden recall Elliot Roger, Polytechnique, and the 2018 Toronto van attack. The question at the heart of this conversation is: If loneliness and isolation can produce such events of public mass violence, what responsibilities do we hold in our communities and civic institutions to address loneliness and isolation?If you liked the episode make sure to follow Spencer on social media:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/socialdynamicsnerd/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@socialdynamicsnerd