Climate Denial and the Crisis of Young Men

Critical discussion above on the crisis of young men in America.
What makes it relevant is Scott Galloway’s observation late in the video of the correlation between young men who are lost and climate denial.
Which then begs the connection to the Greta Thunberg’s dustup with Misogynist and misleader of young men Andrew Tate.

yes, please do enlighten me. email me at smalldickenergy@getalife.com https://t.co/V8geeVvEvg

— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) December 28, 2022

FYI Tate remains under house arrest in Romania, for alleged sex trafficking, and is suing his accusers.

Guardian:

There’s a direct association between machismo and the refusal to recognize and respond appropriately to the climate catastrophe. It’s a result of versions of masculinity in which selfishness and indifference – individualism taken to its extremes – are defining characteristics, and therefore caring and acting for the collective good is their antithesis.

“Men resist green behavior as unmanly” is the headline for a 2017 story on the phenomenon. Machismo and climate denial, as well as alliance with the fossil fuel industry, is a package deal for the right, from the “rolling coal” trucks whose plumes of dark smoke are meant as a sneer at climate causes to Republicans in the US who have long opposed nearly all climate action (and are major recipients of oil money).

Thunberg’s takedown clearly stung Tate, who 10 hours later tweeted out a pompous video in which he tried to reassert his masculinity and status by blathering on in a dressing gown, with a cigar and a pizza box as props. Not long after that, he and his brother Tristan Tate were arrested by Romanian authorities in connection with appalling allegations of sex trafficking. Tate is a troll and a creep; he’s also alleged to be a pimp and rapist. Tate denies all wrongdoing.

Business Insider July 5, 2014:

Pickup trucks customized to spew black smoke into the air are quickly becoming the newest weapon in the culture wars.

“Coal Rollers” are diesel trucks modified with chimneys and equipment that can force extra fuel into the engine causing dark black smoke to pour out of the chimney stacks. These modifications are not new, but as Slate’s Dave Weigel pointed out on Thursday, “rolling coal” has begun to take on a political dimension with pickup drivers increasingly viewing their smokestacks as a form of protest against environmentalists and Obama administration emissions regulations.

Back in the 80s there was something called “The Men’s Movement”, lead by poet Robert Bly – that had it’s excesses, and was roundly mocked, but did have their finger on a key point – we’ve lost something in the modern world that is critical for the development of young men.

Call it “initiation”, or Trial by Fire or whatever you want, a number of indigenous cultures have it, and it involves a process where young men have to undergo a challenge that is common to the tribe or culture, and come out of it being welcomed into the rights and responsibilities of being a full adult, warrior, or just a man.

In the absence of such norms, a lot of young men are trying to find their own way, and getting picked off by grifters like Josh Hawley, Alex Jones, Joe Rogan, or Andrew Tate.

Worth thinking and talking about – and for you men out there, if you know a young man in his teens, 20s, or even 30s, it’s important you consider reaching out and finding something about them to compliment, magnify, or openly admire. They need us right now.

As usual, Monty Python is hilariously relevant.

“Now, sex…”

MONTY PYTHON’S THE MEANING OF LIFE (1983)#JohnCleese #EricIdle #GrahamChapman #TerryJones pic.twitter.com/20kpmWd8Od

— Michael Warburton (@MichaelWarbur17) July 14, 2023