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CSUSB professor interviewed about ‘incel’ extremism and the April 23 Toronto attackLos Angeles TimesApril 26, 2018
In the continuing coverage of the April 23 Toronto attack that killed 10 people, the newspaper explored the possible link between the suspect and Elliot Rodger, who killed six people in a similar attack near UC Santa Barbara in 2014. Rodger has been has been canonized in the online world of so-called involuntary celibates, or 'incels' — a fringe group of sexually frustrated men who blame women for their misery and often advocate for violence against them, the newspaper reported.
'There is an angry subset of the online incel community which has its own amorphous folklore and grievances,' said Brian Levin, executive director for the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino.
'It is yet another example in this increasingly socially fragmented age that we're in, where personal animus and social withdrawal is catalyzed online into something more brazen, communal and potentially violent,' he said.
Minutes before the Toronto rampage, the suspect, Alek Minassian, a former military recruit, wrote a Facebook post referencing Rodger and so-called 'Chads' and 'Stacys' — derisive internet slang for men and women with more active sex lives.
Minassian wrote: 'Private (Recruit) Minassian Infantry 00010, wishing to speak to Sgt 4chan please. C23249161. The Incel Rebellion has already begun! We will overthrow all the Chads and Stacys! All hail the Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger!'
Read the complete article at “How Elliot Rodger went from misfit mass murderer to 'saint' for group of misogynists — and suspected Toronto killer.”
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