Air Force instructors have been warning troops about the growing threat of radicalized “incels” — aka guys who can’t find women to sleep with them, a report says.
Airmen stationed at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland were recently briefed on the “involuntary celibates,” with documents cautioning them about an “increase in nationwide activity,” according to the military website Task & Purpose.
A number of shootings and mass casualty events have been linked to the incel movement in recent years — including the 2014 Isla Vista massacre in California, last year’s Toronto van attack and this month’s Dallas shooting.
Alek Minassian, the man charged in the Toronto killings, had pledged allegiance to the “Incel Rebellion” before mowing down his 10 victims, according to prosecutors.
The “Beta [Male] Uprising” — as some have dubbed it — was described in the Air Force briefing documents with colorful illustrations, which referenced a popular incel internet meme known as “Becky vs. Stacy,” which is a play on the “Virgin Walk” and “Virgin vs. Chad” memes that have been used to target involuntary celibates.
Incels believe “they are owed attention from ‘Beckys’,” the Air Force documents read, noting how the individuals judge women on their physical features, alone.
“Most Incels believe only men can be Incels as women could engage in sexual activity if they wanted to,” the docs say.
An airmen took a screenshot of the briefing papers and reportedly posted them on Facebook Tuesday. Military officials wound up confirming their existence in an email to Task & Purpose.
“The screenshot was taken from a Joint Base Andrews Intel brief created following basic threat analysis on an increase in nationwide activity by the group,” said 11th Wing spokesman Aletha Frost. “The intent of the brief was to educate the Joint Base Andrews commanders on the behaviors and activities attributed to the group to safeguard our Airmen/installation.”
Several of the suspects charged in connection to the incel killings and shootings were in the military at the time of the incidents or sometime in the past.
Former Army second lieutenant and involuntary celibate Scott Bierle made headlines last November when he shot and killed two women at a yoga studio in Tallahassee, Florida.
A Washington Post investigation report described him as “an avowed hater of women” who “repeatedly grabbed women in real life and fantasized about raping and killing them in the horrific collection of lyrics, poetry and novels he began writing as a teenager.”
“His interactions with the opposite sex had gotten him fired from teaching jobs, booted from the Army and hauled before the principal of his high school,” the report said.
According to Task & Purpose, the screenshot showing the Air Force’s briefing papers was posted just one day after Dallas shooting suspect Brian Isaac Clyde’s attempted attack outside a federal building. The former Army infantryman had frequently posted memes related to the incel movement in the past — including one referencing a “virgin shooting” vs. “Chad rampage” scenario.
It’s ultimately unclear when the Air Force briefing went down, or whether other branches have been warning their troops as well.
With Post wires