Toronto Van Attack: Alleged Killer Alek Minassian Was Apparently Upset About Women, Spoke Of ‘Incel’
New details are emerging about Alek Minassian, the man who allegedly drove a van into a Toronto crowd, killing 10 people and injuring 13. It appears that he may have been a sexually-frustrated individual who supported “Incel,” a community of men who express their frustrations at being “involuntarily celibate.”
As BBC News reports, Minassian’s last Facebook post, which was put up literally minutes before the deadly van attack, mentioned the Incel movement and mentioned by name one of its “heroes.”
“The Incel Rebellion has already begun! We will overthrow all the Chads and Stacys! All hail the Supreme Gentleman Elliot Rodger!”
Although Minassian’s Facebook account has been “disabled” – meaning that no one outside of Facebook’s employ can see it – the social media giant confirmed that the reported last words of Minassian are legitimate.
What Is Incel?
Incel was a community on Reddit where sexually frustrated men lamented being “involuntarily celibate,” Incel being a portmanteau of the two words. Although the community is long gone, BBC News reports that it was where sexually-frustrated men blamed women – all women worldwide – for their inability to connect with the opposite sex.
The group is obviously and patently misogynistic, according to The New York Times.
“Incels are misogynists who are deeply suspicious and disparaging of women, whom they blame for denying them their right to sexual intercourse.”
CBC News has confirmed Alek Minassian as the alleged driver in the Toronto van attack that killed nine people and injured 16 others https://t.co/8bYnzM2mZ9 pic.twitter.com/WNQeFqScAT
— CBC Toronto (@CBCToronto) April 23, 2018
Who Are These “Chads” And “Staceys”?
Like just about any subculture, Incel uses catchphrases and verbal shorthand. In this case, “Chads” refers to men who are not involuntarily celibate, while “Staceys” refers to women who refuse to have sex with men like those in the Incel community.
Who Is Elliot Rodger?
Back in 2014, when the Reddit Incel group was still a thing, Rodger was a regular poster. In May 2014, Rodger stabbed three of his roommates, then drove through the streets of Isla Vista, California, shooting at random. As BBC News reported at the time, his shooting rampage claimed three more innocent lives, before he turned his gun on himself.
Is There A Link Between Violent Misogyny And Terrorism?
In a word, yes. As The Guardian notes, many of the alleged killers behind the past few mass killings – such as Omar Mateen (Pulse Night Club) and Devin Patrick Kelley (Texas Church Shooting) – have had histories of domestic violence.
“Domestic abuse and violence against women is firmly rooted in the notion of control, and for incels a loss of control has been translated into the ideology of blame.”
Canadian Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale, for his part, is unwilling to call this crime a terrorist attack, at least not at this time, according to NDTV News.
