What has happened to The Red Pill over the last 2 years?

Readership: All
Theme: Problems with The Red Pill
Length: 1,250 words
Reading Time: 7 minutes

Introduction

Here begins our inquiry into the problems with The Red Pill.

The Manosphere has always been regarded as a dark, alternative sub-culture comprised of less-than-honorable men, and not without reason.  Profane topics are discussed in eye-watering detail and with philandering bluster.  Likewise, and despite its popularity over the last couple of years, the Red Pill has always had a bad reputation.  Its abject objective focus on women and the venal bawdiness of the essential subject matter have only served to enhance its sensationalism.

Therefore, social conservatives, feminists, religious firebrands, and others have condemned this subculture, as well as the philosophies and the suggested practices thereof as being degraded, m!sogyn!stic, seedy, and ‘toxic’, among other contemptuous descriptors.

Over the past 15 years or so, the feminist culture and the MGM has repeatedly attacked and attempted to undermine the Manosphere in an effort to discredit it and/or reduce its impact on young men and society at large.  However, this persecution only validated it and contributed to its growth. Eventually it became mainstream in 2020-2021, during the c00f l0ckd0wns.

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The Red Pill 2.0

Since (and because) The Red Pill went mainstream, what we have now is a second-generation offshoot that looks and talks like its predecessor but is notably different in many respects.

What exactly has changed?

Before 2020 or so, the Red Pill 1.0 was rather pure in its philosophies and very impure in its morals.*  It had to be in order to withstand the scrutiny of its detractors and gain recognition as being true.  But ever since the Red Pill went mainstream (ca. 2020-2021), there’s been an inversion. Now, Red Pill ideas are everywhere, but it’s all watered down and compromised with cultural / gynocentric BS and grift.

Now that The Red Pill has emerged full force in mainstream culture and has gained widespread acceptance, its popularity among hubristic hacks and prosaic plebians is posing more salient risks and inflicting more casualties to the integrity of Red Pill lore than its historical government opposition ever did.

The fundamental masculine elements of self-advancement and life-discovery which were the motivating pillars of engagement, and the respectful appeal to reason that undergirded Red Pill discourse in the past, have been displaced and superseded by rancorous ribald reveling.  There is less emphasis on educating men towards an accurate understanding of nature and reality, and more emphasis on grift and graft.

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As a consequence, The Red Pill is now taken somewhat less seriously and is often regarded as trite Bandersnatch, graphic entertainment, or a mediocre fad that will eventually pass, fade, or cycle out.

Dead Bedroom Dating said,

“The Internet Red Pill has been fully adopted and subverted, so nobody really knows what it means anymore.”

Bwana Simba wrote,

“Yeah, what is left of the Manosphere seems to be nothing but grifters eternally bitching about women.  The Passport Bros, uh, “phenomena” always struck me as just another con.  The rest of the Manosphere either retired (a la Dalrock) or went off to dissident politics…  Which has been mixed at best.”

Yes, The Red Pill 2.0 is NOT what The Red Pill 1.0 once was.  Perhaps it is because of these changes that The Red Pill has been the target of a fresh brigade of brickbats over the past year or so.

  • The PTB and their conservative / Churchian spokespersons have unleashed a new “Pity Men” narrative which explicitly condemns Red Pill influences.
  • There has been a series of strikes against TRP in the form of genuine objective criticism, mostly from Gen Z.
  • There are even voices within the Christian Manosphere that are calling out inconsistencies and false beliefs.

* Perhaps it is better to consider The Red Pill to be amoral.  What is done with that information is what makes it moral or not, although for most men, this is an afterthought.

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A Road Map

This month, we’ll take a look at the condition and constitution of the current Red Pill sphere, as well as a few Red Pill concepts and interpretations that have strayed from the primacy of truth and the praxeology of reality.  We’ll sift the wisdom from the weeds and determine what went AWOL.

Here are a few of the topics that I have in mind right now.

  1. Even though there are many new Red Pill content producers, as time goes on, there are fewer men (1) who participated in the Classic Manosphere (ca. 2008-2018), (2) who are well versed in the original tenets of The Red Pill, and/or (3) who continue to guide and steer the ongoing discussions in the Men’s Sphere.  This problem, which I’ll call a Vacancy of Authority, will be addressed in the next post, The Old Guard has Retired (2024/3/4).
  2. Much of the original Classic Manosphere / Red Pill content has been deleted or meticulously scrubbed from the internet, and not much is being added to Red Pill lore to make it a continuous living work.  I’ll call this problem an Erasure of Credendum.
  3. As a result of (1) and (2), we now see many misinterpretations of Red Pill lore that are b@stardized, feminized, opinionated, or whitewashed, and others that have simply abandoned all dignity and have gone to the dogs.  I’ll call this problem a Degradation of Integrity.
  4. Best understood, The Red Pill is a collection of well-researched and documented information that gives insight into human nature, especially concerning mating, sex, and relationships, among other things.  This information has been pieced together to form several models of human behavior.  On the whole, The Red Pill is a peek into the abyss of the carnal nature of human beings.  As ugly as this may be, it cannot very well be dismissed as a pseudo-science, and yet we are hearing statements to this effect.  I’ll call this a Failure of Knowledge Transference.
  5. Why are Christians / Churchians uncomfortable with these scientific evo-psyche models as if they challenge the very core of their faith?  I’ll call this a Failure of Imagination.
  6. It has been said that The Red Pill unleashes the inner psychopath.  What’s up with that?  I’ll call this The Challenge of Transcending the Abyss.
  7. It has been recognized that The Manosphere / Red Pill is a pipeline to Alt-Right / Conservatism.  Lefties are therefore motivated to crimp The Red Pill as much as possible. How can we tell the difference between honest criticism and controlled opposition?  I’ll call this Political Malappropriation.
  8. It is generally recognized that The Red Pill vilifies women’s fleshly nature.  The descriptor ‘misogyny’ used to be an abundant slur applied to The Red Pill, but it has since been overused and is now less popular among Gen Z.  Even so, it is now quite fashionable and trendy to reveal the figurative nakedness of both men and women.  The church and culture ridicule the nakedness of men, while the producers of content that currently passes as Red Pill laugh at the nakedness of women.  Man bashing has been around for decades, but now S1ut shaming has once again appeared in full force.  Despite all the schoolmarm caution against m!sogyny, we are now seeing more of it than ever before and this is often passed off as Red Pill, thereby giving detractors undeserved satisfaction.  The practice of coopting RP truths to give offense is a problem I’ll call Weaponizing.

Upon reviewing the above list, readers might see how some of these issues are interrelated.  I expect more insights and topics to emerge as we wade into the mess of it.  If there is something that readers are particularly interested in, listed here or not, I’ll be sure to cover it.  Just leave a comment.

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