In North America, the mainstream conservative movement frequently claims to support fundamental freedoms, specifically highlighting that of "free speech," while on the other hand banning books. This hypocrisy reveals what I would point to as a fascist tendency to weaponize democracy against its citizens, claiming both that it is under attack and needs to be fixed by them, while simultaneously working to undermine its foundations. This is much easier to do with a poorly-educated population, and therefore goes hand-in-hand with longstanding conservative efforts to defund and destroy public education.

This makes me consider the intersection of capitalism and patriarchy, since most (if not all) popular social media platforms are owned by billionaires. It seems unlikely that the function of these platforms to create addicting and extremist echo-chambers that tear at the fabric of social cohesion specifically among the working class is accidental. The fact that the owners of these platforms are happy to continue to run them against the public interest in order to increase their ever expanding profits is not surprising and I think frightening.

I find it interesting to note these periods where far-right conservative organizations became most active, since they both followed popular left-wing movements. First in the 1960s, where the "hippie" movement and labour/vietnam protests resulted in massive cultural backlash in the 70s and 80s. And in the late oughts, where the occupy wall street movement/Obama elections and the short era of liberal optimism were also met with the backlash we are still living in today. It's as though every short bubble of left-wing activity gets crushed afterward by waves of massively conservative-funded operations.

I think this is particularly relevant to highschool educators like us, since this kind of "manosphere" content is particularly popular among teenage boys. I think it's important to address this kind of content with our students, explaining where the funding and promotion comes from, and what agendas it serves. I have also found that the ideologies promoted have seeped into the ways in which male students interact with their peers and even their teachers.