Weakness isn’t factored in here consciously. A greasy guy with a knife would trigger a similar response. I think the linkage is that the same issues that cause someone to register as ‘undesirable’, as you put it, also reduce a person’s social network, which compounds their issues with integrating into society.
I am sorry if this seems pedantic, it’s not on purpose, but punching down implies a desire to increase social status by reducing the status of other members, implying they remain part of the tribe but subordinate. The impulse is existential rather than social - eliminating a threat as opposed to gaining social power.
Idk, I struggle to see how someone with a poor social network is a threat. I suppose it’s possible for them to become unhinged and lash out, but I highly doubt that’s what most people interpret an incel as. So I think it has more to do with elimination of discomfort than removing a threat. The same could be said for an elderly homeless person, who causes discomfort by being dirty and smelly, but isn’t really a threat.
Then again, perhaps different people have different motives/triggers, people are complex and I’m not a psychologist or anthropologist.
Weakness isn’t factored in here consciously. A greasy guy with a knife would trigger a similar response. I think the linkage is that the same issues that cause someone to register as ‘undesirable’, as you put it, also reduce a person’s social network, which compounds their issues with integrating into society.
I am sorry if this seems pedantic, it’s not on purpose, but punching down implies a desire to increase social status by reducing the status of other members, implying they remain part of the tribe but subordinate. The impulse is existential rather than social - eliminating a threat as opposed to gaining social power.
Idk, I struggle to see how someone with a poor social network is a threat. I suppose it’s possible for them to become unhinged and lash out, but I highly doubt that’s what most people interpret an incel as. So I think it has more to do with elimination of discomfort than removing a threat. The same could be said for an elderly homeless person, who causes discomfort by being dirty and smelly, but isn’t really a threat.
Then again, perhaps different people have different motives/triggers, people are complex and I’m not a psychologist or anthropologist.