Most writers are smart enough to never feed the trolls, since it gives them the attention they crave. But something about receiving these particular emails inspired me to respond to a handful, perhaps try to pinpoint why they crave this attention…
Much has been made of the modern male loneliness epidemic, and this report from the American Institute for Boys and Men contains some interesting data points, including the sobering take that there are five times as many men who say they have no close friends as there were in 1990. Combine that with social media platform algorithms that favor posts that ignite strong emotion, and I think that these men just desperately wanted someone to talk to, to engage with, to tell them that they exist and their opinions matter.
It [became] clear [as I emailed with them]: The anger, the loneliness, the self-loathing. President Trump has offered fraternity to these alienated men, who then feel in turn like they don’t actually like how he acts, or who they become when they channel him. And yet the cycle rolls on, all because they don’t have friends or loved ones they can talk to freely.
— “What I Learned About MAGA Men After Responding to Angry Emails About Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show,” Variety
