Federal officials have uncovered enough credible evidence from social media of possible mass shooting sprees at showings of the upcoming Joker movie that they have issued warnings nationwide. The US Army, citing this information, warned its personnel of the potential for danger and urged caution.
Supposedly, involuntarily celibate males (AKA “incels”) celebrate many of the themes presented in the movie. The main character, the Joker, becomes alienated from society and angry, then turns to violence following “too much” rejection in his life. This allegedly mirrors the anger and alienation real world incels experience from constant rejection by women.
Or so the story goes.
Warner Bros has released a statement on the controversy regarding ‘JOKER’:
“Neither the fictional character, nor the film, is an endorsement of real-world violence of any kind. It is not the intention of the film, filmmakers or the studio to hold this character up as a hero.” pic.twitter.com/LBEYZvv3jI
— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) September 24, 2019
More on incels from Urban Dictionary:
aka “involuntarily celibate“, a person (usually male) who has a horrible personality and treats women like sexual objects and thinks his lack of a sex life comes from being “ugly” when its really just his blatant sexism and terrible attitude. Incels have little to no self awareness; even when they see other “ugly” men with girlfriends, they consider these men to be tricksters who have somehow beat the system and can get women despite being cursed with unattractiveness (in other words, they’re respectful to women and women are attracted to their personalities, but incels can’t comprehend such a phenomenon). They believe that women owe them sex, and many of the more extreme incels like to spend time in incel communities on the internet coming up with ways to make women have sex with them (often involving genocide of people of color, genocide of “Chads” (men who have sex), taking rights away from women, raping them, having sex with women’s dead bodies, and other horrid, disgusting things. They cant understand that that is PRECISELY why women want nothing to do with them).
The New York Post has the story on the alleged threat . . .
The Army issued a warning to its personnel about the possibility of crazed “incel” extremists carrying out mass shootings at upcoming screenings of “Joker,” according to a new report.
Marked “For official use only,” the Sept. 18 e-mail advised service members planning to watch the movie in theaters to “identify two escape routes” and to “run, hide, fight” in the event of a shooting, Gizmodo reported.
“Run if you can,” the message said. “If you’re stuck, hide (also known as ‘sheltering in place’), and stay quiet. If a shooter finds you, fight with whatever you can.”
On Tuesday, the Army confirmed to Gizmodo that it issued the warning in light of alarming social-media posts flagged by the FBI from the “incel” — or “involuntarily celibate” — community of alienated men who feel they have been shunned by society and can’t get dates.
The Army e-mail explained that incels “idolize the Joker character, the violent clown from the Batman series” — an angry loner who turns to violence after too much rejection.
They also like “his depiction as a man who must pretend to be happy but eventually fights back against bullies,” the Army said.
The first rule of winning a gunfight remains “don’t show up.” The Joker movies lands in theaters on Thursday, October 3rd. If you want to guarantee you don’t end up as a “score” in some incel loser’s blaze of momentary glory, take a pass. After all, it’s just a movie.
If you absolutely must see this new flick, remember the second rule to winning a gunfight involves having a gun. Arguably situational awareness might rank even higher on the list. After all, if you identify suspicious behavior early enough, a person can take action to avoid or escape a situation and potential ensuing violence.
But carry your gun. Carry it everywhere you legally can. If your state’s laws preclude carry in posted locations, you have to weigh the potential personal risk for ignoring the signage. After all, concealed means concealed.
I know that in some states, all management can do is ask you to leave if you are discovered to be packing. Other states consider it a misdemeanor with a minor fine, while others will suspend or revoke a carry license and could bring felony charges. Know your state’s laws.
Handgunlaw.us provides some outstanding information for determining each state’s carry laws and regulation.
No one knows how realistic the threat may or may not be. In the end, be careful and always watch for behavior outside of the baseline of normalcy as a potential danger. Know your exits and have a plan in case things go sideways.