Hero, Scoundrel, Incel, Skinwalker

How to become the right type of guy while avoiding the other three

Men need to pursue heroism again. This archetype used to consume us. It was once an un-subtle undertone in everything we happened to consume. And now it’s dead.

Some will tell you that this archetype has died because no one celebrates the hero anymore. They accuse him of brutality and throw him in jail and celebrate his enemies. They will tell you that pursuing heroism is foolish because it is dangerous, naive, and unrealistic.

The real reason it has died is because we are too distracted by abundance to notice the beginnings of our decay. Few of us are forced to be heroes because we are too satiated to ever find ourselves in the unsafe and uncomfortable environments in which heroes are born.

The hero is dead because we have convinced ourselves that heroics don’t matter, that there are no rewards for those who strive for heroism. Many believe that society is simply coercive, taking everything and offering nothing in return.

This framing is incorrect because it is the hero who builds a society capable of giving back. One is not referred to as a hero because they acted out of self-interest. Heroism is sacrificial by nature, and our current landscape looks grim explicitly because we have a lack of it. Scoundrels take what they can get by force or bribery. Incels give up in public. Skinwalkers pretend to be good until they’ve gained enough trust to rape and pillage whatever community has mistakenly trusted them.

You’ve probably already encountered the scoundrel archetype. Online they are trying to sell you a course. They are on this platform. They are telling you that they are not good men because being a good man is a scam. They are militant in their effort to expose women as beyond reform in an attempt to justify their own desire to treat women as throwaway vices.

One would be forgiven for the belief that selfishness breeds scoundrels, but in reality, it is childishness. These men are not capable of understanding the delayed gratification and ultimate joy that follows pursuing heroism. Responsibility terrifies them. Vulnerability is beyond comprehension. Honor and duty are too far outside of their purview to even begin to reflect upon. Nor are there any fixtures in their lives worthy of these virtues.

If you wish to avoid becoming this type of person, you must pursue, above all, exceptionalism. Life is not a series of treats to reward yourself with at every opportunity you receive. It is instead a journey to be traveled, along which you are building something meant to outlast you. It is not ephemeral, it is not godless, and it is not hedonistic. You are carving a better man out of a slab of marble and this statue will be looked upon by your descendants as a guiding fixture in their own lives.

You’ve definitely encountered the incel archetype. In truth this has little to do with celibacy. Plenty are celibate and choose not to make much of a fuss over it. Inceldom is a public demand for pitty after enveloping oneself in defeatism. This is a simple fate to avoid, and requires little other than life experience. The incel knows nothing of the outside world. If he knew more, he would reject his label and pursue a rich life, which has never been something inaccessible to him. He is unwilling to do this because he’s designed his cage himself. The pursuit would cure him. It would bring him something to live for other than vanity and personal metrics. Perhaps the moral here is that living for those things will fast track you on to a pathway to becoming the wrong type of guy. But the incel is there because of pity and lack of confidence.

The skinwalker is an angler fish. He is disguised as something safe, non-threatening, and familiar. He is a nice guy wearing camouflage.