Hey everyone! Bill Moore, here! Not completely sure how to start a blog so I’ll just jump right into it! A little bit about myself, for those of you who are curious and for the rest of you who stumbled upon this blog, I’m a comedian, filmmaker, writer, and editor. I have a sketch comedy group called Dave’s Friends. We’ve performed all across the country and release weekly videos on YouTube.
I just want to stress, the thoughts contained in this blog are solely my own. Any theories I present or “psychological” ideas I discuss are purely my thoughts. I do not have a degreee in psychology or any certifications in the field of therapy. I am just an avid fan/listener of the show just like you. I develop theories and speculations as I listen.
How did I get involved with Hashtag Cult? Firstly, I’ve known host Mike Fallek since the 7th grade. Since then we’ve worked on a number of projects together, from internet mini series to documentaries to podcasts. I am also the co-host of his other podcast Hackthought.
Mike asked if I wouldn’t mind doing some blog work for his current podcast Hashtag Cult, also starring Paulina Pinsky. I was happy to help, though at the time I honestly didn’t know what a hashtag cult was. And OH WOW was I terrifically and horrifically surprised. Hashtag Cult right off the bat is engaging but I didn’t realize how much I would get sucked in. At first it was an “oh damn, hashtag cults are real?” “MGTOW is a legitimate problem?” And just the shock of coming to terms with something this manipulative and stupid exists in plain sight (never thought they tv show would come back to haunt us so). Then I went through the phase of “shit, this is real. It’s all around me” water boils — AH! MGTOW! No, just water boiling. Upstairs neighbor drops a bowling ball, AH! CEILING MIGY TOW TOWS!! No, wait, just the normal neighbors. But once the more ridiculous reactions subsided I found myself asking more and more questions, hoping there will be an episode that covers my question. I genuinely became interested in just how something this crazy and stupid works. Because apparently, terrifying, it does work to an extent. It works to the point of: there are official MGTOW members and they operate through hashtags to exist in plain sight. I find myself doing weird detective work with my ace partner, myself in a slightly different voice, trying to crack more cases and dig deeper.
I was prepared to listen to one episode, to get a feel for the show, and then suddenly I was 3 episodes deep on my first sitting. The concept of “The Red Pill World” seems so laughable, but if you’re truly sucked into this propaganda you start to see how MGTOW members could convince themselves this is real. Listening to Cult Member Tom speak he really thinks he’s been enlightened. Like, he’s seen something we haven’t seen. He’s seeing between the lines, assuming what he “sees” is most accurate. It’s truly sad, because to me, it feels like he is so freakin’ confused he is too embarrassed to admit he does not get the MGTOW mission at all. What if all the MGTOW members did not understand a single thing they’ve been “taught”? Deep confusion and embarrassment became MGTOW, and other hashtag cults, true flaw? All of the members are, typically, males who have suffered a trauma or are in a “deep hurt” as Mike and Paulina mention. Maybe these men are so embarrassed they do no understand their own cult’s message that they just keep nodding their head and “yes, and-ing” their belief. A whole cult consisting of people just nodding their head, smiling politely, and “yes, and-ing” to the next member in hopes they actually explain it, but they just keep nodding and yes-ing in an infinite loop.
It’s also fascinating to learn that these cult members have boogeymen of their own. Mike mentions this around 8:00 into the podcast. You’d think the cult was the boogeyman, but no they have people they fear. Which kind of makes this elitist cult seem SUPER LAME. If they’ve all taken the red pill and now see things sooooo clearly, wouldn’t that make them above everyone else? I feel like they should feel superior to social warriors or doxxing (8:40) But they don’t. They’re just as scared. Almost more so now. Although, these cults operate in plain sight, they still tend to follow similar trends in speech or behavior. Mike mentions how they found some of their interviewees in the comments section. So even though they operate in plain sight, they can be caught. And not just by Mike, by “social warriors as well.” Once someone spots this MGOTW propaganda BOOM, they’re caught and now at the butt of scorn. Their purpose is so convoluted hurts my brain.
Also, I would like to note that last paragraph covered 40 SECONDS of the show. That’s how rich with content Hashtag Cult Podcast is. It almost feels like they didn’t breathe that entire time. They only let out air if it contained something important.
Episode 1: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mgtow-reveals-itself/id1525639915?i=1000486545355
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Bill Moore is a comedian who has never searched “how to find a girlfriend?” or “why did my girl friend break up with me?” instead he makes jokes with people like Chuck Nice and Many other funny comics like Dave’s Friends, his sketch group:
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