Tate talked about his recent arrest on the charge of human trafficking, and insisted that he has never done any such thing. He added that there is no evidence of him having ever done any such thing (because he didn't do it), and therefore that he hopes the case will be dismissed when a judge finally looks over the evidence. Then he concluded that if he is somehow convicted anyway, he will accept the result as a test sent by God, and will take consequences with his head held high.
But after describing the formal accusation, Tate went on to explain (like Socrates in the Apology) that he has a large number of informal accusers* in the society at large, and that he believes it was their hostility towards him that precipitated his recent arrest. To explain this contention, he began to explain the message that he tries to teach his followers. And it was at this point that the interview became very interesting.**
Much of Tate's message is very positive. He summarizes it as "traditional masculinity," and unpacks that bundle by saying that men are built in such a way that they need respect in order to thrive; but he adds immediately that the only way to get respect is to become worthy of it. How do you become worthy of respect? Tate provides a short list of things to do:
- Wake early.
- Work hard.
- Stay sober.
- Find God.
- Keep fit.
- Don't complain.
Honestly it's hard to find much wrong with a list like that.
Of course there was more. He talked about his theories for why people attack him. Partly he thinks that there are interests who want to enslave us, and he says that men who follow his advice are hard to enslave. But also he says that he has been frequently misquoted, or quoted out of context. Two examples:
I. Early in the interview he said, "I was [called] a misogynist for years just for telling men they could have standards in a relationship." He went on to say that his intended message had nothing to do with gender. He was trying to say, You should not hang around friends—male or female—who are dishonest.*** But he was reported as insulting women generally.
II. He has said in public that he doesn't believe in depression, and of course many people have criticized him for this. But late in the interview he explained that what he means is something like a religious affirmation. He said that if he were willing to "believe" in depression then that would give it power over him, the same way that someone who "believes in ghosts" will be afraid of noises at night in an old house.
He acknowledged that of course people feel depressed from time to time, because we all have all kinds of feelings. But then he went on to say that if you feel bad, it's a sign something is wrong in your life. If your head hurts, then either you're sick or you have a hangover or you hit it (or whatever). Each of these can cause a headache, and when you find the cause and correct it then the headache goes away. In the same way, if you feel depressed then his advice is to look for something in your life that is out of kilter and fix it.
As an example of this last point, he told a story. Apparently he was once contacted by a man who wanted to kill himself. Tate's advice was, Before you do it, build yourself up so you are in fantastic shape. Go get six-pack abs. Then after that you can kill yourself if you want. But after the man got in shape, he no longer wanted to kill himself. Tate argues that all depression is like this.
He argued that pain and suffering are universal, so the best answer is to handle them stoically. ("Don't complain.") In fact, he went farther and said that war is certain. Either you war against injustice, and against all the external forces who try to push you around or enslave you; or else you end up in a war against your own mind, because you accept all that stuff even though you know it is wrong. Given the choice, he picks Option A.
Towards the end of the interview, I jotted down a couple of his remarks about strength and weakness.
"Weak men are always destructive, because hurt people hurt people."
"The most heinous acts that happen in society today are performed by weak men. I don't think school shooters are strong men."
"If you're weak, you're going to be miserable."
That's a view of strength that entails honor and chivalry. And it's not a bad thing.
The interview covered a lot more than just this, but I think these points in particular deserve to be amplified.
__________
* This was Socrates's term, not Tate's.
** To be clear, the interview wasn't structured quite so neatly. While it did begin with a discussion of Tate's arrest, the nature of the charges, and the status of the case against him, the rest of the discussion meandered a bit like any good conversation. So my description is a bit of a simplification.
*** Where was this guy when I needed to hear this message?
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