This is going to sound touchy-feely, granola, California-Portlandia or something, but I believe most of the problems we have with young white males comes from the pairing of limiting the range of “valid” (socially acceptable) negative emotional responses to anger, and the current sociological tendency toward pointing out that white male privilege essentially means they have no problems, no real struggle.
Everyone struggles, and they experience it firsthand, making it a valid, real problem for them. It doesn’t matter that measured objectively against someone else’s problems, they pale in comparison (apologies for the pun). Nobody really opens every morning with a prayer of gratitude that they’re not suddenly missing both legs, not suffering from terminal cancer, grateful for their job putting food on the table, under the roof which covers them, blessed that they’re not forced into a labor camp... Everybody has their own problems, and they’re real for the bearer.
Couple that with the way males are widely taught that being sad is weak, and crying is for girls and babies, and really the only response proper from a “manly” perspective is anger, and you’ve got a broken person.
These GG freaks, they’re broken. They have found something which resonates with them: their interests are under attack. The only response the know is anger.
In a sense, society is to blame. I still want to punch them in the face, because I’ve got my own anger issues.
