Except, that as you pointed out, they weren't exactly sold it by an unscrupulous or inept salesman.

They went looking for the fraud. They chased them down and demanded to be sold the ideology that catered to and mollified their insecurities rather than finding the courage and internal fortitude to deal with those insecurities in the first place.

We all have insecurities. We don't all look to haye on one group or another as a means to alleviate those insecurities.

This is born of supremacist, fascist, authoritarian thinking. This is just one iteration of it. But that IS what it is.

These men are not the victims they'd have you believe them to be.

There have been good men and women promoting healthy, meaningful masculinity on the internet and elsewhere all along. There was always a choice in who these young men chose to emulate and be their mentors.