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Commentary

By Nate Henneke Staff Writer

If you have interacted with social media in the last six months, chances are you have heard of the former world champion kickboxer Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan Tate. The dysfunctional duo has amassed a rabid following of young men online by purposefully spreading controversial and misogynistic takes on topics such as the roles of women and men in society, while also flaunting their fleet of supercars and harem of models. This image of hatred that the Tate brothers have tried so hard to create has given them fame, and to say the least, the Tate brothers are no strangers to controversy.

In August of 2022, Instagram took a stand against the Tate brothers. The media giant banned both brothers, with a combined following of over five million people. TikTok quickly followed Instagram’s lead so the Tate brothers could not spread hate on their platform as well. This seemed like a fitting end for what was another personality online getting their five seconds of fame, but their story took an unexpected turn in December 2022. Both brothers were arrested in Romania on charges of sex trafficking and rape, a country they intentionally selected to be their home, that also conveniently has relaxed laws surrounding human trafficing. A popular online theory posed that the arrests were the culmination of online trolling from none other than Greta Thunberg, although Romanian authorities deny this.

Nearly a month later, the Tate brothers are still in prison with allegations of rape and assault dating back to 2016. It was only a matter of time before the law caught up with them. The coming trials will expose these two brothers for the misogynistic and abusive men that they are. Regardless of the outcome of the trial, Andrew Tate’s impact on the way women are viewed and regarded online has changed. Misogyny has become a trend. The women that Tate has abused and taken advantage of have reached a point where they are not scared to come forward about the disgusting crimes committed by Andrew Tate.

When a misogynistic and violent man gets turned into a role model for young men, there are many problems that can arise. For example, teaching young men that power and violence go hand in hand. Instilling toxic ideas about what it means to be a man into developing men will have serious consequences. If action had never been taken against the Tate brothers, there was no telling how much more misogynistic content they would have spewed by now. Justice is being served, and that is the bottom line. Regardless of the trial’s verdict, this incident has shown the world that behind those gaudy shades and supercars is a sad joke of what being a man really is.

Unfortunately, Tyre Nichols’ case is just the latest in a trend of police misconduct. According to an article from The Guardian, “US law enforcement killed at least 1,176 people in 2022, making it the deadliest year on record for police violence since 2013 when experts first started tracking the killings nationwide.” Regardless of whether all of these incidents place the responding officers at fault, policing is one of, if not the only career where this level of violence not only lacks heavy scrutiny at all levels but is widely accepted as neces - sary to maintain law and order.

The body camera footage released by the Memphis Police Department of the encounter was harrowing. No human should have to experience the level of violence and brutality that Tyre Nichols experienced on that fateful night. The Memphis Police Department and the Memphis District Attorney’s office made the right decision when they swiftly terminated and charged the officers involved; however, as citizens, we can now expect nothing less when it comes to investigating and punishing police misconduct. This must be the standard for how police officers are held accountable for their actions nationwide, and we must urge our representatives at all levels to enforce these actions as such.

You can find the contact information for your local representative’s office at https://house.texas.gov/members/ and https://senate.texas.gov/members.php.

You can find the contact information for your federal representative’s office at https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative and https://www. congress.gov/members/find-your-member.