Young Men Need Guidance. Andrew Tate Was Never The One To Give It.

Allow Andrew Tate to introduce himself in his own words. 

The internet personality has explained his preference for 18- and 19-year-old women by saying he can “make an imprint” on them, while elsewhere insisting that there “is no such thing as an independent female.” Tate was 35 when he said this. 

Or how about “women should shut the f*ck up, have kids, sit at home, be quiet, and make coffee”?

And just for good measure, “My job is to meet a girl, go on a few dates, sleep with her … get her to fall in love with me to where she’d do anything I say, and then get her on a webcam so we could become rich together.”

In a culture that rewards such provocation, Tate has amassed over 10 million followers on X promoting a version of masculinity for young men to adopt if they want to achieve success in a world stacked against them. In his world, your image depends on two things: extraordinary wealth and extraordinary control over your own life. The former turned out to be a lie, and the latter has been legally taken from him.

Tate was recently arrested on charges including rape, trafficking-related offenses, assault, indecent images of a child, and extreme pornography. He and his brother, arrested on similar charges, deny any wrongdoing, but this is hardly their first brush with legal problems involving the same issues. Now, court filings reveal the Bugattis and yachts in their videos were rented due to a professional incentive to appear “uberwealthy.” And this week the public learned of bestiality porn and child porn allegations.

While these allegations shock no one who has been paying attention, an outsider is right to read the above quotes (provided over years) combined with the brothers’ webcam porn business between 2012 and 2014 and wonder how a person like this can garner so much fame or, worse, have any defenders. Let alone conservative defenders. 

Tate didn’t build his credibility alone, and he has enjoyed the winds of prominent voices at his back for years. 

On a 2023 episode of the Full Send podcast, Tucker Carlson said: “The spirit that animates Andrew Tate is very clear and very obvious, and it’s not a malicious spirit at all.” Candace Owens, the Hodge twins, and other figures associated with the Right have hosted him on their shows.

The fallback for these and other conservatives is to focus on what Tate is taking on rather than how he talks about it. Years ago, Tate recognized that society had pushed many boys and men to the back of the line. Decades of feminism culminated with the #MeToo movement. Men became the scapegoat for all of society’s ills. Everyone but them was prioritized from college enrollment to the boardroom — often when they were more qualified.

Pour some internet lighter fluid on this fire, and young men were searching for a water hose. Andrew Tate arrived with a full fire department: aka Hustlers University, whose mission was to “empower ambitious people [read: young men] with an entrepreneurial mindset to become the best versions of themselves.”

And herein lies the catch. Like Tate’s diagnosis of male youth, this messaging is fine — even admirable. But like so many things in life, the messenger is as important as the message.

I recently spoke with a group of conservative teenagers. One raised her hand with a comment and question: “I often begin reading books with an inspiring title and summary and find that halfway in it is either misleading or pure junk. How do you source your reading list?” My answer: “I study the author before I study the book.”

My point is the messenger is as important as the message. Anyone can write inspiring words. What matters is how he applies those words to his own life. And this is where I’m disappointed with any conservative who has ever chosen to elevate or platform Tate’s ideas simply because they fit a particular narrative. Too many virtuous men and women promote solutions to the same problems Tate has built his career on.

I propose a better list for conservatives to source from: 

Truth – Ben Shapiro

Faith – Lila Rose

Marriage – Brad Wilcox

Women – Allie Beth Stuckey

Discipline – Jocko Willink

Power – Thomas Sowell

Work Ethic – Mike Rowe

Courage – Sophie Cunningham

Patriotism – Victor Davis Hanson

My point is not that conservatives must agree with everyone on this list. It’s that conservatism never reached the point of moral bankruptcy where it needed Andrew Tate as its substitute teacher. Tate didn’t discover truth, faith, discipline, hard work, or patriotism — let alone practice them. Those virtues predate him by millennia, and the Right has so many better messengers. 

But I’m mainly addressing adults. A 16-year-old doesn’t necessarily have the maturity to separate Tate saying “work hard” from “women should…” Most adults can make that distinction. It becomes harder when these ideas are presented to a teenager from a rented Bugatti. This is the responsibility conservative voices should recognize.

The response to Tate’s allegations has caused both movement and paralysis on social media. Some conservatives are racing to delete their social media associations with him while others are leaning on the hope of “false allegations.” Neither should matter. Andrew Tate has been telling us who he is for years.

For every worthwhile thing Andrew Tate has ever told a young man, someone better can teach it. 

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Gates Garcia is the host of the YouTube show and podcast We The People with Gates Garcia. Follow him on X and Instagram @GatesGarciaFL.

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