When Andrew Tate is Worshipped, Society Needs Better Value Systems
On March 12, 2024, multiple news outlets reported that Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan Tate had been detained in Romania on a British arrest warrant for 24 hours. The Bucharest Court of Appeal is working to decide whether to execute the warrants. There are allegations of sexual aggression dating back to 2012-2015.
This comes just one year after they were charged with human trafficking, rape, and forming a criminal gang to exploit women sexually. (Associated Press in Bucharest)
Despite the arrests, Tate’s followers remain as loyal as ever - claiming that these arrests are just attempts by “the matrix” to silence them. As with any cultish following, perceived persecution tends to encourage rather than weaken.
How has the former fighter-turned-polarizing social media influencer kept such a stranglehold on his audience? How did he get an audience in the first place when he has constantly made disgusting statements about women, flaunts a lifestyle of excess, and carries around an impressively large ego?
My theory is that as much as Andrew Tate claims to be countercultural and outside society’s expectations, his lifestyle is an unfortunate representation of what society at large has been taught to value – sex, money, and power.
This topic has come up a few times recently on my podcast, Preacher Boys.
The first time the subject of Tate came up, that I recall, was during my interview with Dr. Nadine Macaluso.
In addition to being a psychotherapist with a Ph.D. in Counseling and Somatic Psychology, Dr. Macaluso is also the ex-wife of The Wolf of Wall Street, himself - Jordan Belfort. She’s not only studied pathological figures, but she quite literally has experienced them first-hand.
One key point she highlighted in our discussion is an innate drive for power, pleasure, money, and status fuels individuals like Andrew Tate. They feel entitled to success and are willing to exploit, manipulate, and betray others to achieve their goals.
Even more disturbingly, Dr. Macaluso said that society doesn’t just allow these men to rise to power; they contribute to the rise of such figures. In a culture that rewards traits like assertiveness and hunger for power, individuals like Andrew Tate, who exhibit these traits, find fertile ground to cultivate their ambitions.
They pursue wealth, excess, and the pursuit of power at any cost, and the culture – or, at the very least, a massive subculture within the United States - worship them for it.
She’s not alone in these opinions.
Andrew Tate came up again in a recent interview I conducted with Dr. Steven Hassan, which will be released in its entirety on March 31, 2024, on the Preacher Boys podcast. (It will be released two weeks early to Patreon supporters.)
Dr. Hassan is a leading cult expert who has spent decades unraveling the complexities of influence, manipulation, and societal dynamics.
Much like Dr. Macaluso, Dr. Hassan expressed that figures like Tate thrive in capitalistic environments where quests for excess wealth, power, and self-aggrandizement are rewarded.
He’s right.
Tate presents himself as living the epitome of the American Dream through social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok. This image resonates deeply with impressionable audiences, including young males.
Yet, as Dr. Hassan pointed out, this narrative of perceived success needs to be improved. Behind the façade of luxury cars and lavish parties lies a significant problem: pursuing material wealth at the expense of genuine human connection and empathy.
Based on both my observations over the last few years and my conversations with experts like Dr. Hassan and Dr. Macaluso, I’m convinced that winning the proverbial culture war against toxic influencers like Andrew Tate won’t just be done through debate; confronting the myriad of flaws in his belief system, or exposing the immorality of his actions.
Instead, it will require a fundamental shift in the value system we instill in future generations – encouraging the pursuit of big goals while reinforcing the importance of admirable traits like empathy, respect, and virtue.
We need to ensure the version of success we glorify doesn’t mean power at the expense of all who stand in our way.
That cost is far too great.