The Rise & Fall of Steven Crowder
Crowder is a man who shouldn’t be remembered. As an ex-fan, he can’t be forgotten.
Rewind to 2018, when my political peers and I were all holed up in our rooms watching ‘Ben Shapiro owns the libs’-style YouTube videos. Simpler times notwithstanding, I recall vividly seeing a video of a political commentator I’d never heard of show up in my suggested feed: Steven Crowder. The segment was entitled “What a REAL Man Needs to Be,” and featured Crowder giving a more introspective talk on the nature of manliness in the wake of the Brett Kavanaugh hearings. “What should you look for in a man?” Crowder asked his audience. “An honest man with a backbone that's it you want a man who you're going to reach for when the wolves are at the door.”
To Crowder, the meaning of masculinity was the qualities of courage and fortitude that spoke far more than physical strength or perceived ‘manly’ activities: “a track record, a lifetime of honest, integrity, [and] discipline. No one rolls the dice on the squad leader.” Later in the video, he harped on anger as a tool for good: “There’s righteous anger versus douchebaggery,” he argued, urging his audience to the latter as a weapon against evil in phrasing that’s prescient in retrospect: “That’s the kind of man you want when the wolves are at the door.”
As a 16-year-old who lifted weights, struggled with mental health, and didn’t always resonate with the sleek image of the Daily Wire-style influencers, Crowder’s tougher brand and more straight-talking style got to me. Crowder took on issues in a down-to-earth style that complemented the more polished and expert-driven commentary that figures like Shapiro represented. Seven years later, as an aspiring member of the political media, I’m driven to look at Crowder through new eyes.
Read the rest at Lone Conservative here.