MAGA is obsessed with 'masculinity.' Alex Pretti modeled what it really looks like.

[applegrove]

MAGA is obsessed with 'masculinity.' Alex Pretti modeled what it really looks like.

By Zeeshan Aleem

[e-mail]

The Trump administration described Alex Pretti, the 37-year-old intensive care nurse killed by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis on Saturday, as a “terrorist.” The reality, as seen on multiple videos taken of the incident, shows the opposite. It was the federal officers who acted as agents of state terror, while Pretti demonstrated extraordinary bravery in the final moments of his life as he tried to protect the most vulnerable in his community. Although the American right is obsessed with reviving "masculinity," its vilification of Pretti demonstrates a complete misunderstanding of its meaning. It was Pretti, in fact, who served as a model of the courageous male “protector.” 

Pretti was speaking to and video-recording Border Patrol officers as they conducted an immigration detention, and he intervened when an officer shoved a woman to the ground. But he did not intervene by acting violently; rather, he appeared to attempt to shield the woman with his body. He was immediately pepper-sprayed, then several agents grabbed him and wrestled him to the ground. Video footage shows an agent striking Pretti repeatedly with a tear gas canister and an agent removing a firearm from his belt before Pretti was shot several times. 

Pretti’s final act in life was to try to intervene on behalf of a woman who appeared to be in danger. He, of course, knew that immigration agents in the city had at times acted viciously, and had recently killed a protester, but he stepped in anyway. That took guts. And he paid with his life.

This was just the tip of the iceberg in Pretti’s commitment to acting as a guardian.

[calimary]

1. He died trying to be a protector.

[Oneironaut]

2. MAGA believes performative masculinity is real masculinity.

Eat red meat, don’t get vaccinated, accumulate useless displays of wealth, bully others and take “what’s yours,” show no emotion, display your “alpha” status by using pick up artist tricks and then use women for sex without forming an attachment to them, explode in anger against those around you and dominate them with aggression.

This is what MAGA thinks real masculinity is, and, it’s fucking stupid. It starts with thinking Trump is in any way a symbol of masculinity, and, disintegrates from there. Most of the right wing commentators do these weird, insecure displays of masculinity (eg Matt Walsh’s Amazon Specials hunting gear in the background to make him seem rugged). It’s all for show, and, the inauthenticity is obvious.

[leftstreet]

3. They're too dumb to see it's based on misogyny

They still define "masculine" as anything not "feminine"

[littlemissmartypants]

10. While women in our society are described as Foids.

[es466]

7. Don't forget about their never, ever letting anyone forget that they are gun owners

[Easterncedar]

4. That was a man

What a tragic loss to us all

[usonian]

5. Truly great people lift others up. Ignoble people try to cut others down.

Projection works both ways.

Hate is taught. Racism is taught. They are not innate.

People who kill others have zero mirror neurons. They can't imagine what others feel, and they are empty. By killing others, they kill themselves.

Empty, empty, empty.

If they had any sense of the divinity (or Buddhahood) in themselves, they would see it in others and treat others as they would wish to be treated themselves.

[BattleRow]

16. Your divinity is reflected in this comment.

[Jilly_in_VA]

6. AMEN

He showed the world what a REAL MAN looks like. Not some phony gun-toter whose weapon is bigger than his dick, but a person who is not afraid to protect someone else who is being threatened or beat up. And every real man should look at his esample---not to get killed, but as a model of courage and grace.

[BattleRow]

8. Ive given this a lot of thought.

How can someone be deemed a terrorist without an arrest and interrogation first...
I would think a suspected terrorist would be apprehended,detained and interrogated to elicit information on if there are subversive "cells" involved.
What am I missing?

[usonian]

17. The "definition" of a terrorist.

A terrorist carries deadly weapons with the intent of mayhem.
A terrorist hides his identity.
A terrorist wears garb that belies his intent, for example, cosplay law enforcement.
— Remember the phony cops at the Saint Valentine’s Day massacre?
— They were ice-cold-blooded murderers.
A terrorist drives unmarked vehicles.
A terrorist records his own misdeeds.
A terrorist generally is silent.
A terrorist intentionally defies laws.
A terrorist is part of a secret cadre, hidden from disclosure.
A terrorist kills.

ICE-COLD-BLOODED MURDERERS
Are terrorists.
Projection, again.

[nuxvomica]

9. He was a hero, pure and simple

As was Renee Good. They were felled trying to do the heroic thing, transforming the world into a safer place for the innocent, and risked the greatest sacrifice in doing so. My hero's-journey thesis is that we are all called to be heroes when we reach adulthood which is why the journey is the theme of myth and literature since storytelling begin. The reason we have to be encouraged by stories is because not everyone answers that call and those that do risk sacrifice. But those that don't face an endless twilight of childhood, enslaved to their own appetites and never feeling safe despite their continuous demands for more wealth, power, and weaponry.

[littlemissmartypants]

12. Interesting reply, nuxvomica. ❤️

[Easterncedar]

15. I like this perspective. Thought provoking.

Thanks.

[littlemissmartypants]

11. Dichotomies are dangerous. Especially when it comes to discussing sexuality and gender.

Behaviors stand on their own.

There's nothing good about thuggery and women can be thugs.

We are long past due for a frank and scientifically informed discussion about gender and gender bias in this American country.

Gender, like love spans the rainbow.

That's why it's a flag.

Thanks for the discussion, applegrove. ❤️

[multigraincracker]

13. Both are on a curve. They are not

Last edited Tue Jan 27, 2026, 05:51 PM - Edit history (1)

black or white. It’s all on a curve. Very dark to very light gray.

[littlemissmartypants]

14. Both what, mgc? Please explain. TY ❤️

[multigraincracker]

18. The world is not back and white.

[littlemissmartypants]

19. Exactly !! Great point!

That's what I meant when I said "dichotomies" I maybe should have explained that more. Thank you.