obviously, in isolation, there is nothing hateful about wanting to improve your appearance. but if you spend any time at all on these forums in which "looksmaxxing" discussions tend to occur, the hatred towards women (and other groups) is profuse and apparent.

The alt-right is obsessed with form over function combined with a grossly outdated view of masculinity circa the 1940s. Alt-right media focuses on disenfranchising younger men by convincing them vanity, narcissism, and by proximity, racism and sexism, is desirable. They are also into outdated, inherently Nazi, concepts like phrenology and physiognomy, and sometimes just openly discuss eugenics and participate in it (see Elon Musk, et al).

Looksmaxxing is, essentially, about becoming a shitty person. You work on yourself, become better looking, but find that even less people want you around because of how you decided to curate your life and your personality... and instead of leaving this cult, they blame everyone else and become weaponized incels, who commit acts of violence to get even with the society that rejected them.

The guy who shot Charlie Kirk was deep into this cult, for example; he followed prominent hatemongers and alt-right influencers, attempted to participate in looksmaxxing, and also posted racist and sexist things, parroting the things he heard from the influencers.

> Empathy is inherently tribal.

I have no idea what that means, and I suspect neither do you.