A number of posts these past few days have thrown their hat into the ring regarding the debate between two diametrically opposed ideologies in the so-called “manosphere.” The row is, of course, between Men Going Their Own Way and the self-proclaimed Pick Up Artists. I am more aligned with the MGTOW camp rather than the PUAs, but instead of needlessly excoriating the PUAs, I would much rather endeavor to make a more constructive point about the “red pill” that both sides seem to be missing.

As I would imagine is the case with most of you here, the red pill was extremely hard to swallow. Indeed, how could it not be? What we read about and discuss here goes against much of what we have learned and been taught our entire lives. Many of us here are undoing years of training (I use this word purposely) and it is by no means an easy process. Eventually, we all have our own “eureka” moment when we realize that the red pill really does “work.” Now, this is where I begin to have my reservations. We all instinctively understand what we mean when we proudly proclaim that the “red pill works,” but, in actuality, what does this really this term really entail?

For many here, the red pill “working” would constitute holding frame with a woman at a bar then having your way with her later in the night. This is not what the red pill, at its core, is about. Here, I propose that the red pill is a primarily defensive rather than offensive philosophy. The red pill is not about picking up women, but rather about developing the ability to recognize the bad ones before our chronically misled “blue-pilled” brethren.

This means that we can see trouble before it comes. We know that a woman, who has had multiple sexual partners, is probably not the ideal candidate for a long-term relationship. In the same vein, if one decides to throw caution to the wind and have a short fling with a heretofore hypergamous woman, that man should not be surprised if she cheats on him. This is the beauty of the red pill and, in reality, its greatest strength: endowing its adherents and practitioners with the ability to never be surprised about women. You will never be surprised if she cheats on you, but you also understand how to prevent that from happening. Forget condoms, the red pill is the ultimate prophylaxis. When a man is surprised or startled he is at his weakest, never forget this.

For many, especially the novitiates among you, this post may be something of a downer. You may have hoped that the red pill was a store of some recondite knowledge, which, when drawn upon, would have any woman fall to her knees. The red pill has more an anthropological and, I even dare say, psychological slant. It is all about discovering trends and patterns and then developing the ability to easily recognize and even exploit them. It may not be as flashy or esoteric as you were hoping, but it is even more useful than you hoped.