Suffering because you’re not a commie

So we’ve all seen posts with people complaining about millennials complaining too much. I actually discussed such a post about a month ago.

This was the post that some right-winger thought was eye-opening.

Of course, it ignores the reality of tuition. These posts usually target millennials, and there is typically the assumption that if you complain about debt at all it must mean you’re lazy. Most of life becomes filtered through that lens. Wishing tuition for an undergrad didn’t cost $200,000 becomes “asking for handouts” and so on.

Came across this post, which satirizes posts like the one above:

People began discussing other factors that lead to debt and tight money, such as housing. Then this guy shows up.

Okay, I’ll ignore the part about people being born and raised in certain areas. It’s definitely not a choice in that case.

Anyways, a big part of why people live in certain places is because it is closer to where they work. Big cities attract big companies, therefore a lot of big jobs are in big cities. I pointed that out and here is the response.

This man later says he views rent controls (or any government measures to reduce rent) “a free lunch.” While he says he is neutral on the issue, he also says he would not support candidates who do anything to lower the cost of essential services like housing or health care. It’s a typical example of a right-winger saying they’re “neutral” but clearly picking a side.

This man would rather go through this process he outlined above, than have the government make some reasonable changes to make things a bit easier. I think a part of the issue with him and his ilk (he’s approaching 50) is that they want everyone else’s journey to be as hard as theirs. The idea of The American Dream romanticizes his hustle and he likely feels cheated if people after him can get the same level of money and success without going through what he did. That is really the crux of the issue. Individualism above all else. Life must be a rat race for us all, we can’t take any measures to make life easier for the whole. Publicly-funded programs are for commies and lazy millennial. Of course, there won’t be any resentment for people born into wealthy families, as this retweet demonstrates:

Throughout this convo, one right-wing assumption after another pops up. I tell him I took time to go through his profile to get a sense of his political leanings, (took two minutes to come across tweet after tweet criticizing socialism). Then he tells me I could have used that time to better my situation. What a genius! There’s no way I work hard and can take two minutes to look through his profile. Since I’m not where I want to be, I must be lazy. With that logic, he must have been lazy too. After all, why would he have to commute four hours to DC if he could afford to just move there. If he didn’t have the money, laziness must be the only reason. See how that logic falls apart? Getting rich or becoming successful is a process. If someone is not at the end of the journey it does not mean they aren’t trying.

What Does It Take for Something to be Considered Racist Nowadays?

I had another moment of weakness recently, scrolling through the scourge of YouTube’s recommended videos and watching a video from the REACT channel. Below was one of the recommended videos, and as you can guess, the title got my attention.

The video I was watching was one where millennials are basically tested on their knowledge of songs from the 90s, 80s etc. I guess the theme of “older music” related to older tv commercials with YouTube’s algorithm. Anyone who has read my previous posts might know my thoughts on the criticism of “pc culture” or “triggered snowflakes”. In short, the criticism of people who get “offended by everything” is often an argumentative tool used by outright bigots to defend their prejudice. You disagree with them saying Muslims shouldn’t be allowed in the US? You’re politically correct. If a smaller issue pops up, like people complaining about whitewashing in a film, you can bet that these same bigots will be there to complain about people getting worked up over nothing. And then they’ll also be the first to complain if a character gets “blackwashed”. Sometimes, political correctness can go too far. However, the people who constantly rally against pc culture are often just bigots upset that the world no longer tolerates their bigotry the same way it used to. They want to return to the good old days.

The commercials above are a great example. I did not watch all of them. Why? The title of the video and the description (which pokes fun at present “I’m offended” era) says there was nothing wrong with these ads at the time and also implies that there is nothing wrong with them now either. In short, while people nowadays are more likely to get offended because they are “snowflakes”, the ads are not racist. The issue is the pc snowflakes, not the ads themselves. That is the point the poster and most of the commenters are making.

So, if I watch any of the ads and find any of them offensive, that means I view the poster’s point as invalid. Firstly, many of these ads were released decades ago. Some were released during times such as Jim Crow, so obviously the standards for representations of minorities were not the same. If you are watching videos from that time and your first reaction is “I wish people would tolerate commercials like this nowadays”, then you are the issue: Not social justice warriors, political correctness, feminazis, white knights etc.

This is the perfect example that many people that say they want to avoid being pc just want to be able to embrace racism and misogyny without any criticism or pushback from the society around them. One commenter after another fails to see that maybe it is a good thing that these sexist and racist ads are no longer acceptable. Yes, maybe people do get offended by nothing sometimes, but these people think these ads are a good example of “nothing”.

In this day and age, these right-wingers need to hear a racial slur or see a lynching to be convinced that something is in fact racist.

The Right Wing Buzzwords

Politically Correct,

White Knight,

Social Justice Warrior.

 

We’ve probably all heard these terms, and many of us have probably used them,

People are always quick to say it’s (insert year) anytime a conversation about discrimination comes up,

As if the year itself changes the way people think,

There is the idea that time always means progress,

Yet the state of the world makes it clear that the flow of time can lead to more entropy,

Time can lead to a regression, instead of a progression,

 

It’s 2016, racial, religious and sexual minorities have more rights than ever and are more respected than ever,

In theory,

Many laws tell us that we fixed the problem of discrimination,

Yet why is rape culture increasingly embraced among men?

“Women shouldn’t dress like that if they don’t want to get cat-called or raped. Anyone who disagrees is just a white knight.”

Why is racism so accepted in our progressive population?

“I’m not racist but I’d never date a black guy.”

“A black guy got hired; no way he deserved the job. It’s affirmative action, reverse-racism. Why can’t these social justice warriors see that?”

 

Why is discrimination against other religions so widely accepted?

“We should ban all Muslims from entering the country. We can’t be politically correct about this.”

 

Maybe that last sentence is the issue, The use of terms like “politically correct”, “white knight” and “social justice warrior” to criticize anyone whose beliefs fall farther left of the political spectrum,

I can see why it is so seductive to rely on these words,

You don’t have to try to understand what your opponent is saying,

You don’t need research, facts or figures of any kind,

The words speak for themselves and you become a pied piper, attracting all the bitter and angry people who share your view of the world,

Your words entice them, seducing them and encouraging them to embrace their prejudices,

You can just throw out one of these words and wait for like-minded people to commend you for your argument,

The real beauty is that these words help to disguise prejudice,

No one who uses them sees themselves as possibly being prejudiced,

To them, it is only common sense,

It is the liberals and the minorities that need to smarten up and get their act together,

These same people who preach about their tolerance, how It’s 2016 and they don’t even see colour or care about religion, often hold the most discriminatory views,

Cognitive dissonance is a permanent part of their lives,

These right-wingers complain about how minorities focus on race too much,

Meanwhile, they also make decisions about who to date and what areas to live in based on the racial preferences whose existence they deny,

They will complain that Muslims get too much recognition in their secular country,

Meanwhile, they also protest against “Under God” being removed from the constitution,

They will deny that sexism and objectification is a problem for women anymore, arguing that men are the real victims,

Meanwhile, they will assume that a successful woman got her position due to her gender, not due to her skills or intelligence

 

It’s the start of a new year, and instead of making another failed resolution to eat better and get in shape, maybe we can make some real progress and try to change the way we see the world,

Instead of shutting down facts and common sense we can try to listen to reason,

Maybe we can have conversations about diversity, tolerance, equality, without going to our knee-jerk reaction to blurt out the right wing buzzwords