Liberal.
PC.
Woke.
These are all things I've been called in my life. Things I've been called by people that think they are insulting me.
Okay...
I am liberal. I'm a progressive. I believe we should always be moving forward or we stagnate and rot at the roots. That when you know better you do better, Rest in Power, Ms. Angelou.
PC has always struck me as an odd one as well. Politically Correct. Like being politically incorrect is a good thing. Like being incorrect at all is a good thing. I will also say that when I think of PC it is usually really easy to swap in Practicing Courtesy and see what it really means.
Woke. So you'd rather be asleep? You'd rather continue to walk through the world with your eyes closed to other experiences? Your comfort at the cost of someone else being acknowledged. Interesting choice.
Now people are on and on about cancel culture and how it's just the worst thing ever. No due process! Too easy to abuse! How dare you say someone can't have a different opinion! Blah blah blah...
What do all of these things have in common? The Right uses them as scare tactics. They say a word over and over again until it loses its real meaning and becomes a bad thing. They manipulate the message until you are the bad guy for expecting people to be decent to each other.
Oh, are you triggered by that? Let me drink your liberal tears...
No, asshole, I have no tears for you, I just want you to stop being an asshole.
Because really that's all most of that is. Your pronouns are different than what they used to be? Okay. I'll change the way I refer to you. Because I'm not an asshole. You are tired of seeing your race used as as a mascot for a sports team? Okay. Let's change the mascot. Because I'm not an asshole. You are offended by that word or phrase or inaccurate historical presentation? Okay. Let's stop using that word, that phrase, and start teaching the actual history. Because I'm not an asshole. But what if you don't want to change and you want to be an asshole, but you don't want to cop to being an asshole then you say you aren't Woke, you won't give in to this liberal PC bullshit. And oh no now the cancel culture people will be after you!
Cancel culture is actually consequences culture. And let's be real here, there aren't very many consequences and people don't get canceled for long. If you can even count some people will stop giving you money or attention while other people will give you more money and attention as cancelling.
The Right is really good at this. They always have been. Part of that is they control the main sources of media. Oh I know, they will tell you that they don't and it's that demon liberal media, but who owns the media? Big corporations. And who owns big corporations? So yeah...When The New York Times writes its 20th column on the dangers of cancel culture keep that in mind.
When you see an onslaught of opinion pieces and memes and bot posts about how Amber Heard proved that the Me Too movement was bunk, try and notice where they are coming from. And listen to the quiet voices pointing out that she got her restraining order years before Me Too took off. And the times it was left to a judge to decide he was in the wrong (restraining order, the 12 out of 14 but you are though points from the the case in England where he tried to sue for the article that said he was abusive). It took a jury, a not sequestered jury in the US to give him one victory out of three.
And who was one of the first to post a 'yippee he won' post? The Republican party. Why? Because they are trying to turn Me Too into a bad thing. The case never should have been a public discussion. It never should have been must see TV. But someone made it that way. Someone convinced you that the last few movies he made were genius instead of 'what the hell is he doing?' Someone left out the details of his work ethic, the current case against him by a crew member he hit, the production costs from when he just wouldn't show up, that was all put to wayside so Amber Heard is proving the Me Too movement is a witch hunt narrative could take place.
The Right is really good at this.
And part of that is because Liberals really do just want everyone to get along. It's why we are willing to change pronouns and mascots and history lessons. Is what was happening before hurtful? Well, let's stop that. And the Right capitalizes on that and weaponizes that. Co-opts it as something to be mocked or unabashedly use it to mean something else. Anti-vaxxers using My Body My Choice, for instance.
And when liberals aren't hoping everyone could just get along they are willing to take in new information and make different decisions. It's part of what being progressive is, right? You want to keep changing and moving and seeing what you can learn. Well, if you keep getting told something you actually start to believe it, no matter if it's true or not. Look at the number of people who were concerned about Clinton's emails, for instance.
It's fucking exhausting.
I'll probably write one more piece about these issues. Something more specific. But I really wanted to get this general DON'T LET THEM CONTROL EVERY FUCKING NARRATIVE message out there.
Being aware of other people's needs is a good thing.
Not being an asshole is a good thing.
Not giving attention to assholes is a good thing.
You don't have to be a pushover, you don't have to be soft, you don't even have to be sweet and docile.
I mean, hello...
Just don't be an asshole.
And ask who is telling you that cancel culture is a threat? Who is telling you that Wokeness is ruining the world? Who is telling you that being PC is just the worst thing ever? Pay attention to the messenger then question the message.
I'm a liberal.
I'm progressive.
I try really hard to be PC and woke.
And I will cancel your shit if it needs canceled.
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