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Two little self-important jackasses have brought to mind today this article:
http://pss.sagepub.com/content/early/2010/03/01/0956797610363538.full
It's longish, so I will summarize: Many people who believe themselves to be acting in a morally/socially superior manner effectively "bank" that superior capital and "spend" it to act in less moral ways in other areas. That is, without putting it so, many people seem to feel they ought to be able to "get away with" behavior we would never tolerate from someone else, because they are good and moral people. I am sure we can all think of examples. (Now, please, also think of one who isn't the opposite of you politically, ok?) My take: Being a good and moral person means making the right choices as often as you can; not banking up for spending down on the karma.
Anyhow, I think it helps explain how these two people could think for a second that they could possibly "get away with" these "humorous" and "ironic" comments:
Amanda Palmer thinks that Lady Gaga isn't edgy, isn't - you know - ironic, and so she gives her moralizing (superior, and therefore gets to get away with saying this) opinion on edgy irony:
LJ user![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sparkymonster tears that one apart rather neatly.
Then let's go to NH state representative Nick Levasseur, who apparently does not like anime.
I mean, wow, he really doesn't like anime at all, and by the way, it's all Japan's fault, see. Oh wait, that was supposed to be IRONIC. (let's reviewsparkymonster's comment on irony).
Yeah. Now Levasseur apologizes, saying, "This comment is a disappointment not only to the people of our state, whom it has been my privilege to serve, but also to my own beliefs and moral code."
No, it's not a "disappointment" to his moral code. It is an example of it. It's an example of a) what kind of person he actually is behind the facade, and b) of a sense of moral superiority brought on by moralizing - by moral capital banking. He was not caught out in some stretched attempt to paint him using the wrong word, he was caught out saying something so over-the-top wrongheaded he might as well have said (to use an offense to my ancestry) that Elie Wiesel's books should be burned in an oven, 'cause he just can't stand them. The real irony is that he goes on with this sort of behavior either thinking he is moral person, or at least hoping others will think so. Massbackwards has been storing up Nick's little "ironies" for a while. Have a look.
http://pss.sagepub.com/content/early/2010/03/01/0956797610363538.full
It's longish, so I will summarize: Many people who believe themselves to be acting in a morally/socially superior manner effectively "bank" that superior capital and "spend" it to act in less moral ways in other areas. That is, without putting it so, many people seem to feel they ought to be able to "get away with" behavior we would never tolerate from someone else, because they are good and moral people. I am sure we can all think of examples. (Now, please, also think of one who isn't the opposite of you politically, ok?) My take: Being a good and moral person means making the right choices as often as you can; not banking up for spending down on the karma.
Anyhow, I think it helps explain how these two people could think for a second that they could possibly "get away with" these "humorous" and "ironic" comments:
Amanda Palmer thinks that Lady Gaga isn't edgy, isn't - you know - ironic, and so she gives her moralizing (superior, and therefore gets to get away with saying this) opinion on edgy irony:
"ironic product placement is only ok if you take no money & beyond that give all the income to something ironic. like the Klan
LJ user
sparkymonster tears that one apart rather neatly.Then let's go to NH state representative Nick Levasseur, who apparently does not like anime.
"anime is a prime example of why two nukes just wasn't enough..."
I mean, wow, he really doesn't like anime at all, and by the way, it's all Japan's fault, see. Oh wait, that was supposed to be IRONIC. (let's review
sparkymonster's comment on irony).Yeah. Now Levasseur apologizes, saying, "This comment is a disappointment not only to the people of our state, whom it has been my privilege to serve, but also to my own beliefs and moral code."
No, it's not a "disappointment" to his moral code. It is an example of it. It's an example of a) what kind of person he actually is behind the facade, and b) of a sense of moral superiority brought on by moralizing - by moral capital banking. He was not caught out in some stretched attempt to paint him using the wrong word, he was caught out saying something so over-the-top wrongheaded he might as well have said (to use an offense to my ancestry) that Elie Wiesel's books should be burned in an oven, 'cause he just can't stand them. The real irony is that he goes on with this sort of behavior either thinking he is moral person, or at least hoping others will think so. Massbackwards has been storing up Nick's little "ironies" for a while. Have a look.
