Self-indulgence, self-importance, "irony," and the banking of moral capital

[doc_strange]

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:

"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.

Comments

[cymrullewes.livejournal.com]

I'm tempted to take my green tressed almost 15 year old down to Concord and knock on Rep. Levasseur's door and point out how watching anime gave her the idea of how to express herself in a non-violent, non harmful way that delights her and others around her. (and swallowing against threatening to sic the ghost of Grandma Yamashita on him, who survived those two nukes and died at 97 of stomach cancer because she didn't want to be a burden on anyone. Do you know how PAINFUL stomach cancer is? How long one would have to hide that pain? Can you imagine how strong her ghost must be? Mainly because I rather doubt the thought of a ghost would actually make the man think about what he said. I miss her. She didn't speak much English but she adored my eldest (first "great grandchild" in the US, I'm not sure if Aunt Fumiko's brother's children had children then. (Aunt Fumiko is married to my mother's twin brother.)))

I'm sort of perturbed at myself that my first thought was that elected officials should not have the right to free speech because it makes their constituents look bad. Then I amended it to "they can say what they like as long as they prepend those statements with 'I' first."

[docstrange.livejournal.com]

I suspect, given his track record, that he's not particularly subject to induced self-reflection. How he could think that was funny, even for a microsecond of failed self-censorship, escapes me.

On your last point, too many of our elected officials really are a wonderful study in socio-normative narcissism.

[cymrullewes.livejournal.com]

I think it has to do with believing enough time has passed that all things are now funny. I wonder if anyone ever said "Never again." to him.

[docstrange.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I guess it's all hilarious once the immediate victims are dead. Or something like that. I understand these things passing from "immediate enemies" once time has passed, but never into humor. I'm not sure too many descendants of Huguenots find their persecution funny, though it is a long time past.

[docstrange.livejournal.com]

Which is to say, I agree - it's hard to excuse him even if one can explain his motivation to humor.

[caladri.livejournal.com]

I find jokes about their persecution funny if and only if they are clever jokes involving Calvinism.

[girlvinyl.livejournal.com]

Oh my god I am loling so hard re: Amanda Palmer and Gaga. It makes sooo much sense that I would absolutely adore Gaga and respect her talent and professional choices while finding Palmer tedious and self righteous and generally icky. Seriously, she's grossed me out for quite a while.

This is awesome. Glad this isn't friendslocked, I will be linking it for lulz.

[docstrange.livejournal.com]

Absolutely!

[perspicuity.livejournal.com]

perhaps amanda has a bit of sour grapes over LG being, you know, currently very successful, and a rather fixated icon for some... and amanda isn't...

"who is amanda palmer?" -- "that chick that neil married?"

that's irony.

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