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comment by humanodon
humanodon  ·  3907 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: The Spread of Trigger Warnings

Internet fueled social justice gets trivialized because it's often taken too far, too fast. I'm all for equality, representation and empathy, but whenever I see the term "rape culture" or the word "privilege" used on the internet, I immediately think that whatever is going to be talked about will be done so in the whiniest, dumbest way possible. I'll admit that that is unfair, but that bias didn't come out of nothing.





iammyownrushmore  ·  3907 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I've used both the terms "rape culture" and "privilege" before, hopefully in a responsible context, because I do understand the merit of what they represent. However, the trivialization that comes with their increased usage is a very real thing that I don't think gets taken into account by people who use "social justice language" all the time. If the whole idea is to give some semblance of understanding or a voice to people who feel or are victimized, it can quickly nullify the entire intent if it becomes so ubiquitous and trivial to use such a strong word as rape so often and expect the same weight to be carried.

humanodon  ·  3907 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Yeah, I agree. Sure, I can imagine scenarios where these terms can be useful for thoughtful discussion, but I'd also say that I get the impression that a lot of the social justice stuff I've seen comes from people who are very sheltered, perhaps because they are very young. As annoying as it is now, I can only hope that these examples will be a source of embarrassment for those people for decades to come.

Another problem with this kind of language is its insular and exclusive language, as in, "everyone who doesn't use or acknowledge these terms are therefore part of the problem", which is demonstrably bullshit. I also think that it promotes the idea that people should be vigilant for opportunities to become outraged or offended, which really don't do much to solve anything, though it might make people feel good for doing so.

Panopticon  ·  3907 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I don't think protesting against endemic rape will ever be a source of embarrassment.

humanodon  ·  3907 days ago  ·  link  ·  

And I don't think you got my point.

b_b  ·  3907 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Keep your chauvinist ideas off my internet, pig!

humanodon  ·  3907 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Blah blah patriarchy because you're a man, blah blah white privilege because you're white and I'm not, blah blah pigs are beautiful and intelligent and you'd know that if your culturally biased views weren't blah blah thin privilege.