I know what you’re thinking, that post above is a joke.
Has to be, doesn’t it?
Probably posted by a comedian who did it to set up the premise of their act which is about how ridiculous it is some men who think they have the right to control, blame or judge women for their own tragic, delusional and illusional bullshit.
Except – as you guessed it – it isn’t.
It’s true. It’s bloody true.
And while I could use this post to highlight the bullshit of religion – and America’s religious right – I’m not going to.
Not because I’ve suddenly become mature, but because Owen has done it all on his own.
Instead, I am going to talk about the other thing he is demonstrating … something many people, religious or not, are doing … and that is confusing opinion for intelligence.
A long time ago, I wrote a post about a line that featured in the movie about Margaret Thatcher featuring Meryl Streep.
It was this …
“Everyone prefers to feel these days instead of think. Why is no one thinking anymore?”
Now I – as anyone who knows me, knows – am a big believer in ‘feelings’ and yet even I agreed with the point she was making in that statement.
And I think that’s kind of similar to the point about some people mistaking opinion for intelligence.
This belief that just because you think it means everyone should feel the same.
Acting like an all-seeing guru.
The Yoda’s, Yoda.
My god … the lack of self-awareness is incredible. But it’s not simply because these people live and interact in a very tiny bubble – surrounded like minded sheep – it’s also because they refuse to be open to the lives, contexts and considerations of others.
God, there were so many of these people in China.
Predominantly white, Western men … who would immediately think and act like ‘they knew best’, regardless that they’d never been to China or – if they had – had only interacted in Western contexts.
Oh the shit they’d spout …
The blinkered ignorance they’d spew.
From talking about twitter in a nation that didn’t have it … to saying Asian women would not buy expensive lingerie because they only buy things that show status to society to telling Chinese business people how to sell their products in China, despite it being their very first time in the country … you name it, I heard it.
I used to call it ‘the generosity of stupidity’.
And while it is easy to laugh at them – and people like Owen, with his misogynistic, sexist bullshit – the scary thing is they attract audiences and we’re to blame.
You see we think it’s so obvious they’re ridiculous that we don’t need to call them out on it. But the problem is, this feeds their belief they’re right and before you know it, they come out with tweets that suggest a women wearing leggings is an act of sexual temptation.
Worse, an act of sexual temptation that is entirely the woman’s fault, regardless of the fact they’re just wearing some leggings because they’re comfy or stylish or it doesn’t matter what the fuck the reason is.
Which is why I think we should all follow the advice of Peter Mensch.
Peter is one half of Metallica’s long-term managers and when I asked him what he thought his job was, he said this:
“I’m paid to tell them the truth. They might not like it, they might not follow it, but it is my job to ensure they know the reality of the situation they are going into, based on 40+ years of experience working at the highest, most demanding, most successful standards of music management”.
Or said another way …
When you meet people like this, if you don’t deal with them, you’re complicit to them.
And while some may say that is argumentative and aggressive approach, I’ll leave you with something my Dad used to tell his young lawyers about the importance of dealing with issues head on.
“Nothing shows respect like providing a client with inconvenient truth”.
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No post tomorrow as we celebrate the wonderful Matariki … so see you Monday.