Chamblee54

PG posted a sign on facebook. The text read “It is is not about justice. It is having a big emotional experience that validates privilege.” The sign is based on a quote by Teju Cole. He was talking about something called the White Savior Industrial Complex. If you have a few minutes, you might benefit from reading that post. Some will want to drape a towel over the nearest mirror.
There was a response to the sign. What? ~ It is about a lot of things. I have one version where I substitute salvation for justice. I think it is about most situations where people get a bit too proud of their opinions. ~ Often it really is about justice though.
As the uncertain umpire said, fair enough. Without a specific example, it is tough to *judge*. Some activists are sincere, just as others are self aggrandizing jerks. It can be tough to tell the difference. This is a problem for sincere people. They are often confused for angry idiots with too much free time.
The background of the sign is a wall, near a MARTA elevated track. The wall is between a railroad line, and the support for the elevated track. The idea is to protect the MARTA line if a freight train turns over on the track. The wall is several feet thick, has steel bars, and is full of gravel. It has never been tested. The wall is not in place to validate privilege.
Historic pictures are from “The Special Collections and Archives,Georgia State University Library”. They were originally used in a post, PC vs NOL. The post was about replacing political correctness with non oppressive language. Fortunately, not much more has been heard about this concept. The post included a list of thoughts that are germane to today’s discussion.
1 – Whoever hands out the labels controls the discussion. Obamacare sounds much worse than the affordable care act. Pro life is better than anti abortion. Don’t worry about the children killed in the wars that pro life people support The spell check suggestion for Obamacare is Macabre .
2 – Semantic discussions are so tiresome. Too much food for thought leads to moral indigestion. If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. Stream of consciousness is more fun to write than it is to read. The delete key is not just for breakfast.
3 – Languages are the creation of man. They are always going to have shortcomings. Words and phrases mean different things to different people.
4 – When self styled conservatives make fun non oppressive language, in the way they ridicule political correctness, the concept has arrived.
5 – People are proud of their ignorance and prejudices. When someone uses a term that offends/angers you, it says more about the sayer than it does the object.
6 – When you punish the use of a term, you make it’s use more appealing.
7 – There is more to respecting a person than refraining from the use of forbidden words.
8 – Often, the oppressors think they are the victims.
9 – If you are a sloppy typer, non oppressive can come out ono oppressive. John is rocking and rolling in his grave. Yoko is counting money.
10 – It is not what you say, it is how you say it.
11 – If you are confused, it only means you are paying attention.
12 – The dominant religion of our culture has, as a cornerstone belief, the notion that “the bible is the word of G-d”. When you use this belief as a foundation for your culture, it should not be surprising when the basement leaks.
13 – The dominant religion of our culture talks about forgiveness a lot. Followers like to be forgiven more than they like to forgive.
14 – When you can fake sincerity, you have got it made.