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Chris Lynch: The outrage competition

Author
Chris Lynch ,
Publish Date
Fri, 20 Jan 2017, 2:25PM
Let’s stop pretending to be so offended and grow up, says Chris Lynch (Getty Images)
Let’s stop pretending to be so offended and grow up, says Chris Lynch (Getty Images)

Chris Lynch: The outrage competition

Author
Chris Lynch ,
Publish Date
Fri, 20 Jan 2017, 2:25PM

Let’s stop pretending to be so offended and grow up.

New Zealand is built on freedom of expression, and we're fortunate to live in a democracy. Some far left online commentators relish in the opportunity to be offended. They feed their hungry egos by trying to be the most offended or the most outraged. I won't name them. To do so gives them notoriety they seek.

It's almost as if they want to tell the world, "If I'm offended, then that makes me a sensitive, good natured, caring person." But in order to achieve this status, they must complain about the world around them and then write how offended they are, before de-humanising the source of their outrage. They never comprehend the irony of their intolerance. These cyber cry babies know no bounds. The 24 hour news cycle feeds their addiction to outrage.

They get their fix by presenting an "I'm so outraged" persona. This high can last hours, minutes or seconds. The more interaction with other equally offended souls, the longer the high. And if it lasts only seconds, it doesn’t matter. There's always something new to replace their moment in time outrage. Social media provides an incredible platform for these show ponies.

If they're looking for something to be genuinely offended by, they should research Syria, or the climate change induced plight of our island neighbours doing it rough because of record breaking cyclones. Like most decent minded humans, we have a desire to expose wrongdoings in the world.

It's a different story for some online commentators. Their outrage is not motivated by the need for social change, but by their narcissistic need to market their sensitive, caring online brand. Who’s noticed me? Who’s re-tweeted my outrage? They constantly crave apologies from those they feel offended by. They’ll accuse their targets of grandstanding, while doing the same thing to ensure they're winning the moral outrage race.

What they fail to understand is that the real world doesn't care. Some of the worst offenders of being offended are millennials. They point score among themselves by writing and sharing articles on "white privilege."

I posted an article on my public Facebook page on a New Zealand woman who caught her husband cheating. She sought revenge and plastered nude photos of his mistress around town. Her criminal tactics backfired, and she was rightfully convicted with offensive behaviour.

Most of the responding posts were light-hearted. It was a stupid thing to do, but the woman was upset. A millennial took issue to the article and accused me of perpetuating a rape culture.

Another Facebooker took exception to a BBC video poking fun at ISIS. “The Real Housewives of Isis” sketch showed Jihadi brides taking selfies and showing off suicide bomb vests. It was bad taste. But ISIS’ mission is to scare Western nations. They want to reduce our ability to be happy. This was lost on this Facebooker. She was overcome by outrage and anyone who challenged her, was described a "stupid white man” even though she was Caucasian. 

Those scared of diversity of opinion use their personal brand of outrage to silence political discussion. When I hosted a  local current affairs TV show, producers made light of my last name, calling the show “Lynched.”  It was broadcast at a time when the city was politically charged given the issues facing residents following the quakes.

One delicate snowflake took great exception to the cartoon titles, because of the "historical context.”  This millennial, a youth Green party member, refused to come on, saying the opening titles were racist - despite the fact that every leader of every political party, including his Green party co-leaders appeared on the show.

Think that’s precious? A non-profit group of sensitive souls called on social media companies to expand skin colour options for cartoon emojis to reflect global diversity.

Even a cable news channel MSNBC host devoted air time to ask his guest “Do you think there’s a limitation we’re suffering from in terms of the racial diversity of these emojis?”

Fast forward to 2017, a Maori leader slammed the new 'Emotiki' mobile app, calling its Maori-themed emojis "culturally unsafe". 'Emotiki', designed by Te Puia in Rotorua, includes more than 200 free Maori icons that can be shared through iPhone, Android and social media apps. Which side of this outrage argument will win out? 

Let’s not even start on that youtube comedian who sparked so much outrage by putting on blackface in a video. Did anyone genuinely care about that idiot before their attention was alerted to it? Will anyone genuinely care about him again in a week? Sometimes the outrage does nothing more than draw attention to attention seekers.  

If all this outrage is genuine, I’m investing shares in Kleenex.

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