A Mile Wide, An Inch Deep

My husband says I’m a contrarian who disagrees just to disagree. To which I say, “No, I’m not. You’re wrong!” A friend shared this blog column on Facebook and I basically disagreed with every word. First and foremost — and viscerally — I disagree with policing what other people post on Facebook and shaming them for failing to follow someone else’s arbitrary standard. It’s an authoritarian impulse that I understand — dear Lord if I could prevent all sports-related posts, I would! I would! — but let's call it what it is and not cloak it in some kind of moral high ground. We can have our personal pet peeves without dressing them up as proof of society's decline.   And to be clear, these are arbitrary standards we're talking about. I’ve written before about the social media conundrum that if you only post positive things about your life and happy-smiling pictures, you’re criticized for image-branding. But if you post honest comments about depression or divo...

In response to the grand jury announcement in Ferguson, a (white) neighbor posted a meme, “Remember when white people rioted after the OJ Simpson verdict? Me either.” I’ve written extensively here about why memes (from any ideological bent) ruin thoughtful political discourse. Most of the time, I see little value in rebutting the specifics of a meme itself and counsel people (yes, you, Dad!) not to get angry at the unfairness of the meme but to instead highlight its absurdities. In this case, I responded with “No, but I do remember the times that white people rioted over football coaches and pumpkins.” But after some thought, I’ve decided the specifics of this particular meme are worth responding to after all. White people might have been disgusted by the OJ Simpson verdict – another rich and powerful celebrity gets away with murder – but we weren’t personally affected by it. If anyone would have been out in the streets rioting, it would have been victims of domestic violence who on...