I'm probably going to make some enemies with this post. I say this not because I particularly care that I will, or because I'm trying to puff myself up as somehow "edgy", but because it's an easy choice for a punchy, attention-grabbing opener, and I'm not very creative.
Specifically, I'll be making enemies on both sides of the aisle, wherever this "aisle" happens to be. This is because I Have Noticed A Pattern recently of attributing the existence of things they're opposed to to some nebulously defined "culture". If you spend any time among pro-lifers, you're basically guaranteed to hear someone mention "the Culture of Death". In feminist/"social justice" circles, a popular Culture du jour is "the Rape Culture". There's been a lot of talk recently about America's "Gun Culture". Another example of this, though one that doesn't explicitly include the word "culture", is "the Patriarchy".
I don't like this pattern, as you will find is usually the case here. This isn't mainly because I dislike the idea behind it. The idea that to truly fix a problem we have to attack it at its roots is a good idea. To reduce abortion we need to offer assistance to pregnant women, and to reduce violence we need to look at reasons people commit violent acts, such as poverty or religious/political extremism or disputes over land and resources. The problem is that (crudely extending with the plant metaphor set up by "roots") people try to go a step further, blaming the soil itself. Then, they start attacking anything even remotely dirt-like, including chocolate, and anyone who dares to question why they're opening a
This probably isn't that clear, so I'll include some real-world examples.
1.) "Abortion Donuts"
In early 2009, the U.S. was just about to inaugurate Barack Obama. To commemorate this occasion, Krispy Kreme decided to celebrate the American tradition of choosing the head of the executive branch of our federal government every four years by offering a free donut to everyone who came in on January 20th, 2009. As an added bonus, you even got to choose what kind of donut you wanted!
Now, a normal person would go "Sweet, free donuts!" and stop by if they had the opportunity. But the American Life League was OUTRAGED! You see, Krispy Kreme had made the mistake of using the word "choice" in their announcement not once, but twice! And of course, as ALL put it, "‘choice’ is synonymous with abortion access, and celebration of ‘freedom of choice’ is a tacit endorsement of abortion rights on demand.".
Never mind that in this context, "choice" clearly refers to choosing your president and choosing what flavor of donut you want. Never mind that abortions and donuts have absolutely nothing to do with each other! Can't you see that the only way to stop abortion is to fight the "Culture of Death" in all its forms, wherever it shows up, even in donut giveaways? Anyone who dissents isn't really pro-life, because they're just feeding into the Culture of Death. Toss those fudge candies out the window!
2.) "Rape Pizza"
In 2012, Domino's Pizza came out with a line of "artisan" pizzas. These pizzas, they said, were so finely tuned that they were literally perfect, and they won't let anyone sully that perfection by requesting, say, extra pepperoni or whatever. They'd normally say yes to any (reasonable) pizza customization requests, but this time they are forced, by the sheer perfection of these "artisan" pizzas, to say no. In addition to some television ads, on of their pizza boxes touts this new policy with a short "No is the new yes" slogan, and then goes on underneath to further explain and elaborate what I just detailed above.
Now a normal person would go "Well, that's kind of silly. Not everyone will like the same thing, and I ought to be allowed to pick what toppings I want!" and then either go about their day, or maybe try one of them if they're really curious. But the Feminist™ blogosphere was OUTRAGED! You see, Domino's had made the mistake of using the word "no" on their pizza box. And of course, as Electa Blog put it, "This new campaign is clearly a mash-up of ‘_______ is the new black’ and ‘No means no’" and "‘No means no’ has a meaning tied up with men making unwanted sexual advances on women.".
Never mind that in this context, "no" clearly refers to denying a customer's request to change a pizza's toppings. Never mind that rape and pizzas have absolutely nothing to do with each other! Can't you see that the only way to stop rape is to fight the "Rape Culture" in all its forms, wherever it shows up, even in stupid pizza taglines? Anyone who dissents isn't really anti-rape, because they're just feeding into the Rape Culture. Light those Oreos on fire!
The link for 1.) is to Feministe, while the link for 2.) is to Feministing. This was not an accident. Neither was my decision to format the two sections in a nearly identical manner There were several articles on each story, but I choose these two for a reason: to demonstrate how it can be so obvious to us when they do this, but when we do the same thing, it's TOTALLY DIFFERENT, GUYS.
I used to think that this trend was one of paranoid pessimism, imagining that something you hate comes from some nebulous shadow conspiracy. However, I've recently realized it's probably the opposite: lazy optimism, or at least wishful thinking. This is especially obvious in the case of the "Culture of Death". Many pro-lifers believe that if we can end this Culture, everything will fall like a house of cards. Not just abortion, but assisted suicide, and euthanasia, and embryonic stem cell research, and (for some) the death penalty and war, and… well, you get the picture.
The same can be said about "the Patriarchy", however. The wage gap? Patriarchy. Not enough women in the government? Patriarchy. People not wanting to pay for something that violates their moral beliefs, or wanting women to at least know all the facts before an abortion, or wanting to draw attention to false rape accusations? Patriarchy, Patriarchy, Patriarchy!
This also frees people from having to think too much about where they direct their attention. This saves effort on their part, yes, but I think more importantly it makes their target vague and expansive. Therefore, those people who are fueled by moral indignation can always have something to wag their fingers at. An example of this is the "Gay Agenda" that's always mentioned by conservatives. Something totally benign, like Spongebob or Tinky Winky or a boy getting his toenails painted, can be attacked with a vengeance. Sharpshooting becomes a lot easier if you can just fire wildly and then say "That's exactly what I was trying to hit!".
So please, before you fire that fudgsicle into the Sun, ask yourself: Is this really going to help kill the weed, or am I just looking for something to strap to my rocket?
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