Whataboutmeism
by Sebastian Millbank, Artillery Row:
British politics is afflicted by a hatred of normality.
At this point, it follows a script. First a prominent figure says the most inoffensively obvious thing you’ve ever heard. “We need to have more babies.” “The family is the basis of society.” “Anti-social behaviour ruins lives.” “Ideally children should be brought up by their biological parents.” (Two of these examples alone are Miriam Cates — what can one say, she’s a hero.)
Then comes the anger. Boy, people are angry. How dare a public figure say something so offensive. We need to have more babies? Actually’ you’re trying to “drag the party back to the dark ages on morality issues” (that one from a “Conservative” MP). Think the heterosexual family is the basis of society? You’re making “thinly-veiled anti-LGBTQ+ comments”. Do you believe anti-social behaviour is bad? You’re racistly targeting “people of colour”. Think that being brought up by your biological parents is the ideal? You “don’t represent the values of modern people”, you’re erasing “my identity and lived experience as an adopted person”, you’re attacking “single-parent families”, you’re “throwing families under the bus” to further your “Conservative ideology”, and you want “women to stay in abusive relationships”.
Related Posts
Tags
Share This
