Voices
own set of challenges. But I’m
not that interested in convincing
someone who doesn’t believe in
privilege as a concept that operates on a sliding scale. That’s too
basic, but it’s worth noting that
privilege is highly correlated with
one’s tolerance level for “outrage.” The amount of privilege
that one is born with and accumulates over the course of one’s
life seems to be indirectly proportionate to one’s patience for
the voiced discomfort, outrage
or pain of others. And that’s why
grown, educated white men feel
comfortable writing the words
“race card” in columns published
in The Washington Post.
It’s worth noting, of course,
that “outrage” itself is a weighted term, one that’s in vogue like
“backlash” was when people
started having feelings about
Lena Dunham and Girls. But unlike “backlash,” which at least
allows a cause-and-effect, “outrage” reads more like “hysteria,”
a historically efficient way of dismissing valid concerns. The very
phrase “I’m tired of people being
outraged all the time” requires
the assumption that the “outrage” is unwarranted, otherwise
the speaker would be admitting a
KIA MAKARECHI
HUFFINGTON
01.26.14
troubling lack of empathy.
But how about instead of voicing outrage fatigue, we tried listening? Perhaps it can be tiring
to be confronted with a wider
array of perspectives. But it
should also be exciting! We’re
operating in a social media age
— if an article has spread across
the internet, that’s because
enough readers feel something
about the content of the story to
Yes, truth matters
and social media outrage
always carries the risk of
performativity, but these
are problems that deserve
critical engagement, not
dismissiveness.”
share it along. In other words,
people care about it.
Or maybe you just really don’t
care. But if you just can’t bring
yourself to listen, then at least
just look away. It doesn’t cost
you anything for someone
else’s voice to exist.
Kia Makarechi is the senior
editor for mobile and innovations
at The Huffington Post.