Oppression Olympics
A few days back, I saw a post on an animal sanctuary's Facebook page. One of the comments read, “There are so many humans in need of help, and here you’re protecting stray animals”. This reply is a reflection of a developing thought in our society. It is growing unchecked and people are encouraged in the name of speaking truth.
Whenever a single person becomes an advocate for some kind of cause, almost everyone jumps to shame them for neglecting other problems. They are termed “hypocrites” who are using their platform for selective causes.
To be fair most of them are hypocrites but that’s beside the point. In our morally corrupt society, there are several sufferings and several problems. Their intensity obviously differs but we need to have empathy for all of them in our hearts.
Every person, society, or group deserves a way out of their societal, or financial troubles. However, we also need to realize that a “single person can’t be a champion for all causes”. Not every advocate has the resources, time, and knowledge to not just speak but contribute to other key areas. There’s a suitable Ricky Gervais joke to be mentioned:
“Whenever I do a thing about animals, there’s always someone that goes, ‘What about children dying in Syria?’ Yeah, that’s bad, too — can’t we care about both? Sometimes I go, ‘You carry on all your good work for the fucking children in Syria, and I’ll do this.’
Now I do believe that humans' lives are more important than animals. There’s a hierarchy of good deeds just like there’s a hierarchy of bad deeds.
With a tiny percentage of volunteers or donations to fix all the problems in the world, we need to encourage the already existing humanitarians rather than burden them with other issues. So if someone is speaking for the right to Education, don’t shame them for not working for poverty eradication, hunger, or climate disasters.
Reliance on Celebrities/Influencers
This brings me to the second vital aspect of this conversation. We rely a lot on celebrities to be vocal about active issues. To some extent, it's fair as they can raise awareness for a larger audience. However, when they do, netizens expect them to maintain the same vigor for future problems happening in every corner of the world.
We need to ask ourselves the question “Do I as a single human being raise my voice for all issues like racism, humanitarian crisis, poverty, education, freedom of speech, refugees, etc without exhausting myself?”. If the answer is no, then we need to develop some empathy for famous individuals too.
Also instead of wasting energy on morally correct celebs or influencers, we as a community can do our own work. So if Bella Hadid wants to stand up for Palestinians, let her do that, and if Leonardo Di Caprio wants to stand up for climate change, let him do that. With time, we’ll realize that we can peacefully exist in each other’s orbits without throwing dirt at others.
Role Of Media
My above statement doesn’t apply to the media. Their job’s to highlight things going around the world in an unbiased manner. As the level of suffering is different just like murder is a more intense crime than robbery; then the media coverage should suit that.
Many a time, when there’s a more severe conflict in which human lives are at risk, the mainstream media will be engulfed in another trivial matter.
That’s it for today! You are free to disagree in the comment section.
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