“Them”
Inventing a them
Yes, I admit it I fall for it everytime. Someone will write an article, blog or opinion piece with a simplistic binary that bashes “them” and I jump right in to take a side. Oh, it could be anyone of “them”. Hipsters in Paris, young women who hookup, boomers, male chefs, New Yorkers, Californians, Christians, Atheists, slackers, men, women, vegetarians, meat eaters, hipsters, millenials. Binaries work, they create factions and stir up emotions. I seem to always go against the author and defend “them”.
In our delusion about our own evolution, we think that only people in the past, invented them, particularly along religious or national lines: Gentiles vs. Jews, Protestants vs. Catholics, Muslims vs. Hindus, English vs. Germans. But, oh no, we do it every day. We find a them and we will gather around an article and take sides. I love to go against the author. It’s so easy to find big flaws in the logic, or morality with authors of binary articles.
“Them” usually are accused of destroying a precious part of our lives, our neighborhoods, where we eat, what we drink and how we drink it, what we believe in, our aesthetic. They do get our insides stirred in a visceral and primitive way. Some of us our faces get red. The arguments are always ridiculously banal: “They call that music”, “ the best coffee is only in Stumptown”, “Anthony Bourdain is a real chef, Rachel Ray is a hack”. Like sports, its a fake battle, but we get to pick sides.
For some reason when when Miley Cyrus did the tongue thing I had this desire to defend her. I know nothing of poor Miley, but I picked her side. I came up with some clever defenses of her: how the phallus was always part of western theater, take Aristophanes; even Eisnstein stuck his tongue out. Miley is a performer and taking sides on her performance as if it matters was rather silly. I don’t enjoy watching sports, but I tell you, this was fun. Defending Miley was some of the best hours I had on the internet.
One can invent some pretty clever justifications for the ridiculous. After all, by this time I have said all that can be said about our political circus. I cannot invent anything new, the pundits keep repeating everything over and over and we are in a quagmire of political monotony.
I always find myself defending the “them” that is targeted, except when it comes to hipsters, I like to jump in with a few punches, but it’s not fun anymore. They are older and have babies, hard to go around making fun of parents who play dressup. Really, I would be fine with hipsters if they did not attack boomers and then imitate the old school boomer aesthetic. C’mon kids, invent something I can pick on.
I have to say the internet has given me a great venue to get into silly arguments about “them”.
