Neutrality is not enlightenment. It is a position only accessible to those for whom the stakes are very low, who want to feel superior to those who have no choice but to care.
~araxoolie

This is so very true.  There is a tendency among people who have very little to lose to say “Shush, You are being rude.  Just Shush. Be accepting and polite.”. But there are times when being polite is UTTERLY POINTLESS.

When people’s lives have been stripped mined they don’t have any need to be polite.  It will not save them.  Their best solution is to be LOUD AND ANGRY.  To be effectively calling out what is wrong.

Do not Shush the disenfranchised because it feels awkward and rude to you.  Ask yourself, why are they screaming?  Why are they making a fuss and being so rude and angry?  Why aren’t you angry?

Do you see the problem, but are just giving precedence over your current comfort and the need to fit into the social dynamic that is Polite Society?  Because that is a certainly a strategy that works well in at dinner party for the boss, but it’s not one that will change the course of history.  Think about it hard – Are you unconsciously prioritizing the need to smooth out the immediate discomfort of shoutiness over the absolute problem that caused it?

Or is their problem not a problem for you and so you just don’t want to know that anyone else is suffering?  Well, guess what.  They have no need to make you more comfortable in your easy life.  Their life isn’t going so well.  Too bad if you have to see it, hear it and face it.

8 thoughts on “”

  2. What many fail to realize, we can make our displeasure or frustration known without being mean or rude. So, if someone is being treated poorly – be it a customer service rep, rude fellow customer, bigot, condescending co-worker – we can choose to say something. My kids will listen to me the softer my voice and more direct I am. The same is true with customer service people.

    I have had two recent encounters where I was not being served well and needed to make them aware of my service issues and timing constraints. Each situation was rectified. The first exceedingly well and the second OK because they did not keep me apprised. It is amazing what a heads-up phone call, text or email will do for a waiting customer.

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    1. Yes. I think when you are talking about inconvenience or problems with obvious paths to solutions the best idea is to be courteous and persistent.

      When you are dealing with a large system, like a government, which is ignoring your needs, being quiet and courteous is not a particularly good strategy.

      You must get their attention and governments are very deaf.

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      1. Very deaf indeed, at least to us average citizens. I reach out with select posts in emails to legislators, press and others. If you post a letter on the website of a senator or congress rep, you typically receive a form letter by topic. Some of the state legislators will respond, but it is fewer and far between.

        My thrust is to stick to the issues and cite data sources. Unfortunately, on occasion, I must address the many negative attributes of a our male presidential candidate, as he is highly prone to misuse information and demonize folks that get in his way.

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      2. I think sending a letter to your representative is definitely part of the solution. Tweeting and blogging as well.

        But money is still a stronger voice and since the disadvantaged do not own that voice, they need to be loud. Loud and probably obnoxious gets noticed by more people and this leads to more voices.

        Pressure has to be felt by the elected representative. And that pressure is felt when the paid media notice, when the social media is drowning in it, when it’s a common topic everyone knows about.

        Because people will by nature notice things that are loud and obnoxious. Eventually the notice becomes understanding.

        People call Pride Parades loud and obnoxious. But the reality is that if they weren’t over the top they wouldn’t have been forced into the minds of the average person. We must see the disadvantaged in order to understand them. To recognize their need.

        Polite Rationality is not how the monkey brain work. That’s how the human brain works. And as much as I long for the human brain to be the predominant way our species functions, it’s not. Most of us are living our lives in one monkey brain reaction after another.

        The only way to manage that is to work with the monkey brain. THAT is why Trump is so effective in his campaign. He pushes that monkey brain in all the right places.

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      3. I do think stand-ins, protests, etc. need to be more common, but with a definitive purpose and handouts for the news people – here is why we are here. I actually loved the sit in by Dem reps in the House. It embarrassed the GOP and should have. As you have written, how many people must die before a reasonable gun control law is passed? The Dems are on the side of the Angels and parents, so they should push this issue. It is past time to do something common sensical, which will preserve 2nd amendment rights, but better govern a weapon designed to kill.

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