The issue then is one of definitions. 99% of people would say that the OP image of a distorted Luigi is, in fact, apolitical.
While you can argue that it’s political, it cheapens the word.
If, on a spectrum from 1-10, with Rosa Parks being a 10, this is, well, I suppose I can’t say a number lower than one.
The colloquial understanding of the word political then, is one not just of kind but severity. There is some severity threshold of “abstract political-ness” of a thing that, below that said threshold, would not be considered “political” in the colloquial sense.
The issue is that, when you assert that “no, those things are political,” you are elevating them in severity above that threshold. To the average listener, you are likening our distorted Luigi friend to Rosa Parks, and that is offensive.
That’s why I’m pushing back on the all things are political position.
The issue with the latter point is that you’re painting a false dichotomy.
We are not in fact on a moving train, we are living life where we find ourselves.
Yes, society moves forward, but it isn’t a monolith. Some parts move faster, and others slower. There are 10,000 different cultural fronts, and on some you are extremely progressive, and on some you are “standing still” or “normal” as it were. It’s impossible to devote the emotional/mental bandwidth to be on the bleeding edge of every front.
And standing still isn’t the same as advocating that where you’re standing is where everyone else should stand. It’s more than possible to live a “normal” life without “coercing” other people to do the same.
I think the differentiator here is “a” moral good vs “the” moral good.
I think it’s more than reasonable to see unity and peace as worthy goals to strive for, and to know when to pick your battles on any given issue. That compromise can be preferable to chaos for all reasonable parties.
Which is not to say there aren’t hard limits. Compromise of human life and dignity are clearly unacceptable. But the idea that someone is willing to not build their identity around political issues (which is to say, those that rise above the political severity level to make them so in our current cultural zeitgeist), and to live in peace among those with whom they disagree. That doesn’t seem so bad to me.
To the average listener, you are likening our distorted Luigi friend to Rosa Parks.
Not really. I just assume more of their intelligence than you do.
We are not in fact on a moving train,
Was Roe v. Wade overturned with or without you?
It was overturned without a lot of people.
But, regardless, this actually has nothing to do with whether having Christmas dinner with mom’s family or dad’s is an issue of politics (the family’s).
If you lack the imagination for why two people might disagree about some Luigi head, whatever. They still can. Maybe somebody views it as ableist, maybe it becomes a nazi dogwhistle, maybe it’s not funny enough and the community argues about whether content like this should even be welcome here. Maybe somebody thinks it’s gross and doesn’t want it in their eyes, and what was just an image of Luigi is now a point of stubborn unwelcomeness from the community and the reason why this individual decides to leave forever.
Not all of these examples demand that you care about them. People leave sometimes. Oh well.
You don’t have a counter to the idea that politics is everywhere—you keep agreeing with it and then dismissing it. This grandstanding about treating very serious ideas very seriously is getting really boring.
The issue then is one of definitions. 99% of people would say that the OP image of a distorted Luigi is, in fact, apolitical.
While you can argue that it’s political, it cheapens the word.
If, on a spectrum from 1-10, with Rosa Parks being a 10, this is, well, I suppose I can’t say a number lower than one.
The colloquial understanding of the word political then, is one not just of kind but severity. There is some severity threshold of “abstract political-ness” of a thing that, below that said threshold, would not be considered “political” in the colloquial sense.
The issue is that, when you assert that “no, those things are political,” you are elevating them in severity above that threshold. To the average listener, you are likening our distorted Luigi friend to Rosa Parks, and that is offensive.
That’s why I’m pushing back on the all things are political position.
The issue with the latter point is that you’re painting a false dichotomy.
We are not in fact on a moving train, we are living life where we find ourselves.
Yes, society moves forward, but it isn’t a monolith. Some parts move faster, and others slower. There are 10,000 different cultural fronts, and on some you are extremely progressive, and on some you are “standing still” or “normal” as it were. It’s impossible to devote the emotional/mental bandwidth to be on the bleeding edge of every front.
And standing still isn’t the same as advocating that where you’re standing is where everyone else should stand. It’s more than possible to live a “normal” life without “coercing” other people to do the same.
I think the differentiator here is “a” moral good vs “the” moral good. I think it’s more than reasonable to see unity and peace as worthy goals to strive for, and to know when to pick your battles on any given issue. That compromise can be preferable to chaos for all reasonable parties.
Which is not to say there aren’t hard limits. Compromise of human life and dignity are clearly unacceptable. But the idea that someone is willing to not build their identity around political issues (which is to say, those that rise above the political severity level to make them so in our current cultural zeitgeist), and to live in peace among those with whom they disagree. That doesn’t seem so bad to me.
Not really. I just assume more of their intelligence than you do.
Was Roe v. Wade overturned with or without you?
It was overturned without a lot of people.
But, regardless, this actually has nothing to do with whether having Christmas dinner with mom’s family or dad’s is an issue of politics (the family’s).
If you lack the imagination for why two people might disagree about some Luigi head, whatever. They still can. Maybe somebody views it as ableist, maybe it becomes a nazi dogwhistle, maybe it’s not funny enough and the community argues about whether content like this should even be welcome here. Maybe somebody thinks it’s gross and doesn’t want it in their eyes, and what was just an image of Luigi is now a point of stubborn unwelcomeness from the community and the reason why this individual decides to leave forever.
Not all of these examples demand that you care about them. People leave sometimes. Oh well.
You don’t have a counter to the idea that politics is everywhere—you keep agreeing with it and then dismissing it. This grandstanding about treating very serious ideas very seriously is getting really boring.