Social Issues And The False Dichotomy Of Interest
I know this is a complex concept to grasp, requiring a Ph.D level of education and all, but I'm gonna try to explain it in simple terms anyway: It is possible to give a shit about more than one political or social or civil rights issue at a time, even if one is speaking about only one issue at the moment.
It is possible to care about the militarization of our local law enforcement AND people dying of famine in other countries.
It is possible to care about refugees from war-torn nations AND our own veterans not getting adequate post-war care.
It is possible to care about black people being murdered for petty or no crimes AND about the safety of our police officers on the job.
It is possible to care about the harassment, assault, and rape of non-men in our culture and how our politicians enforce and legitimize it with their completely fallacious laws AND about aggressive nations grandstanding and waving their dicks at us or other countries.
It's possible to care about the words and pictures written on government objects like money and buildings AND about our children's education.
It is possible to care about celebrities - who they're marrying, what they're wearing, which ones are dying - AND about the economy.
It is possible to care about street harassment in the US AND genital mutilation / acid attacks / women being stoned to death in other countries.
It is possible to care about and invest in the latest movies / sporting events / books / TV shows to come out AND about cancer.
If you are tempted to tell people that they should stop caring about something they do care about because you think that it's both frivolous and interfering with their ability to care about something you think is important, I'm gonna throw your advice right back at you and tell you to stop wasting your time complaining about what other people care about and get off your ass and actually DO something about those issues YOU think are so important because being concerned with other people's interests is, apparently, interfering with your own ability to care about the important things.
While you're busy whining on social media about how people aren't paying attention to whatever pet issue has your ire up, what you're NOT doing is raising money for that issue, or writing to your elected officials about that issue, or getting a science degree to solve that issue, or putting your life on the line to fix that issue.
By all means, post about the issues you think are important to get people to pay attention to them. Be upset about your issues not getting enough attention. Just don't mistake other people's interest in something that you *don't* care about as an inability to care about other things. It could be that YOU are the one lacking in the information or education or perspective to understand why THEIR topic is also important.
It is possible to care about the militarization of our local law enforcement AND people dying of famine in other countries.
It is possible to care about refugees from war-torn nations AND our own veterans not getting adequate post-war care.
It is possible to care about black people being murdered for petty or no crimes AND about the safety of our police officers on the job.
It is possible to care about the harassment, assault, and rape of non-men in our culture and how our politicians enforce and legitimize it with their completely fallacious laws AND about aggressive nations grandstanding and waving their dicks at us or other countries.
It's possible to care about the words and pictures written on government objects like money and buildings AND about our children's education.
It is possible to care about celebrities - who they're marrying, what they're wearing, which ones are dying - AND about the economy.
It is possible to care about street harassment in the US AND genital mutilation / acid attacks / women being stoned to death in other countries.
It is possible to care about and invest in the latest movies / sporting events / books / TV shows to come out AND about cancer.
If you are tempted to tell people that they should stop caring about something they do care about because you think that it's both frivolous and interfering with their ability to care about something you think is important, I'm gonna throw your advice right back at you and tell you to stop wasting your time complaining about what other people care about and get off your ass and actually DO something about those issues YOU think are so important because being concerned with other people's interests is, apparently, interfering with your own ability to care about the important things.
While you're busy whining on social media about how people aren't paying attention to whatever pet issue has your ire up, what you're NOT doing is raising money for that issue, or writing to your elected officials about that issue, or getting a science degree to solve that issue, or putting your life on the line to fix that issue.
By all means, post about the issues you think are important to get people to pay attention to them. Be upset about your issues not getting enough attention. Just don't mistake other people's interest in something that you *don't* care about as an inability to care about other things. It could be that YOU are the one lacking in the information or education or perspective to understand why THEIR topic is also important.