Strangely Naked

I am so angry at that artist I could gargle the rage-induced upchuck. Did you hear that the neutrally gendered artist said something I morally disagree with? No, not ending a sentence with a preposition! Worse. That neutrally gendered artist sided with a political belief that I find unsupportable. I know! Can you believe that?

I have no choice. Rather than allow that neutrally gendered artist to hold a differing opinion that, if I were to be intellectually honest, doesn’t affect or involve me at all, I am compelled to change my opinion of the artist and that neutrally gendered artist’s art.

Sure, seeing that painting was transformative for me and allowed me to rethink my position in the universe, but to know that the neutrally gendered artist once held a favorable opinion on a diametrically opposed political opinion on a hyper-specific myopic subject–well, I feel like I have to protest every appearance including charitable speeches and passive social media presences.

Of course I didn’t read the article or seek out the full, nuanced opinion of the neutrally gendered artist or the reasoning behind out-of-context sexual choices the neutrally gendered artist has made that were thrust upon me through the fuzzy-lens of a sensationalistic media ravenous for nothing but clicks. Why would I read it through, I don’t agree with the position hastily summarized in the misleading headline? That would be like being Pro-Life yet allowing for a conversation with a Pro-Choice advocate rather than reducing the interaction to a shouting match. There’s just nothing to accomplish there except the minimal, menial understanding of your fellow over-analyzing flesh-bags.

It would be a treat to hear an articulate, thought provoking, entertaining speaker as opposed to a monotoned automaton who fits lock-step with my ideals, but I cannot allow myself to miss an opportunity to protest and attack the cuddly underbelly of an easy, non-retaliative target in order to prop myself up as a hero rather than engage in a meaningful, non-self-aggrandizing dialogue.

Damn The Man, unless it helps me look like a super-understanding person of importance capable of nuanced thought or forgiveness. (Simplified translation: Before you regress to in-fighting and attacking people who agree with you on 97% of topics, focus efforts on immediately detrimental viewpoints.)

It’s okay to be afflicted by selective outrage, we all do it. Have the intellectual honesty to admit it.