- by Ranting Panda, 22 January 2020
(Jesus was a virtue-signalling do-gooder. Trump is a dog-whistling gas-lighter)
It's better to virtue-signal, than dog-whistle.
Ever notice how conservatives often use invectives to demonise people helping others. If you dare to care, you're a do-gooder or bleeding heart, if you dare to show solidarity with a marginalised group, you're virtue signalling. It's a form of gaslighting, in which conservatives are trying to make those who care, doubt what they are doing by questioning their motives and belittling their actions.
It's better to be a do-gooder than a do-nothing ... or worse, to be someone who does actual harm. These attacks on 'virtue-signallers', 'do-gooders', 'bleeding hearts' and so on, are just perpetuating the systemic racism, bigotry, alarmism & fear-mongering of the establishment and the conservatives who focus on individual greed and gain over social good.
Conservatives use alarmism like most people use coffee. They stimulate fears of 'the other', by claiming that virtue-signalling and do-gooders are part of a socialist plot to destroy the moral fabric of society, they argue that climate change is a socialist plot to take over the world and destroy capitalism, they argue that helping Muslims fleeing war and persecution are terrorists who will destroy our society and replace it with a Sharia state, they argue that allowing same-sex marriage will destroy the traditional family unit. 'The sky is falling, the sky is falling', screech these conservative Chicken Littles as they stampede blindly into Populism Fox's lair ... ignoring common sense and destroying their own values in the process.
Too bad if conservatives feel challenged over their lack of virtue, kindness and love. These attempts to insult and mock those who care for others, says far more about the person doing the mocking than it says about the person being mocked.Ever notice that many of those who do the mocking are Christians? It's almost like they would consider Christ to be a virtue-signaller when he protected the woman caught in adultery and stated to the crowd, 'let him who is without sin cast the first stone'. He was certainly a do-gooder when he said to 'love your neighbour' and 'love your enemy'. Remember the parable of the sheep and the goats, in which Jesus states 'whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me'. Now, if the 'virtue-signalling' wasn't clear enough, Christ then stated the converse, 'whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me'. It seems these Christians don't quite grasp the concept of 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you'. They certainly must be angry that the bible actually tells them that Christians are called to be do-gooders. Ephesians 2:10 states 'For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do'. Then there's the Good Samaritan. By conservative standards, the Good Samaritan was virtue-signalling when he cared for the beaten traveller. Interestingly, this parable was told after Jesus said to 'love your neighbour', and someone tried to trick him by asking who was his neighbour. The parable made clear that anyone is our neighbour and we should be do-gooders, we should be 'virtue-signalling' if that means helping others.
Because, you know, visiting asylum seekers in immigration detention, going to Mosques and befriending Muslims, defending transgender people against abuse, would all be seen as virtue-signalling by conservatives, even though these are the very things people should be doing without criticism.
Denigrating those who care for or show solidarity with others, is similar to the behaviour of some convicted criminals who tear down others to make themselves look better, rather than actually trying to better themselves. That in a nutshell is the hollowness behind labels such as virtual signalling and do-gooder. It's easier to tear others down than to improve yourself. It really is more a reflection of the person mocking others than the person being mocked.
This abuse of others should be called out. People should stand in solidarity with the marginalised and the victimised. It is important that marginalised and victimised people understand that they are not alone, understand that there are people who welcome them, understand that there isn't anything wrong with them regardless of the homophobia, Islamophobia, xenophobia, racism and bigotry of those abusing them.
Some people accused NZ Prime Minister Jacinta Adern of virtue-signalling when she showed solidarity to New Zealand's Muslim community after a right-wing terrorist murdered 49 worshippers in two Mosques. Apparently, Adern was doing this purely for political reasons. Wow! Even if she was, it would be a nice change for the politics of kindness to be more popular than the politics of cruelty.
Alas, in Australia, America and many other countries the politics of cruelty is the popular politics - interestingly, this is supported by Christians and others who claim they are the virtuous ones, the defenders of society's moral fabric. How degenerate have these people become to believe that the politics of cruelty is a necessary part of the social fabric.
It should be noted, that the Christchurch Imam stated that the 'love and affection' of New Zealanders, including the authorities, has resulted in greater unity between Muslims and non-Muslims; it has provided New Zealand's Muslims with a greater sense of belonging (Saqqaf & Theodosiou 2020). This demonstrates the effectiveness of Adern's 'virtue signalling'. This outcome would not have been achieved if politicians chose to perpetuate the marginalisation of the Muslim community. Muslims would have been feeling even more vulnerable, if politicians had chosen to gaslight them or the people supporting them. Muslims would have been more marginalised if politicians had dog-whistled instead of doing good.
Rather than trying to shame people who care, those who are cruel and selfish should be the ones who are shamed. Instead of virtue-signaller and do-gooder being socially-acceptable invectives, they should be unacceptable terms that reflect the racism, bigotry and ignorance of the person using them. Rather than marginalisation, victimisation, racism and bigotry being the acceptable standards, these should be treated with contempt.
Those accused of virtue-signalling and being do-gooders are the heroes, they are the ones whose treatment, concern, care and love for others should be the example that society accepts, for it is this love for others that will truly build up the moral, ethical and unified fabric of society.
It's better to virtue signal than gaslight.
It's better to be a do-gooder than a dog-whistler.
Reference
Saqqaf, S & Theodosiou, P 2020, 'Christchurch imam says unity between Muslims and non-Muslims, not division, was the result of the attack', SBS Arabic24, 23 January, viewed 31 January 2020, https://www.sbs.com.au/language/english/audio/christchurch-imam-says-unity-between-muslims-and-non-muslims-not-division-was-the-result-of-the-attack
Updated: 15 January 2021
~~o00o~~
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