He Said What?!

[Demolition Squid]

We're held prisoner by our past.

At some point or another, I think everyone has said something stupid. What I'm noticing more and more, though, is that if you are a public figure, you're expected to stand by everything you've ever said. The chances that you've never expressed a stupid view or made a mistake in public are vanishingly small (and really, if you're the sort of politician who has managed to engineer that, you're probably one of the sleazier sorts who wanted to be President/Prime Minister since the age of 12).

But this is starting to spread out of the world of politics and into our general culture. People get fired or arrested for shit they say on facebook, employers google applicants before making their decision, and a motivated person will have little trouble tracking down embarrassing facts to use to undermine the person rather than address what they are saying. The ad hominem has become the new standard; it is easier than ever to discredit the person speaking.

And there seems to be a general fear of backing down. If you own it and admit you were wrong but you've changed your mind, or you regret saying what you said and wish you hadn't... you're either weak, a liar, or both. People don't want to hear an explanation, they want an excuse to work themselves into a froth of indignant outrage and declare, triumphantly, that they always knew deep down that person was scum.

Its an easy point. One misguided statement or embarrassing photo, and you're going to carry that label forever. No wonder politicians seem so frightened of saying things definitively, they have to constantly worry about whether what they say today - even in private or intimate moments - will be used to attack them tomorrow.

[Reginald Ret]

People want reasons to hate other people because they have seen too many situations that end with the neighbours saying  "I never saw it coming, he was such a nice and quiet man.". The idea that anyone can be evil is not something they can handle. So they just assume everyone is evil and then start looking for proof.

[hooplala]

We're held prisoner by our past.

At some point or another, I think everyone has said something stupid. What I'm noticing more and more, though, is that if you are a public figure, you're expected to stand by everything you've ever said. The chances that you've never expressed a stupid view or made a mistake in public are vanishingly small (and really, if you're the sort of politician who has managed to engineer that, you're probably one of the sleazier sorts who wanted to be President/Prime Minister since the age of 12).

But this is starting to spread out of the world of politics and into our general culture. People get fired or arrested for shit they say on facebook, employers google applicants before making their decision, and a motivated person will have little trouble tracking down embarrassing facts to use to undermine the person rather than address what they are saying. The ad hominem has become the new standard; it is easier than ever to discredit the person speaking.

And there seems to be a general fear of backing down. If you own it and admit you were wrong but you've changed your mind, or you regret saying what you said and wish you hadn't... you're either weak, a liar, or both. People don't want to hear an explanation, they want an excuse to work themselves into a froth of indignant outrage and declare, triumphantly, that they always knew deep down that person was scum.

Its an easy point. One misguided statement or embarrassing photo, and you're going to carry that label forever. No wonder politicians seem so frightened of saying things definitively, they have to constantly worry about whether what they say today - even in private or intimate moments - will be used to attack them tomorrow.

This.  If someone is genuinely unwilling to adjust their viewpoints or learn something new, I am pretty much unwilling to argue with them now.  I tend to just live-action troll them.

But yeah, in the digital age anything printed is evidence for the future.  Look no further than the Ayn Rand haters who adore bringing up her being a serial killer fangirl, based on things she wrote around the age of 20.  Say what you will about her, but I see little approval of violence against others in her later writings, and frankly would be unamused to have things I said at 20 thrown back in my face.  I mean, I'm stupid as shit now, but I was even stupider at 20.  Very much so.

[Q. G. Pennyworth]

 

The Future is a hypocrite.