Good onya Josh. I don’t agree with you all the time, but I feel you nailed the Buckingham Palace thing.
It’s interesting that we’re living through a moment in history where to be regarded as a victim is something a large number of us (typically those in the higher social echelons) seem to want more than anything else.
Of course nobody actually wants to be a real victim, because that would be truly painful, and would involve genuine discomfort and hurt.
So, we invent a framework of understanding and a set of vocabulary that allows us to pretend to be victims without actually having to go through anything like real trauma.
But then if you call it for what it is, there’s a ready-made response.. ‘lived experience’. Just because it seems patently absurd from my perspective, who am I to deny that person X is genuinely aggrieved?
I have a somewhat different take on this. I would consider it okay to ask such questions once. But when the other person obviously does not want to talk about their ethnic roots, then you just leave the question alone. Not doing so after getting multiple defensive answers is at best insensitive. We should not forget, asking these questions might express genuine interest, but it may also be a tool to hightlight the otherness of the person being asked.
As a Brit, I was listening very carefully to the serious stuff about the latest controversy at Buckingham Palace that doesn't involve the Duke of Sussex, and I agree with everything you said of course. But the Simpsons music followed by the adept defence of seagulls from the lovely lady who reminds me of my Irish mammy (who also has a soft spot for the underdog) stole the show for me ❤️
Good onya Josh. I don’t agree with you all the time, but I feel you nailed the Buckingham Palace thing.
It’s interesting that we’re living through a moment in history where to be regarded as a victim is something a large number of us (typically those in the higher social echelons) seem to want more than anything else.
Of course nobody actually wants to be a real victim, because that would be truly painful, and would involve genuine discomfort and hurt.
So, we invent a framework of understanding and a set of vocabulary that allows us to pretend to be victims without actually having to go through anything like real trauma.
But then if you call it for what it is, there’s a ready-made response.. ‘lived experience’. Just because it seems patently absurd from my perspective, who am I to deny that person X is genuinely aggrieved?
I have a somewhat different take on this. I would consider it okay to ask such questions once. But when the other person obviously does not want to talk about their ethnic roots, then you just leave the question alone. Not doing so after getting multiple defensive answers is at best insensitive. We should not forget, asking these questions might express genuine interest, but it may also be a tool to hightlight the otherness of the person being asked.
As a Brit, I was listening very carefully to the serious stuff about the latest controversy at Buckingham Palace that doesn't involve the Duke of Sussex, and I agree with everything you said of course. But the Simpsons music followed by the adept defence of seagulls from the lovely lady who reminds me of my Irish mammy (who also has a soft spot for the underdog) stole the show for me ❤️