It's okay to like things...

Or really feel strongly about things in general.

A trend I see among folks in my general age group, at least some of them, is this refusal to show that they care about anything. It comes up in discussions on everything from politics to the unicorn frappuccino thing that Starbucks has out now. If it is popular, it is time to find all the reasons you shouldn't like it, if it is reviled, then it is time to play devil's advocate, talk about free speech, or tone police those who critique it, all from the lofty heights of someone who "doesn't have a dog in this fight".

It's incredibly tiresome.

Outside of the obvious issues of shutting down discussion and discouraging protest, this represents a pretty disturbing trend in that it discourages people from expressing their opinions on anything. Too many of us, particularly, but not exclusively women are told to keep their opinions to themselves, that they aren't wanted or useful. It doesn't lend itself to a culture of free discussion or critical thinking.

The reality of it is that sure you can take being a fan of something too far, lord knows I have complained about that in the past, and shall do so again, particularly with regards to Dr. Who fans. But let's be honest here, even at their most obsessive fans are unlikely to do more than be annoying, barring some edge cases like those who neglect children in favor of, I dunno, Comicon tickets or something.

Here is the thing about being annoyed: You are the one being annoyed, they aren't doing it to annoy you, it is your feeling, and your responsibility to deal with it, maybe that means you block someone on Facebook, or post a rant on your own private blog, but it doesn't mean telling those people to stop liking the thing they like.

On the other side of things while it is possible to have a serious discussion examining both sides of a contentious issue, what tone policing really does is turn off conversation, when one person feels strongly about something, and another person evades debate based on those feelings then nothing is learned, we only have one party told their opinions aren't valid because they care about them.

It's a tactic that exclusively favors the political right, because virtually every policy they support these days is actively harmful to various segments of the population as well as being virtually unsupported by available evidence. And of course since the right also consists of white supremacists these days, they get to increase their own influence virtually unopposed, since opposition that is too "emotional" can be disregarded outright, and rational debate only helps them be perceived as something to take seriously.

The truth is there are ideas that don't deserve a spot at the table, white supremacy being the most visible one these days, and regarding them with disdain is the only reliable way to keep them out of the mainstream. They don't need more encouragement.

I am not saying those at the ground level who tone police or whatever are white supremacists, just that they are doing exactly what they and those like them want, and are doing so out of some lofty pseudo-intellectual attitude that both does more harm than good and makes them look like assholes.