Decency
An arbitrary and unstable measure used as a justification for destroying or ruining someone’s life.
Antithetical to the rule of law.
When we say or do something that attracts disapproval by interested parties, the argument is that we are being indecent. We are generally not breaking any laws, violating any customs, or harming anyone in any foreseeable or reasonable manner. Even if we are alleged to have caused OFFENCE, is this not an accusation that may be levied against any of us by any number of people that take exception to our views or how we express them? We are all equally guilty then, and so why are some privileged to destroy us when we permit them to exist?
What does this definition of decency come from? Says who? And why should anyone else care? These are questions without obvious answers, and those on offer do not generalize well. It is strange to consider that someone’s subjective interpretation of our decency is an adequate barometer in any setting to determine our inclusion or exclusion in society. It is argued that although we may not have committed any crimes in a literal sense, we have transgressed an ethical boundary that renders us not only inappropriate and unacceptable, but also irredeemable. This is quite the punishment for a dogmatically innocent party.
Whether we receive our sense of decency from an external source (narratives, evolution, ideology, faith) or internally (from our own sense of justice), in which ways are others subject to our standards? Do we give ourselves the permission to interfere in the lives of others based on an unwritten and likely ill-conceived set of acceptable prescriptions? How is a demand for repentance based on rules to which they do not subscribe considered justice? How is cancelling others an appropriate punishment for our offence? How is any of this conceivable in a free society? The answer is relatively straight-forward in this instance: because we are an ASSHOLE.
Assholes imbue their preferences with a moral character, where the conduct of others, if it is deemed inappropriate, is tantamount to a sin. Due to the nature of the transgression, it does not bid forgiveness or discussion, because assholes do not dabble in acceptance or compromise; they only know how to shit on others.
Purveyors of arbitrary measures live arbitrary lives, and they manage their inconsequential existence by disrupting the lives of others who are brave enough to abide by standards that they impose on themselves alone.
Leveraging decency as an argument is a tactic used only by those whose narcissism is so prominent, they have become a caricature, less than human, which is indecent for any us.
Posted: 27 Mar 2023
