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The elephant in the living room is that the outcry about Cecil the Lion was a form of 'Virtue Signaling.' When people express outrage over something that 'no go
by golemotron 11y ago
The elephant in the living room is that the outcry about Cecil the Lion was a form of 'Virtue Signaling.' When people express outrage over something that 'no good person could be for' they do it as a way of forming in-group cohesion.
http://playingwordgames.com/2015/04/signalling-virtue/ http://playingwordgames.com/2015/04/signalling-virtue/
The article this thread is associated with shows that different groups can rally around different values. If you were from that man's family in Zimbabwe you clearly would have a different take on it and use different 'virtue signals.'
- belthasar 11y agoI could never put it into words before but I think this is the reason I dislike Facebook and social media in general. It looks like a big contest of who can show how much they believe in x and it all seems so fake.
- Lawtonfogle 11y agoTo some extent, isn't this effectively exploiting what they consider a tragedy for the purpose of social rewards (greater in-group cohesion)?
- golemotron 11y agoI doubt anyone doing it would see it that way. People aren't conscious of this.
- Lawtonfogle 11y agoYeah, most people do not see themselves this way. Pointing it out is about the most socially awkward things one can do.