2 ms·

Poking fun at what other people choose to hold important is childish, imo. Because, ultimately what people choose to value is subjective, and there’s no right

Poking fun at what other people choose to hold important is childish, imo. Because, ultimately what people choose to value is subjective, and there’s no right or wrong. Put another way, what you perceive as valuable is equally hilarious from many others’ valid perspectives. As long as they’re not hurting anyone, people are free to choose their own adventure.

montagg 4y ago
They are not free from criticism of it though. The idea of a “wartime” person is anchored in machismo. It romanticizes, and excuses, really crappy behavior that is long-term destructive. Calling something a “war” is a convenient justification for all sorts of terrible, foolish actions. The “war on drugs” or the “war on cancer” are good examples. Cancer doctors would try to one up each other in how extreme they could be in their treatment of breast cancer, and it turns out a lot of those tactics, such as literally tearing out pectoral muscles down to the bone, don’t actually help patient survival. But the “wartime” framing made that kind of action without thinking okay. So I disagree that framing things as if they are war doesn’t hurt anyone. It has. And the framing deserves critical attention, so we can find a better framing for a challenging time that requires sacrifice and effort that doesn’t turn into “the ends justify the means.” EDIt: More on [reframing the war on cancer](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8749321/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8749321/) and why it can be harmful.
- fairity 4y ago
  Agreed, I think it’s useful to discuss whether war framing is an effective tool to create desired outcomes, but that’s beside my point. I’m addressing OP’s implication that it’s ‘hilarious’ to think running a business is worthy of a war-time framing.

montagg 4y ago

They are not free from criticism of it though. The idea of a “wartime” person is anchored in machismo. It romanticizes, and excuses, really crappy behavior that is long-term destructive. Calling something a “war” is a convenient justification for all sorts of terrible, foolish actions. The “war on drugs” or the “war on cancer” are good examples. Cancer doctors would try to one up each other in how extreme they could be in their treatment of breast cancer, and it turns out a lot of those tactics, such as literally tearing out pectoral muscles down to the bone, don’t actually help patient survival. But the “wartime” framing made that kind of action without thinking okay. So I disagree that framing things as if they are war doesn’t hurt anyone. It has. And the framing deserves critical attention, so we can find a better framing for a challenging time that requires sacrifice and effort that doesn’t turn into “the ends justify the means.” EDIt: More on [reframing the war on cancer](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8749321/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8749321/) and why it can be harmful.

fairity 4y ago
Agreed, I think it’s useful to discuss whether war framing is an effective tool to create desired outcomes, but that’s beside my point. I’m addressing OP’s implication that it’s ‘hilarious’ to think running a business is worthy of a war-time framing.