If I have to see one more tweet saying “people are so sensitive nowadays” I might literally slam my head against a wall. Newsflash, words do matter! I know it may be hard to believe but they truly do!
For whatever reason the new rebuttal to people calling out sexism/racism/homophobia/xenophobia on social media is to quote the post saying “can’t say anything without people getting sensitive” or “everybody gets offended nowadays”. When you make a comment attacking a group of people but mask it behind a “joke” then yeah you’re going to piss some people off. You’re not allowed to be ignorant and then play the victim by being offended for someone calling you out for your headassery.
This all boils down to power imbalances. If you want a quick and improvised summary of what power imbalances are watch this story highlight from my Instagram, where I discuss what they are. In a nutshell, power imbalances are when a certain group of people have a higher societal position or privilege than another. For example, white people > literally everybody, straight people > LGBTQ+ people, or men > women. If someone in the less dominant group wants to make a joke at the expense of the dominant group, then they absolutely have the right to do so because the dominant group will never face the same level of oppression as the “subordinate” group. The dominant group does not have that right because they have held that privilege and power in society over the “subordinate” group for longer and when they try to get away with it, people actually get hurt.
Kevin Hart recently faced backlash over old homophobic tweets of his resurfacing in light of him being named the 2019 Oscars host. Of course all the men around the world lost their shit when people started calling him out. A tweet that has since then been deleted even stated something along the lines “Can’t even be a comedian without offending. People need to stop being so sensitive and realize part of being a comedian is saying some out of pocket things”
I’m sorry what?
If you can’t make a joke without being homophobic/racist/sexist/xenophobic, then you’re not all that funny. There is a difference between being witty or quirky and being blatantly ignorant. When things like “stop that gay shit” are said to people who may identify that way, harm can quickly follow. Children even attempt suicide because sentiments like that are expressed. Regardless of how long ago it happened, the point is, IT HAPPENED. Not to mention, Kevin Hart’s apology was mediocre at best and after he “apologized” he refused to take accountability for his actions.
It’s not that people are “too sensitive” for the world now, it’s that we’re finally holding people accountable for the bullshit they spew. These people are so desensitized because those words will never affect them. That’s why they think they’re allowed to say them. That’s where the power imbalance lies, because they’ve been in this position of privilege for so long they don’t realize the impact their words have on the groups of people “below” them.
So don’t be afraid to call someone out the next time you see something offensive. I can guarantee it will be 100x better to be known as the “sensitive” person rather than the desensitized one. And if you’re one of those people who is calling people sensitive then I guess…check yourself or keep exposing your internalized misogyny/homophobia/transphobia/racism.
Have you seen any comments like this? What were your reactions?