Why is everyone determined to be outraged all the time?

14 November 2009

Rod Liddle wonders where it will end if every grievance must be taken seriously and anyone who is offended by anything expects a pint of blood

There’s been a rather wonderful debate bubbling along at the Guardian, about the French minister Pierre Lellouche’s use of the word ‘autistic’ to describe the English Tories. Well, in fact that’s not quite what the debate has been about; everyone is agreed that Lellouche is beyond the pale. The debate has been about whether or not the Guardian was right to report what was said by the chap in a headline. Quite a lot of readers thought that it wasn’t. Elsa and John Wingad, for example, wrote: ‘We know that the use of “autistic” in your headline was a quote, however by choosing to repeat it in such prominence [sic] reinforces negative attitudes towards autism.’ Do you know Elsa and John Wingad? I think that if you have any space in your Christmas diary, you should invite them over for a knees-up: I imagine they are quite the most marvellous fun. Another reader, unnamed, complained because her own son was autistic and he wouldn’t have liked to have read the term used in a pejorative manner.

I suppose you might argue that this doesn’t matter because it’s the Guardian and a fairly large proportion of its readers are mentally unhinged, especially John and Elsa. Maybe autism is pushing it a bit, but you might argue that some of them behave as if they have a touch of the old Asperger’s. Or worse than this, work in the mental health industry lecturing people about why they shouldn’t use the word ‘mad’ or ‘doolally’ or ‘psychotic’ or ‘crazier than a shit-house rat’ because it — what was that phrase — reinforces negative attitudes towards mental illness. (Incidentally, isn’t it right that we should have a fairly negative attitude toward the neurological condition of autism? I mean, it’s not a good thing, in itself, is it? We would rather it did not exist. Parents do not hold parties for the neighbourhood when their child is so diagnosed, do they?)

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KindnessofWomen

November 12th, 2009 3:19pm Report this comment

How very dare you suggest that members of the easily offended community are overreacting, you little turd.

Seriously, though, Rod is right. These 'twitstorms' are going to be part of the media landscape for the forseeable future. The only suggestion I can make for defusing them is that the relevant regulatory bodies should refuse to accept anything other than formal written complaints.

JohnBUK

November 19th, 2009 5:53pm Report this comment

I suppose at first over the years most of us have watched the "outraged" arms race with mild interest assuming it would end sensibly with a final "GROW UP" from someone in authority. Our surprise that some complainants have actually been listened and pandered to has meant more complainants have had to join in lest their particular part of the planet loses out. Finally (fat hope) we have, as you say, seen a global warming "disciple" taken seriously. God knows where it goes from here?

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