Hello, reader. How are you? I’m on a trip, not blogging much because my computer is half-broken. Soon new tech will arrive. Ming and I were talking about virtue signaling.
Are you familiar with the concept? Virtue signalling is when you do or say things to make sure everyone knows you’re good. It can be annoying interpersonally. But a real problem is how it can be used for power, when it’s empty. It’s a performance or gesture, not actual goodness. Yes, it can be a way to seem blameless when you’re really doing harm.
oil spill virtue signaling example
When I was a kid, there was a huge oil spill. Afterward, the oil company had an advert campaign on tv for how they were working so hard to clean up the oil spill, showing how they have given a ton of money for conservation. The commercials had animals as part of the setup to manipulate the viewer to think that the oil company cares. Maybe there was inspiring music.
It was sad because reality didn’t matter. The oil company exists to get rich at the expense of Parent Earth. The oil company doesn’t actually care about animals or the environment. Caring is not part of maximizing profits for shareholders, getting as much oil as possible, or finding new ways to exploit people and Parent Earth.
Sure, some conservation effort actually happened, but the company was spinning it for maximum credit. Trying to clear their name.
virtue
Our housemate loves a thinker who asks on his website: How do we create a world where virtue matters, but not virtue signalling? Ming was bothered by the question, so I offered to write about it.
I think of virtue signaling as a form of marketing and packaging. There’s the actual thing, and then there’s the way the actual thing is presented, which feels like manipulation.
But how do we see virtue, without any signaling? I like the idea of humility. “Integrity is how you behave when no one is looking,” is a cool idea I’ve liked since I was a kid. Also something about how you treat the waitstaff. Respect isn’t how you treat the most powerful person–it’s how you treat the least-powerful person.
disability justice
While I did my disability justice certificate, I learned an idea that interests me a lot, related to virtue signaling. A lecturer mentioned that if your event or organization is working to accommodate people with disabilities, say so on your website and event materials. If you don’t let people know you’re working on it, people won’t notice and spread the word so that more disabled people can come.
Many disabled people just don’t attend events, since most are not accessible. So we need to make sure people know how the event is accessible, then follow through. It’s not virtue signaling–it’s informational. Bonus, it’s modeling access to other orgs.
look at me
I spent most of my life trying to be humble to the point of invisible. Tooting my own horn doesn’t come naturally. That might surprise you, reader, as I talk about myself on this blog. But I was taught as a child not to brag, and to let others shine. Being a girl meant I existed to help other people with their projects.
I didn’t like being looked at. Being seen felt dangerous. It’s still a big deal to ask others to look at me–I continue to overcome that. Here’s me.
healing
I would most like to heal culture so reality matters more thn packaging, marketing, or how things look. Reality can’t always be seen or measured. Facts are complicated–the truth is treasure buried in the apparent. We might have to dig.
Is it capitalism, that mde the pckging more important thn the product, the advert more important thn the movie, the wy I look more important thn wht I do, how I feel, who I m?
You cn see how my computer is broken. I’ll leve it like this. I love you.
