I was hoping someone else would write about it, but it seems I get the short straw. The f*cks I give about the Kneecap story are vanishingly few, but I suppose some of you want to talk about it.
Eijits say something stupid. Other eijits pretend to be offended. Elected eijits clutch their pearls in horror.
It’s like a pantomime with fewer laughs and more sanctimony. Everyone’s playing their part like it matters, like the stakes are anything more than a few attention tokens and Twitter dopamine hits. It’s not politics; it’s theatre. And not even good theatre — more like a tedious am-dram where everyone wants to be both the lead and the critic.
Everything about it is so utterly performative. It’s not a conversation, it’s a carefully rehearsed exchange of outrage. People queuing up to be offended just so they can perform that offence for their own side. Politicians issuing statements not to say anything meaningful, but to tick the box, play their role, keep the tribal fires burning. Media outlets amplify it not because it matters, but because they know it gets clicks.
It’s outrage as content. Manufactured friction that feeds the machine but leaves nothing of substance behind. No ideas exchanged. No problems solved. Just the same dead-eyed cycle of reaction, counter-reaction, and smug self-congratulation.
Talk about it if you like, but it’s a nice day, I am going for a walk.
Managing Editor of Slugger O’Toole. I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism; I am not a member of any political party. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.
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