Everyone knows all about everything in the era of fake news because it no longer matters whether the details are accurate so long as people appear interesting. The late Andy Warhol the no-talent founder of postmodern pop art better explained how in the future everyone will be famous for 15 minutes. For him this meant applying color to Campbell Soup cans because pop art was all about liking things.
Mr. Warhol would be proud to learn that the future he predicted has arrived. Were all caught idolizing our mirror reflection. As a patient with both severe bipolar disorder and OCD Id be blind to the increased campaigns for public awareness for mental illnesses and how few will choose to read up on whats out there as well myths now being debunked. Yet there are equally as many absurdities through the rise of commodity activism. Some examples include ribbons commemorating Bipolar Awareness Day Autism Awareness Day or Suicide Prevention Day. Beyond the expiration dates all these things seem to be forgotten.
caption id=attachment_30119 align=alignnone width=986
Nike by way of Colin Kaepernick proved that by embracing racial tribalism and terrorism billions of dollars can be made at the expense of true heroes in law enforcement./caption
If youve ever purchased a bracelet for one of these causes to direct attention to a day or month celebrating each causes agenda you know exactly what Im talking about. Thats because youve bought into the whole hot mess like the typical consumer embracing a fad. Theres little to distinguish the natural tendency to collectivize through tribalism like a pack of wild hyenas justifying wearing such bracelets signaling our virtuous nature; we do after all feel the need to belong based on our natural inclination for association in our communities. How else might the human race go forth and be fruitful? This is commodity activism is for you.
Whenever I see ribbon days for people with bipolar disorder (like myself) I often question rhetorically just who these people are trying to impress. On the surface it all appears so wholesome so selfless: a sign that indeed humanity is innately good not bad. Of course during these months of celebration of becoming woke to the hopeless plight of the mentally-ill and disadvantaged patients as well as their families and friends join together in solidarity flooding Facebook and Instagram with thousands of hashtag remarks. It isnt applying hyperbole for tags going viral to include something like #IAmBipolar in order to trigger vacuous appeals to emotion; or with the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris in 2015 through the nauseating #JeSuisCharlieHebdo. Likewise Ive read others post #IAmMuslim or if you are actually a Muslim in Europe following the increased number of jihadist atrocities #NotInMyName. If a mosque happens to be hit by a disgruntled nut job within the ancient racial and ethnic demographics of Europe (or New Zealand where white Europeans comprise the bulk of the population) people suddenly begin posting they are suddenly Muslims when in fact theyre not. Meanwhile those Muslims responding to the Charlie Hebdo shootings who did not actually commit the crime merely deflected their passive aggressive attention to the matter there were people of their religion guilty of an atrocity and that they though not guilty wanted to participate in the misery of others by deflecting all the blame to those mocking them for telling a lie. The extremists are almost always the most brutally honest demographic in spite of their violent nature. The question therefore requires society to identify the guilty parties; and why all the robotic passive aggressive deflections through subtle accusations against the rest of the kafir-dominated West. Did the same outrage manifest for the Easter worshipers in Sri Lanka killed while attending morning Mass manifest within the mainstream media? The matter it is so offensive to mention the name of Jesus Christ in any way is disturbing as are the secular Left and Muslim populations celebrating the event.
caption id=attachment_30114 align=alignright width=307
Nike seems to profit most from exploiting a charitable cause./caption
Entire words in the English dictionary have been sold into near extinction through t-shirts and ball caps. Six years ago for example I made the conscious decision to purchase an End the R-Word t-shirt: a movement which quickly ended the common medical label used to diagnose people with specific learning disabilities (mental retardation) due to its abuse by some especially children even the entertainment industry. While substitute teaching the year following college graduation I stood in solidarity with a number of colleagues yet never considered the consequences due to this shortsighted naivet. Today nearly seven years later I am ashamed I ever bought the accursed shirt. How righteous was I really in 2012 when in 2019 the woke English dictionary appears to shrink almost every day? And again who is this all about and why so many now piggy-back aboard the runaway bandwagon? Why do people increasingly self-identify as a patient or victim with some even claiming they suffer more than the patient during the age of the selfie if not for some unrequited desire for unearned unsolicited attention? Ribbons for Bipolar Awareness (or depression) have become the new Livestrong or WWJD fad: commodities of our commercialized culture which people buy and wear them often not knowing what the particular cause is or means much less even care or ever intend to research what they are. When Lance Armstrong went down for doping after his last Tour de France victory the fate of his charitable organization selling the yellow bracelets sunk with him on the Titanic. Was it actually the cancer research for which the world donated a few dollars for a ribbon? Or did Armstrong seek to exalt his name by augmenting his reputation during his ascent into one of the greatest American sports heroes ever? Regardless of the reality this need by Armstrong and the customers buying those bracelets had more to do with appearing interesting than acknowledging morality. If people really want to contribute to cancer research there are tax deductible charities or hospitals to which one can make a donation quietly.
caption id=attachment_30115 align=aligncenter width=1000
(Romans 12:2) Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what Gods will ishis good pleasing and perfect will./caption
Social justice is now a cancer metastasizing like a pyramid scheme: everyone wants to be part of something greater than himself after watching the news and if we could all just join hands together over social media sing We Are The World or vilify all men through the #MeToo movement based on the scandalous behavior of movie executive Harvey Weinstein our pain will become the same as the victims: and because of this we will all somehow be healed for our eyes will then be opened. However I reject being celebrated one month out of the year as a victim of my illness in the same way others seek to validate a deviant pansexual lifestyle at Gay Pride parades: where thousands gather donning all sorts of rainbow colored attire or trinkets to remind everyone that being gay means they are special and entitled to an affirmative action legal segregation from the oppressive heterosexual hierarchy. Most women will not shout their abortion like the narcissist Oprah Winfrey simply for the shock value. My mental health issues do not expand beyond being conditions with symptoms uniquely my own and there is no need for me or anyone else to profit at my expense (or anyone elses) over the merit of being diagnosed nor to seek attention from those who might know what the ribbon symbolizes. The average person will not pay the slightest attention at the grocery store to what appear to be pagan icons all its own. Nor will I share a viral hashtag claiming I am a Muslim and therefore blaspheme against the Lord.
Bipolar disorder and OCD are illnesses just like others with cause for concern no more no less. If you care about people you will demonstrate this the other 364 days or 11 months of the year.
It is what it is.
