Sunday, April 18, 2004
Outrage fatigue, take 1
As alert reader fightingdem points out, some of us may suffer from outrage fatigue. (One sign of a truly gifted polemicist is that his or her outrage is always fresh.) Anyhow, here's a definition of outrage:
There's a lot to ponder in this word, "outrage," and in its definition.
First, the common thread in the definitions is the sense of boundaries violated (from the original French, heh, outre). Surely this sense of transgression—that Bush will truly stop at nothing, break any rule to gain and hold power—is what fuels the, well, outrage that many of us feel.
Meaning, second, that outrage begets outrage. The right is correct to recognize that opposition to Bush can be fuelled by strong emotion; but its pure disinformation to call the emotion hate: "motiveless malignity," such as Iago had. Rather, the emotion is all to motivated; it's outrage: resentful anger aroused by an offensive act. For example, lying one's way into a war is an outrage on the body politic, and creates outrage in those who were lied to.
Finally, yes, outrage is fatiguing. Like any strong emotion, it takes energy. But although we in the blogosphere may be fatigued, most American voters have not even begun to think seriously about the election. So we need to harness our outrage—and all the memes we have created to express and focus it—for the ugly battle that lies ahead.
out·ragePronunciation Key (outrj)
n.
1. An act of extreme violence or viciousness.
2. An act grossly offensive to decency, morality, or good taste.
3. A deplorable insult.
4. Resentful anger aroused by a violent or offensive act.
tr.v. out·raged, out·rag·ing, out·rag·es
1. To offend grossly against (standards of decency or morality); commit an outrage on.
2. To produce anger or resentment in: Incompetence outraged him. See Synonyms at offend.
[Middle English, from Old French, from outre, beyond. See outr&ecaute;.]
There's a lot to ponder in this word, "outrage," and in its definition.
First, the common thread in the definitions is the sense of boundaries violated (from the original French, heh, outre). Surely this sense of transgression—that Bush will truly stop at nothing, break any rule to gain and hold power—is what fuels the, well, outrage that many of us feel.
Meaning, second, that outrage begets outrage. The right is correct to recognize that opposition to Bush can be fuelled by strong emotion; but its pure disinformation to call the emotion hate: "motiveless malignity," such as Iago had. Rather, the emotion is all to motivated; it's outrage: resentful anger aroused by an offensive act. For example, lying one's way into a war is an outrage on the body politic, and creates outrage in those who were lied to.
Finally, yes, outrage is fatiguing. Like any strong emotion, it takes energy. But although we in the blogosphere may be fatigued, most American voters have not even begun to think seriously about the election. So we need to harness our outrage—and all the memes we have created to express and focus it—for the ugly battle that lies ahead.
