The Dangers of Vice-Signaling

 

I wrote very recently about Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas' determination to pardon a convicted killer because Tucker Carlson told him to, and the publication of former Sgt. Daniel Perry's prior social media history highlights how very, very, ill-advised it would be to pardon someone like this. 

The documents released Thursday were filed on March 27, when prosecutors announced their intent to introduce messages and posts they'd gathered from Perry's cellphone. Some of Perry’s messages were presented during his trial, including a May 31, 2020, social media post where he said he might have to kill people. But the newly unsealed filing contains dozens of other posts and messages that weren’t presented publicly. 

Each piece of evidence is listed separately in the 76 pages. They include Internet searches for news about George Floyd-related protests, posts of memes that appear to encourage or rationalize shooting protests, and Perry's own messages in which he talks about being angry and scared over the protests or writes about committing violence.

More documentation of Perry's social media history is here.  And to be fair, I might have searched many of the same things he did--because I write about movements like Black Lives Matter being in favor of them and I write about extremist violence being very much against. 

Being willing to pardon a murderer who apparently planned to do violence on a given day is vice-signaling. Vice-signaling probably explains the judge in the Kyle Rittenhouse case, as well. But what is it? It's doing politics by aiming low. It's literally catering to the ain't shitness resident in many people's grievance-laden minds.  And it is powerful, and dumb, and dangerous. Political figures who throw morality to the wind because it's potentially popular are--throwing morality to the wind. The popularity of doing so is beside the point. Show me what you are willing to promote in order to raise your wretched profile, and I'll show you what you are. In this case, racism and pre-meditated violence. 

So that leads me to the stupid little fool, Jack Texeira, recently arrested as being behind a troubling leak of classified information. He's being lionized by not-especially with-it radical conservative Marjorie Taylor Greene, because of course he is. I would trust airport charging stations and truck stop glory holes (where actually, sex workers are regularly self-testing) more than I would trust the fertile flowering peach-tree dish that is MTG's mind. 

Her opinion is going to get some clicks and likes, but it is utterly vice-signaling and shows no capacity at all to appreciate that classified information should not be leaked, this boy failed at his job, he is not a hero or a whistleblower, and he isn't being singled out for his identity, but because of what he actually did which is against the law. Because pretending that the issue is this kid being a straight white Christian and especially pretending he's "anti-war" is supposed to override that he fucked up and is actually vocally racist. 

But the truth matters. The military has radicalized people on staff who are not doing the service any justice. And while the conservative pretense of the day is that "wokeness" is a problem in the military--no this is. Absolute idiots who violate their oath and cannot be trusted to do their job well, and who are even spiteful and hostile to this country. That's a real problem. Gay and trans soldiers who want to represent this country boldly are lovely and I am here for them. 

Ideologically deciding it's "opposite day" and ignoring what is going on in the world is some kind of choice--a dumb one. And I cannot abide dumb politicians.