“The Internet Is a Place Where People Cry About Bullshit” ⇥ motherjones.com

Ben Dreyfuss responds to the utter ridiculous Emoji Horse Violence Scandal of 2015 for Mother Jones:

Is merely mentioning the reality that horses are shot when they are lame outrageous? If you are outraged by the fact that horses are shot when they are lame, be outraged about the fact that horses are shot when they are lame, not someone remarking on the fact that horses are shot when they are lame.

I am as ardent a defender of equality and as passionate an opponent of prejudice and discrimination as you will ever meet, but even I am increasingly finding the internet uptight and humourless. Jokes don’t need to be based around a degrading or deliberately offensive attitude, but every tweet is now picked over to find something outrageous. There are lots of reasons for you to be justifiably concerned; don’t conflate those with off-the-cuff jokes. They’re not worthy of your constructed outrage.