your life is over

I don’t know if you’ve actually seen this episode, but Pam invites the entire office to her art show that she’s been gearing up for for a really long time. Nobody shows up except for Oscar and his partner (and they critique her work, calling her “lacking in courage” among other things, not realizing she is standing right behind them) and then Michael. And Michael is the only one who tells her she is great just for putting herself out there, and the only one who places value on what she’s done, and he points out all the little details she got right and notices absolutely every bit of hard work she put into it. And then treats Pam like the artist she is by not just paying her for her art, but displaying it where literally everyone can see it.

We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.

I hate that social media has commodified performative grief and outrage to the point that every fucking person thinks that every tragedy that happens needs to be addressed by them, personally. I hate that there’s an expectation that everyone make some grand statement and that if you don’t do it, you must be heartless or hate the victims. We’re not all celebrities or politicians. Not every voice needs to be heard at all times. The world probably doesn’t NEED anyone’s take if it doesn’t contain new information. Processing things silently isn’t bad and it doesn’t make anyone a bad person and I honestly much prefer it to a lot of the self-serving bullshit you see when something awful happens in the world.