Barbie and Ken always seemed to me like a role model for shallow, entitled, rich kids. Now she’s supposed to be a feminist icon? Hmmm. Lest we forget, Barbie’s absurd “physique” has been the basis for body shaming, anorexia, and a host of insecurities for girls who wanted to be just like her but couldn’t measure up. How could they, short of plastic surgery? And even then…
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Regardless of anyone’s views on Swift’s music or even her social views, it’s come down to a very simple and primitive equation: If the “other side” likes her, we don’t, and if the other side hates her, we love her. If you’re on the left and don’t like her music, there must be something wrong with you. If you’re on the right and do like it, you’d better not admit it.
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Here's the truth of the matter: Perfectionists are not born, we’re made. We’re intolerant of our own mistakes because society has conditioned us to be that way by being intolerant of us. In fact, we’ve taken the initiative to blame ourselves in a desperate attempt to escape the blame of others.
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If you shame people for their pain by reminding them that “other people have it worse” you’re doing just one thing: You’re dismissing that pain as unworthy of compassion. You’re minimizing their situation and, by extension, you’re minimizing them. You’re sending them a message that you don’t really care. And if you send them that message, they’ll be less likely to care about you when you find yourself going through hard times. This is where compassion goes to die.
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“Whoop that trick” is simply offensive. Being from a minority or disadvantaged culture doesn’t give you the right to joke about violence against another historically disadvantaged group. There are plenty of things to celebrate about culture, but violence and misogyny shouldn’t be among them.
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Once upon a time, effort was what mattered. We taught our kids to “give it their all,” and if they came up short, they’d learn to do better the next time. But somewhere along the line, our values changed.
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