Why I’m fed up of everyone saying sorry

What do Lewis Hamilton, Tim Hunt, Tim Farron and many other figures in public life have in common? They’ve all made innocent remarks, told a joke or expressed a perfectly legitimate point of view that anonymous online witch hunters have deemed unacceptable, and seen the pressure pile on until they recanted, apologising for their heresy.

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting fed up with it. Every statement in public life is poured over, every action analysed, searching for some possible connotation that can be considered ‘offensive’, and then the person is brought to heel – an apology is demanded and, if they fail to comply, they will be attacked online, hounded out of their jobs and out of public life. Even the past isn’t safe – if you ever did anything in the past that the new puritans disagree with, you must be brought to task. You made a joke when you were a teenager – that is just not on.

Busybodies have always existed, but the internet has amplified their voice

Oh, I forgot that jokes aren’t jokes anymore – they’re all sinister tools, designed to promote a ‘dominant ideology’ or some words to that effect. Only jokes that tackle the wrong subjects, of course – God forbid that you tackle a subject they think is holy writ, or you’ve crossed the line (it’s quite interesting, as a side-note, that many of the favourite comedians of these outrage fanatics have routines consisting of saying things they agree with, making that actual making jokes – for reference, try any Jimmy Kimmel/Stephen Colbert monologue).

A lot of the issues stem from the prevalence of the internet. Busybodies have always existed, but the internet has amplified their voice to an undue degree and, because they shout the loudest, they have the power to actually make a difference – rather than being swatted away like the interfering meddlers that they are, public figures are so conscious of criticism that they make the worst call of all: they capitulate to these demands. The perpetually outraged can shape the world how they’ve decided it should be, using their own idea of what is correct, and no-one tells them where to stick it.

This is an issue because, and let’s be clear on this, there is no objective value of what opinions are correct. I’m sorry, but that’s the case – you may believe that a certain viewpoint is correct with all your heart, but that gives it no more value that the passionate belief of someone with disagrees with you. It tickles me that that this online mob presents themselves as open-minded and tolerant, yet try to shut down opposing thought in a wonderfully intolerant manner.

Hearing things you don’t like is a wonderful thing

What’s worse is that the few things that most people agree are bad – racism, for example – are extended to a stupid degree. It has long been a joke that these outrage-mongers can read racism or sexism or whatever in any situation or comment, and they have appointed themselves the moral arbiters of life. They have a view of how things ‘should’ be, and they police thoughts and ideas to realise their vision.

We all have things that we don’t like to read or hear. I’m not a fan of swearing and would prefer that people didn’t swear, but I don’t demand that people apologise to me whenever I hear a curse word because it offends my sense of moral self-righteousness. And opinions should be treated the same way – hearing things you don’t like is a wonderful thing, and the price we pay for free expression.

Public figures need to stop feeding these jackals – there’s something truly sickening about them on their knees, begging for forgiveness for daring to indulge in that most serious crime of all: holding an opinion! It’s incredibly sinister, punishing people who step out of line with the okayed lines of thought (and okayed by who, exactly?), like something from a dystopian sci-fi film – nowadays, we need more debate, and yielding to these digital Mary Whitehouses is the wrong way to go entirely. If someone believes something different, engage with them and ask questions – don’t just decide that they are wrong, and demand that they recant or suffer.