The Nuance Police

James Hamilton, with a hard-hitting analysis of British modes of social communication based on ideological platitudes that centre around perceptions of the West's role in Iraq and the war on terror. Money quote from the article:

This debate about the West - which is currently chewing on suicide bombers and will shortly spit them out, as it spat the Iraq War out - is also a kind of jostling for position, a way for us in the West to communicate to our friends and colleagues about the sort of people we are.

If we are at all interested in politics, the chances are that we are also interested in seeing ourselves as intelligent, nuanced, concerned, involved. Of course we are - who really, at the bottom of their hearts, wants everyone to see them as an ignorant thug? (There will be those who'll affect not to care..) And we'd like other people to see us as smart and caring too, if at all possible. But you can't just go up to someone and say "I'm nuanced, I'm intelligent": they'll immediately assume the opposite, and that's not all they'll assume. No, these things have to be got across by osmosis. How? by declaring support for sets of views which we think are adopted by people who have those desirable attributes of intelligence, nuance etc.

There's actually a number of these sets of views - pro-War, South Park Conservative, anti-Poverty, etc. - and there are points where they merge or serve the same constituency. But by far the most effective and universal set of views at the moment is the anti-Bush, anti-Capitalist, Kyoto, anti-Globalisation, anti-War one. Given the advantages adopting this set of views gives you, it is no surprise that they have taken off in quite the way they have.

Although I don't hold any of those views myself (I think I may be the only British psychotherapist who doesn't) I don't blame anyone who does. In fact, in a real way I envy them. Holding these views does so much for a person, gives them so much extra, provides so much value, that it's only sensible to take them on if you can.

There are so many advantages that I don't even know where to start. I'll attempt a list:

People assume that you're a nice person
People assume that you are intelligent
People assume that you keep yourself informed
People think that you have cleverly not been fooled by liars.
People think that you are willing to sacrifice for the benefit of others
You can do all the adopting of these views from home. No equipment or additional purchase needed
You line up with Geldof, Tutu, Mandela, Castro, Galloway, Moore, Benn - charisma is on your side, and it rubs off on you
You have a context for passion, anger, commitment - which other people accept
You are no longer to blame for global warming - you're on the side of the angels
You are no longer responsible for poverty - you're on the side of the angels
You have access to the youth-giving properties of these views
You are assumed to be tolerant, anti-racist, in favour of human rights
You are assumed to be easy-going and to have a sense of humour
You are assumed to be capable of a fulfilling sex life
You are assumed to be free of neuroses, tics, hang-ups.
You are assumed to be in the right on the issues of the day without your having to demonstrate this
You are seen as being essentially classless - neither a toff, nor a chav.
You get to feel you're in the majority and in the vanguard at the same time

I could go on, and on, and on. There's no punchline, by the way - I'm not writing satire here.. The fact of the matter is, you can get all those advantages in your life and many more, just by saying something like "He's killed thousands" when Bush appears on the television. Everything else is done for you. You don't have to march - but it's there for you if you want. You don't have to spend a lot of money - stick the Guardian or the Independent in your bag, and you're away. You don't have to change your job (if you're in the military, you actually get bonus points). You don't have to move house. In fact, you can pretty much carry on as before

Read the whole thing.