Weaponized Compassion

What is this “weaponized compassion” you may ask. Let me illustrate…

Suppose we have two brands of sweets (or candy as Americans say), named “Skittles” and “KitKat” and I make the observation that I rather prefer KitKat. However, I am overheard by a Skittles devotee, or maybe someone who believes there should be no difference in preference between the two. Instead of saying something along the lines of: “Are you a fucking idiot? Skittles are at least as tasty” they put on a sad and serious face and inform you that your hatred of Skittles deeply pains them and they hope and pray that one day you may come to the light and understand the truth, when you will believe as they do.

It is, of course, a passive-aggressive rhetorical technique used to assert spiritual dominance and the moral high ground over another person with whom you disagree. Typically it is applied in three stages. The first is the transformation of a mild preference into “hatred”, thereby placing it firmly in the realm of the negative, nasty and brutish (as are you). This is then followed by an implied statement of how your “hatred” has physically harmed them, and finally the accuser demonstrates their higher moral position by acts such as forgiveness, repenting on your behalf by appeals to a “higher power” and expressing loving concerns about your mental welfare. Whereupon you and your statement can be dismissed without any further argument. This is ideally done before an audience.

If it works the audience has sympathy for the poor person your statement has damaged, and if you are unrepentant it merely shows that you have no conscience about inflicting your violent opinions and hatred on such a noble being.

I originally came across this technique as a teenager involved with a Christian sect, and have met it numerous times in “New Age” style groups. The ones that preach love and peace being the worst offenders. It is a tactic used to close down a discussion, either because the user fears the actual facts of the matter being aired, or are simply too intellectually challenged to mount a convincing rational argument. It is the one-on-one equivalent of the “no platforming” policy Left-wing Fascists apply on a larger scale, except being one-on-one they feel they cannot successfully apply violence in the context.

And in case you missed it, we are not really talking about Skittles or KitKat, but about a whole range of “trigger” issues, including but not limited to sexism, gender roles, homosexuality, racism, religious bigotry, politics… and so forth.

So, if you are on the receiving end of this tactic, how to respond?

Well, my advice is to congratulate them on almost mastering Weaponized Compassion, and then laugh in their face. What is your advice?

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