OUTRAGED

A British radio host and opinion columnist rails against online outrage and the benumbed fatigue it induces.

Charles combines her chatty, conversational style with smatterings of academic research as she reexamines some viral campaigns during an era in which outrage requires so little commitment or emotional investment, when a hashtag or a retweet is enough for people to feel good about themselves or believe they have made a difference. The author begins with the backlash against the insensitivity of the H&M clothing retailer, whose website featured a young black boy in a hoodie that read, “COOLEST MONKEY IN THE JUNGLE.” Charles felt that if anyone had a right to be offended, it should be her—“I represent a ‘triple jeopardy’ intersection: a black, gay woman” (and mother of a black infant boy)—but she felt that the uproar was exaggerated and that there were plenty of more serious inequities for people to get riled up over—and perhaps even do something about. In January 2018, the author wrote an opinion piece for the Guardian titled “The Currency of Outrage,” which begins, “Everyone is offended by everything. It’s exhausting.” She goes on to note that “by becoming fickle and oversaturated, the value of outrage is plummeting.” This brief book stems from that piece, and she includes accounts of her interviews with those who have been victims of such outrage—e.g., Rachel Dolezal, branded as a “race faker” after the activist for black causes was revealed to be a white woman passing as black—and those who have benefitted from it, building their personal brands through the wide exposure they’ve received from “the outrage conga line.” Though the author could have gone much deeper in many areas, she effectively shows how mass outrage allows people to feel better about themselves without doing the hard work that true change requires.

A breezy read that might make readers hesitate before climbing aboard the latest hashtag bandwagon.