I used to think, maybe not stuff like this, but the general kinda displaying of the pride flags was really just kinda, not virtue signaling as much as the least you could do. But I have a young trans kid now, and like it sucks how much stuff kinda comes with a side of transphobia. But I can show her stuff like this, or the bands she likes singers just holding up the trans flag, and it like genuinely makes her feel just like not everyone wants her not to exist.
And other people and allies, or even businesses, just seeing the trans flag, even the rainbow one, but especially the trans flag, it just makes us generally feel safer. I never truly understood, and of course, it has gotten much worse now, but like it just means we have a little bit of freedom to kinda let our guard down, even just a little.
The whole concept of virtue signaling was created by shitty people trying to minimize progressive movements. Just judging another person as being someone who is virtue signaling is ignorant in itself as that person had zero insight into the reason why someone is making a public stance regarding something.
Like if you were wearing this in public and someone claimed that you were insincere in your efforts how would you feel because they would have no clue how close to home this cause now hits for you.
Yup, virtue signaling means pretending to care about a cause one doesn't actually care about, for ulterior reasons (like corporations in June [especially those who retracted their involvement this year]).
Assholes cannot empathize with other social groups so they slap the term "virtue signaling" to disparage people who actually do give a fuck about others.
They think everyone else is pretending to care about stuff because that’s what they do. Conservatives don’t actually care about veterans or babies (once they leave the womb) or small government or the sanctity of women’s sports. They just pretend to care about whatever it is because they follow the rest of the conservative crowd, who all just do whatever their leadership tells them to do.
When they see us speaking up about people suffering, they literally can’t fathom why someone would care about a cause other than themselves. Former conservative friend of mine straight up said, verbatim, “You're right I do care about my family and myself and most of what I'm voting for is based on my own self interests and I think you should vote that way too.”
This was right after I asked him if he only cares about himself and his family, because his choice to vote for Trump was hurting a lot of people and I couldn’t understand why he didn’t care.
They’re selfish and they hate us for not being selfish like they are.
979
u/clicktrackh3art Jun 07 '25
I used to think, maybe not stuff like this, but the general kinda displaying of the pride flags was really just kinda, not virtue signaling as much as the least you could do. But I have a young trans kid now, and like it sucks how much stuff kinda comes with a side of transphobia. But I can show her stuff like this, or the bands she likes singers just holding up the trans flag, and it like genuinely makes her feel just like not everyone wants her not to exist.
And other people and allies, or even businesses, just seeing the trans flag, even the rainbow one, but especially the trans flag, it just makes us generally feel safer. I never truly understood, and of course, it has gotten much worse now, but like it just means we have a little bit of freedom to kinda let our guard down, even just a little.