| sanc·ti·mo·ny (noun) – feigned piety or righteousness; hypocritical devoutness or high-mindedness. |
Sanctimony is a disease. A dangerous one.
And the Left is being seriously damaged by it.
Sanctimony in the form of expressing faux outrage is a displacement activity for real thought and opinion – and it’s dangerous because it deflects and distracts attention away from the real problems and suffering in society caused by really dangerous people.
As a blogger and political writer, sanctimony is something I’ve experienced first-hand relatively often – usually from the Left – for example after I wrote a satirical blogpost attacking Katie Hopkins for publicly attacking a 10-year-old disabled girl:
Dangerous Breeds of Bitches Face Ban After Child Savaged by Katie Hopkins
The faux outrage whipped up from some of my fellow Lefties for comparing Katie Hopkins to a bitch is – in my opinion – trivial sanctimoniousness at its worse.
I publicly attacked KH for attacking a disabled child. That was the context and the aim and the meaning of the blogpost. I tried to do it in an intelligent, entertaining, readable way. In the offending blogpost, I don’t just lazily call KH a bitch. I was writing as if she actually was a female dog. Literally.
But now I’m in danger of trying to explain satire. Which is pointless because in my experience, if you have to explain satire to someone, they will never understand it.
Understanding something like satire needs perception, deliberation, intelligence and openness of thought all of which are impossible if someone is in the grip of a severe attack of sanctimony.
Lazy sanctimony is dangerous because it trivialises inequality, suffering and hardship and makes thousands of people who would normally be sympathetic to arguments from the Left, switch off altogether and shake their heads at the triviality of the discussion.
Sanctimony is a serious threat to openness of thought, freedom of speech, open discussion and civil engagement.
I regard myself as a left-wing libertarian. On the Political Compass test – you can take it here – I am wedged right in the bottom left-hand corner.
The libertarian part of that equation is as important to me as the left-wing part. Not more important – as important.
And that means I believe that freedom of expression and openness of thought are essential to a civilised, fair and equal society.
Much to my bewilderment, the Left – from Communist Russia to New Labour – have had a reprehensible record of supporting freedom of speech and opinion.
In fact, I despair of the Left sometimes.
So if you are easily offended by words, or openness of expression or controversial ideas, or aren’t quite bright enough to understand the real meaning of satire – do me a favour will you?
Don’t read this blog.
Thank you.
.
Please feel free to comment.
Pride's Purge 
Pingback: Lazy sanctimony - the damaging disease of the L...
If you ever read the Guerrdian and its comments section you’ll be overwhelmed by the sanctimoniousness of both the writers and commenters. They are the sort of people who will jump on any popular bandwagon to make themselves feel good. Usually big fans of the likes of Owen Jones “the boy in the cul-de-sac”.
LikeLike
I suppose it would be “satire” to use slurs based on someone’s race or sexuality too.
LikeLike
Well said.
LikeLike
Go Tom – Can I please beg a plug – IDS at W&P Select Committee – Was it worth it??http://jaynelinney.wordpress.com/2013/12/11/ids-at-wp-select-committee-was-it-worth-it-2/ … … …
LikeLike
Well said Tom! I have thought along these lines for ages but never been able to find the right words to express my feelings without falling into the trap of just writing it off as shallowness or getting angry to no avail.
Thanks again for your astute comments x
LikeLike
It might be yes. If done in the right way.
LikeLike
Done – I’m a left libertarian too.
LikeLike
I give up Tom….
I have had a life time of being mis- understood, by people without the ability to comprehend English properly.
There are real people suffering at the hands of sanctimonious, right wing ideology whilst those in fear of left wing ideology use it to justify getting more than enough and keeping all of it.
That’s politics for you.
Why else would a journalist attack a disabled ten year old, unless they thought others would also jump on the band wagon and add mommentum to it’s progress in a right of centre direction?
If she thought she was “better than them” and had “something to offer”, I could almost go along with that,
However, if people hang onto a few key words of a satirical retort, and start misinterpretting it, we might as well all go willingly to the gas chambers.
Life is a struggle, for many it always has been.
It is that struggle that we are all “locked into” and some of us resent others for apparently struggling less.
The UK looks like a developing country in parts, namely the parts that built the ships and railways of the world and made it a smaller place.
I read Own Jones “Chavs” and I have to say, if you don’t get this book, you are part of the problem facing this nation.
If you read Sebastian Haffner, “Defying Hitler” you will see the pattern of the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s repeating themselves RIGHT NOW!
THIS IS SERIOUS, if the likes of the Tory party and UKIP plus other right wing parties in Europe get their way, the moral “Left” will end up having to sort the mess out after the next idelogical war.
The Left is built upon people who have struggled and suffered, in my experience.
So, let’s ask ourselves, if we are only a “bit left wing” and only care for “our own” then you are a selective leftist and that’s something you need to learn to deal with.
Being a Socialist is people first.
Being a Libertarian means talking to people in your community, your school, your work place, and working together, raising your kids, celebrating those important events in life together.
That means not allowing prejudice or bigotry to spoil a good party.
If Tom Pride is a bit contraversial at times, it’s because he needs to be.
Lazy, sanctimonious, pieous prejudicial ignorance is the preserve of Right Wing Tories and their sense of entitlement.
Join us and open your minds to a way of life that refuses the bullies a hold on your life…
Humour and Satire are better means to that end than half reading a blog and getting all up set about it because you don’t really understand it?
As Tom said, It just makes us all look a bit daft when real lefties are having to defend against those who are either not really lefties, or don’t really understand the point of satire?
If of course you are a right wing troll, then thanks for reading and hope to see you at the next event like the burial of Nelson Mandela where you can pretend you supported him all along…
Keep it real people.
LikeLike
Brilliant, one of your best blogs yet
LikeLike
Too many on the left lack a sense of humour and have a priggish PC attitude. To be fair though I don`t think you should have used the term bitch regarding Katie Hopkins. She is a cunt as far I`m concerned
LikeLike
Hi Tom – I think you’re getting there! What do you think is the next step?
(…and naivety is NOT hopeless)
LikeLike
Very good blog, I usually get chucked off the Gaurdian comment page for being a bit too forthright. But I do hate the “oh we all feel for the POOR people” attitude, when the overwhelming impression is that they aren’t and don’t expect to be including themselves in the category. Am I generalising YES , but then I do love a bit of satire.
LikeLike
Top post.
LikeLike
YES YES YES, but then as my husband says at least those are useful, so maybe not.
LikeLike
I don’t think this blog post was written very well. It blurs the distinction between, and thereby equates, different topics of discussion. A much better way of writing it would’ve been to separate them thematically, so that each could be talked over individually.
Firstly, there’s the issue of the Left’s holier-than-thou behaviour. You don’t actually quote any such examples, so it’s difficult to get a real sense of what you’re talking about.
Secondly, there’s a Left’s tendency towards censorship, strict discipline of the party line, homogeneity of thought, etc. This, of course, does exist, though not nearly as much as the rightwing like to claim. But if you want to understand how and why this behaviour exists, it’s requires a proper analysis of the economic and political climate, a historical analysis up until today, etc.
It is totally inappropriate to simply stand on the sidelines and bemoan, “The left doesn’t like freedom of speech; the left prefers to censor rather than debate; the left is totalitarian in opinion,” without properly trying to explain why and how this is so.
Otherwise, you risk being sanctimonious yourself, giving off a snobbish condescending towards the left, rather than actually trying to do something about understanding the situation.
LikeLike
Tom, when I read your piece I thought that there would be some sort of kick-back. Not because of what you wrote, but because it was actually written at all. I think any adult ripping into any child for the sake of their own political agenda is a crime, You wrote about it with satire likening the journalist ( journos also called the rabid dogs of the yellow press, also dogs of war ) to a dangerous dog, recalling the devil dog moral panic some years ago. I got that, but obviously some did not.
I think people should try & raise their game if they find your satire too challenging. I always look forward to your blogs – often funny always entertaining, and sometimes like this one, angry and not afraid to show your disgust. Great writing, every time, with a pin-point accuracy hitting back at the injustices and pure idiocy, and the dangers, of the political times we live in.
There was also recently the UKIP clown who was similarly abusive to children in care. Then also the fact that absolute poverty and hunger and homelessness affects hundreds of thousands of our children, passes almost without remark in the mainstream. (Our children = I mean “of our society, to whom we all have a duty of care to”)
This coalition have re-written the political narrative scapegoating the vulnerable of all ages and circumstances as the “other”, the outsiders, the useless, the drain on society, following the pattern of the 1920′ & 30’s when Nazis made these groups scapegoats too,.The fact that people in the public life (journos, Ukipers) have been emboldened to publicly vilify children in face to face encounters shows how far and deep the moral and political rot has gone. We all need to make clear that this is unacceptable, in our own way. If some are upset by your writing, I would politely suggest they go elsewhere, and perhaps reflect in how as a child they would have felt to be treated like this, like those affected here and now through the governments savage welfare cuts.
These are the crimes this government must be held to account for. That is the greater good. It’s bigger than any of us, but it can be challenged and changed by us all being connected and making our voices heard, and using your blog as a rallying point is not a bad start.
PS. I really get offended by other people’s profanities, and yet I never try to comment. However, the use of c**t is something I would like see taken out of comments, because it is offensive and off-putting to many. It reduces the impact of our debates, but I really don’t want censorship, but a bit of respect from others, perhaps? Your commenters may have few words to convey their disgust at the political classes, but this is one word we can all do without.
LikeLiked by 1 person
im just going to kill some puppys.
LikeLike
WOW. Just did the political compass test and I come out the same as the Dalai Lama!
LikeLike
Don’t we already know that the ‘left’ are going to be even ‘tougher’ than the nazi tory party when it comes to benefits – sanctimonious – they are as bad as the nazi toryboys
There are several ‘left’ blogs that still believe in the salvation of this country by the labour party – you know, the one full of right wing bigots – and will not allow socialists or other leftwingers to comment on their sites because they do not ‘believe’. We all know somebody who ‘believes’ and look how many have died as a result!!!
LikeLike
Judging by my results on the political compass test I’m a natural Green Party voter…
LikeLike
Shared Jayne. Good blog post.
LikeLike
I’m permanently banned from commenting on the Guardian. Can’t think why.
LikeLike
Thanks Tom xx
LikeLike
Hello G,
I don’t give a monkey’s whatsit about racist slurs: what’s vastly more serious is KILLING members of other races (or indeed, any sort of murder). And the party which lefties support (Labour) took part in the slaughter of a million Muslims in Iraq for no good reason (in contrast to which the British National Party opposed the war from day one).
So the contrived sensitivity we get from lefties on the subject of un-PC, and allegedly racist statements makes me puke.
LikeLike
Great post Tom – this type of sanctimonious ‘feuding’ is exactly what the neoliberal right try to foster or at least benefit from. The global community is facing a corporate (fascist) takeover, with the power of democratically elected governments being subsumed under the directives of corporate tribunals – NAFTA on steroids, EU-US FTA, TAFTA, TTIP and the TPP etc… and you are having to waste your energy on defending satire!
Naive is too little a word to describe their fiddling while Rome burns. United we stand etc.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: FACEBOOK POSTS AND BLOG COMMENTS AT THE END OF 2013 | Permanent Socialism