No group is special. It doesn’t matter who you are, where you come from, what you look like, or which way you swing; none of it makes you any better (or worse) than anyone else. None more worthy, purer, or more noble, none more enlightened, saintly or wise, none more capable of good, nor bad, than anyone else. Yes. We may look different, but beneath it all, we are, each of us, human beings. Human beings with access to the same set of human behaviours as everyone else. And yes, some of us are assholes. Assholes are a group of diverse people who nobody talks about, yet are often the root cause of so much wrong within discourse right now. They yell, shriek and stamp their feet. They roll around on the ground, they cry, bully and scoff arrogantly, shaking their fists at the clouds and filling the air with whines. They are experts at making everything about themselves, and we have spent a lifetime learning to tolerate them. They are assholes. And they come in every colour, gender, class, sexuality and creed. They are everywhere, a burden to everyone, and cannot be ignored. The longer you spend talking to these people, the sooner you’ll realise that it’s not men versus women, red team fighting blue, or one group against another – beneath it all, it’s just everybody versus the assholes. And so each group must take responsibility for its own apportion of these people. To point them out, strip them of credibility, and disavow their ideas; as turning away only emboldens and enables them more, and makes enemies of those who they’re hurting. Perhaps you disagree. And if you’re reading this and shaking your head in dismay, if you think the groups you ascribe to are simply beyond the flawed nature of the human species, well maybe the asshole is a little closer to home… So what is to be said, about the assholes? ~ Images by Nicholas Green, Ryoji Wyata, Spenser Sembrat, Womanizer Toys, Chang Duong, Joel Muniz, Austin Distel. and Mercedes Mehling

2023-06-07