You’re not concerned, you’re wrong and won’t admit it.

The “I am ‘concerned’ about X”-bigotry is annoying me. The impact of this hypocrisy camouflaged as empathy affects us all. It starts small, with things like “concern” about an iPhone feature that will filter SPAM text messages by default. (Just turn the filter off and shut up!) and there are no limits to this phoniness.

You’re “concerned” that free speech doesn’t follow US-definitions globally, and your insults to people who disagree with you are illegal in some places? Cry quietly, I don’t want to hear it. You’re “concerned” that a scientist has found a fact incompatible with your ideology? Grow your mental model and shut up. You’re not “concerned”, you’re bigoted.

I get it though, being wrong can be difficult to swallow. Change can be difficult to process. It's also the only way to make progress. If we can’t change our minds when we’re wrong, we’re stuck.

• We were wrong about diseases and infections, we learned, fewer people die of disease as a result.
• We were wrong when we ignored the dangers of leaded fuel, we stopped leading fuel, and as a result fewer people grow up with brain damage.
• We were wrong about safety when we had no seatbelts. Now, fewer people die in car accidents, thanks to seatbelts.

We can plunk our lazy behinds on the couch made from our ideology, stubbornly sitting on a rotting foundation, or we can expend the mental energy to question ourselves and become better people.

Usually, those who are comfortable, not impacted by rising food prices, climate change, or politically organized discrimination choose not to act and not to change their minds. But things are changing, food is getting more expensive due to policies popular with right-wing politicians, such as tariffs. More and more of those sitting comfortably are noticing the pinch. Beer, bread, and pasta get pricier when harvests fail due to climate-change. The imported diesel from war-torn regions many need to drive to work or holiday puts a dent in their grocery- and vacation-budgets.

The answer? Face the uncomfortable truth, assume you’re wrong, and don’t listen to the “conservative” propaganda machine designed by billionaires to keep you complacent in a system that harms and exploits you.