Tuesday 5 September 2023
Think of the children
Something else which is very familiar, the virtue-signalling put-down. Often seen in mainstream media comments.
‘Made a good sale this afternoon,’ the little man went on. ‘Head of Balzac by Rodin. Sold it to that fellow Litehouse, the big tobacco man. He’s collecting pictures and things. Doesn’t know anything about art, but we look after him — see he doesn’t get anything rotten, you know.’
‘Much better,’ said Bendish gloomily, ‘if he gave his money to children’s hospitals or something like that.’
‘Oh, I don’t know,’ said Frederick, suddenly irritated, because nothing exasperated him so much as this very popular sentiment; ‘it would be an awful world if there weren’t any beautiful things in it, and who’d go on making beautiful things if nobody ever bought them?’
‘I don’t see that,’ said Bendish. ‘Pictures are only a luxury.’
Hugh Walpole - All Souls' Night (1933)
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4 comments:
Yes, very common. A lot of virtues - the fake ones anyway - are completely about putting people down. There's no political agenda behind it - just a set of squishy ideas that you can use to show that you are occupying a higher rung on the ladder.
Sam - that's it, it's about occupying a higher rung up the ladder. Doesn't usually work because it tends to be too obviously fake, but still common.
The money has not dissappeared. The person who sold the item can give the money to a deserving charity.
And back in 1933 both dealer and taxman would have taken a smaller cut.
Doonhamer - or Bendish could do voluntary work for the charity.
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