The technique of publicizing upsetting incidents in order to rally public opinion is not new. It worked quite well in the 1700’s when would-be American rebels inflamed public sentiment with tales of the Boston massacre. It was highly effective after Pearl Harbor. The British and the Japanese become symbols of all that was wrong with the world, in order to further justify waging war against them to make the world a better place. War requires that we think of our enemies less as a group of individuals and more as monolithic entity. How else could we shoot at them?

Yet, now we apply the methods of war to our campaigns for social change. We don’t just make symbols of organized groups such as the Redcoats or the Japs: We make symbols of random ideological and cultural sects in our midst. The American colonials wanted basic legal rights. We want rather extensive social rights. We demand that our citizens not only have the right to shop in any store, but that they are able to go about their shopping day without encountering anyone who criticizes or demeans them.

It is traditional to write etiquette books that bemoan societal rudeness (Miss Manners has been doing it for years), but now we attempt to force individuals to conform to our definition of non-judgmental acceptance. Why? Much of this drive comes from a genuine desire to improve society. Unhealthy external pressures deluge modern individuals. Anyone who has engaged in online mommy wars, compared her body to pop-up Victoria Secret ads, or clicked on a headline like, “The Top Ten Ways You Are Ruining Your Life” knows all about these pressures. Faced with such an onslaught, it is only natural that we would try to stop the world from telling anyone that they are wrong or ugly. By claiming that each person should be himself, liberated from condemnation, we seem to be fighting for everyone’s individuality.