Brain Cox Praises Bryan Singer: Who We Give Empathy
Added 2023-02-09 14:01:03 +0000 UTCSuccession actor recently praised problematic director Bryan Singer... and it made me think about who we give empathy to in our society.
Comments
Well, I think empathizing with Singer for his behavior on set DOES give him more power. It empowers him to act that way again the next time he feels stressed. It’s not even about who does the most wrong. It’s not a contest. Nor is it about what he’s accused of outside this instance. People with Singer’s wealth and power don’t get cancelled anyway. A professional does not take their stress out on their employees.
Amanda Jones
2023-02-14 02:56:51 +0000 UTCBrain cock. It's like a cock but thinks!
Soi Born
2023-02-10 23:03:58 +0000 UTCI think it's fitting that you put "Brain" Cox.
Aud Pod
2023-02-10 14:10:18 +0000 UTCI think if you want to follow the empathy route with powerful people - to me it looks like gaining senior positions in a hierarchy seriously distorts your view of reality, and human tribal nature causes them to pull together into a reinforcing bubble. At best Cox is pointing at the toxic stuff bouncing down the hierarchy because its easier to thwap downwards - yet priviledged men in the middle are nowhere near as vulnerable as people at the bottom.
Nathan Shepperd
2023-02-10 09:36:46 +0000 UTCPeople in power have friends with louder platforms, so we hear them more. I think it's natural to empathize with your friends and I argue that we should be encouraged to empathize with those who do harm so that we can see the potential for such harm in ourselves and see the system's failure. But you're right that it's unbalanced. Empathy should be the path to understanding how someone got to a point (to prevent such harm in the future) and holding them accountable to see the pain they caused. Empathy shouldn't be used as an excuse to negate responsibility. And that's what it becomes when it's unbalanced or when we only hear from those in power.
CJ
2023-02-09 17:12:42 +0000 UTCI don't really agree with everything said here in this video but at least you are discussing empathy in general rather than giving in to the urge to punish Bryan Singer for the things he's done. I believe that showing empathy is very different than forgiving someone because at least with former is a habit that we should be encouraged to do, even with someone we do don't like, while the latter is more motivated by apathy. Do I think Brain Cox should do more for people more deserving of his empathy? Absolutely. Do I think Singer should be forgiven? No. However, I do think showing empathy for others is alright as long as that empathy does not allow the person more power and influence. If we give up our desire to empathize, then we risk participating in toxic cancel culture on people who have done far less wrong than Singer, or worse, completely innocent of the things they are accused of.
Marron S
2023-02-09 16:06:01 +0000 UTCThe number of times I've been told to 'let bygones be bygones' by someone between me, and the problematic person, on that totem pole... It makes restorative justice hard, when you've only seen restoration based on relatve privilege.
Avid Stan
2023-02-09 14:46:20 +0000 UTCThat was a great rant. 💕
Jessica M. Vázquez
2023-02-09 14:16:57 +0000 UTC
