It would be odd, even cruel, to blast party anthems at a funeral. But the private thrill of an album release, or a Superbowl win, or a damned fine cup of coffee is not an act of betrayal. And the alternative - universalized austerity until the world is perfect according to a set of twitchy goalposts - is both unworkable and historically impossible. No such time has ever existed.
6/9
Part of living well is the cultivation of joy that is not contingent on the disappearance of all misfortune. If we wait for that, we'll never bloody celebrate anything at all.
7/9
Scolding joy = a cynical performance. Publicly shaming people for being happy allows the scolder to signal virtue without necessarily contributing to the cause they claim to defend. Cicero warned against the "empty honor" of those who court esteem without doing the work to deserve it. Social media has made this tendency both easier and more visible.
5/9
It would be odd, even cruel, to blast party anthems at a funeral. But the private thrill of an album release, or a Superbowl win, or a damned fine cup of coffee is not an act of betrayal. And the alternative - universalized austerity until the world is perfect according to a set of twitchy goalposts - is both unworkable and historically impossible. No such time has ever existed.
6/9
The argument against celebration carries an implicit belief in a fixed emotional economy: if you are joyful, you are stealing from the shared pool of grief or outrage. But emotions are not a zero-sum ledger. Your neighbor’s delight at a Taylor Swift album does not drain the reservoir of compassion available for those in Gaza, Ukraine, or a flooded Midwestern town.
4/9
Scolding joy = a cynical performance. Publicly shaming people for being happy allows the scolder to signal virtue without necessarily contributing to the cause they claim to defend. Cicero warned against the "empty honor" of those who court esteem without doing the work to deserve it. Social media has made this tendency both easier and more visible.
5/9
But joy, especially in the face of catastrophe, has always been both a coping mechanism and a rebellion. In 1940, Londoners danced in bomb shelters during the Blitz. Was it an insult to those who had lost their homes? Or was it a declaration that the human spirit would not be bent entirely to fear? Even in Dostoevsky’s novels, in the most dismal Petersburg winters, there are moments of laughter and absurdity that seem to mock the inevitability of suffering.
3/9
The argument against celebration carries an implicit belief in a fixed emotional economy: if you are joyful, you are stealing from the shared pool of grief or outrage. But emotions are not a zero-sum ledger. Your neighbor’s delight at a Taylor Swift album does not drain the reservoir of compassion available for those in Gaza, Ukraine, or a flooded Midwestern town.
4/9
The temptation to be the moral arbiter over other people’s joy is an old one. In 17th-century England, Puritans tried to outlaw Christmas festivities, seeing them as frivolous or even sinful distractions from the grim seriousness of life. Their project failed, but the instinct survives: when the world is on fire, surely we must all stand in somber solidarity, heads bowed, playlists muted.
It feels like righteousness.
2/9
But joy, especially in the face of catastrophe, has always been both a coping mechanism and a rebellion. In 1940, Londoners danced in bomb shelters during the Blitz. Was it an insult to those who had lost their homes? Or was it a declaration that the human spirit would not be bent entirely to fear? Even in Dostoevsky’s novels, in the most dismal Petersburg winters, there are moments of laughter and absurdity that seem to mock the inevitability of suffering.
3/9
Let people have their Taylor Swift.
A thread about joy, Showgirls, Dostoyevsky and why any attempt to synchronize the emotional weather of billions is a doomed endeavor...
🧵
1/9
The temptation to be the moral arbiter over other people’s joy is an old one. In 17th-century England, Puritans tried to outlaw Christmas festivities, seeing them as frivolous or even sinful distractions from the grim seriousness of life. Their project failed, but the instinct survives: when the world is on fire, surely we must all stand in somber solidarity, heads bowed, playlists muted.
It feels like righteousness.
2/9
Let people have their Taylor Swift.
A thread about joy, Showgirls, Dostoyevsky and why any attempt to synchronize the emotional weather of billions is a doomed endeavor...
🧵
1/9
Why Perplexity's $34.5B Chrome offer is the perfect 2025 tech stunt:
1/ They don't have the money
2/ Google won't sell
3/ The math makes no sense
4/ But the headlines are priceless
https://www.theindex.media/p/perplexity-s-chrome-bid-is-a-34-5-billion-publicity-stunt-5b70ae516766912b
GitHub’s future is tied to one vendor’s AI agenda.
If you don’t like the direction, your only option is git push elsewhere.
https://www.theindex.media/p/github-s-neutrality-is-over-ae97e9dfba287225
The mistake is thinking we need to feel everything or nothing.
The skill is choosing what to care about and accepting that choice as enough.
https://www.joanwestenberg.com/p/how-we-traded-anxiety-for-apathy-d9fec4ba127f6971
JA Westenberg