Breitbart Bill

Written By: - Date published: 7:35 am, March 16th, 2017 - 18 comments
Categories: bill english, spin - Tags: ,

Keep digging Bill – Virtue signalling is not for me: Bill English doubles down on rejecting ‘feminist’ label

Bill English has reiterated that he does not consider himself a feminist, suggesting in an interview with the Spinoff that the term is not applicable to men, and that, among the women with whom he works “virtue signalling is not really something that matters to them much”.

“Virtue signalling” is a recent and still relatively obscure wannabe meme. It is an attempt to paint common decency as a negative (like “political correctness” before it).

Who has been feeding Bill English the latest attack language? What other alt-right tactics will National be adopting? Should we be worried?

18 comments on “Breitbart Bill ”

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  1. One Anonymous Bloke 1
    16 March 2017 at 9:06 am

    Worried?

    That Bill English reveals his character every time he opens his mouth?

    The number of opportunities he presents can be a little overwhelming, granted, but it’s a good problem to have 😉

  2. greywarshark 2
    16 March 2017 at 9:37 am

    Virtue signalling. Can someone who is up on language explain where and how this came to be a meaningful term that has been adopted by our Prime Minister.

    Urban dictionary – Saying you love or hate something to show off what a virtuous person you are, instead of actually trying to fix the problem.
    and
    To take a conspicuous but essentially useless action ostensibly to support a good cause but actually to show off how much more moral you are than everybody else.

    Wikipedia summary:
    Virtue signalling – Wikipedia
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtue_signalling
    Virtue signalling is the conspicuous expression of moral values by an individual done primarily with the intent of enhancing that person’s standing within a social group.
    ‎Social justice warrior · ‎Signalling theory · ‎Champagne socialist · ‎Shy Tory Factor

    One example Wikipedia gives:
    One of the earliest uses of the term virtue signalling outside of signalling theorists was made on August 11, 2004 by commentator Al Cowens in response to seeing Sousaphone player Matt Buck walking and playing lumbering music behind a Ku Klux Klan parade to make them seem foolish. On a Something Awful message board Cowens, in a bit of a pun, called the episode “Virtue signalling at its most pedestrian.”[7][8][9]

    That seems lampooning, political satire, drawing attention by farce to something that is egregious. Better than using fists and guns, it is criticism implicit in the action.

    So is it a pejorative term for criticism of bad behaviour, which goes with neo lib thoughts of ‘Stuff others rights or fair behaviour arguments this is right for me”?
    Like how women used to be labelled as hysterical when they become upset and angry at wrongs.

  3. greywarshark 3
    16 March 2017 at 9:46 am

    Just thought that we are in an age that operates on myths and cloaks all its actions with a veneer of acceptability and manufactured correctness. Trying to pierce that would be frowned on by those who are in embedded positions in this society. Think of the idea about changing the meaning of common words war is peace was one I think. Was it George Orwell 1984 or Aldous Huxley Brave New World.

    This new term seems to be one that seeks to be manipulative of minds.
    Like ‘Don’t take any notice of that person’s criticisms, they are just ‘virtue signalling’ which we don’t accept as an appropriate approach for consideration.’

    • SpaceMonkey 3.1
      16 March 2017 at 10:49 am

      It was George Orwell… “War is peace; Ignorance is strength; Freedom is slavery”

      Looks like “virtue signalling” is going to be the new put down for those actively concerned about social justice issues… in the same way George W Bush used “conspiracy theorists” to describe those who didn’t buy the official 9/11 story.

      • greywarshark 3.1.1
        16 March 2017 at 10:59 am

        Looks like. Trying to pierce the cloak of invisibility – how far will they go before fascism is officially declared?

        • Draco T Bastard 3.1.1.1
          16 March 2017 at 11:16 am

          Fascism won’t be openly declared this time around. It will be hidden by respectable words and shock and horror at policemen beating up black youths while the oppression ramps slowly on everybody who isn’t rich.

  4. Tui 4
    16 March 2017 at 10:57 am

    Bill E is a puppet of the world military industrial complex! if you think Trump is really President your sadly mistaken!!!

    ~ Tui

  5. Bastables 5
    16 March 2017 at 11:09 am

    Accusation of virtue signaling are very prevalent amoungst the alt right/gamegaters/antifems, neo nazis and used as a pergorative to shut down debate. Hrbomberguy explains quite well from the perspective of one of the young and internet savvy https://youtu.be/sAmM872874A

    I like how behind the times English is that he’s suddenly decided to virtue signal his anti feminist credentials in the year 2017

    • the pigman 5.1
      17 March 2017 at 8:54 pm

      +1 though a bunch of the older commenters won’t know what half of those labels mean 😉

      The RNZ comment feeds on facebook are a blast. There are a couple of gamergate-ish misogynist types who pop up routinely to accuse anyone arguing with them/saying non-revolting things of “virtue signalling”. It gives me a massive cultural cringe, like “here’s this little white prick from Remuera imitating something he saw on a 4chan message board”.

      AND THEN THE PRIME MINISTER DOES IT.

      Cultural cringe factor: infinity.

  6. Draco T Bastard 6
    16 March 2017 at 11:10 am

    Who has been feeding Bill English the latest attack language?

    The same psychopaths as fed them to Key.

    What other alt-right tactics will National be adopting?

    All of them. They may even try to make up a few of their own.

    Should we be worried?

    Probably.

    • greywarshark 6.1
      16 March 2017 at 11:21 am

      DTB
      Stop thinking for half an hour. You will wear your brain cells out. Rest and conserve. We need you round to last the distance to wherever we are going.

  7. saveNZ 7
    16 March 2017 at 11:23 am

    Bill Who?

    • WILD KATIPO 7.1
      16 March 2017 at 1:12 pm

      Someone English… I think his claim to fame was something about a National party defeat way back in 2002. But I’m not sure, so don’t quote me on that.

  8. adam 8
    16 March 2017 at 1:39 pm

    It’s like a rerun of the bloody awful pome drama “The Bill”.

    “The suspect was, young, probably a druggy, lazy and female.”

  9. Tiger Mountain 9
    16 March 2017 at 1:39 pm

    a good portion of the users of social and other media seem to have an infection; a common symptom is regurgitating whole, certain US web sites and blogs unhinged take on the world, a sample was on view here from some commenters during the US Presidential election and primaries

    if some of that stuff is re-read it might make your head spin–“but the emails!!!…” (said in a whiny strangulated voice)

    so if PM Blinglish is going to that linguistic hell he should be picked up on it and challenged–WTF do you actually mean there Prime Minister?

  10. AB 10
    16 March 2017 at 11:12 pm

    Whatever its original meaning, “virtue signalling” is going to go the way of “political correctness” and “bleeding heart”. A snide way of putting down people who exhibit any concern about ethics.
    Its original meaning looks like it was calling out hypocrisy – people who said the ‘right’ thing in order curry favour by looking virtuous, but in practice don’t care or do anything about that issue or concern. This meaning is too subtle to survive.