"For the past year, rightwing voices have waged war on empathy. According to Elon Musk, empathy is the fundamental weakness of western civilisation. Others go further, calling it toxic, suicidal and even sinful. Certainly, the macho wing of the Maga right sees no place for it amid its (mis)appropriation of medieval history and imagery that is visible everywhere from the face paint and horned headdress of the QAnon shaman, convicted for his role in the US Capitol siege,"
"And yet, consider the ideal of chivalry held by medieval knights: generosity and suspicion of profit, courtesy, honesty and the bind of your word, hospitality, abiding by the rules of combat and granting mercy to your adversary whose life a knight takes only as a last resort. I say this not because I think the medieval knight should be the new standard for modern men, but to point out that Maga men would fail, miserably so, to live up to their own ideals."
"The first thing that grabbed me about the Rapture's 2011 song It Takes Time to be a Man was the warbly, analogue fuzz of its recurring guitar and piano riff. Once that drew me in, what kept me listening were the lyrics' hard-marriage of masculinity and empathy. In the final verse, Luke Jenner tells us that: Well there's room in your heart now / for excellence to take a stand / And there's tears that need shedding / it's all part of the plan."
The Rapture's 2011 song It Takes Time to be a Man features a warbly analogue fuzz guitar and piano riff and lyrics that pair masculinity with empathy. The song's final verse links openness of heart and the necessity of shedding tears to moral strength. Recent rightwing voices have mounted an attack on empathy, with figures like Elon Musk calling it a fundamental weakness and others labeling it toxic or sinful. The macho MAGA aesthetic borrows medieval imagery while failing to honor chivalric virtues such as generosity, honesty, hospitality, rules of combat, and mercy. An alternative model of manliness appears in those who physically protect others, though the presence of weapons complicates purely nonviolent readings.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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