The Dilution of Outrage
In my adult life the word outrage has been used so commonly (typically by left-wing dimwits) that it’s ceased to be really meaningful. Instead, it rests at the bottom of the linguistic toolbox with other ill-used and blunted words like “tragedy”.
It’s probably time to sharpen the edges on “outrage” though, and there’s no better whetstone than this:
The most astonishing thing about the destruction of the investment bank giants isn’t that they gave $720,000 loans to Mexican farm workers who made $14,000/year. It’s not that they then repackaged those assets into highly-rated bonds with the complicity of the ratings agencies. It’s not even the audacity of then selling these bonds to funds that underpin critical societal institutions like pensions and schools. No, the most amazing thing is that they cloned these bonds against themselves over and over - bets on bets on bets.
My god. It’s really too terrifying to worry about.
