C is for Cookie
And not for consequences.
One of the many food trends that swept America in the 90’s was the Snackwell’s cookie. Advertised as “low-fat,” in truth, Snackwell’s were just as caloric as regular cookies. People eating Snackwell’s consumed more calories than they would have if they just ate the full-fat cookies in the first place, because Snackwell’s took guilt out of the equation. Snackwell’s branding created a permission structure for consumers to inhale as many damn cookies as they always wanted, free of consequences—they’re low-fat!
After two years of pandemic living and culture war, a sizable part of America wants to have their Devil’s Food cake and eat it, too. The rest of us are left to pick up the crumbs.
Welcome to America in 2022.
To see this mindset in action, just look at TikTok. The app is a reflection of what’s floating in the collective consciousness, often by recycling the same audio over different visuals. A recent favorite of mine features someone doing something they shouldn’t and getting into a scrape. A man sings, sounding as if he’s breaking into a hurried run, “I don’t want no consequence, consequence, consequence chasing me right now.” There’s over 8,000 TikToks using this song as the audio track.
That song is what I believe is playing in much of America’s head right now.
Refuse to wear a mask on an airplane? There should be no consequences, not even a no-fly list, even though Delta and other airlines are pushing for it. Delta! The voice of reason! The mind reels.
Publish the world’s most listened-to podcast? There should be no consequences for exclusively hosting a font of asinine takes, vaccine misinformation, and phrenology-adjacent science because actually, our company is a platform, not a publisher.
The Supreme Court has gleefully undertaken the use of the shadow docket to protect their majority from consequences in the form of reprobation. Justice Alito loudly exclaims that the shadow docket isn’t being abused, as the majority dispatches settled case law via unsigned opinions. The Court feels they should just be able to do what they want because they already have the power to do so. Why should they bend over backwards to explain or stand behind their reasoning? YOU’RE rude for asking.
The low-fat, consequence-free lifestyle always thinks you’re rude for asking, by the way. Who’s making money from NFTs? You’re doxxing by naming names, and it’s harshing the good time we’re having on the Blockchain. Don’t want to ban books or CRT? You’re making my child feel bad—and why should they be self-reflective when their parents are so steadfastly opposed to stopping to reflect themselves?
It’s everywhere, once you look for it: owners in Major League Baseball’s lockout negotiations, Eileen Gu’s Instagram comments, protestors in Ottawa, anyone who tells you there’s a labor shortage… To feel guilty is to be aware that there are consequences to one’s actions, and above all else, that must be avoided.
As with the topics that these thinkers want to ban from schools, there is no solution or happy ending. I don’t believe that it’s possible to convince others that we live in a society anymore. But consequences are always trailing fast behind. Like the nutrition label on those Snackwell’s, you can’t argue with the science on the back of the box.