I’ve seen a related phenomenon in real life among some left-aligned people, when they said that Luigi Mangioni probably just did it for validation from society.
When you approve of what he did, and you know it cost him, but you still need to downplay the virtue you ascribe him- because, what if he knew you would ascribe him said virtue? Apparently that invalidates it.
If you get your ego hit from wanting to be something, I will judge you as that. Vigilante included. Even if you rope society into the loop, I don’t consider that a disqualifying condition.
The need to feel seen, is a craving for supplemental existence. To be illuminated by their sight and contemplation, to exist more because someone is looking at you. “The medium is not the message.” How you exist is the medium, what you choose to be is the “message”.
It’s possible there are people out there who would do it just for the sake of spreading the image of their physical body. That is more of an empty vessel situation, but they would do anything to be seen. When you demonstrate uncommon, deliberate and personally expensive taste in what you want to be famous for, I have to see that choice as a reflection of your true self- whether it was instilled or innate.
Yeah, it’s similar to people criticizing philanthropists because they didn’t do it anonymously. If getting paid in fame incentives philanthropists to donate then I’m all for it. I think demonizing philanthropy won’t make philanthropy go silent, it’ll just make it disappear.
In someways it seems they think that invisibility or keeping your head down is a virtue which is ironic if it comes from an individualistic background where an individualistic virtue is the opposite which is to stand-out and self promote as much as possible. Or maybe I’m seeing it wrong and it’s really they see being underpaid as virtue. In the effort to avoid all transactional relationships/behavior they must either do things for free or less and sacrifice as much as possible.
Either way, all of this purity spiraling seems incredibly unhealthy to me.