Ain’t that a shame?

My first piece for the Toronto Standard: why it’s really time to stop yelling “shame.” (Don’t yell it anymore, please. Really. This means you, protesters.)

One thing I couldn’t quite fit into that argument, but that’s worth noting at least in passing: yelling “shame!” seems like a particularly left-of-centre quirk. (Protesting in Toronto at all, actually, seems like a particularly left-of-centre quirk.) If I had to tease out the cause, I’d say that people who feel disenfranchised, or powerless, tend to be those whose political beliefs align with left-wing causes, and “shame!” is a thing you yell at the powers-that-be. You’re supposed to feel shame when you do something that dishonors your station. The higher the station, I think, then, the greater the shame.

Also, if you needed evidence that “FAIL” has waned in popularity, I present to you your and my dad trying to make the joke.