Today’s Controversy is Tomorrow’s Apathy

In 1992, the band Body Count, with Ice T, released a controversial song called “Cop Killer.”


It lit the world on fire.


News anchors gasped.

Politicians demanded censorship.

Tipper Gore probably fainted.

It wasn’t just a song; it was a national crisis.

People treated it like the downfall of Western civilization was just around the corner because of a few guitar riffs and a pointed lyric.

Fast-forward to today: I heard Cop Killer on satellite radio like it was any other track.

No warnings.

No outrage.

No controversy.

Just part of the playlist.

Guess what?

The same people screaming back then are the same kind of people screaming today — they just continually find a new target.

This week’s outrage? Sydney Sweeney.

Why?

It doesn’t matter why.

People like to be angry, and when one person is outraged, then others have to be outraged on the other side.

And guess what?

None of this will matter in six months.

Just like no one cares about Body Count anymore, no one will care about whatever drama Sydney Sweeney is caught in today.

Because we’re not thoughtful.

We’re not rational.

We’re reactionary.

We’ve mistaken noise for wisdom.

Volume for insight.

And outrage for purpose.

We scream online like it's sport, demanding apologies and boycotts like we’re noble, when really, we’re just bored and desperate to feel important.

We don’t want understanding — we want a villain.

And if we can’t find one, we’ll manufacture one. Preferably attractive and successful, because that makes it easier to tear them down.

Here's the wild part: most of us don’t even know why we're mad. We just know we’re supposed to be.

It’s digital mob rule with no memory and zero standards.

From N.W.A. to Body Count to Justine Sacco to Bud Light to Sydney Sweeney.

Fake outrage burns bright, fast, and out.

It also looks stupid we all look in the rearview mirror.

So, go ahead.

Type your angry comment.

Hit that downvote.

Scream into the void about how this time is different.

But it’s not.

And deep down, you know it.