TOW #14: The League of Extraordinary Assholes

In our modern world of regulated capitalist democracy it is increasingly easy to see the inflated entitlement of the wealthy or privileged, whether it be while we are driving, in line at Starbucks, or waiting for luggage at the airport. While we look on from our relative squalor compared to these paragons of privilege, it is easy to see how their false air of superiority can contribute to, as University of Toronto Philosophy professor and writer for The Walrus Magazine Mark Kingwell rather gracefully calls it, "assholery". While this characteristic disregard of other human beings is often reserved for the privileged, Kingwell argues in his op-ed that there is a logical reason for "jerkiness", and that this "jerkiness" can be manifested in all of us whenever we are in a position of superiority.

Kingwell writes for the common man--but with an academic's flair--and deftly illustrates the tenets of "jerkiness" by defining and then providing examples for its various parts. He paints the picture of the jerk in everyone, saying that most people "may not be a jerk most of the time--except when I feel myself superior". By defining the superiority complex that enables jerkiness, the reader is able to connect to the concept of jerkiness, for they themselves have probably felt entitled in their superiority at one point or another. In order to reinforce this idea of "jerkiness", Kingwell provides examples of where jerky superiority might be manifested. He gives an example of  feigned superiority, saying "Thus servers, clerks, students, cashiers, and—especially—strangers can be seen as easy targets. Without fear of reprisal or loss of status, indeed with a sense of confirming it by getting one’s way or securing an advantage, jerkiness can seem justified".  Through showing how jerkiness grows and rears its ugly head, Kingwell thus shows that jerkiness is not just reserved for the over-privileged (who he describes to be not just jerks but rather at a more unsavory level of entitlement) but can be seen in all of us when we lose our sense of empathy and see ourselves as better than others. Thus, Kingwell begs the question, are you or have you ever been a jerk? And for most of us, the answer is yes.