When Did Being a Good Person Get Cringe?

Writing about powerful men who do not enjoy being written about comes with consequences. If you think I should keep doing it, please consider subscribing. It's the most direct way to support independent media that powerful men would very much like to see disappear.There is a feeling I’ve been carrying, and I know a lot of us have been carrying, without a name for it. It’s this deep well of sadness and paralyzing grief that takes over when you watch someone do something genuinely cruel, mock a disabled person, use a slur on a livestream, celebrate wiping out an entire civilization, and instead of being met with consequence, they are met with an audience. A big one.It wasn’t always like this. Millennials, specifcally, grew up in a specific cultural moment that is worth naming. The people at the top of the pyramid were not celebrated for their cruelty. In fact, kindness was currency. You watched Friends and the characters were trying, however imperfectly, to be good to each other. You…