What is virtue signalling anyway?

Lee said:
Back to virtue signalling. So if someone hosts a charity event by allowing their restaurant to be used and charging by the plate with part of the donations to the charity but in reality they are thinking that this is also good advertising for their business.

Would this be an example?
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Wow, excellent question. I honestly don’t know....food for thought.
 

Lee said:
Back to virtue signalling. So if someone hosts a charity event by allowing their restaurant to be used and charging by the plate with part of the donations to the charity but in reality they are thinking that this is also good advertising for their business.

Would this be an example?
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Think it depends on the circumstances. If they were deeply discounting the profit per plate for a charity they believed in, then it wouldn't be. They would, of course, gain positive exposure for their business but would lose a normal night's revenue for a cause they support.
 
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I've heard the term before and rarely give it a thought. People are stupid and have nothing better to do than come up with dopey new labels describing old behavior hoping to make it seem like something no one has ever done before. Arrogance, haughtiness, bragging, and self-righteousness all now fall under the label virtue signalling. Whoopee!
 
AnnieA said:
Probably you should or put me on ignore--temporarily, hopefully! 🙃 I think you're too angry to see how I think the televangelist having consensual sex after a sermon and the celebrity preaching environmentalism while raping the planet aren't so far apart as disgusting behavior goes.

The Sussexes' excesses gave the Royal Family grief while they remained in the UK. Those excesses harmed the planet. And Prince Harry did choose to step down as a Royal.

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I thought the televangelist was having paid sex not consensual sex. I am getting confused. Or is the celebrity having consensual sex with the televangelist who, oh never mind. What has any of this to do with anyone from Britain? Chose an American to smear. Us Americans love a good smear. 🤦🏻‍♀️😮😂. I like the veggie smear at Einstein’s.

Actually, when someone feels insulted, it is “good form” to say sorry. It is better form not to tell older adults what to do. And the best form to stick to the topic of the thread which I sometimes do. Something about virtual, or vitreous or whatever. Confused about that as well. 😂

My stomach hurts, just saying.
 
Aneeda72 said:
Chose an American to smear.
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Leonardo DeCaprio. Same issue. Virtue signals environmentalism but lives a very high carbon footprint lifestyle.

He actually has a Leonardo DeCaprio Foundation that supports environmentalism ...but it's set up in such a way that the money is super hard to trace.
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This brings to mind the expression "bully pulpit." If a public figure decides to use some of his publicity to espouse his pet cause, is he a virtue signaller? Could his motives be entirely sincere? Is the term only used when somebody is a hypocrite?
 
Sunny said:
This brings to mind the expression "bully pulpit." If a public figure decides to use some of his publicity to espouse his pet cause, is he a virtue signaller? Could his motives be entirely sincere? Is the term only used when somebody is a hypocrite?
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The meaning of virtue signaling is obvioulsy subjective per this thread, and to me it usually involves hypocrisy and/or attention seeking. A public figure who uses fame to support a cause he or she lives out isn't virtue signaling to me.

For instance, Dak Prescott, quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys spoke out about law enforcement racial injustice. He then committed $1,000,000 that he plans to implement by starting a program for LEO to do community service in high crime areas so they'll have a connection to the areas beyond policing. He has an issue that concerns him, spoke out about it, then took constructive action.
 
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Here's an example: All the movie stars and other entertainment figures who are frequently heard coming out against fracking, natural gas production, etc.... without knowing the slightest damn thing about the subject!

And when they give up using electricity, heating their homes, using automobiles or planes, to show their dedication to saving energy, I'd be more likely to take them seriously.
 
Sunny said:
This brings to mind the expression "bully pulpit." If a public figure decides to use some of his publicity to espouse his pet cause, is he a virtue signaller? Could his motives be entirely sincere? Is the term only used when somebody is a hypocrite?
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IMO it is not. I am probably more socialist than most people on this forum. I have never been accused of virtue signalling here but on an Australian forum it is frequently applied to people who advocate for the environment, a fair go for indigenous Australians and workers' rights. I think it is used fairly mindlessly as a put down but I would much rather prefer to argue the issues than respond to ad hominem slurs. The end result is that I shut up and go away. No-one person can address every problem in the world by taking it up as a cause but everyone can speak up about things that are not right. This used to be called consciousness raising.
 
Warrigal said:
IMO it is not. I am probably more socialist than most people on this forum. I have never been accused of virtue signalling here but on an Australian forum it is frequently applied to people who advocate for the environment, a fair go for indigenous Australians and workers' rights. I think it is used fairly mindlessly as a put down but I would much rather prefer to argue the issues than respond to ad hominem slurs. The end result is that I shut up and go away. No-one person can address every problem in the world by taking it up as a cause but everyone can speak up about things that are not right. This used to be called consciousness raising.
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Advocating for the environment, for indigenous Australians and workers' rights doesn't make you a [gasp] "socialist", it just means you're not a self serving goose stepping fascist.
"Consciousness raising", I haven't heard that term in a couple decades. First World societies are growing away from being of benefit to it's citizenry and more toward the benefit of the oligarchs that are increasingly in control of..the entire world.
 
Warrigal said:
IMO it is not. I am probably more socialist than most people on this forum. I have never been accused of virtue signalling here but on an Australian forum it is frequently applied to people who advocate for the environment, a fair go for indigenous Australians and workers' rights. I think it is used fairly mindlessly as a put down but I would much rather prefer to argue the issues than respond to ad hominem slurs. The end result is that I shut up and go away. No-one person can address every problem in the world by taking it up as a cause but everyone can speak up about things that are not right. This used to be called consciousness raising.
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I must say that I have never been accused of shutting up and going away. 🤣🤣🤣
 
Here's another example of virtue signaling:

Someone posts "Hey, I have a big chunk of pork I want to use tonight. Does anyone have any good recipes for pork?"

The virtue signaler responds, not with a recipe, but with "Well, I never eat meat, especially pork. I think it's terrible to eat animals and so does everyone in my family! Just think about how these animals are raised, just to be eaten." And so on and so on.

The original poster asked for a recipe, not a lecture. The signaler had nothing to add to the conversation except trumpeting her virtues.
 
And then there's the "humble brag" as often seen in Christmas newsletters:

"Oh, my gosh, it is soooo hard having brilliant and talented children! I barely have a minute to myself with all the activities they have! Robert, Jr., is on the premier soccer league in the city and will be playing in a tournament in Europe next week. That means TWO trips to the airport (I'm just shaking at the thought!) and he'll barely get back in time to see his sister dance the lead role in the City Ballet's Nutcracker. I was so hoping she'd just get a minor role as it would be so much easier, but a prima ballerina IS a prima ballerina! So many trips to drive her to practice..... If she was only attending public school, it wouldn't be a problem but her private school is a real stickler about attendance and her grade in Advanced Mandarin has dropped to an A- (I'm humiliated to have to admit it!), so we may have to address the problem of extracurricular activities next year or she'll have to end up attending Yale or Vassar instead of going to the Sorbonne as we planned. I feel guilty about it, but sometimes I wish my children were just ordinary. " Robert, Sr., has been soooo busy since his big promotion that I hardly ever see him anymore. I had to cancel our annual Boxing Day party this year as he'll be at the White House, advising the transition team on something or other. Boo-hoo for me.....sometimes I wish we had our old dull and boring life back! "

And that, boys and girls, is a humble brag.
 
jujube said:
And then there's the "humble brag" as often seen in Christmas newsletters:

"Oh, my gosh, it is soooo hard having brilliant and talented children! I barely have a minute to myself with all the activities they have! Robert, Jr., is on the premier soccer league in the city and will be playing in a tournament in Europe next week. That means TWO trips to the airport (I'm just shaking at the thought!) and he'll barely get back in time to see his sister dance the lead role in the City Ballet's Nutcracker. I was so hoping she'd just get a minor role as it would be so much easier, but a prima ballerina IS a prima ballerina! So many trips to drive her to practice..... If she was only attending public school, it wouldn't be a problem but her private school is a real stickler about attendance and her grade in Advanced Mandarin has dropped to an A- (I'm humiliated to have to admit it!), so we may have to address the problem of extracurricular activities next year or she'll have to end up attending Yale or Vassar instead of going to the Sorbonne as we planned. I feel guilty about it, but sometimes I wish my children were just ordinary. " Robert, Sr., has been soooo busy since his big promotion that I hardly ever see him anymore. I had to cancel our annual Boxing Day party this year as he'll be at the White House, advising the transition team on something or other. Boo-hoo for me.....sometimes I wish we had our old dull and boring life back! "

And that, boys and girls, is a humble brag.
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So, what you are saying is, you’ve meant my arrogant brother and his wife. 😂
 
AnnieA said:
Celebrity hypocrisy comes to mind when I hear the term ...those that espouse an issue for their image or media time but don't live it. The Sussexes are a prime example, Prince Harry in particular in regards to environmentalism. I read a carbon footprint breakdown of their lives in the UK; the two of them in appx 18 months scored higher than a good many small nations, and the calculations didn't even include the wedding. He's as bad as a two bit televangelist scoring hookers after the sermon.
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An example for me would be when a Hollywood actor denigrates the current occupant of the White House so that their politics appears to align with the rest of Hollywood's. Just a way of saying I'm one of you, hire me.
 
jujube said:
Here's another example of virtue signaling:

Someone posts "Hey, I have a big chunk of pork I want to use tonight. Does anyone have any good recipes for pork?"

The virtue signaler responds, not with a recipe, but with "Well, I never eat meat, especially pork. I think it's terrible to eat animals and so does everyone in my family! Just think about how these animals are raised, just to be eaten." And so on and so on.

The original poster asked for a recipe, not a lecture. The signaler had nothing to add to the conversation except trumpeting her virtues.
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If only it was always confined to that sort of example. I fully understand how gratuitous that response is but the term can be, and is often thrown at people who are sincerely entering a discussion on important topics like climate change, civil rights, minimum wages, universal health care, and social security.
 

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