Why Weaponized Ignorance Makes Me Cry

There are a handful of things I'm afraid of in life and weaponized ignorance is one of them. In simple terms weaponized ignorance defines using one's ignorance as a weapon used to their advantage against another individual [or group of individuals]. It's an avid tool in justifying ignorance at the detriment of others. Let’s look at a scenario. When certain individuals seek to portray other individuals or aspects from those individuals' [typically marginalised] cultures and identities in a way that is harmful or inaccurate they should be held accountable to an extent that prompts them [and others] to correct their depiction in a way that is respectful and true. If said individuals do not do the latter but rather use their ignorance to justify their lack of proper research and investigation, the effects of these actions can cause significant harm to those communities. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to be an expert on certain topics before discussing them, it only means you can acknowledge your ignorance and seek to correct it. Another definition of weaponized ignorance, and perhaps the most common, is using one’s ignorance to justify their negative actions at the detriment of others [ie. racism, ableism, homophobia]. I quite literally get vivid nightmares from this. But anyways, my personal feelings aside, it’s quite an inconvenient little thing. When you think of it the average Joe could get away with anything if they claim ignorance well enough.

There’s no clear understanding and collective consensus on how to deal with this issue. I find that most people don’t really think about it [often the least affected] or aren’t that bothered by it. I’m not one of those people. Particularly, when pertaining to issues of race, gender, religion or sexuality I think there needs to be a certain level of consideration in order to discuss/portray them in the best ways possible. Individuals failing to do that isn’t necessarily the issue at hand [per se] but rather the vindication of harmful acts or rhetoric towards a specific individual/community of individuals on the basis that “they didn’t know any better”. In the ripe age of the internet I find that hard to believe and almost impossible. We have access to immensely large amounts of information quite literally at our fingertips. That's not to say that every information you come across will be true but that you will always have the possibility to access that knowledge. Whether you choose to do so or not is entirely at your discretion. When you consider these points, justifying the acts of an individual which have negative repercussions on others on the basis of a lack of consequential knowledge is quite simply incomprehensible. I do believe that I have a certain moral responsibility to inform myself on a significant range of issues and topics but I understand that isn’t the case for everyone, however what I do not understand is how someone could cause so much harm to others through their “ignorance” and be let off by a slap on the wrist and a pat on the back. My opinion and the points stated may divert from that of others but it is my opinion article after all. I do not intend to convince or persuade anyone to act or think a certain way I only iterate my perspective. Until we learn to deal with these issues with the considerable amount of care and understanding they need, weaponized ignorance will continue to plague our [my] existence.