Stop Making Noise

Offer an informed opinion, or none at all

There is a cult of ignorance… and there always has been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.’

—Isaac Asimov; A Cult of Ignorance

The world is riddled with noise. It is inevitable in a global community that averages 60.31 humans per every square kilometer of land on the globe (or about 37.47 per square mile). Sustaining such an abundance of people requires engaging in operations that generate sound, whether it is for transportation, manufacturing, construction, agriculture, etc. Sadly, this assault on our ears will only continue to grow, but this is not the noise at issue in this article.

Over the last twenty years, a new type of noise has permeated our existences, and it grows exponentially louder than any other. Unlike the various processes that uphold human survival, this new assault on serenity is unnecessary, pervasive, and most critically, revealing.

Winning the Gold in Ignorance

The 2024 Olympics started about a week and a half ago. Not long after the event rolled out, along came controversy—noise. People screeched about a depiction of what they presumed represented a parody of the Last Supper, a painting by Leonardo da Vinci. For example, French politician Marion Maréchal claimed:

To all the Christians of the world who are watching the Paris 2024 ceremony and felt insulted by this drag queen parody of the Last Supper, know that it is not France that is speaking but a left-wing minority ready for any provocation.

The problem is that the image had nothing to do with da Vinci’s iconic painting. The provocation was Maréchal’s own creation. In fact, the image was a “depiction of Greek gods partying atop Mount Olympus,” based on the 1635 painting by Dutch artist Jan Harmensz van Biljert titled “Feast of the Gods.”

Jan Harmensz van Biljert’s work on the left, the “controversial” imagery from the 2024 Olympics on the right.

The Olympics are a contest tracing back to ancient Greece, originating millennia before da Vinci painted his work. That many illustrations exist to commemorate the event of such early origins should surprise no one. Given the extreme fluidity of sexual appetites in Greece in those days, no one should suffer any bewilderment if such illustrations include certain graphic representations. Da Vinci’s work itself deviated in particular, but notable, ways from the rendition of the alleged gathering in the religious sources from which he derived his inspiration.

In short, the caterwauling over the unveiling of the image at the 2024 Olympics accomplished little more than to exhibit the boundless ignorance of people interested only in feeling offense and hefting their pique upon others. Frankly, even if it meant to rebrand da Vinci’s painting itself, why would anyone care?

Da Vinci was hardly a devout Catholic, if he was one at all. Born as a bastard child, he was almost certainly a homosexual, even facing charges of sodomy at one point (later dropped, though under curious circumstances). His work and notes reflect a humanist ideology. This meant that even if he was religious, he tended to train his focus more on matters of the real world. At least one researcher has argued:

Da Vinci would create religious depictions and figures with human characteristic to acknowledge humankind’s part in God’s manifestation.

The Last Supper hardly can be called religious canon. It is not a ‘holy’ icon constructed by the hand of God. A man of undeniable brilliance, but debatable devotion, created a work of his own imagination that has received accolades throughout its life for the exquisite skill in its crafting. That’s it. Were he still alive today, da Vinci’s character suggests he would be amused by this ridiculous controversy over his painting.

Winning the Gold in Bigotry

Algerian boxer, Imane Khelif, a 25-year old light welterweight, handily defeated her Italian opponent doing what boxers do—pounding the crap out of their opponents. Stinging from her loss, Angela Carini took the low road and refused to shake the hand of the victor. Her childish behavior helped ignite a conflict over whether Khelif is in fact a woman. The internet of bigots took hold of the controversy like starving animals rip into a fortuitously found carcass.

People with nothing better to do quickly dug around and revealed that the International Boxing Association (IBA) had once prohibited Khelif from competing in a gold medal match based on her purportedly having “competitive advantages over other female competitors.” What advantage you ask? The IBA claimed:

The athletes did not undergo a testosterone examination but were subject to a separate and recognized test, whereby the specifics remain confidential.

Whatever made up the so-called “recognized” test was never revealed, and therefore neither were her alleged “advantages.” The IBA did not accuse her of not being female. Nevertheless, the usual scumbags like Donald Trump, Elon Musk, JK Rowling and Logan Paul quickly weighed in with their oversized megaphones. Rowling, known only for her best-selling napkin notes of content mostly repackaged from previous works, tweeted this:

Watch this then explain why you’re OK with a man beating a woman in public for your entertainment.

Social media, wont as it is to repeat the drivel coming from these losers and others like them, wasted no time in spewing out further noise:

**Note, it does not appear that Mike Tyson ever said anything like this.

Chief among the problems with all this is that no one has asserted any proof that Khelif cheated in any way, or is otherwise unqualified to compete. The sum of the dispute started because a single boxer, who ostensibly possesses girlier features, got her ass kicked in 46 seconds by another competitor who did not sufficiently look the ‘appropriate’ part. Although Carini refused to shake hands, for which she later apologized, she clearly recognized her lack of sportsmanship:

All this controversy makes me sad… Actually, I want to apologize to her and everyone else. I was angry because my Olympics had gone up in smoke. I don’t have anything against Khelif. Actually, if I were to meet her again I would embrace her.

Regardless, cowards and rabblerousers took advantage of her moment of petulance in the ring to further their disgraceful agendas and a far-too-large, equally deplorable public followed suit.

And for those relying on Khelif’s disqualification by the IBA to justify their prejudice, that organization is not allowed near any official matches because of its vast history of corruption, including throwing matches and engaging in other misconduct strictly to benefit its principals. An investigation found:

Bouts were manipulated for money, perceived benefit of AIBA, or to thank National Federations and their Olympic committees, and, on occasion, hosts of competitions for their financial support and political backing.

Moreover, sex testing itself has long been viewed as pervasive, unfair, and unscientific. Notably, it does not apply to men. Several experts submitted a report detailing the innumerable problems associated with the practice. They wrote:

The regulations reinforce negative stereotypes and stigma that women in the targeted category are not women—and that they either need to be “fixed” through medically unnecessary treatment with negative health impacts or compete with men, or compete in “any applicable intersex or similar classification,” which can call into question their very definition of self. Women who do not conform to culturally constructed notions of womanhood are particularly at risk of discrimination, violence, and criminalization. By singling out a certain group of athletes and denying them membership in the “female” category, IAAF puts these women at risk of repercussions far beyond the inability to compete.

Unsurprisingly, like most extremist views on complicated topics, sex testing for women in sports relies on “research” from a single source that may lack credibility or is entirely irrelevant. World Medical Association President Dr. Leonid Eidelman explained:

We have strong reservations about the ethical validity of these regulations. They are based on weak evidence from a single study, which is currently being widely debated by the scientific community.

The bottom line here is that this is a deeply complex topic that public commentators distill into meme-level bullshit merely to obtain clicks and money. That such a large portion of the public globs onto the debate in such a moronic way is a serious condemnation of their morality and intellectual rigor. More importantly, no evidence indicates any of this relates to Khelif at all.

Imagine, as a parent, a person attacking your daughter for being especially good at her craft but not looking the ‘right way,’ thereby opening her to abuse from bottom feeders all across the planet. People who have no stake in the games, no knowledge of their internal workings, and no evidence of their claims insist upon verbally assaulting a 25-year-old woman to satisfy their own character deficiencies. It is hypocritical and despicable.

Fading Respect and Losing Relationships

Far too many people I know have personally weighed into either or both of these issues. Every one of them has proffered views that mirror their social media puppeteers, and stand in direct contrast to what I know of their character from my personal interactions with them. It is extremely disheartening.

Continuing down this path will eventually lead to a complete destruction of friendships and other personal relationships because it is leading society into two camps. One is that which spouts contemptible views with no evidence or an abundance of misunderstanding about the topic. The other is that which either understands the topic thoroughly and (in probably every case) recognizes that the issue is far more complex than meme-level bigotry can account. This second group, therefore, offers either thoughtful opinions or none at all. Unfortunately, these two ways of approaching topics—especially controversial ones—are mutually exclusive.

Do we really want to end our social circles this way?

For another article on lunacy passing as discourse, click below.

I am a Certified Forensic Computer Examiner, Certified Crime Analyst, Certified Fraud Examiner, and Certified Financial Crimes Investigator with a Juris Doctor and a Master’s degree in history.

Today I work both in the United States and Nepal, and I currently run a non-profit that uses mobile applications and other technologies to create Early Alert Systems for natural disasters for people living in remote or poor areas. In addition, I teach Tibetan history and culture, and courses on the environmental issues of the Himalayas both in Nepal and on the Tibetan plateau. For detailed analyses on law and politics involving the United States, head over to my Medium page.