Virtue signalling is where an individual supports an opinion which somebody thinks they are only supporting to signal their virtue. Like, person A says Black Lives Matter and person B says, you are only doing that because it’s trendy. Woke. The inference being that you don’t actually think that at all.
When a company virtue signals, it may be wokewashing. Portraying itself as more politically correct than it in fact is. Maybe it’s a bank, merrily waving the pride flag as it takes money from repressive regimes? Or the nation’s favourite pie and pasty seller deciding to make vegan versions of all its favourite treats? Woke credentials validated? Check. New market untapped.
It’s a pretty cynical view, but the internet is full of pretty cynics. People who think human suffering is measured in lols and dank memes.
I prefer to think of what we do as lighthousing.
Imagine you are adrift on a dark sea. And you scared and alone, not sure if your boat will flounder on the rocks and you will drown. And then you see a light, and that light says "don't worry, I got you".
That’s how lighthouses work.
But some people, they live inland. And they are like "put that fucking light out, I'm trying to sleep here."
Imagine being THAT PERSON?
If you don't think Frosthaven is for you, don't fucking buy it. Plenty of people will. And draw your fucking curtains.
I can’t fault cynics for being cynics. Once carbon capture became a thing, some of the worlds least green companies got to greenwash themselves. McDonalds frequently wins awards for sustainability. Turns out your local vegan cafe is not as green as a global megacorporation.
It’s not just individuals that have a sense of entitlement.
Most social businesses are canny enough not to do that. The ones that cheat the system don’t survive. We all have access to social networks as well as a desire to be physical in physical spaces. And so we lighthouse purely to tell people who might be scared and anxious for good reason that we have their back.
That they will be welcome.
That they will belong.
Everything based around the premise of social inclusivity.
As soon as group activities are offered, we are lighthousing. You will not be alone. You will find friends. You will engage with new people. And they will love it as much as you do.
A cynic might say that is a lie. Deep down, haven’t each and every one of us felt like that at some point on our lives? So what is cynicism really, but the darkness in our own hearts. Hiding the rocks of disappointment and the sandbars of regret.
You know what would help there?
A fucking lighthouse.