Creating controversy where there is none
One of the biggest problems facing society today is fact that it’s hard for people with non-extreme opinions to have their voices heard.
The only way you get attention is if you yell your views, or if those views are extreme.
The reason I’ve been thinking about this is the recent bizarre backlash against a show on Netflix called Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. Kondo is a “tidying expert” who wrote a book about her various methods of getting rid of clutter. Essentially, her method boils down to only keeping things that speak to one’s heart. If something no longer “sparks joy” when looked at, it’s not worth keeping.
Now, when I first heard about Kondo and her show, I reacted how I’d imagine most reasonable people would: with no strong feeling one way or another. To me, it looked like a pleasant, inoffensive, show about straightening up one’s home.
Well, it turns out that this nice, laid back show and book from offering advice on how to tidy up is one of the absolute worst things in the world.
There is a tweet that’s gained traction that I’m going to focus on, because it was really where this all started. The person behind the tweet was yelling about how people should not “listen to Marie Kondo … in relation to books.”
The twitter user was referring to a passage in Kondo’s book where she recommended readers keep 30 books. Kondo said people should only keep books which evoke joy.
The angry user wrote that folks shouldn’t ever throw books away, and that everyone should have a veritable library. She continued that the idea that books should spark joy is ridiculous, because books should also challenge a reader’s preconceptions.
“Life is disturbing,” she wrote.
The only problem? There is no part of Kondo’s book where she instructs only keeping 30.
“I now keep my collection of books to about thirty volumes,” Kondo wrote. “But in the past, I found it very hard to discard books because I love them.”
She’s not telling you to throw away your books. She’s just letting you know that it’s worked for her.
And by “spark joy,” Kondo doesn’t literally mean, “does this make you happy?” It’s meant as more of an abstract spark of emotions. I’ve read several books that challenged my opinions that have “sparked joy” in me.
But aside from all this, even if that twitter user had a point, it would still be absurd because she’s criticizing a show about tidying up. It is, to me, the least offensive type of show imaginable. If someone told me that they came up with the show in an effort to produce something incapable of generating controversy, I’d believe you.
And it’s also indicative of a trend wherein because someone recommended something, others assume that person is telling them how to live. It’s a harmless suggestion, and it’s pretty easily ignored if you’re not a fan of it.
Getting angry at Tidying Up with Marie Kondo is akin to getting angry at a beige wall. It’s idiotic, and a waste of everyone’s time.
-Will Channell is a reporter for the Journal-Tribune.