Make It Make Sense: Being Offended on Someone Else's Behalf
When did it become trendy to be offended on someone else’s behalf?
In this bold and biting mini-episode of the Let’s Get Naked Podcast, Anne Karber and Cameron strip back the noise of performative outrage to expose a growing cultural phenomenon: the rise of the “professional pearl clutcher.” These are the self-appointed moral police who, under the guise of empathy, have turned judgment into a sport and compassion into a performance.
What begins as concern often mutates into control—an obsession with correcting, canceling, and calling out others to prove one’s own virtue. But beneath the moral posturing lies ego, not empathy.
This episode dismantles the illusion of virtue signaling, dives into how social media rewards outrage, and asks the uncomfortable but necessary question: Are we really helping, or are we just hungry to be seen as “good”?
From Empathy to Ego: The Hijacking of Compassion
Anne and Cameron unpack how the digital age has transformed empathy into a competitive sport. Once a quiet act of understanding, empathy is now often performed for likes, validation, and social approval.
“Outrage,” Anne notes, “has become currency. It’s how people buy belonging.”
But true compassion, they argue, doesn’t scream—it listens. It doesn’t hijack someone else’s pain for attention; it holds space for their experience without needing to center itself.
In a world where everyone wants to be the savior, this episode challenges listeners to remember that being kind and being loud aren’t the same thing.
The Addiction to Offense
Cameron dives into the psychology of what he calls the “addiction to offense.” Outrage triggers a rush of adrenaline and dopamine—the same chemicals released during excitement or danger—which keeps people coming back for more.
Social media amplifies this cycle, rewarding the loudest, angriest voices and punishing nuance. Outrage becomes a shortcut to relevance. But the cost? Authentic human connection.
Anne and Cameron argue that this cultural obsession with being “right” or “woke enough” has replaced curiosity with condemnation and empathy with ego. Real allyship isn’t about volume—it’s about understanding, humility, and showing up when no one’s watching.
The Karen Effect: When Control Masks as Care
The conversation takes a humorous but pointed turn as Anne and Cameron discuss “Karen culture”—the impulse to police others’ behavior under the guise of “helping” or “protecting.”
From moral grandstanding to unsolicited correction, they reveal how this behavior is often rooted in fear and control, not genuine compassion. “When someone’s policing your tone or your truth,” Anne says, “it’s usually about their discomfort, not your delivery.”
The result? A culture so focused on appearances that we’ve forgotten how to have uncomfortable—but necessary—conversations.
How to Reclaim Authentic Connection
So how do we move from outrage to understanding? Anne and Cameron offer a few simple but profound starting points:
Pause before reacting. Not every trigger requires a public declaration.
Listen to understand, not to defend. Compassion begins where certainty ends.
Check your motive. Are you helping—or are you hoping to be seen as helpful?
Allow difference. True connection thrives in the space between perspectives.
By replacing judgment with curiosity, we rediscover what empathy was meant to be: connection without agenda.
