Who Were the Sea Peoples?

Over the past year or two, when someone famous passes away from cancer, I inevitably see people posting on social media sentiments like, "I hate cancer." I find this strange: It strikes me as a statement of a new declaration of faith, one in which "cancer" plays a role like "Satan" did in an earlier one. It is one thing to mourn for David Bowie or Alan Rickman, but expressing one's "hate" for cancer is not doing anything for them, their families, future victims, etc. It is not as though cancer is feeling one's hatred and considering it might "back down" if people really are so angry at it. Nor are there any "pro-cancer" factions out there that one can taunt or disenhearten with one's hatred of the disease. If losing people to cancer upsets you a lot, become a cancer researcher, or give money to cancer research. Empty signaling of being firmly on the "anti-cancer" side is actually kind of disrespec...

Ryan Murphy contends that buying local organic "crap" is just a form of signaling. Two things: 1) No one is trailing me as I shop, Ryan. I can buy anything I want to without anyone knowing. I could buy the cheapest, most distantly grown things in the store and tell everyone it's local organic produce, if I want, and get away with it for years. If it is "all about" signaling, then why would I actually buy local produce instead of just talking about how I do so? 2) Isn't what is good for the goose also good for the gander? Shouldn't signaling theorists (and other reductionistic social theorists) apply their theory to themselves? If organic-food shoppers are "really just" signaling how environmentally conscious they are, shouldn't we be asking what Ryan is signaling in putting forward that theory? Perhaps he's not actually doing economics, he's "really just" signaling how tough-minded and cynical he is. UPDATE: And no...