This gets into another point I've tried making to the more evangelical SJW's in my life before: Pursuit is bad.
Let me explain: We live in three "modes". There's our work life, our public life, and our private life. Work life is typically pretty sterile for most people, as we are on our best "professional" behavior, and kept separate more or less from our other modes. Public life is being out in public with friends or just grocery shopping, we are still quite conscious of our surroundings and what we say. Our private life is a little more complex in the digital age, as its both our home life with family/loved ones/trusted friends who we feel we can let our guard down with, and also our anonomized via pseudonym online life where we can discuss matters without the fear of reprisal.
The fences (I wouldn't call them walls as a bit of each "container" wafts into the others from time to time) between these aren't respected anymore. We have people who will dedicate themselves to pursuing you from mode to mode trying to destroy you simply for expressing an idea they do not like.
When you pursue someone with destructive intent, you aren't a victim, you are the monster. If there is disagreement in a "mode" or container of life, that is where it should remain and be hashed out.
We've lost this decorum, and we all suffer for it.
The high road is the losing road at this point, not destroying them mode to mode like they do to us. When we had the chance in our communities (like vidya and anime) we took the road of tolerance, and lost everything.
We are in serious conflict now with the children of darkness and we are losing pretty badly. Only way forward is scorched earth, then plant anew on the barren grounds.
The irony of this is that the group I game with now is almost exclusively men, and its more mixed racially than you would expect, but we warn people up front: You are going to hear some MASSIVELY offensive shit in here, and if you can't cope, that's your problem. We've got a Cuban dude ranting about throwing Jews down the well, a black guy going off on a dude from Kentucky about how he needs to stop fucking his sister and focus on the match, another dude making fun of the black guy about his absentee father, and all other manner of horribly offensive jokes. I constantly get shit about being the creepy old guy playing video games with young people. We have a guy who is no-bullshit on-and-off comitted to an asylum who occasionally manages to log on while tripping balls on LSD. It's utter insanity.
And you know what the result is? Everyone is having a fucking blast and laughing their asses off. You want the definition of a safe space? Thats it right there. Its place where nobody cares how offensive you are or what you are, its whether you've got skills and can bring the bantz.
America used to be like that. You can go back and look at comedy movies and acts from prior to about the mid-90's and see it. Seriously, go listen to Eddie Murphy Raw or watch Blazing Saddles and ask yourself what would happen if that came out today.
It did. I am an 'old dude' now too. It's sad to see what has happened. Made me go a bit nutty back in 2015 - 2017 living in DC. Left there after living for many many years to move to a semi-rural area with 90% white population and rest asian.
Too much risk out there as a conservative white dude these days.
We need a new pocket of culture where its sole defining characteristic would by being offensive if you want and you can NOT get repercussions for it. It would be wild.
Shouldn't just be a pocket. That's the society we should strive to have: to become a culture where free speech is absolute, to be the Land of Fuck You. You don't like what I'm saying? You don't like what I think? It hurts your precious feels? Fuck You. Blow Me.
I am old enough to remember. Got into a blue collar field east coast in '81. Everyone talked like Trump including little females like me. I am not easily offended and find him hilarious
This gets into another point I've tried making to the more evangelical SJW's in my life before: Pursuit is bad.
Let me explain: We live in three "modes". There's our work life, our public life, and our private life. Work life is typically pretty sterile for most people, as we are on our best "professional" behavior, and kept separate more or less from our other modes. Public life is being out in public with friends or just grocery shopping, we are still quite conscious of our surroundings and what we say. Our private life is a little more complex in the digital age, as its both our home life with family/loved ones/trusted friends who we feel we can let our guard down with, and also our anonomized via pseudonym online life where we can discuss matters without the fear of reprisal.
The fences (I wouldn't call them walls as a bit of each "container" wafts into the others from time to time) between these aren't respected anymore. We have people who will dedicate themselves to pursuing you from mode to mode trying to destroy you simply for expressing an idea they do not like.
When you pursue someone with destructive intent, you aren't a victim, you are the monster. If there is disagreement in a "mode" or container of life, that is where it should remain and be hashed out.
We've lost this decorum, and we all suffer for it.
Well thought out.
The high road is the losing road at this point, not destroying them mode to mode like they do to us. When we had the chance in our communities (like vidya and anime) we took the road of tolerance, and lost everything.
We are in serious conflict now with the children of darkness and we are losing pretty badly. Only way forward is scorched earth, then plant anew on the barren grounds.
The irony of this is that the group I game with now is almost exclusively men, and its more mixed racially than you would expect, but we warn people up front: You are going to hear some MASSIVELY offensive shit in here, and if you can't cope, that's your problem. We've got a Cuban dude ranting about throwing Jews down the well, a black guy going off on a dude from Kentucky about how he needs to stop fucking his sister and focus on the match, another dude making fun of the black guy about his absentee father, and all other manner of horribly offensive jokes. I constantly get shit about being the creepy old guy playing video games with young people. We have a guy who is no-bullshit on-and-off comitted to an asylum who occasionally manages to log on while tripping balls on LSD. It's utter insanity.
And you know what the result is? Everyone is having a fucking blast and laughing their asses off. You want the definition of a safe space? Thats it right there. Its place where nobody cares how offensive you are or what you are, its whether you've got skills and can bring the bantz.
America used to be like that. You can go back and look at comedy movies and acts from prior to about the mid-90's and see it. Seriously, go listen to Eddie Murphy Raw or watch Blazing Saddles and ask yourself what would happen if that came out today.
It did. I am an 'old dude' now too. It's sad to see what has happened. Made me go a bit nutty back in 2015 - 2017 living in DC. Left there after living for many many years to move to a semi-rural area with 90% white population and rest asian.
Too much risk out there as a conservative white dude these days.
What a great post.
We need a new pocket of culture where its sole defining characteristic would by being offensive if you want and you can NOT get repercussions for it. It would be wild.
Shouldn't just be a pocket. That's the society we should strive to have: to become a culture where free speech is absolute, to be the Land of Fuck You. You don't like what I'm saying? You don't like what I think? It hurts your precious feels? Fuck You. Blow Me.
I am old enough to remember. Got into a blue collar field east coast in '81. Everyone talked like Trump including little females like me. I am not easily offended and find him hilarious