jeremywc

Phaedrus' Street Crew
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Posts posted by jeremywc


  1. Everything SecretAsianMan just said is on point.

     

    Also, this:

     

    ...is a really bad analogy, and I think everyone can see why without me spelling it out. (Hint: PAX is an event about games, not about Mike's misguided personal opinions. A Tea Party rally, on the other hand, is about...)

     

    I don't think it's any different. At a convention panel, I think you're either preaching to the converted or to the unconvertable. Either someone was already open to your viewpoint prior to attending or they weren't. I see very little chance in altering someone's world view in an hour panel. Any discussion or organization between like minded individuals could just as easily take place elsewhere. Changing peoples ideological viewpoints is really, really hard.

     

    EDIT: I will add: If you want to continue attending PAX and working on panels at PAX covering feminist topics, then by all means continue to do so. But I think it's bullshit to imply that people deciding to not engage someone in an environment they feel uncomfortable in is somehow hurting a movement. I personally think a well written blog post can be every bit as effective as sitting in a panel.

     

    I'm a hugely stubborn asshole and I've changed my mind many, many times thanks to people calling me out on my bullshit. U:

     

    Though it sometimes takes a few days of reflection. Hence the "stubborn" part. ):

     

    Then you sound like me and are probably one of those people who find debate useful as a reality check and to see the other side of the coin. I don't think most people have the mindset or stomach for that.


  2. Your end goal here is to call a dude an asshole? I was under the impression that the goal was to make gaming as inclusive of a community as possible. To that end, giving panels on gender/race/LGBT acceptance at a conference with 120,000 attendees seems like a pretty good idea, regardless of whether one of the dudes who runs the conference is a dickhead or not.

     

    My end goal for dealing with stubborn assholes is to let them know I think they are a stubborn asshole and then be on my way. In my life, I have never seen an instance where someone who insists on being ignorant will change their mind based on something I say. Their ignorance is their security blanket and they will cling to it as if their life depends on it.

     

    For example: I live in Texas. I don't attend the numerous Tea Party gatherings that go on down here and try to educate them on... the long list of things those people should be educated on. They don't want to be educated. They like their ignorance. You can't do anything with people like that. I think it's better to build around them and marginalize their viewpoints. Or maybe it's just better for my blood pressure. Either way, I don't like giving them the opportunity to drain my energy that I could be spending on something useful.


  3. If you want to take your ball and go home because of some dumb shit Mike said, you're more than welcome to do so, but don't for a second think that that's going to help the situation at large. All that will do is make those panels disappear, make that viewpoint disappear from the PAX dialogue, and leave even more people in the dark than there currently are.

     

    Fuck that.

     

    You don't need to be at PAX to tell someone they're a fucking asshole. That's what we have the Internet for. The kind of bullshit that gets spewed by Mike's apologists can get my blood boiling so badly it's probably best I stay on the other side of an Internet connection from them, anyway.

     

    People don't have to be forced into an arena where they feel uncomfortable just to use their voice because that's where the assholes congregate most. Those are the people least likely to change their minds, anyway. And it automatically puts party seeking change at an unfair disadvantage. I say speak up where ever you feel most comfortable in the way that works best for you. Just keep speaking up as long as you can.


  4. Would we as a group feel more comfortable with a convention run by anonymous organizers? I wonder if that is the only way to avoid this happening in the future. 

     

    No, I don't think that would help. Anonymity negates accountability, which is what I think most people are looking for.


  5. The idea that PAX is full of nothing but PA supporters and fans is a false one, so I wouldn't expect him to get off scot-free.

     

    I don't think anyone is making this argument. I'm certainly not. We're pointing out that there isn't an effective mechanism at PAX for applying pressure on Mike alone to take a more considerate tone. That leaves people with only a few options: apply pressure via boycott or continue to attend and feel complicit in what he's presenting. The only options are... morally messy. It wouldn't be that way if there wasn't a link between PA and PAX *as organizations*. It has nothing to do with the volunteers or attendees.

     

    Moral quandary: Should you, and will you, boycott Child's Play?

     

    I'll have to stew on it. My family has spent a lot of time in a Child's Play hospital (Texas Children's) and it's full of toys that do make a difference for kids that are stuck in there. You can still just donate toys or money directly (we've done this with duplicate Christmas or Birthday gifts). You can also support other, similar charities like Extra Life. Or even better, Children's Miracle Network, which actually helps families pay for children's medical bills (which is a huge problem if you have a child with a chronic illness, disorder, or disease).


  6. But he wasn't using PAX as the vehicle, he was using himself and Penny Arcade, which like I said I think of as a separate thing from PAX itself.  A lot of the people attending PAX don't give a shit about PA itself, me included.  I read the comic and occasionally find it amusing, but I that doesn't mean I'm a PA fanboy who will instantly take their side.  I understand that I'm probably in the minority when I say that I don't associate the two things with each other.  I just think that PAX has grown so much beyond PA.

     

    I understand where you're coming from, but your logic doesn't pass the mustard with me. I think if Mike decided to put his foot in his mouth at literally any other convention in the country, the chances of the convention management calling him on it would be higher. Although I'm too cynical to believe there would be any real lasting repercussions either way, you can't ignore the fact that he gets extra privilege at PAX he wouldn't necessarily get elsewhere. And you would have a hard time convincing me that HE doesn't know that.


  7. That's fair.  What I was really trying to get at is the idea that by liking and attending PAX, I'm also endorsing PA and the things that made people upset with Mike, which is not the case.  In my mind, PA and PAX are two separate things that share some common elements.  I'm not saying that PAX should be immune to criticism (nothing should be), but that some of the criticism is being leveled at PAX isn't justified because it's really about something else.

     

    As long as Mike continues to use PAX as a vehicle to say boneheaded shit, people are going to hold PAX accountable for it. I don't think that's unfair. 


  8. It's a hard call for me. On one hand, I hate the idea of rape-apoligists being empowered with a sense of solidarity while creating an uncomfortable environment for many; but on the other hand, it seems like having rape-apoligists wearing clothing that identifies them as such could be useful in figuring out who needs to be introduced to compassionate methods of getting attention.

     

    It also helps you identify who to save last in a theoretical burning building situation. Just saying. :-P


  9. Here's a question about something other than the well-documented fact that the dudes at Penny Arcade are assholes.

     

    I date women (and female-assigned gender-queer people who have the same risk of sexual assault as women) who live relatively far away from me in Chicago. We often will have a date somewhere and, at the end of the night, take public transportation opposite ways to our homes.

     

    Recently after a date like this, a partner had two men follow her for 2 blocks before she got close to her apartment and sprinted inside. It was a horrifying story to hear related to me and made me wish I was there walking her home that night.

     

    But if I had did that I probably wouldn't have gotten home until 1 AM at the earliest, because she lives several miles in the opposite direction. So if I had offered (or offer to other partners in the future) to walk her home, I probably would have gotten (or will get) a firm "No, that's ok", right?

     

    In that instance, is it appropriate for me to insist? And if so, how much? It's not that I think I'm the big strong man whose job it is to protect his women, but it is a fact that women are more likely to be harassed and/or potentially assaulted when they're alone and I'd like to prevent that sort of thing if I can. Am I being insulting or thoughtful?

     

    I think you're probably over-thinking it. Everyone is different and there's no blanket response that would work as a universal solution, anyway. You have to just gauge the response and decide if you think it's best or not. 


  10. I highly recommend Quarriors. It's a dice building game that's pretty easy to pick up and learn. It's been our go to game for lunch gaming sessions at work lately. I ended up buying a copy and bringing it home to play with my kids and they love it as well. Usual play session time is about an 30 min to an hour depending on how many people are playing.

     

    I didn't see any mention of Ticket to Ride, that should be on the list of any looking to get their feet wet in board gaming.


  11. I'm really proud to see the Fullbright Company do this. If the games industry every hopes to grow up, someone in the room has to start acting like an adult. 

     

    For someone who tries to give off the air that he doesn't give a shit what anyone says, Mike seems to get get very defensive in a hurry. Having frequent diarrhea of the mouth often gets dismissed when you're in teens and early 20's, but by 35 you should have learned the value of at least being civil and courteous. It's not about censorship, it's about respect. You can't handle commentary on something deeply personal like gender identity and sexuality the same way you handle commentary on the video games industry. I'll admit there were times in my life when I was younger when I probably would have made similar comments. But then I met people from other walks of life, and learned that I needed to grow, mature, and revise my opinions. And I'm in Texas. I can't think of a single good excuse for a 35 year old living in a progressive area like Seattle to continue holding the same opinions that he does.

     

    I think there's a lot of good stuff that PA as a company drives that I enjoy, (Child's Play, Strip Search, Rain-slick games). Penny Arcade has done some good things for the industry. I just want to see Mike and Jerry to start forming some grown up opinions on these issues because I can't continue supporting PA if they don't.


  12. Dead Rising 3 designed to appeal to Call of Duty fans

    http://www.destructoid.com/dead-rising-3-designed-to-appeal-to-call-of-duty-fans-256136.phtml

     

    In a bid to, yes, "appeal to a wider audience," Dead Rising 3 has been given a brown color scheme, a serious tone, and a "realistic" approach. As if going down a checklist of bullshit PR phrases, Capcom also promises the violence will be "more visceral."

     

    You know what appeals to Call of Duty fans? More Call of Duty. Why bother chasing those assholes?  :mellow:


  13. Damn right it's a pejorative term. And it'll continue to be! It is frustrating when a thread goes in this direction, because I know it's an important thing to acknowledge, absolutely, but when it happens again and again among the same crowd of people, it's just travelling the beaten path.

     

    I don't think this argument has ever held up to any kind of logical scrutiny. There is no difference between directly telling someone to stop bringing up a problem and making a general complaint that you're tired of discussing the problem. Either way, you don't want to hear about it.

     

    Unfortunately, that's a bad recipe for engineering social change. The only way things get better is if people continue to press the issue. It IS exhausting to constantly revisit the issue, but if we don't, change will never happen.


  14. The problem in this case isn't so much that LPs violate copyright so much as Nintendo wants the money.  Basically, what they're doing is taking all the revenue generated by ads during the videos, and saying "we want it because we made the game" instead of letting that money go to the people who made the video.  Obviously, they're legally allowed to do so (since they are) but money generated by ads is nothing compared to the revenue generated by hardware/game sales.  Really, a lot of LPs function as free advertisement since the people making the videos don't claim to have made or own the games and are usually just showing how much fun it is.  I was convinced to buy Minecraft because of LPs.

     

    There's a difference between an multiplayer open world game like Minecraft and a single player story driven game like Legend of Zelda, though. If all you want to know is what happened in a game, then watching footage from a play through could also kill your desire to buy the game. I found a leak of all the cinematics from Heart of the Swarm that succeeding in killing my interest in purchasing the game, because I don't really play multiplayer StarCraft. LPs for story driven single player games aren't too far removed from throwing a DVD rip on YouTube, IMO.


  15. Man, I look way too stoned and creepy in the picture I posted. Here's a better one with me and my beautiful pregnant wife when we drove up to see the snow this last December (I live in the desert).

     

    That is a very fine hat, you should be proud of it!

     

    I also have that hat.