Brodie

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Posts posted by Brodie

  1. Posted

    What you said was already mixed into the conversation you were joining. As Deadpan already pointed out. I took the context you were responding to and elaborated.

     

     

    That context was already there via the conversation you responded to, I think. People were talking, mostly, about their own attempts to use more inclusive crass language, and if you saying that it's "not about scrubbing your vocabulary down to only the safest and most universally acceptable words" wasn't intended as a direct response to that, telling people that they were going about this the wrong way, then I don't think you've done a very good job of differentiating it from that.

     

     

    Fair enough, I did walk into the middle of this. My apologies for be being tone deaf.

  2. Posted

    Scrubbing words that denigrate the mentally ill from my vocabulary or even just trying not to say 'fuck' and 'shit' all the time doesn't mean I'm walking on eggshells because I'm still a person who uses direct verbal confrontation.

    It's a challenge to use more colourful language.

    Trust me when I say I don't lose my conversational teeth when I stop calling people crazy.

    Megaspel, as an Australasian the word 'cunt' is not divorced from being a female slur. People are just as likely to call a woman a that as they are certain mates as they are people they don't like.

    It's use isn't even that widely accepted any more.

    It can be standard banter to call your mates a bunch of horrible shit but the 'fun' comes from the fact that those words still have meaning.

    Also plenty of words still hurt people around you. Words like stupid or moron may feel at least fifty years divorced from their contexts but plenty of people still feel shitty from other words. You're not always directly interacting with people who will be hurt by your language.

    As someone who has had a complicated relationship with the word 'faggot' or the use of 'gay' as a negative I know that using them frequently can hurt plenty of people on the sideline even if it's common to try and state that the words mean arsehole or 'dumb/shit' now. Plenty of the people affected by your language won't directly confront you over your use at the risk of drawing a target on themselves.

    Plus for the affected specifically it can be hard to differentiate someone who says retarded or faggot 'recreationally' from someone who sneers at those affected people.

    Brodie, yeah it's kind of privileged to use language that won't just offend one person but a whole bunch of marginalised people and to only hold yourself accountable for what you say when someone offended finally pulls you up for that.

    It's also not uncommon for the offended person to be told in the same conversation that they shouldn't even be mad because the word "doesn't mean that anymore". Despite the fact that clearly it fucking does because that's still part of the racy appeal of using the word.

    Basically it's expecting the offended person to wade into a potential quagmire of a discussion that could may well cause more hurt and also leave a stigma on them in order to receive an apology and the faint promise that next time will be different.

    Also 'remember for next time' is pretty self serving. I doubt you mean "I will not use that word again" as much as "I'll try not to say it around you" because you resent scattering eggshells even though one can still find a minefield when they use words that they already know can hurt people and have direct experience with that.

    Plenty of people don't want to deal with a potential asshole but they'll still feel hurt about it.

    So some person can still find a shitty mark on their day without the offender ever being pulled up for it.

    I don't have completely sanitised language. I can speak with intent to offend. But I will try to use language that doesn't contribute to marginalising minorities having known what its like to feel like an isolated and marginalised minority.

    --------------------

    In other news we're having some trouble with our kitten who has been having a run of digestion problems leading to multiple accidents this week. One of the worst things is that as a long haired cat he's still got crumbs of things in his hair and has had to be quarantined to a single room to avoid tracking poop everywhere.

    It's getting me pretty frustrated that I can't interact with the kitten to the degree I want to because it's not clean.

    He had vaccinations yesterday so maybe that's what this new thing is. We've also put him on a diet of only biscuits.

     

    I feel you are not directly replying to my statement but sort of mixing it in with a lot of other things. The thrust of what I said was 'don't be an asshole on purpose/ try not to be so afraid of communicating that you don't bother/ care enough about what you learn to not be an insensitive jerk in the future.' I then added in the caveat that my opinions are based on my experiences. Nowhere did I advocate for the sort of 'sorry you're offended' conversational hide and seek you seem to be suggesting. Not once did I comment on ableist or sexist language- so be careful putting words, or at least context, into people's mouths. Some people take exception to that sort of thing.

     

    Blambo summed it up best- 'Human Empathy First'

     

    I'll add 'Give people the benefit of the doubt' 

     

    When I hear someone say something borderline*, i'm not going to assume that they are fully aware of all the possible connotations of their word choices, jump to the conclusion that they are deliberately being a jerk and then spin off into the pedantry zone with a lecture about all the possible ways that what they said could be interpreted. I'm going to factor in who they are talking to, the context of that conversation, where it's happening, what I know of their background, what I know of the background of the other people in the group and then I'll make a soft decision about if it's worth it to confront them. If i'm unsure about what someone meant by a statement, i'll ask. If that person cares about the language they use and don't see 'douchebag' as a problem it might be worth explaining why it's offensive to some people. On the other hand, is lecturing grandpa on word choice the hill you want to die on? Really? How about random people you just met that you will never see again? Is it worth it? I tend to believe that it's not.

     

    There are an enormous amount of things that I know very little about and I'm going to make mistakes when I first encounter them. That's not going to stop me from being inquisitive, it just means I might occasionally put my foot in my mouth, which, I firmly believe, is OK as long as I don't keep doing it on the same subjects. Everyone makes mistakes and learning something from those mistakes is what matters. If you care about the affect you have on people than you will adjust your vocabulary based on new data, sure, but is has to start with giving a shit. There are plenty of horrible, narrow minded people out there who never set a foot out of bounds when it comes to word choice and still manage to wrap plenty of venom around the horrible ideas that they spray onto the world with their words.

     

     

    *something that doesn't immediately signal overt racism, sexism, etc.

     

    edit: tone. i might have been being a jerk

  4. Posted

    Language has a way of impacting our thoughts - doing a simple action like removing harmful words from my vocab eventually does have an impact on how I consider these subjects and people in a larger way, I believe. It's not self-censorship, it's believing that people shouldn't have to hear garbage words come out of my mouth. As someone who gets shitty language thrown at consistently, I know how it feels. My life has improved 10000% by surrounding myself with people who make a point not to use shitty language. 

     

    Apropos of nothing in your post, or perhaps just as a caveat to my earlier statement- I should note, perhaps obviously, that my experiences are largely informed by my privileges and the fact that I am not a member of a marginalized or vulnerable group. In other words, I don't get dumped on very often. It's something that I lose sight of on occasion but certainly informs the way I think about these things.

  7. Posted

    Re: The Conversation Meta Conversation

     

    Good communication is not about scrubbing your vocabulary down to only the safest and most universally acceptable words; It's about caring enough about the sensibilities of the person or persons you are interacting with to know when you have crossed a line. Then you apologize, remember for next time and life goes on. Human relationships are messy and it could be argued that expectations to the contrary are kinda naive.

     

    This does not mean running around hurling abuse at people and then acting surprised when they take offence. You should respect where peoples boundaries are and, unless you are deliberating trying to antagonize them, you should endeavor not to disrespect those boundaries. But it also does not mean walking on fucking egg shells. I hate that. It's hollow, self serving bullshit that sucks the potential for candid conversation down the drain. 

  9. Posted

     I'm not an ambassador to "treat women and other marginalized people like shit" town, I'm "you should already be doing that" but that's why I'm not a very nice feminist.

     

    I think you are just exhibiting symptoms of being a pleasant and rational person confronted with a hellscape of burning dumpsters and finding the idea of negotiating for a spot in one distasteful. 

  11. Posted

    John Walker has far too much experience to be excused. Which means he set the tone intentionally. At some point he decided that, yes, the obtuse, combative, accusation-centric approach we see in the GG crowd was perfect for interviewing Moylneux. I just can't understand that. Having really enjoyed his writing in the past, to see him trade in arch wit and high quality snark for froth and bile is a bummer. 


    If Molyneux were a more acerbic person he could have responded to that 'pathological liar' jab with 'I don't know, John, when did you stop beating your wife?' and it wouldn't have been out of place.

     

    Also, I maintain that based on other Kickstarter shenanigans and Molyneux's track record -Who is actually surprised at this point? Who? I want to meet them and see what other obvious things they are surprised at. Peter Moylneux, for myself and many others, has been the face of caveat emptor for years.

     

     

     

    Edited

  13. Posted

    Is it unfair to suggest that, at the point when Godus was Kickstarted, and knowing full well Mr.Molyneux's track record on expectation vs. delivery, if you bought in anyway then you should have done so with the acknowledgement that you may never see the game as presented? 

     

    I've always thought of Peter Molyneux as an eccentric with some fun ideas and a very bad habit of making promises he can't keep. Which he is. He's not a monster and to treat him like he's some sort of sociopath is unwarranted, particularly in light of how many kickstarter projects fall apart in pretty much the same way. 

     

    Also: fuck John Walker right now. There is a difference between asking hard questions and just being an asshole.

  14. Posted

    I can't help but think the periscope sight on that cyborg is really only valuable for shooting over chest high cover and around corners.

     

    it's for lookin' up into the regular net from the sub net.

    where the cool cyborgs hang out.

  16. Posted

    This is why I'm on Verizon - I got cell service in the middle of Death Valley. Like literally off-road in the desert.

     

    True story. I end up with service at trailheads more often than not which can be very nice for peace of mind.

     

    I'm about ready for a new phone as well.  My current phone (the Nexus 4) is starting to behave strangely, doing things like randomly turning itself off or the battery heating up more than usual.  I love new tech but the practical part of me is strong enough to prevent me from getting a new one every year.  That and the fact that I'm broke.  Hopefully my phone will last until I can get another.

     

    I just got a 2nd Gen Moto X after too long with a busted phone. It could just be relief at having something that works but I think it's the bee's knees.

  18. Posted

    Ok so it is primarily about the prevalence-realness of the crime in question.  So in theory, in a nicer world where rape drops off to similar point as say, genocide, then it would be much less of an issue to use it as plot device, as lazy as they may be.

     

    No. One reason that it's so horrible is the prevalence. There are many, many others.

     

    I have to back away from this topic now as I will not be able to continue discussing it rationally. 

  19. Posted

    Gaizokubanou,          

                                Victims of sexual assault and rape are so prevalent in our society that, statistically speaking, we all know a few. This is not the case, generally speaking, with people who have lived through a genocide or been a casualty of war. They exist, and their pain shouldn't be exploited so that lazy writers can crank up the tension in whatever derivative Shooter McBroguy story they are working on, but in terms of numbers; way more victims of sexual assault and rape. We don't do enough for them to begin with and using that sort of violence as a plot device is awfully fucking insensitive. 

  20. Posted

    you are viewing a single comment's thread.

    [–]happierplanet 41 points 10 hours ago

    OMG. How many Tori Amos lyrics can you plagiarize in one thin, red, self-published volume of overwrought and weirdly anti-Semitic verse?

    1.

    Milo: "Though I shaved everywhere you'd been"

    Tori: "I shaved every place where you been, boy, I said shaved every place where you been" ("Blood Roses")

    2.

    Milo: "I was looking for a Saviour/Beneath these dirty sheets"

    Tori: "I've been looking for a saviour in these dirty streets/Looking for a saviour beneath these dirty sheets" ("Crucify")

    3.

    Milo: "You're addicted/To cocaine and Calgon"

    Tori: "She's addicted to nicotene patches" ("Spark")

    4.

    Milo: "But you couldn't keep boo-boo alive"

    Tori: "But she couldn't couldn't keep baby alive" ("Spark")

    5.

    Milo: "Maybe next I'll give Judas a try"

    Tori: "Maybe next I'll give Judas a try" ("Spark")

    I'm not even done reading this shit yet.

    [–]happierplanet 30 points 9 hours ago

    And there's more! He's not even trying now. Just cribbing song titles and lyrics word-for-word.

    6.

    Milo: "Hello Mister Zebra"

    Tori: "Hello Mister Zebra" ("Mr. Zebra")

    7.

    Milo: "You got you some horses"

    Tori: "I got me some horses" ("Horses")

    8.

    Milo: "Maybe, together/We'll make mother well"

    Tori: "And maybe together/We'll make mother well" ("Horses")

    8.

    Milo: "Muhammad, my friend/I'm getting very scared"

    Tori: "Muhammad, my friend/I'm getting very scared" ("Muhammad My Friend")

    9.

    Poem titled "Ratatouille Strychnine." This is a lyric in "Mr. Zebra."

    From above mentioned reddit thread.

    Plagiarism is ethical, right?

  25. Posted

    Well, the GG morlocks paid actual money for a dildo and then sent it to Chris Kluwe. Because that'll show 'em.

    It is now being auctioned off for charity. 

     

    People, I'm torn. 

     

    While it might be that I would be overjoyed if they were to clump together like a Katamari and then roll into a volcano, at this point they are serving as a perfect example of why changes need to be made in our culture. They are like a weakened strain of a cultural disease and, maybe, they will eventually be consumed like some sort of vaccine. Or something. I dunno. I'm done for the day. 

     

    Cheers, dear sane people! May all your enemies be as clueless as Gamer Gate.