Jim the Pleb Made Me Do It

[sacha]

Freeze Peach!

[youtube]IcJxN1VlcuA[/youtube]

speaking of sex, that man could make me orgasm from across the room

[Metalogic42]

http://www.freezepage.com/1370980690NFHVHGCKKP

Another hilarious row amongst the pharyngulites.
PZ has a post making fun of MRA's (using a photoshopped picture! - Don't worry, it's OK when they do it) and the pharyngulanas start tearing chunks out of each other in the comment section.
Over hats.
Special prizes to Josh and Azkyroth for extra effort.

I´d give the first prize to Illuminata, who managed to make Chris Clarke angry :lol:
I bet Chris has a closet full of fedoras back home.

141
Chris Clarke

11 June 2013 at 2:53 pm (UTC -5)

We’re talking about a group of misogynistic assholes who use a particular hat as a status symbol.

Actually, we’re talking about an article of clothing that’s very popular among a certain age group of men, among whose number is a unknown but definitely too high percentage of misogynists. Same as you can say for plastic-mesh-backed baseball caps, toupees, bare heads, berets, turbans and fezzes.

But don’t let that keep you from getting defensive when called on the fact that your mockery hurts innocent people’s feelings, no matter how trivially.

God I hate this place sometimes.

SpokesGay blocked me on Twitter the other day because of my hat. And nothing of value was lost.

[jjbinx007]

http://www.freezepage.com/1370980690NFHVHGCKKP

Another hilarious row amongst the pharyngulites.
PZ has a post making fun of MRA's (using a photoshopped picture! - Don't worry, it's OK when they do it) and the pharyngulanas start tearing chunks out of each other in the comment section.
Over hats.
Special prizes to Josh and Azkyroth for extra effort.

I´d give the first prize to Illuminata, who managed to make Chris Clarke angry :lol:
I bet Chris has a closet full of fedoras back home.

That entire comment thread is fascinating.

[sacha]

Freeze Peach!

[youtube]IcJxN1VlcuA[/youtube]

Another round of Sacha's horrormones spilling all over the pyt incoming.

hahaha! oh he was delicious

[Dick Strawkins]

http://www.freezepage.com/1370982206GDSZENYTDI

Peezus talks about the Dublin conference.

In a bit more than two weeks, it’ll be time for the Empowering Women Through Secularism conference in Dublin. It’s going to be excellent, you should go!

I know there has been some concern that Michael Nugent has been enabling certain abusers to mouth off, but as Ophelia mentions, we’ve been talking about it behind the scenes. We haven’t resolved all of our differences by a long shot, and there are still some substantial disagreements, but, and this is an important point of agreement, none of those differences are to be the subject of the conference, which is going to be tightly focused on women’s rights. We might be having some interesting arguments in the bar afterwards, but none of that will be on the podium.

Also, don’t forget that the conference is the work of Atheist Ireland and the always awesome Jane Donnelly, not just Michael Nugent. When Ophelia says now that she has much more confidence in the work of the conference, she has good reason. It think it’s going to be very productive and successful.

One other interesting observation. You may notice that there are men listed as speakers, including me. I think this is appropriate, since women’s issues should also be men’s issues (and vice versa). However, women clearly have priority here — and the way it’s going to work is that the men will be sprinkled throughout to provide that complementary male perspective, but in every case, women will be in the majority on all of the panels. We guys will be very careful not to talk over the women or to launch into mansplaining mode, I hope. The audience can be encouraged to fling rotten fruit at us if we do.

So if you’ve been waffling over whether to go, be reassured. It’s going to be good.

Oh, and if you’re stuck in the midwest and flying across the Atlantic is just a journey too far, don’t forget SkepchickCon, the skeptic track at CONvergence, is the weekend after Dublin. You’ll also be entertained by the spectacle of Rebecca Watson and me stumbling about jet-lagged from our European excursion.

"women’s issues should also be men’s issues (and vice versa)"

How about just saying 'human rights include both women and men's issues'?

Anyway, Peezus suggests that Nugent has told him that the conference will actually be about real issues, rather than the monster that lives under Ophelia's bed - leading to some standard whining from Rorschach, to which Peezus replies:

PZ Myers

11 June 2013 at 9:51 am (UTC -5)

Rorschach: I agree that it is an important discussion to have…but not at this conference. This event has a clearly defined goal of producing a consensus statement on the rights of women, and I will set aside other issues for the purpose of seeing that done.

But I told Michael to expect some bar arguments.

Thank goodness for that, Peezus will splain to those women exactly what their rights shall be!

"I told Michael to expect some bar arguments"

Oh dear, is Rebecca going to have to pay for her own drinks :o

:pray:

[jjbinx007]

85

AshPlant

I was just having a conversation about fedoras earlier. The context? Mansplaining MRAs, and fedora as instantly obvious signifier of such. Sorry, Azkyroth; I think the fedora is a lost cause. It’s a perfectly voidable fashion choice, and one that is now irrevocably associated in most circles with douchebags. It is certainly not something that deserves any kind of protected minority status on the wearer. Because you can always…just not wear one. Especially if you don’t want to be associated with the kind of people that commonly do.

Or should we avoid judging people who wear…I’m trying to think of a similar example that isn’t ‘swastika armbands’ because I don’t want to Godwin quite yet…um…well, anyway, there are definitely kinds of clothing that no sane person would want to be associated with, and they don’t qualify for splash damage.

Every sentence is a treasure trove of laughs and wtfs.

[Metalogic42]

PZ.

Talking about social justice BS.

In a bar.

In Ireland.

...how does this scenario play out, in his head?

[sacha]

I prefer a muscle relaxer to a sleeping pill, because it helps with the discomfort..

Have you ever thought about just using lube?

I don't know. I've seen a couple of the objects of Sacha's desire and they look like a muscle relaxant might be a necessity.

hahaha!


meh, I don't need any accoutrements, be it lube, drugs (of any kind), alcohol, toys, costumes... no cologne, perfume, or deodorant (anti-perspirant without scent is fine, otherwise it makes me nauseous), I don't need the location to be atmospheric, I don't need the lights out, I don't want food, toppings, or additional flavouring, I don't want words, I don't want romance, I don't even like foreplay (my kind of foreplay is psychological and happens long before any clothes come off)... forget all of that and just fuck me, baby

You are officially the chillest girl ever. But now what am I going to do with this box of assorted sex toys?

This is why I'm the founder of GTI

I think Renee is the sex toy queen.

[free thoughtpolice]

The utter absence of even a trace of self-awareness and humility in Svan's post is both distressing and disturbing, and that's before one even gets into the pure wrongness of it. It reeks of psychotic levels of self-justification.

I'm starting to suspect a new strategy on the part of the baboons. They're trying to put us out of business by making it impossible to parody them.
The Stephalump's the latest one on the bandwagon but I first became suspicious with Yemisi's "eco-sexual" poetry.
I've tried writing a parody of that for a video on which I'm working. I couldn't do it - I doubt anyone can.

Yemmi has inspired me to write some stochastic poetry but I admit my efforts can come no where near touching her work.
I posted a poem in the comments to one of her entries in a response to a comment left by oolon. Yemmi was somewhat critical of my effort.
http://freethoughtblogs.com/yemmynistin ... less-love/

Stepping In It
I stepped in some dog oolon this morning
It was hidden in the grass, gave me no warning
I scraped at it with a little stick
The smell nearly made me sick

[Dave]

PZ.

Talking about social justice BS.

In a bar.

In Ireland.

...how does this scenario play out, in his head?

with Rebecca coming back to his room for "coffee."

[jjbinx007]

Fucking hell, the more I read that hat thread, the more amazing it becomes.

Those people are completely fucking nuts.

[Metalogic42]

Has everyone seen this yet: http://www.atheistrev.com/2013/06/cente ... l?spref=tw

[Altair]

Fucking hell, the more I read that hat thread, the more amazing it becomes.

Those people are completely fucking nuts.

We might be witnessing the birth of the Fedora's Rights Advocates

[Dick Strawkins]

PZ.

Talking about social justice BS.

In a bar.

In Ireland.

...how does this scenario play out, in his head?

In a bar in Dublin? With Ophelia?

I'm just picturing the scene when the next table, filled with Dubliners, starts arguing over whose round it is:

"Whose turn is it to get the drinks in?"

"Is it my round, you fecker? OK then, what are all you cunts having"

[Pitchguest]

So Anita Sarkeesian wrote this:

Above is a tweet I made this afternoon in reaction to the fact that none of the games presented at Microsoft’s Xbox One E3 press conference featured female protagonists. Below are some of the Twitter replies to that observation which exemplify the male privilege and male entitlement endemic in the gaming community today. This is also a window into what it’s like to be a female video game critic on twitter.

Here's the relevant portion:

This is also a window into what it’s like to be a female video game critic on twitter.

Then she goes on to cherry pick Twitter comments she received in response to it, which are all supposed to be bad. And some of them are, how women can't be gamers, how women should stay out of gaming, how games with female protagonists don't sell (and cites Tomb Raider, like a fucking idiot), and so on. These are terrible comments. They're also made by assholes. There's also troll comments about how women should stay in the kitchen. That sort of thing. However, to spin this and say "this is what it's like to be a *female* video game critic on twitter" is the most egregious load of bollocks she's said yet.

Also, female video game critic on Twitter? A FEMALE video game critic? Oh, I get it. I'm a MALE video game critic, and you're a FEMALE video game critic. Or wait, how about I'm just a critic and gender doesn't enter into it? Nice bit of feminism for you. Women who critique games for a living, they're not just critics, they're FEMALE video game critics.

But the thing that really makes it bizarre is that some of the comments are just rude but with no mention of gender or of the inferiority, or superiority of either, some of them are indifferent and some of them are perfectly fine and reasonable.

To wit:

http://media.tumblr.com/78caddd9ff020f7 ... qz4rgp.jpg

Oh, and I should probably mention that she's cherry picked the ones that feature a man's name or have a man as an avatar.

http://media.tumblr.com/7dab3210bfceb4e ... qz4rgp.jpghttp://media.tumblr.com/072f1b733433910 ... qz4rgp.jpghttp://media.tumblr.com/a539eb48f03e8fe ... qz4rgp.jpg
http://media.tumblr.com/18687251254492d ... qz4rgp.jpghttp://media.tumblr.com/35a15ee450f8dff ... qz4rgp.jpg

http://media.tumblr.com/b9b5e3068d321a6 ... qz4rgp.jpghttp://media.tumblr.com/b5ee718bfd3b9f1 ... qz4rgp.jpghttp://media.tumblr.com/774b12a160278ad ... qz4rgp.jpghttp://media.tumblr.com/5b628c81244ba57 ... qz4rgp.jpghttp://media.tumblr.com/70ada9ca456932c ... qz4rgp.jpghttp://media.tumblr.com/c1547c3e16abf5f ... qz4rgp.jpg

http://media.tumblr.com/819592b15fd521c ... qz4rgp.jpghttp://media.tumblr.com/1a110ab52985bec ... qz4rgp.jpghttp://media.tumblr.com/d2ff62a73127180 ... qz4rgp.jpghttp://media.tumblr.com/596c612aa4e5845 ... qz4rgp.jpghttp://media.tumblr.com/1920a0bd7ae167e ... qz4rgp.jpghttp://media.tumblr.com/89744da71bb7298 ... qz4rgp.jpghttp://media.tumblr.com/114ac88451ef9f0 ... qz4rgp.jpg

And the money shot:

http://media.tumblr.com/c18cefd2e86087f ... qz4rgp.jpg

Rude statements does not harassment make, nor do they signify a male vs. female dichotomy, nor are statements like "Why do games *need* female protagonists?" or "Having a female protagonist just for the sake of it is just as bad as not having one at all." That's just reasonable, common fucking sense. There is no requisite, or necessity, that women should be in games and it certainly doesn't mean that the game is above and beyond better than the games that doesn't. (Case in point: Remember Me.) (And just for the sake of balance, there is no NEED for a male protagonist either.) The upcoming RPG Cyberpunk 2077 looks awesome, and it seems to feature a female protagonist, but there is ABSOLUTELY NO GUARANTEE that it will be any good. We'll just have to wait and see. (By the way, I should mention I was incredibly disappointed how Remember Me turned out because I *was* really excited about it - and that was regardless that it featured a female protagonist.) However, we suspected Anita Sarkeesian/Feminist Frequency would make that point and there it is, black on white. How predictable.

Of course, the usual suspects whine about it:

http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/ ... -anywhere/

PZ says "no surprises anywhere", but I wonder if he's read this list.

http://www.giantbomb.com/female-protago ... 287/games/

[justinvacula]

My ticket for the Dublin conference has arrived. There is no need to worry that I have been excluded.

Whew! That's a relief. I was so worried.

My ticket for the Dublin conference has arrived. There is no need to worry that I have been excluded.

What a relief, I can rest easy now.

My ticket for the Dublin conference has arrived. There is no need to worry that I have been excluded.

Well thank god. I can finally get a good night's sleep.

You got to be quick around here.

I had multiple PMs/DMs/FB messages, etc. asking about whether I got the ticket or not because there was suspicion that I missed out - that the conference sold out and I was not able to secure a ticket.

[bovarchist]

SkepticalCat just outed Paul Elam as Paul Male, disgusting

Even worse, he's A Lap Mule. Or A Plum Ale

[Gumby]

Found the thread where Horace was banned:

http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/ ... nt-page-2/

If you think that making suggestions on how women might avoid rape is stupid how much more stupid is it to suggest to rapists that they might not rape ?

Do you really imagine rapists reading this thread and slapping themselves on the forehead as they realize that rape is wrong ?

Suggestions on how to avoid rape are at least potentially useful.

Oh, Horace.

Horace Just. Doesn't. Get. It.

He needs to be re-educated by Ceepolk. Then he'll understand that victim-blaming is punishable by suicide.

[Altair]

So Anita Sarkeesian wrote this:



(...)

Then she goes on to cherry pick Twitter comments she received in response to it, which are all supposed to be bad. And some of them are, how women can't be gamers, how women should stay out of gaming, how games with female protagonists don't sell (and cites Tomb Raider, like a fucking idiot), and so on. These are terrible comments. They're also made by assholes. There's also troll comments about how women should stay in the kitchen. That sort of thing. However, to spin this and say "this is what it's like to be a *female* video game critic on twitter" is the most egregious load of bollocks she's said yet.

(...)

Rude statements does not harassment make, nor do they signify a male vs. female dichotomy, nor are statements like "Why do games *need* female protagonists?" or "Having a female protagonist just for the sake of it is just as bad as not having one at all." That's just reasonable, common fucking sense. There is no requisite, or necessity, that women should be in games and it certainly doesn't mean that the game is above and beyond better than the games that doesn't.

If those are the comments she posted AFTER cherry-picking, I think her crusade is losing momentum by the second. With the exception of a few comments that are meant to be rude or insulting, they come to basically two basic things:

1. People don't care: it's not rude to tell people you don't care about what they're saying. It might be a bit rude to tell someone to shut up, but it's not abusive nor misogynyistic.
2. People ask questions like "why should there be a female protagonist", "does a female protagonist change something about a game", "why should the gaming industry change". And those are questions that deserve answers. The answers might as well be yes, yes, and yes, or any other combination, but the act of asking them is neither hateful or abusive, and her trying to portray them as so reeks of desperation to me.

Having said that, I don't really understand their concern about not having female protagonists. The protagonist's gender is not an issue for me, and neither is their nationality or religion or any other characteristic. The only game I remember playing that had a hispanic character was Resident Evil 3's Carlos Oliveira, and that didn't make the game better or worse.
I've been playing Resident Evil 6 lately, and I played as Chris and Leon, but I also played as Sherry and Ada, and managed to enjoy the game in all 4 occasions. Actually, *gasp*, Ada Wong is my favorite character, which obviously suits a bigoted sexist slymer :roll:

Now, paraphrasing Andrew, other people's mileage may vary, and it might be something important and game-changing for them, but for the life of me I don't understand why.

[windy]

A very interesting case of activism by the progressive elements in our community occurred in Australia in late 2012. An online petition was started to make the local governments aware of the practice. Police got involved, initially secretly, and monitored the community. Eventually, they were made aware of a child of nine who just had FGM performed. As one can imagine, the proverbial excrement hit the fan. The police went on a door-to-door campaign handing out letters making the community members aware of the surveillance and to come forward if they knew anything about FGM in the community. To make matters worse, in a sermon the local mullah told his congregation to lie about this to the police (the practice is called "taqqiya", precautionary dissimulation). Someone recorded the conversation and handed it to the police. The mullah, along with a retired nurse and the parents of the girl were arrested. The girl and her sibling were taken into protective custody. The case continues, and hearings are scheduled for later this year.

An outcome of this activism is the involvement of all levels of Australian government, all the way to the prime minister's office. Now the anti-FGM laws across Australia are being tightened up. One can read the report for this below

http://www.ag.gov.au/Publications/Docum ... mework.pdf
...

Anyway, I thought this would be a good example of activism that has been successful in bringing about positive change for women and girls. Much more satisfying, but less fun than whining all day about perceived slights.

Thanks for the link, that's an encouraging example. Do you know if in this community the FGM was generally performed in Australia, or are the girls sent on "holiday" overseas to get it done? (The latter is suspected to be a widespread problem in Europe)

[JackSkeptic]

Has everyone seen this yet: http://www.atheistrev.com/2013/06/cente ... l?spref=tw

Thanks for that, the more that send in emails of support for Ron Lindsay the better. I am sick of people telling what to do and how to think. I went through all that rubbish when I was a kid and I won't let those clowns try it now.

[Mykeru]

Too lazy to try to link this to any particular cat-related post, so I'll just throw it out there.

[youtube]TQBMPDbqlvc[/youtube]

[welch]

It's "cool" to shit on people who do sports. Especially team sports.

That's odd. I never really think of "being a man" as noticeably distinct from being a person. Maybe that's because, as a male I have really no other frame or reference either internally, or how I'm perceived. But I doubt that's a key distinction.

I will find myself asking if something is the right thing to do, the really stupid thing to do or more accurately whether doing X will have a bunch of unintended, unanticipated consequences that'll really complicate things. Since I tend to like complication and move from crisis to crisis, that usually is enough to get me to do X.

What I don't do is ask "Is this the manly thing to do?" What the fuck does that even mean? It makes me suspect that the person who asks about "the manly thing" either as a pejorative or as some sort of macho preening, is dealing on the level of caricature anyway.

That's what pisses me off about these people, and makes me sad for them, their mean-spirited mind-set and their hypocrisy. I don't give a great damn about your sexuality, your kinks (except for Greta, who should be boxed up with her gear and her "wet pussy" and dropped off a cliff), for the most part about your politics within reason. It's when your self-identification, and your identity politics starts clouding the default position of being a human being.

What Canuck has there is a breathless wall of incoherent text wherein he writes himself a license via subjective experience to be an insufferable douche. Because some kids picked on him. Because he humble-brags about not knowing what it is "to be a manâ„¢".

Get over yourself.

yep. As explained to me by my dad, "being a man" was far more about ethics and morals.

Don't be a hypocrite.
If you make a promise, you keep that fucker.
Don't use words like "friend", "family" or especially "enemy" lightly
Do things the right way because that's how they should be done
Do the right thing because that's what should be done
Stand up for people who need it, support people who don't
Help the people you care about get on with life in the way that suits them, not you.

etc. It was never about beating people up. He found that to be stupid as fuck, and his advice for fights was "don't. Even if you win, you still get beat up." He viewed that kind of shit as literally a last resort for when you have no other choice. Name calling, pfft. Fuck that. Don't get your ass beat because someone called you, or me, or anyone a cocksucker.

I think it's amusing that Canucklehead has such a fucked-up definition of what "manly" is.

[cunt]

Video games are for children.

[welch]

Is it just me, or is Paul Elam a sanctimonious cunt? I'm seeing a lot of bitching about stupid non-issues on AVFM lately. It's like FTB lite.

It's not you. I made some comment, I think on Nugent's site about how I think the MRA movement has some definite core arguments that I mostly agree with, but there's a lot of dumbasses overshadowing that, and he went all Kyle's Mom over it.

[Al Stefanelli]

85

AshPlant

I was just having a conversation about fedoras earlier. The context? Mansplaining MRAs, and fedora as instantly obvious signifier of such. Sorry, Azkyroth; I think the fedora is a lost cause. It’s a perfectly voidable fashion choice, and one that is now irrevocably associated in most circles with douchebags. It is certainly not something that deserves any kind of protected minority status on the wearer. Because you can always…just not wear one. Especially if you don’t want to be associated with the kind of people that commonly do.

Or should we avoid judging people who wear…I’m trying to think of a similar example that isn’t ‘swastika armbands’ because I don’t want to Godwin quite yet…um…well, anyway, there are definitely kinds of clothing that no sane person would want to be associated with, and they don’t qualify for splash damage.

Every sentence is a treasure trove of laughs and wtfs.

What the actual fuck?

[cunt]

I was wondering how one would render the Svan-esque sentiment that by arguing with her, you are in fact arguing with womankind in general as Louis XIV's (apocryphal) line "Le Etat C'est Moi"?

The closest I can come off the top of my head is "Les Femmes C'est Moi" (Or more accurately Violent Femmes) , but I have no idea if that makes sense.

Je suis chaque femme. Tout est en moi...

[welch]

I prefer a muscle relaxer to a sleeping pill, because it helps with the discomfort..

Have you ever thought about just using lube?

I don't know. I've seen a couple of the objects of Sacha's desire and they look like a muscle relaxant might be a necessity.

hahaha!


meh, I don't need any accoutrements, be it lube, drugs (of any kind), alcohol, toys, costumes... no cologne, perfume, or deodorant (anti-perspirant without scent is fine, otherwise it makes me nauseous), I don't need the location to be atmospheric, I don't need the lights out, I don't want food, toppings, or additional flavouring, I don't want words, I don't want romance, I don't even like foreplay (my kind of foreplay is psychological and happens long before any clothes come off)... forget all of that and just fuck me, baby

I've an ex-fiancee who just moved to S.F. who is not far from that. She likes sex because it's fun. She likes it how she likes it, when she likes it and with someone she finds attractive who's willing. She dislikes all the power games in front of it. Just get to the fucking already, and if you're boring, well, we're done, why are you still here. If you don't dig how she does things, that's cool, big world. Just don't be all moralistic about it.

Her current target is a (soon to be) ex-mormon who was a virgin until he got married. He just got divorced. She's pretty much going to break him.

[free thoughtpolice]

Welch says:
'I think it's amusing that Canucklehead has such a fucked-up definition of what "manly" is.'

That's because he grew up in Canada where all penis-havers (except him) are required to play hockey and vent their toxic masculinity by getting in fights.

[TheMudbrooker]

Video games are for children.

You must be bored.

[welch]

85

AshPlant

I was just having a conversation about fedoras earlier. The context? Mansplaining MRAs, and fedora as instantly obvious signifier of such. Sorry, Azkyroth; I think the fedora is a lost cause. It’s a perfectly voidable fashion choice, and one that is now irrevocably associated in most circles with douchebags. It is certainly not something that deserves any kind of protected minority status on the wearer. Because you can always…just not wear one. Especially if you don’t want to be associated with the kind of people that commonly do.

Or should we avoid judging people who wear…I’m trying to think of a similar example that isn’t ‘swastika armbands’ because I don’t want to Godwin quite yet…um…well, anyway, there are definitely kinds of clothing that no sane person would want to be associated with, and they don’t qualify for splash damage.

Every sentence is a treasure trove of laughs and wtfs.

Fuck those morons. This is what I think of when I think of fedoras:

https://encrypted-tbn3.gstatic.com/imag ... zPafiny0nA
http://images.sodahead.com/polls/000800 ... large.jpeg
http://thedapperdad.com/wp-content/uplo ... fedora.jpg
http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9 ... RdPweau07w

Those idiots should be so lucky to look that good in a hat.

[rpguest]

its also anita sarkeesian

people are assholes, the reaction she gets is what shes built up over the past few years of her internet dealings, for good or ill

if she actually wanted to know what the reaction to 'a female game critic' is like on twitter she should actually look at the comments around actual journalists and critics who are female

she is the worst representative sample of basically anything at this point

[cunt]

Video games are for children.

You must be bored.

How'd you guess?

[welch]

So Anita Sarkeesian wrote this:

Above is a tweet I made this afternoon in reaction to the fact that none of the games presented at Microsoft’s Xbox One E3 press conference featured female protagonists. Below are some of the Twitter replies to that observation which exemplify the male privilege and male entitlement endemic in the gaming community today. This is also a window into what it’s like to be a female video game critic on twitter.

It's tribalism. The gaming community is really bad at any form of criticism. The reaction to the Wii when it came out and destroyed everyone else for years in terms of sales showed that. The reaction to the Wii was pretty much the same.

The fact they are using the commentary they are is because she's female. If she were male, and known to be gay, it would be homophobic.

It's a fucking stupid reaction, I mean, seriously, but the content is a vector, nothing more.

[rpguest]

85

AshPlant

I was just having a conversation about fedoras earlier. The context? Mansplaining MRAs, and fedora as instantly obvious signifier of such. Sorry, Azkyroth; I think the fedora is a lost cause. It’s a perfectly voidable fashion choice, and one that is now irrevocably associated in most circles with douchebags. It is certainly not something that deserves any kind of protected minority status on the wearer. Because you can always…just not wear one. Especially if you don’t want to be associated with the kind of people that commonly do.

Or should we avoid judging people who wear…I’m trying to think of a similar example that isn’t ‘swastika armbands’ because I don’t want to Godwin quite yet…um…well, anyway, there are definitely kinds of clothing that no sane person would want to be associated with, and they don’t qualify for splash damage.

Every sentence is a treasure trove of laughs and wtfs.

What the actual fuck?

i was wondering when youd show up :D

[welch]

So Anita Sarkeesian wrote this:



(...)

Then she goes on to cherry pick Twitter comments she received in response to it, which are all supposed to be bad. And some of them are, how women can't be gamers, how women should stay out of gaming, how games with female protagonists don't sell (and cites Tomb Raider, like a fucking idiot), and so on. These are terrible comments. They're also made by assholes. There's also troll comments about how women should stay in the kitchen. That sort of thing. However, to spin this and say "this is what it's like to be a *female* video game critic on twitter" is the most egregious load of bollocks she's said yet.

(...)

Rude statements does not harassment make, nor do they signify a male vs. female dichotomy, nor are statements like "Why do games *need* female protagonists?" or "Having a female protagonist just for the sake of it is just as bad as not having one at all." That's just reasonable, common fucking sense. There is no requisite, or necessity, that women should be in games and it certainly doesn't mean that the game is above and beyond better than the games that doesn't.

If those are the comments she posted AFTER cherry-picking, I think her crusade is losing momentum by the second. With the exception of a few comments that are meant to be rude or insulting, they come to basically two basic things:

1. People don't care: it's not rude to tell people you don't care about what they're saying. It might be a bit rude to tell someone to shut up, but it's not abusive nor misogynyistic.
2. People ask questions like "why should there be a female protagonist", "does a female protagonist change something about a game", "why should the gaming industry change". And those are questions that deserve answers. The answers might as well be yes, yes, and yes, or any other combination, but the act of asking them is neither hateful or abusive, and her trying to portray them as so reeks of desperation to me.

Having said that, I don't really understand their concern about not having female protagonists. The protagonist's gender is not an issue for me, and neither is their nationality or religion or any other characteristic. The only game I remember playing that had a hispanic character was Resident Evil 3's Carlos Oliveira, and that didn't make the game better or worse.
I've been playing Resident Evil 6 lately, and I played as Chris and Leon, but I also played as Sherry and Ada, and managed to enjoy the game in all 4 occasions. Actually, *gasp*, Ada Wong is my favorite character, which obviously suits a bigoted sexist slymer :roll:

Now, paraphrasing Andrew, other people's mileage may vary, and it might be something important and game-changing for them, but for the life of me I don't understand why.

I wonder what her reaction was to things like the DA3 announcement, which allows not only the choice of the protagonist's gender, but is actually quite enlightened in terms of homosexual relationships and dalliances. The entire series is.

I would take her far more seriously if she was as strident in supporting games that supposedly do the things she wants as she is in her criticism. It's not like it takes a lot of time to say "Hey, you know, it's not all bad. For example, the Dragon Age series has solid writing where you can solve problems without killing everything that moves, and the gender of the protagonist is not really an issue."

Oddly, if she's done that sort of thing, I've yet to see it.

[welch]

its also anita sarkeesian

people are assholes, the reaction she gets is what shes built up over the past few years of her internet dealings, for good or ill

if she actually wanted to know what the reaction to 'a female game critic' is like on twitter she should actually look at the comments around actual journalists and critics who are female

she is the worst representative sample of basically anything at this point

that is a good point. Sarkeesian is hardly what I'd call a good video game critic.

[Mykeru]

Video games are for children.

Are you tired and out of sorts? Usually you are more artful in your dickish provocation.

P.S. Shithead.

[Zenspace]

85

AshPlant

I was just having a conversation about fedoras earlier. The context? Mansplaining MRAs, and fedora as instantly obvious signifier of such. Sorry, Azkyroth; I think the fedora is a lost cause. It’s a perfectly voidable fashion choice, and one that is now irrevocably associated in most circles with douchebags. It is certainly not something that deserves any kind of protected minority status on the wearer. Because you can always…just not wear one. Especially if you don’t want to be associated with the kind of people that commonly do.

Or should we avoid judging people who wear…I’m trying to think of a similar example that isn’t ‘swastika armbands’ because I don’t want to Godwin quite yet…um…well, anyway, there are definitely kinds of clothing that no sane person would want to be associated with, and they don’t qualify for splash damage.

Every sentence is a treasure trove of laughs and wtfs.

What the actual fuck?

i was wondering when youd show up :D

:lol: I was thinking of Al the whole time I was reading that mess! :lol:

[AndrewV69]

Is it just me, or is Paul Elam a sanctimonious cunt?

It's probably not just you...
You could both be santimonious cunts :D

On a more serious note it appears that AVFM is having a bit of a meltdown at the moment.
Wolly Bumblebee got fired recently and Elam seems to be making it into an exclusively libertarian domain.

I would not be too certain about the "exclusively libertarian domain" if I were you. My understanding is that it is less about the politics and more about the menz and what stripe you belong to is usually made in the comments.

Anyway, apparently there is a time line here about Wolly Bumblebee :
http://thisiswhymgtow.blogspot.ca/2013/ ... -lulz.html

At least that's what I'm picking up second-hand - I tend to avoid the rad-fems and the rad-mens. ;)

Well, there is always Peter Lloyd who writes for that bastion of journalistic integrity the Daily Fail and who you can also find at AVfM:
http://www.avoiceformen.com/author/peterlloyd/

[Mykeru]

I was wondering how one would render the Svan-esque sentiment that by arguing with her, you are in fact arguing with womankind in general as Louis XIV's (apocryphal) line "Le Etat C'est Moi"?

The closest I can come off the top of my head is "Les Femmes C'est Moi" (Or more accurately Violent Femmes) , but I have no idea if that makes sense.

Je suis chaque femme. Tout est en moi...

As you are just a know-it-all limey candy-ass, I will await confirmation from the cheese-eating surrender monkey.

[H. Korban]

A very interesting case of activism by the progressive elements in our community occurred in Australia in late 2012. An online petition was started to make the local governments aware of the practice. Police got involved, initially secretly, and monitored the community. Eventually, they were made aware of a child of nine who just had FGM performed. As one can imagine, the proverbial excrement hit the fan. The police went on a door-to-door campaign handing out letters making the community members aware of the surveillance and to come forward if they knew anything about FGM in the community. To make matters worse, in a sermon the local mullah told his congregation to lie about this to the police (the practice is called "taqqiya", precautionary dissimulation). Someone recorded the conversation and handed it to the police. The mullah, along with a retired nurse and the parents of the girl were arrested. The girl and her sibling were taken into protective custody. The case continues, and hearings are scheduled for later this year.

An outcome of this activism is the involvement of all levels of Australian government, all the way to the prime minister's office. Now the anti-FGM laws across Australia are being tightened up. One can read the report for this below

http://www.ag.gov.au/Publications/Docum ... mework.pdf
...

Anyway, I thought this would be a good example of activism that has been successful in bringing about positive change for women and girls. Much more satisfying, but less fun than whining all day about perceived slights.

Thanks for the link, that's an encouraging example. Do you know if in this community the FGM was generally performed in Australia, or are the girls sent on "holiday" overseas to get it done? (The latter is suspected to be a widespread problem in Europe)

It is both. One of the people arrested in the Australian case is a retired nurse. Usually, the procedure is done outside, in places like India or Pakistan. I have heard from family members that there are people (doctors) who do this in LA. Of course, this stuff is hard to prove and unless parents come forward or doctors report, it is a very hard practice to stop.

[cunt]

Oooh, handbags at dawn.

[AndrewV69]

Video games are for children.

Awww you poor dear. Somehow I have this feeling that your issue is that you just suck at them.

[AndrewV69]

Welch says:
'I think it's amusing that Canucklehead has such a fucked-up definition of what "manly" is.'

That's because he grew up in Canada where all penis-havers (except him) are required to play hockey and vent their toxic masculinity by getting in fights.

Here in Canukistan it is not hockey unless there is a fight. That is all.

[Mykeru]

Video games are for children.

Awww you poor dear. Somehow I have this feeling that your issue is that you just suck at them.

Absolutely untrue.

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/media/gcn/ ... kitty1.jpg

I'm told Cunt kicks ass and takes names in Hello Kitty Island Adventure.

[cunt]

I totally would, if video games weren't for children.

[Mykeru]

I totally would, if video games weren't for children.

So is your van.

[Dick Strawkins]

I would not be too certain about the "exclusively libertarian domain" if I were you. My understanding is that it is less about the politics and more about the menz and what stripe you belong to is usually made in the comments.

Anyway, apparently there is a time line here about Wolly Bumblebee :
http://thisiswhymgtow.blogspot.ca/2013/ ... -lulz.html

[/quote]


What's this about Mykeru and WBBs dismissal?

1 June: WBB's atheist ally Mykeru comments on her anti-MGTOW video, suggesting that libertarians and MGTOWs move aside and let the progressives own the MRM/manosphere. According to comments made by Paul Elam, it was on this day that he sent Kristina the email letting her go from AVfM (which she did not receive due to some kind of email issues).

Some of the comments on that are positively loopy.

[Pitchguest]

I'll repeat a previous statement I made: fuck Paul Elam.

As for this thread, that's one of the most pathetic threads I've read in a long time.

First they're racist hats, and now they're instruments of the MRM. :snooty:

[bhoytony]

Oh dear, Matt...

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/8059/e ... 402647.png

http://img822.imageshack.us/img822/5571 ... e9314a.png

[Pitchguest]

I totally would, if video games weren't for children.

Heavy Rain wants a word.

[Lsuoma]

Great article on tinfoil hatters.

[AndrewV69]

Some of the comments on that are positively loopy.

I am pretty sure I could dig up some better samples of "loopy" if I tried.

(there are some seriously angry men out there from what I have seen)

[cunt]

I totally would, if video games weren't for children.

Heavy Rain wants a word.

Complex, adult, videogame story can be summed up in 3 paragraphs.

[Pitchguest]

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3272/2809 ... a54f_o.jpg

[cunt]

Was someone talking shit about my van?

[Pitchguest]

I totally would, if video games weren't for children.

Heavy Rain wants a word.

Complex, adult, videogame story can be summed up in 3 paragraphs.

So does this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunshine_(2007_film)

Good movie.

[cunt]

That movie was bad, actually.

[bovarchist]

i'd love to see an elevatorgate-themed South Park episode. that would make me so happy.

actually season 7 episode 13 comes pretty close.