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sandglass ([info]sandglass) wrote in [info]unfunny_fandom,
@ 2011-04-10 18:36:00


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Reported to me by a friend.
Over on the Lemmasoft forums, a review post is made for a new game. All is mostly well, until Deji posts this comment:

Having gays, lesbians, a bitch, a girl that kills herself and a girl that wants to seduce a guy that could be his father for a cast... I couldn't find a place to relate to at all D: I've always dealt with pretty average/normal people, so everything was kind of weird >>;

KinouGames (who make inclusive games in the same genre) points out that, no, that's offensive. And you don't need to be clairvoyant to imagine where it goes from there.

Here are some notable responses for you to enjoy:
Mirage: ^ Hey, the way you said "weird" is not normal is pretty offensive. I feel I'm weird, but I positively proud that I'm one, and I like to think being weird is normal. Not normal as in "society's expected", but normal as in perfectly natural. Common sense is the least common thing the world, ya know.
Am I over-reacting? Not much different than you, in my opinion.


Deji again: Maybe it's a cultural (and maybe even generational- in the context of my country, at least) thing, because over here people don't get bullied for being minorities or being different. Also, usually people don't stand out much until college, either (having dull ugly obligatory uniforms and dress code helps). And in college it's more like "Oh, they're so different :O", and if you happen to still be part of the mass of people that don't stand out, you may decide not to approach them if you get scared of them, or you're really not into what they talk about all the time. And that's all.
Actually, bullying started to get in schools here because of all the american tv shows or movies that pictured it and kids getting online and learning about this stuff.

(Deji is from Chile.)

Deji in a later post: For the record, I have *nothing* against people that's different from me. If you felt offended because you're gay and I mentioned I can't relate to gays, let me tell you I have a gay friend that I barely get to interact with, sadly, and I defend her fiercely against anybody that may give me weird looks about her or tell me "That girl is just... wrong" or that says that she's sick or ill or is mentally screwed or whatever.

Pondrthis: I've been close friends with three homosexuals in my day, two gay guys and one lesbian. They never bothered me because they weren't all hung up on political correctness, and I feel like I was a good friend to them.

Aurocyanide: I think everyone should respect everyone else's opinions. It is your right to have any opinion you wish as long as you do not try to force it upon others. If people find your opinion offensive, then that is their right, but you still have the right to have that opinion. We should preach TOLERANCE. This does not mean everyone has to have the same opinion, it just means you have to accept their right to have it.

AND that's just a small sample!

The real problem comes in when the mod decides to split the argument from the original topic, and imposes a 12-hour posting rule. That is, each person can only post to the thread once per 12 hours. KinouGames asked privately that the 12 hour rule either be removed, or applied to the other side of the equation, to any thread that was reported as insulting to marginalized people. The mod refused, insisting on only applying it to a discussion if the opposing side had the nerve to step in. KinouGames leaves the forum. But it doesn't end there!

They make a post to their blog explaining why they left, and reiterating their support of inclusiveness. All would be well and good, except a number of people from Lemmasoft forums aren't done arguing.

Komi Y. Tsuku commented to the previous thread, and is a self-identified libertarian. His first comment begins, "Truthfully, I've found the tone and attitude of your comments and blog to be much more offensive." Bra-vo. He promptly gets dogpiled. Then comes back. Then gets dogpiled again. And makes enemies of potential buyers. It's pretty beautiful. He apologizes very poorly, saying, "I honestly am sorry that you felt this way and wish to bash my beliefs." He seems to have left...for now!

ETA: The Lemmasoft homophobes/homophobe apologists have found Kinougames' blog post! And the trolling in general continues.

One odd quote:
Lizzy: I'm okay with GLBT, incest and go by a you-do-what-you-do motto.

Deji is back to "apologize" and White Women's Tears everywhere.

A lot of people focus on the word "Weird" and miss the point of the original complaint (and the real complaint, which is even more removed!).

"Temp" shows up on the blog and is quickly identified as Py'Tom, the mod Kinougames asked about making the 12-hour rule apply to all or no bigotry-related posts, and accuses Kinou of continually attacking Deji after she'd apologized. And accuses Kinou of "Abusing gender issues to score free hits against friendly people on the internet, then crying when no one pities me for my poorly written real life drama stories, and calls me out on my bluff."

Then he makes a comment with the entirety of the N-word, which Kinou reposts in an edited version. I guess he wanted to make sure no one gave him the benefit of the doubt that he was just doing his mod-job.


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[info]kattahj
2011-04-12 10:16 pm UTC (link)
Although one downside to having a word like bullying (or mobbning, in Swedish) is that it can sometimes make school staff create "anti-bullying plans" without ever recognizing the phenomenon as violence and harrassment. As if such things perpetrated by kids is an entirely different ballpark somehow. So in a warped kind of way it becomes "kids being kids" all over again.

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[info]luxshine
2011-04-13 05:02 am UTC (link)
That's an excellent point. Unfortunately, most people don't recognize the violence and harrassment bullying victims endure, so at the end, it all goes back to "Kids being kids" and... yikes. It's one of those endless vicious cycles that I really hate.

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[info]oddplaces
2011-04-20 03:49 am UTC (link)
I think this is why a lot of people are dismissive of "bullies" and tend to respond along the lines of, "Well, just ignore them; they're just jealous/sad/have a bad home life and they'll find something more entertaining to do after a while". I suspect most people regard "bullying" as sort of a "kid word", whereas "harassment" is an adult word; notably, it's even used as shorthand for sexual harassment, and that's pretty much defined as a grown-up thing: if you act that way toward a kid, it's "molestation", and the connotations are completely different.

I was one of those people until not too many years ago -- to me, "bullying" was what the kids at school did to me, i.e. making fun of me for reading too much or acting horrified because I wore/did/brought something I thought was cool and they thought was stupid. Basically, I was picked on, and that was my mental image for "bullying" -- which meant I tended to dismiss those who got up in arms about it as overreacting.

...All of which is my longwinded way of saying I think you've got a significant point, there -- sometimes having a separate word for a problem just because kids are involved can carry the suggestion that the problem is itself childish, and therefore not something adults need to worry about.

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