Yep, I'm makin' it a roundtable.

Not to get too "political" on you, but I watched this six-part video series recently, and I thought it was really well-done. It may seem like a typical anti-GamerGate video at the start, but it isn't. It isn't even truly about Anita Sarkeesian. The analysis is very logical and even-handed, and I appreciated the way that it recast the whole feminism issue (or any social progress issue, really) by framing it from the perspective of the people whom it irritates. Honestly, it almost single-handedly repaired the damage done to my judgement by thousands upon thousands of strident internet-liberals.

Try to go in without any pre-conceived expectations and watch it with an open mind.








I'll give you the Cliffs Notes, in case you don't want to watch right now. Essentially, the video series analyzes WHY people like Anita Sarkeesian produce such a strong negative reaction, and it goes beyond the usual simplistic "They're taking our games!!" rhetoric. This guy posits that the REAL, underlying reason why Anita makes many gamers uncomfortable is that she causes them to question their way they've lived their life to this point. Ignorance is bliss, and the aim of people like Anita is to remove that ignorance. Like the term "privilege". A lot of people hate that term, and it's always rubbed me the wrong way, as well. But it doesn't mean that your life is peaches and cream or that every person from a minority has it tough. It just means that a minority person in the same position as you would have it harder, solely due to the way they were born.

That's an uncomfortable thought, as most people think of themselves as fundamentally good people, and acknowledging that you've never questioned your advantages or thought to help the less fortunate would call your own morality into question. And we're ALL guilty of that, to be honest. It's almost unnatural behavior to revolt against a system that personally benefits you. I mean, I don't like the thought of killing living creatures. I find the thought of hunting utterly revolting. I don't even swat mosquitoes or gnats. If I really considered the fact that animals had to die just so I could enjoy a hamburger, I'd probably be a vegetarian. So I don't WANT to consider it. Because meat is delicious!

Similarly, look at freaking FoxConn. All of our consumer electronics products are basically made of Chinese children. Who the fuck wants to think about that?! What's the alternative?

I'm not saying that I'm necessarily going to change my behavior based on this video series. I still believe that ignorance is bliss, and if you spend all of your time thinking about the evils of the world, your life's probably not going to be very enjoyable. But I still think it was worth watching. It kind of brought stuff that has always been floating at the back of my consciousness to the forefront. And what I most appreciate is that it did so in a non-judgmental way. It might make you a bit uncomfortable, but it definitely won't single you out.

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Too often a differing opinion is dismissed when it does not agree with our own. We think those across the aisle from us are stupid or evil because they don't see things the way we do, and they think the same about us.

But what if I told you that examining a differing opinion is both important and extremely useful?

Truth, in its most pure form, cannot be perceived by the human mind. We filter reality through our perceptions, a fog of our biases and baggage developed over years of personal experience.

As we filter truth through our perceptions, some things resonate more than others and become clearer, while other things are more foggy, like blindspots.

So someone with a differing opinion can be a valuable resource in your never-ending struggle to perceive pure truth. They don't have the same blindspots you may have. They may see things you cannot. A second set of eyes examining at the situation DOUBLES our truth-perceiving abilities. And the more opinions you consider, the closer you get to PURE truth.

So I don't know why we are often so cruel to those whose opinions differ from our own. As long as they mean no harm, why must they be reviled?

And sometimes other people are just dumb and/or mean.

@Mr_Mustache

Where in this thread have I insulted you? Read the whack a mole post again, there's no insult in there. If anything, I'm insulting myself and others for getting caught up in it.

@Mr_Mustache You have definitely posted sexist stuff here though, for instance that list of negative qualities you think women have. If your wife agrees with you, that doesn't magically make it not sexist to posts lists of bad traits you think women have.

Keep in mind, this isn't me saying YOU'RE A SEXIST. I actually don't think thinking people are sexist or not sexist makes any sense (unless someone is like an openly woman hating MRA or something), because sexism isn't a binary where you either are or you aren't. It's like saying... is someone healthy, or not? Well, there are a billion different degrees, and most of us have at least a few unhealthy habits. We're all going to be sexist sometimes. And people will call us out on it. And we can choose to learn, or get mad, or many other reactions. For instance, you probably think "Zero thinks he isn't sexist and gets to judge everyone else!" No, I think I say and do sexist stuff way more than I should, and often I don't even understand what the problem was until someone calls me out on it, and I'm slowwwwwly learning to be better about it. That's the thing about choosing to be progressive. It's actually pretty freaking hard, and it never, ever ends. But you try to keep learning.

I think thinking there is some membership to some club or something is odd. THE EVERYONE VERSUS MUSTACHE CLUB? But no one here agrees on everything. As Kris referenced above, he definitely disagrees with me sometimes, like during SHIRTGATE when we very much disagreed. Hell the admin thread is like half of the admins telling me I'm right and half of them telling me I'm wrong sometimes. Don't get confused and think there is some mass of people who have unified opinions against you and you alone.