The Like/Hate Thread

[Undrask]

I'M BUYING CABLE RIGHT NOW.

Fucking also pro note: I get back from my training ON THE 26TH. I'm going to FIND A HOUSE WITH CABLE and WATCH THE SHIT OUT OF IT.

Protip: All of the caps were SCREAMING.

[Pinky]

get netflix instead. so much better, so much cheaper.

[Dehan]

Pretty sure I squealed like a girl when I saw it on facebook. Got quite a few glares from my nieces.

Friggin kids and their Spongebob.

[Sage]

Netflix SUCKS here. Everything's old or obscure. Some cool stuff, but not worth the money.

[Super Buu]

This adapted version of the Game of Thrones comic sums it up for me: http://theoatmeal.com/pl/game_of_thrones/nz

[Jarka]

Hate: Alex made me play Dead Space again today.

[Vad]

Hate: Finding out the hard way that with enough sleep deprivation my mind loses it's capability to keep my anxiety at bay. Holy shit panic attacks like a motherfucker.

[Pinky]

like: awesomenauts. great game, and it's just fun to say

[Super Buu]

I read about that. Need to get around to playing the trial, looks fun.

AWESOMENAAAUUTS

[Jonathan Meer]

Hate: Finding out the hard way that with enough sleep deprivation my mind loses it's capability to keep my anxiety at bay. Holy shit panic attacks like a motherfucker.

Yeah, I'm the same way. If I get a normal amount of sleep, I'm perfectly fine, but lack of sleep plus coffee can be terrifying.

Which is bullshit because the cure to lack of sleep is coffee

[Jarka]

Like: This article

Holy crap, that is such a great explanation of privilege through a metaphor of gaming.

[Maruset]

So Straight White Dude=Paladins...Awesome

[Pinky]

The idea of privilage ignores variation from sources like culture, quality of parents, lessons learned, expectations, choices made, etc. There's a lot that goes into a life that alters results, and focusing on privilage is both lazy and self indulgent. It pulls down the target of envy rather than building up yourself. Of course, thinking like that would lead one to the ideas of personal responsibility, accountability, judging lifestyle and culture objectively instead of pretending they're all equally valid, maybe even emulating success.

I understand that blaming a wrong in your life on factors beyond control is secudtive. But also realize that since the Single White Male doesn't have such an excuse. If you think about it, maybe that's a blessing in desguise that gets lost on the lazy and self indulgent.

[Jonathan Meer]

Hate: Dead Island. Game controls like shit and looks like shit.

Like: Zombies.

Therefore: I'll probably play through it a few times.

[Jarka]

The idea of privilage ignores variation from sources like culture, quality of parents, lessons learned, expectations, choices made, etc. There's a lot that goes into a life that alters results, and focusing on privilage is both lazy and self indulgent. It pulls down the target of envy rather than building up yourself. Of course, thinking like that would lead one to the ideas of personal responsibility, accountability, judging lifestyle and culture objectively instead of pretending they're all equally valid, maybe even emulating success.

I understand that blaming a wrong in your life on factors beyond control is secudtive. But also realize that since the Single White Male doesn't have such an excuse. If you think about it, maybe that's a blessing in desguise that gets lost on the lazy and self indulgent.

He addresses that in the article. I'm not going to elaborate if you're not going to read it.

[Pinky]

i did read it, and the bits about choices was a cop out. the premise is that an uncontrollable factor is the overbearing determinate on the results of your life. saying that people can make choices that affect the outcome is only to dismiss criticism of the premise that achievement is had by luck of the draw.

no real argument is made about any given factor, only an insistance that straight white maledom is the key. of course, being male doesn't cause success. being white doesn't, either. nor being straight. but somehow when these things are put together it's a magic cocktail for easymode. the proof? straight white males are on average very prosperous compared to other demographics. that's not mentioned in what you posted, but its the cornerstone of the privilage argument.

and that's where it faills apart. different demographics have a wide variety of different choice patterns, collectively at a given time, collectively over time, and individually. it would be truly magical if different people from different situations who make different choices had equal or near equal results.

what the privilage believers don't want to admit is that straight white males are better off on average because on average they are better. i have a hard time believing that they sit around together basking in their straight white maleness, or business owners looking for SWM's as a solution to their operating problems. these superficial corrolations also fail to properly address why black people are arrested and incarcerated way beyond their population percentage, by claiming that its the system that's slanted against them rather than criminal behavior being part of so-called black culture. there are real substantial reasons for diverging results and they are not just skin deep.

edit: i liked dead island. i thought the graphics were interesting :[

[Kaden]

That article really just pissed me off. How arrogant does someone need to be before they can say to someone else "well because of these superficial differences, your entire life should be complete easy mode"? That's... just insulting.

Pinky's completely correct about the "choices" bit being a complete cop-out (I actually agree with everything he said except for the SWM being better on average bit). Life is not simple enough to say "just level up again and put your points into a better stat." I don't need someone sitting behind a computer trivializing the hardships white, straight males go through just because their lives should be easy mode.

Shit like this serves absolutely no purpose but to give someone who's not white or straight or male someone blame for their own problems. There is nothing useful or inspiring or worthwhile in that writing. Other people don't get the right to tell me that because of my skin tone and sexual orientation my life should be easy. Fuck that.

[Super Buu]

I honestly hate journalism.

Agreement or disagreement with the views it presents aside, that article is bullshit. It presents itself as a jaunty explanation for straight white males as to why they're privileged. If he actually wanted to convince people who disagree, or make a difference - y'know, be an actual groundbreaking journalist - he'd present it more sympathetically. It's presented in as condescending a manner as possible, aimed purely at people who already agree. Because it's guaranteed to get a thousand shares from the folks who already do nothing but link to carbon copies of this article written on feminist blogs, with gay rights and being as popular as they are.

It's fucking old news, but hey, the bandwagon is there and apparently you don't even have to add an interesting argument to jump on it anymore and have people think you're a bold genius for being so forward-thinking and out there. Guess what? The president of the US is black.

He didn't mention people with learning disabilities, or people living in undeveloped countries, for example. Why? Because there are much fewer of those people on the internet to share and like his article, and if it doesn't apply directly to you, people don't give a shit. Honestly makes me angry.

[Ashe]

I have the same general thought process as Kaden. Essentially, the argument (in general, not necessarily saying that article) is saying "If you are a straight white male (and I am), then every complaint you make about something being a rough element of life is immediately dismissed and scoffed at because everyone else has it harder and you are obviously just being a spoiled whiny bitch." Do I think that most people, including myself, are being spoiled whiny bitches about too many first world problems? Of course. Do I think that said complaints should be dismissed on a basis of their skin color, gender, nationality, orientation, or whatever? I do not, because I think that shouldn't play a part. I would prefer to address a complaint and argument by addressing exactly that, rather than take into account the individual's details.

Then again, I am a straight, white, male, so I suppose that renders my entire ability to argue this stance moot by default, if I were to follow that line of thought.

To be clear, I'm not saying that this is never the case. What I'm saying is that its not as black and white as just saying "all straight, white, males need to stfu, at least you aren't black/gay/female!" I'm just throwing this out there, and maybe I'm doing it wrong, but my white, girls-preferred dick has done a pretty terrible job helping me just coast through life, because I damn sure haven't gotten free money or government assistance sent to my mail yet. I also want to be clear that I'm not arguing that my life is terrible and "super hard" either, because its not. I'm very aware of how good I have it and appreciate these things, even when I constantly bitch about other things.

[Anzekay]

I honestly hate journalism.

Agreement or disagreement with the views it presents aside, that article is bullshit. It presents itself as a jaunty explanation for straight white males as to why they're privileged. If he actually wanted to convince people who disagree, or make a difference - y'know, be an actual groundbreaking journalist - he'd present it more sympathetically. It's presented in as condescending a manner as possible, aimed purely at people who already agree. Because it's guaranteed to get a thousand shares from the folks who already do nothing but link to carbon copies of this article written on feminist blogs, with gay rights and being as popular as they are.

It's fucking old news, but hey, the bandwagon is there and apparently you don't even have to add an interesting argument to jump on it anymore and have people think you're a bold genius for being so forward-thinking and out there. Guess what? The president of the US is black.

He didn't mention people with learning disabilities, or people living in undeveloped countries, for example. Why? Because there are much fewer of those people on the internet to share and like his article, and if it doesn't apply directly to you, people don't give a shit. Honestly makes me angry.

fyi John Scalzi is not a journalist, nor does he pretend to be one on his blog. He just blogs about stuff he's thinking about and his opinion on it.

All he is, is a really fucking good Sci-fi author.