Racism and Sexism as Gaming Culture

Steve Weeks wrote:

The solution is simple for me. Ever since I've seen nothing but mindless crap on the television, I cancelled cable and just pick up the decent shows on DVD as they come out. No more bullshit to watch, and it sends a message. If more people did that, we'd see improvement. It's not gonna happen though.

Just do it. Encourage your friends to do it. Don't follow the herd, don't be a lemming!

I'd love to be a lemming, but I just don't like where the herd is going

Mike, I'm onboard about the Jessica Chobot thing. I'm super attracted to her and I HATE what they're doing to her in ME3. her character has this enormous breastesses and is totally vapid. I REALLY hope this isn't a sex interest for Shephard cuz it would make him too Kirk-like. Whereas he has a real thing going with Liara. Did you ever sleep with jack? You actually feel bad about it after, it's kinda cool.

As for trash talking, there is nothing better (it's SO RARE THO) than classy trash-talking. Like intelligent trash talking, although this really grinds people's gears.

Like the other night, in the final killcam, you get the viewpoint of the guy getting the final kill and his victim is backing out of a pipe, looking left (where he should be looking REALLY left where there are always tangos) and starts to move forward, with the shooter watching him the entire time starting right at him. bang bang, dead. I say into my lobby mic, "Nice situational awareness"

LOL, I thought that was perfect. It made the lobby laugh and the guy got kind of mad but that's GOOD trash talking. Unfortunately often in that situation someone says, instead, "look at that idiot faggot ni&&er" or something horrible like that. awful.

I hope I set a good example by playfully jabbing but maybe I'm just making things worse by encouraging trash talking in the first place

I don't buy into the argument that minorities or women are easier targets. Talk shit to most of my friends, and their shirt's coming off, and your ass is getting stomped.

Most women can handle themselves as well. The thing about that "notinthekitchen" site is that while she's noting that it's man-on-woman smacktalking, there's just as much man-on-man smacktalking. I can tell you with surety that I'd be just as quick to call a man or a woman a "twinkie eating bitch" because bitch doesn't mean "denigration to woman" anymore, it means "weakling". As in, "you're my bitch now".

I just don't see women as weak, and I sure as fuck don't see minorities as weak. Tiger Woods, Michael Vick, President Obama....not exactly backing up your argument that minorities are weak. What about Leila Ali? Weak? Or how about every woman who struggled to beat cancer? Weak?

Bollocks.

Bullying is bullying. The target is irrelevant; it's simply a point at which the bully can apply pressure, and it's just as easy to hit as any other.

I love people using the word fuck, then talking about crudeness in society. I mean WTF? I hope it's not because you've all turned daddies in the last 4 years, but I think some of you have changed opinions on norms.

JonJacob is right, as so often. I laughed my ass off with Beavis & Butthead and later South Park. Ask yourself whether you did too. Exposing Political Correctness was and is seen as cool.

But I've only imitated them in context where everybody knew it was tongue in cheek. At least, I've tried (most of the time) not to be an asshole in public. Not everybody is able to do that all the time.

So crudeness is part of our egalitarian, open society. It's a symptom of what I regard as a good thing. Social norms were always instruments to oppress people. Workers have to be polite to their bosses. Southern self-styled gentlemen had no qualms beating their negroes to pulp. For your information, Americans have long been reviled in the old world for being too direct and not having class, ie being crude. SO crude people are in good company.

That doesn't mean it's always smart or nice to be crude. And it's good to be smart and nice. Obviously, Aris is not smart, or he was not aware he was public, or how public he could become.

Hey, let's have the Friday Freakout early, maybe it lasts longer!

SuperflyTNT wrote: I can tell you with surety that I'd be just as quick to call a man or a woman a "twinkie eating bitch" because bitch doesn't mean "denigration to woman" anymore, it means "weakling". As in, "you're my bitch now".

IMO, that's part of the problem. These offensive terms have become so common place and accepted, folk think they mean something they don't. If someone were to say that my wife is 'a bitch' _I_ will take it as denigration and we'd go Blades of Steel style. I wouldn't be all, 'honey, he's saying you're weak'.

But, yeah, like Barnes talked about there's this whole idea that men can be uncouth around women and they should take it and be in on the self-deprecating to prove 'one of the guys' - like that's some badge of honor... It reminds me of that movie Knocked Up a few years back. Supposedly a movie with 'heart'. It looked to me like a goal oriented individual shacked up with some douchebag and then threw her life away to hang out smoking pot and timing nudie scenes with douchey's roommates. Not to mention that she and her parents had to listen to this lovable teddy bear drop f-bombs on them while she's in the hospital delivering. Yeah...a feel good movie...well, a big money maker for sure. JJ's right...we get what we deserve.

(My dislike for videogaming/comicbook culture has me wanting to drop Guile as my avatar again...)

This is certainly a touchy subject. The guy that they mention in that article sounds like a complete asshat. I get the whole "its funny to us, its a joke thing" but at the same time the guy just sounds completely ignorant. I'm pretty lax when it comes to PC correctness and swearing...all that good shit. If you are playing a boardgame and you make fun of the guy sitting next to you, who happens to be a close friend, that is good, harmless fun. That is where trash-talking should be permitted. If you're sitting on the couch playing Tecmo Super Bowl and you just torched your friend's defense with Bo Jackson...gloat and dance all you want. You earned it.

When that shit happens online or in person to a complete stranger it's not cool. It shows a complete and utter lack of grace and respect. If you don't know the person don't insult them. They are playing a videogame and trying to have fun. Even what Black Barney mentioned as "intelligent trash talk" probably doesn't need to happen at all. If he knew the guy, then that's fine...but I personally don't see the need for it.

Bottomline - save the really bad/vile trash talk and bullshitting for your friends who know you are joking around. There is a different set of communication rules that need to be followed when you're dealing with the general public and those should be followed online...fat bloody chance of that ever happening.

You hit it on the head: Don't say something nasty to someone you don't know like that. It's all good if it's acceptable behavior in your present company, but if you act like an asshat at a party you just showed up at, the problem is you.

I wonder, if they banned guns in America would people be as accepting of this stuff? Most of the reason people are "afraid to do anything" is that pretty much anyone is capable of holding a piece and squeezing a round at you. I wonder if it was back to the days when the most someone might be copping is a razor blade if people would be as totally apathetic to this kind of thing?

SuperflyTNT wrote: I wonder, if they banned guns in America would people be as accepting of this stuff? Most of the reason people are "afraid to do anything" is that pretty much anyone is capable of holding a piece and squeezing a round at you. I wonder if it was back to the days when the most someone might be copping is a razor blade if people would be as totally apathetic to this kind of thing?

wat

Yes, people are more polite in England because everyone is required by law to carry a handgun.

Jur wrote: I love people using the word fuck, then talking about crudeness in society. I mean WTF? I hope it's not because you've all turned daddies in the last 4 years, but I think some of you have changed opinions on norms.

Hey, I resemble that comment! But you maybe right. Maybe it is because I now have kids. Maybe. When I was growing up, my parents taught me that there was a time and a place for swearing. A little colourful language among like-minded people in a private setting was fine. But never in public and never around strangers. Now I regularly hear teenagers of both sexes swearing like sailors down the local shopping mall and on the train, paying no mind as to whether there might be kids or the elderly around. It has been growing steadily worse with time and is not a norm that changed when I had kids. Try telling them to watch their language and you are more than likely to get told to fuck off.

Bah. Get off my lawn!