I really can't understand when centrists hang around alt-righters constantly and act like they're:
- Not compatible with white supremacy
- Don't hate minorities or at least view them differently
- "A moderate"
Reminder that the alt-right and Hillary Clinton aren't the two sides of the spectrum, and anyone who pretends to sit in the middle of two far right goal posts and pretend to be any sort of "free thinker" is absolutely ludicrous and can never be taken seriously in any context involving politics or basic social etiquette. I notice that 99% of centrists can only talk about Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton (even in fucking 2019 already) when discussing politics and it makes me fucking cringe my eyes out and heavily consider suicide.
Anyway, I used to be a center-left socdem who loved "Free speech" because I was white and closeted and had no experience with minorities other than looking at "them" as a passerby. I never hated minorities, but I also never really cared about them in any grand sense. I was the classic "Well, racism doesn't really exist anymore, and if it does, it's really minor and not a big deal" libertarian stereotype even just a few years ago, but you know what else I was? Uneducated. Surrounded by groups of people on the internet who were "ironic" racists and "ironic" homophobes. No understanding how the subconscious works as a young teen, how deep-rooted a lot of things can get even if they're "ironic".
It became fundamentally clear to me that there was a problem after I had a few talks with a lot more trans folks and had a long think about how the world works while thinking more about my own dysphoria and fitting that into my social groups that were at least 75% "ironic" nazis. When a majority of people I talked to on a regular basis found out I was gay, it was constant flocks of "jokes" and people telling me to kill myself and never talking me to again "as a joke", but then actually never talking to me again and me finding out later that they all had private chats and gossiped about "how much of a fag" I was, and at that moment it became clear to me that these people aren't my friends, they aren't my equals, and I was a naive child who got unlucky as fuck when finding a friend group.
BUT IT'S JUST A JOKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Comedy that focuses entirely on punching down isn't comedy, it's bullying.
Making fun of mental illness and genocide can, maybe, at somepoint and sometime be funny when there's clear consent and mutual understanding. This isn't possible in stand-up, this isn't possible when making public statements as a popular persona, either. When you're a """comedian""" and make """jokes"""" that target mental illness in a cruel and harsh tone, it's not funny, it's just fuckin' gross. It contributes toward already existing stereotypes that oppress people for simply existing and the defense is just so that white people can laugh for a few seconds at their expense. There's good jokes that involve minorities, but now-a-days everyone immediately shoots for Edge Humor and just goes directly to mocking instead of actually being clever or thoughtful.
The point is this: If you look at your followers, see what they say, and see a majority of hateful lunatics, you're doing something wrong. Very wrong. And you need to think about yourself and others for more than 2 seconds for once in your life.
I do agree that ironic hatred is a highly efficient gateway to actual hatred, whether it manifests subconsciously or overtly.
Most aren't careful enough with it in the modern era. It's not that you can't or shouldn't be able to say something caustic and more that most people aren't responsible enough to fully understand what they're potentially enabling. When you find yourself basing your identity around being a "pretend" racist funnyman then you will at some point, whether it's realized or not, find yourself guilty of perpetuating a hateful ideology. It's a memetic culture. The major issue is that in the last few years this archetype has grown in popularity at an alarming rate and it's becoming difficult to tell who is just ignorant and who is an actual nazi sympathiser.
Very excellent response, mister!
Spot on, the political climate currently is a big factor in my opinion when telling who is bad. I'm of the persuasion that if you made it this long into Trump's presidency without realizing that bigotry is out of control then you're just terrible and need to go away. It's pretty funny how Gaming Culture was the one to be majorly co-opted by the alt-right, though, and it's clever as fuck. I'm gonna write a piece on tying nostalgia into white supremacy. brb
good post! I wish more people would think about jokes contextually
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Great post! I do almost fully agree.
Almost? What's the hold up?
Even though you do not say it explicitly it implies that you no longer support free speech.
Read my other articles from the last 72 hours and you'll see that free speech doesn't exist, I operate in the reality of the world as seen through the eyes of the oppressed. There is no such thing.