Giving up on the cause?

[Samael Barghest]

You ever feel defeated? Like there's just no point in trying anymore? On Google+ I can't banned from two communities today. One, for honestly, no clue. I posted a link to an anime i was watching. Came back later in the day and i was banned without ever breaking one of the rules. But the other, the other community. First a bit about myself. I am a gamer and an anime fan. I defend these things whenever I'm called to arms. I repeated myself loads of times with the Zoe Quinn and Anita Sarkessian incidents, simply saying we need to handle ourselves differently if we want to get our points across. Not make an ass out of ourselves and hand them more ammunition to use against us. In the anime fandom, I've gone through great lengths to prove that we are all NOT pedophiles, perverts, and furries. But today was the day I realize how pointless it is. The second community I was banned from is doing a weekend long "shipping fest". Personally, I think shipping is stupid, but I have stupid things I like so I don't judge. It was when the "shipping fest" turned into child pornography that I tried to say something. Reported the images and even talked to one of the owners of the community, who was right there on their side saying there's nothing wrong with images of 2 ten year old girls, completely naked and shagging. I was banned for not "being one of them". But it got me thinking, is there a point to trying to prove that we're actually decent folks? Especially when 223,975 people quickly start to defend it their fetish, if you can call it that? I feel like DDP when he quit WCW. Fuck it, I'm done! Let the politicians label us all as pedophiles. Clearly it's what people want.

What do you guys think? Am I right? Wrong? A whinny shit stain?

 

[Addendum_Forthcoming]

Honestly, we've gone through three (technically 4, now) political leaders on both sides who haven't even survived a full single term, and yet people still have rolling hourly debates about the two main parties without hint of irony. You kind of talk to people about the failure of the democratic process and systemic inability for politicians to govern with any efficacy given the same corruption, the same structural deficiencies, persist. The only thing that seems to stop us from basically just setting fire to the system and building a new one from the ground up seems to be the discussion of the idea that we can just employ the same people in the process and shake up a few key positions. That somehow the 'will of the people' will out despite repeated abuses of the public trust on this account.

And I just feel tired telling people that we shouldn't just continue along ... now going on 9 years without any effective leadership. Our current government, our two party system, is weakest now than it has been in decades. You'd think that with all the whining and whinging that Australians go on about that all politicians are mongrels (if only, we'd get less pack infighting) that we might disable it through simple popular consensus and resistance. But nope...

 

[Loonyyy]

People are going to people. You can't convince people to just change their ways. Some anime fans are going to be paedophiles, and some are going to be into the underage stuff, the goofy, the fanservice, incest and underage stuff. No, that isn't the totality of anime, and no, it isn't fair to tar everyone with the same brush, but by the same token, there are people, as you've found, who are interested in watching two ten your old girls shag, for whatever reason. As a mere consumer of media, it's important to remember, you're not a part of a movement. You just share an interest in something, for whatever reason. The people around you enjoying it, may have entirely different motives, and they feel absolutely no obligation to you to present what they like in a positive light, perhaps even because they only enjoy those negative things. They may not in fact care about how it's percieved. Unless they're busy saying that they want to be seen as better, you really don't have a common aim, and if they do, then you could call them on their hypocrisy, but people rarely take kindly to that.

People become heavily invested in these identities, often built around what they consume, media, that just kills time. It's very valuable, but it's the media that has worth, not your investment. The idea of some uniting element to "anime viewers" or "gamers" or "TV watchers" "book readers" or "music listeners" is without merit. To quote someone much more eloquent than me: "You are not your fucking khakis".

In the end, you just have to go your seperate way. If they don't want you, then you should not want their community. There are going to be people out there who have similar tastes and views to you, and you're better served finding them, rather than trying to change others.

You don't need to prove that you're decent folks. Because you aren't. You're a single point in a mass of people who's only commonality is enjoyment of a particular subgenre of media, and you don't even necessarily like it for the same reasons. You don't need to prove to anyone that you're not like the guy drawing up his loli, and you don't need to change him to prove a point. The only person you're responsible for here is yourself. If someone wants to assume that you're a paedophile because you like anime, they're wrong, and you can tell them that. You'll never stop someone else from giving them that impression. You're not whiny, you just care too much. It's an admirable flaw, but a pointless endeavour.

You don't need to give up on your ideals, you just need to find those that share them, and enjoy their company. In the end, it really matters very little what the people who don't want you think.

 

[Smooth Operator]

They were right to ban you it seems, you don't fit in there. "But my righteous crusade!"... you can do that where people don't mind, but if you come into my house and dictate how I do things we will quickly part ways.

Pro tip, not everyone you meet will get along with you and it's a waste forcing them to do otherwise because it will just make them hate you.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I'd tell you to not sweat it, that "fighting for a cause" in message boards (or Twitter, or whatever) is like writing on bulletin boards with a Crayola, or communicating with a passive-aggressive roommate through post-its on the fridge.

 

[tippy2k2]

You see yourself as a moral crusader. Those people are perverts for looking at pictures of drawn ten year olds giving each other the business. It's obvious that you must have a sick mind to be able to look at even fake ten year old children and think " Yes, this is what I want to get me off!". It's clear that it will start with drawn pictures but that is a slippery slope to looking at real pictures and maybe eventually that's not enough and those kids at the school nearby walk with no parents around...

They see themselves as the moral crusaders. You're telling them that a picture, something that is 100% fake, is evil and perverted. It's obvious that you can't tell fact from fiction and because you can't see the difference, you believe that they shouldn't be allowed to do that. If looking at those pictures is such a slippery slope, we'd better ban video games as well since what kind of a sick bastard would gain happiness murdering a bunch of people? Maybe eventually shooting a cop in GTA isn't enough for you anymore and you notice that the officer in your neighborhood likes to get coffee at the same gas station in the back area of the street...

Have I made my point yet? No one thinks they are the bad guys and it's up to you to decide if what you're arguing about is worth the trouble and headaches to convince them that they're the bad guy.

My uncle on Facebook is a diehard anti-muslim. Diehard as in "the Muslim religion is evil and is trying to destroy mankind. Extremist or your next door neighbor, every Muslim needs to die or America will be destroyed" level of anti-muslim. At first, I went ahead and tried to convince him otherwise but ultimately, I determined there was no correcting such hatred that he had and I decided to no longer associate myself with his arguments. Sometimes throwing in the towel is the best course of action but it's up to you to decide what Battles are worth the fight and when it's either not worth it or if it's a battle you will lose no matter how good your argument is because they are so deeply entrenched that NOTHING will get them out.

 

[Bat Vader]

I gave up on the GamerGate cause a month in a half ago. Not because I grew disillusioned with it or anything like that. I gave up on it because I need to concentrate on my own life, college, and the career I want someday.

 

[Muspelheim]

You're not a soldier and gaming and anime isn't the fields of Verdun. You aren't called to arms, not even figuratively. Cool it. It is not a war, there never was a war.

I think the main source of the troubles last year was that people tie far too much of their identity and self-worth into things they like. If you base your entire character around an interest, it's impossible to have a clear sight of it, see what you like and what you don't. A disagreement about something in an interest you've built your identity around will naturally feel like an attack on both it and, above all, you and everything that you are.

Don't build your entire personality around games and anime. They're part of your life, there aren't your life.

 

[Something Amyss]

You're not a soldier and gaming and anime isn't the fields of Verdun. You aren't called to arms, not even figuratively. Cool it. It is not a war, there never was a war.

You say that now. How quickly you forget the days when we were occupied by Milton Bradley fans.

No, but seriously:

Don't build your entire personality around games and anime. They're part of your life, there aren't your life.

This is advice I think a lot of people need to take to heart.

 

[Muspelheim]

Thank you kindly for correcting it for me, luv. It carries a lot more weight when there isn't a glaring error right in the middle of it, I must say.

To supplement it a bit, take a look at this picture.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/On_Ne_Passe_Pas_1918.jpg

This is not you.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Don't build your entire personality around games and anime. They're part of your life, there aren't your life.

This is advice I think a lot of people need to take to heart.

I second that wholeheartedly. To elaborate my personal stance, I am a gamer, and games are somewhat directly responsible for my career path, but I don't work in the games industry. Rather I became a PC tech very much in part because the era I grew up in PC's were not as user friendly and building them, servicing them and troubleshooting them were techniques I learned, as a kid mind you, because I wanted to play PC games. DOS wasn't user friendly, and back in that day PC game required hardware was a bit more relevant than it is today. You really had to know what you were working with and how to install new hardware, or have a store or outcall tech to do so which our town didn't have but incidentally my father was a PC tech so I learned from him. I also learned because I loved and still love PC's, but games did a lot for me to fuel that love.

But, my life does not revolve around games despite the time I spend talking about them, and voicing concerns and likes about the industry. I do have a whole lot more that I do with my time aside from games and they do not dominate my life. I learned a long time ago that being shut in and only concentrating on gaming is detrimental to the social aspects that bring a rich and full life.

Basically what I'm saying is that loving something like gaming, anime, etc., is a wonderful thing but it cannot be the sole focus of life. There's so much more out there, and one should experience as much as one can within reason. This is coming from a person who's got massive social anxiety and chronic depression. Shutting yourself in and living an online life is not fulfilling and ignoring real life concerns over games or anime or whatever isn't healthy either.

Just make sure that while you love something and enjoy it, it does not become the basis of your existence and the dominant thing. Unless of course its part of your career in some way shape or form.

 

[Something Amyss]

Thank you kindly for correcting it for me, luv.

I think you and I have radically different ideas of what "correcting" is.

This is not you.

Of course not. I use a chaingun.

Just make sure that while you love something and enjoy it, it does not become the basis of your existence and the dominant thing. Unless of course its part of your career in some way shape or form.

Honestly, I'm not even sure it should be a focus of your life at that point. But that's just me. And it's quite likely I'm in the minority on this.

 

[Fox12]

Ugh, I love anime, but I DESPISE the anime fandom. It's one of the creepiest, most fetishistic communities out there.

Look, you just have to admit that you enjoy something, and not apologize for it. If someone criticizes anime then I can point them to films that have artistic merit, and I can explain why those films are impotent works of art. If they aren't open minded enough to hear me out, then I pay them about the same amount of respect I would pay to someone who hates Jane Austen because she's "boring." Which is to say: none. I know I'm in the right.

But yeah, I've felt defeated. I've felt defeated as a libertarian, for instance, after Ron and Rand lost. You just have to accept that some battles are a lost cause, I think, and focus on the things that matter.

... You'd think that with all the whining and whinging that Australians go on about that all politicians are mongrels (if only, we'd get less pack infighting) that we might disable it through simple popular consensus and resistance. But nope...

Damn, I just assumed you were talking about the US of A : /

 

[LysanderNemoinis]

Oh definitely. From politics to gaming (though now they're becoming closer and closer), and from general hypocrisy to facts about...well, everything people believe lies about, I've pretty much given up. It's no use, and the way I see it, the "bad guys" have either won or are winning and will continue to do so. Gaming was one of the few things I could use to escape from that feeling and sadly now I don't even have that. Ah well. At the very least, it seems that anime is still pretty benign when it comes to being an escape, so I figure at least I got another five good years until people start working on that.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Just make sure that while you love something and enjoy it, it does not become the basis of your existence and the dominant thing. Unless of course its part of your career in some way shape or form.

Honestly, I'm not even sure it should be a focus of your life at that point. But that's just me. And it's quite likely I'm in the minority on this.

I only mean that if you work somehow in the games industry its tough to not have games as a large part of life if its a large part of your income. I still recommend having a life beyond games though because its far better to have more than to limit oneself to only that. Like professional reviewers, programmers or other development jobs have to keep abreast of gaming information and stuff like that and devote a significant part of their time to games.