When I started this blog, it was supposed to be a stupid Pop Culture blog where I talk about nonsense like comicbooks and Death Metal. This is my twelfth post. For the second time, this post has nothing to do with pop culture. Or maybe, it does, in a weird tangential manner. The kind of people I talk about in the following article are the kind of people you find in comment sections all over the internet (not mine, nobody reads my stuff). The kind of people who try to force artists into making creative decisions to suit their needs. Assholes, basically.
Anyway.
This video is worth watching before you get into the content. Really, go watch it. Old dude explaining stuff better than I ever could.
Gender is becoming increasingly confusing. There are a lot of new words that are coming up for old things, and as with everything, people are opposed to these changes. The general argument is, that people should stop being so sensitive about silly things. Except. It’s not a silly thing. At all. Gender studies is an actual science now, and human beings are complicated creatures (until they’re made to thing about anybody that isn’t themselves). Over the centuries, racists have told blacks to stop being silly, sexists have told women to stop being silly, and imperialists have told the oppressed to stop being silly. To understand their place. Be grateful to be alive. Compromise. You’re the minority, or you’re the weaker people, and therefore you serve to our comfort. We voted on it. You did, too.
Language evolves. Its a pretty commonly known fact that the word “her” was created much after “his”. I do not understand why its so difficult to use “they”. If you’re worried about being PC, maybe be worried about being a decent human being instead. Its just a shitty word. Nobody’s asking you to get degrees on the subject. Transphobia appears to be one of the most prevalent and underestimated forms of bigotry in this day and age.
I’m not one for oppressing another’s freedom of expression. But people are taking the anti-PC crusade to levels that parallel the original PC crusade. You’ve got one side that’s yammering about how white males are evil, another side being racist, and everyone else caught in generalizations, which is paradoxically what both sides seem to be fighting against. Being decent and being reasonable, if those are things that ever existed as human traits (I doubt it), are ceasing to exist. How hard is it to let people be as they want to, and treat them with the same respect that they afford you?
Its funny that people see Social Justice as a bad thing today, and say that Political Correctness is what’s derailing society. Yes, there is a need to have a serious discussion about the limits to which this PC movement is being taken to, and if PC is even the term to describe it anymore, considering nothing is off limits in politics now and that PC is used in mostly non political contexts, for apolitical reasons. Social Correctness is probably a more sound term, but to say a person is Socially Incorrect would mean you’re flat out calling him an asshole, instead of “brutally honest”.
We need to understand that through the ages, certain aspects of our languages have become off limits for varieties of reasons. That might be hard to come to terms with for some people, but can you honestly tell yourself that there is absolutely NOTHING that can offend you? NO insult that will upset you and hurt your feelings? Of course there’s something out there that’ll strike a nerve. Heck, for some of you the above sentence would be enough. But here’s the thing, most of you will forget about it and move on. Some of you will bear a grudge and strike back. And for others still, it may bring back memories of some deep-seated, repressed trauma.
And are you really okay with “triggering” somebody’s trauma for the sake of telling a joke? Or for looking like a real badass in front of your friends? For “telling it like it is”? Are you really sure you're telling it like it is, or are you just being a bigoted, callous piece of shit? You say people who get triggered easily shouldn’t read, or listen or watch the things that trigger them. But you also complain about trigger warnings. And you’re just as prone to getting triggered, as you’re wont to show when somebody calls out your bullshit. If you’re unwilling to compromise on any front, why would they? There is absolutely nothing wrong in showing an iota of patience and sympathy for other people. Some might even say that its a good thing to do.
And to the other side, its time to draw lines. Point out sexism, phobia, racism. But understand and clarify when it’s intentional and when it isn’t, and for fuck’s sake don’t invent shit for the sake of it and delegitimize everything. When you see a trigger warning, don’t go and get triggered and then complain about it. Stop vetting the things you see and hear until you’re offended, language is tricky business, and one can construe anything as offensive if they try hard enough. You getting offended is often more your fault as theirs (classic victim blaming).
Stop being a victim unless you truly are a victim. If you have mental health issues, GO GET HELP. If you’re a victim of bigotry, or some kind of social injustice, tell your friends, try and find a way out of your situation. If you’re reading this, and feel like shit, I invite you to talk to me if you have nobody else. I’m no expert in these things (or anything else really), but we can try and work things through and figure out a way for you to get actual help. But if you have neither of these things going for you, kindly shut the fuck up, you entitled piece of garbage (kettle-pot-pot-kettle).
This article started in a place and ended in a whole other place far away from the first place. My point is, its ridiculous to throw tantrums over a bloody word. No dude would appreciate being repeatedly called “her”. No girl would appreciate being referred to as a “he". And transgender folk are a relatively new, but distinct minority who are struggling to find their place in society. Is it really that difficult to let them use the bathroom and refer to them with a different pronoun than you’re used to? I wish people would complain about Homework and assignments as much as they complain about all this other bullshit. The stuff would definitely get banned forever.
If I’ve misunderstood something about gender, please let me know. In addition to that I would appreciate it if one of you SJWs would explain to me what a safe space is and how its different from, say, home (assuming your household is a stable one- shit, I think I get it now; or do I? I don’t know).
