Photos
This week’s fan fiction, posted yesterday afternoon, was a story in which Fox and Friends anchor Gretchen Carlson hung herself in her office, such was her excitement to get to the heaven that she believed was real based on the ludicrous description of a genuinely sick child and his bizarrely encouraging father. (Incidentally, that is a weird part of the whole Colton Burpo thing, right? How his near death was obviously one of the most traumatic experiences everyone in his entire family will ever face, and his dad decided to perpetuate that trauma by having him write a book about it and do publicity? It’s a weird choice is all I am saying. There are some other weird things that Todd Burpo says that we could talk about, but that is old news now.) Anyway, the following comment was posted on that story by user Brosworth:
Just to clarify, I’m an atheist, and I think the whole thing with the kid and his parents using his drug-addled hallucinations, lies, or whatever bullshit his parents decided to feed him is disgusting, and the way it was “reported” equally as disgusting.
But writing in detail about anyone hanging him/herself I think crosses the line, even if that is secretly what some of us might desire. And then the diatribe in the epilogue, while in line with what I believe, is insensitive to what some otherwise perfectly rational and fine people (some of whom might actually download this blog) believe. While we might disagree with them, callously putting down their beliefs like that is the kind of thing that gives atheists in general a bad name. I think we’re better than that.
Basically what I’m saying is you might want to pull out that reset button again, Gabe.
Fair enough. REQUEST GRANTED! Let’s hit the Reset Button! But the first rule of Reset Button Club is that you HAVE TO TALK about Reset Button Club. So, let’s talk:
I’m not going to mount a very strong defense of the Gretchen Carlson story. Why bother? It’s certainly not my favorite thing that I have ever written (although it’s not my least favorite either) and on the scale of disgustingly tasteless to HIGH ART, I think we can all agree that it falls somewhere on the lower half of the (very wide) spectrum. Where it falls on that spectrum, of course, is subjective. Personally, I don’t find jokes about suicide to be offensive, the same way that I do not find jokes about the Holocaust to be offensive. (QUICK NOTE: it obviously depends on the joke. But I do think you can understand my point.) The reason for this is because the ACTUAL HUMAN HORROR of those IMPOSSIBLY REAL THINGS is of such DEPTH and OVERWHELMING INCOMPREHENSIBILITY such that making sense of either is so beyond our ability to synthesize information & emotion that a joke about it just glances off the side like a b.b. gun pellet. The relationship between someone making a joke about suicide and actual suicide is like the relationship between a child’s drawing of an airplane crash and 9/11. They just aren’t playing on the same fucking field. One could argue that this ignores the sensitivity to those subjects felt by people who have actually encountered suicide, or lost loved ones in a genocide/terrorist attack, and I suppose that’s true, but I guess the only thing I can say to that is that it is a tough world out there (as those people DEFINITELY UNDERSTAND in a way that most of us DO NOT) and I’m not sure that not making a joke (even a tasteless joke) is really going to fix the hole in their hearts and the unshakable feeling that life is absurd and without meaning.
As to what Brosworth was saying about the brusque dismissal of the afterlife and how that may insult “otherwise” reasonable and intelligent people who believe in such things, I will point out that calling those people “otherwise reasonable and intelligent” is probably more offensive than just publicly disagreeing with them in a way that is unequivocal, because the word “otherwise” is pretty loaded. Also, as someone in that same comment thread pointed out, there’s the whole Hell thing, where anyone who does not “believe” is going to be damned for eternity, which is definitely something I am NOT ON BOARD with and a moral concept that I think is, if nothing else, very rude. But mostly, I just don’t know why anyone who believes in and is excited by the concept of a wonderful afterlife would give a shit that I definitely don’t think they are right at all. And if their faith in that belief system is so shaky that their feelings are genuinely hurt by the pointed three-sentence epilogue I wrote in A PIECE OF FAN FICTION ABOUT GRETCHEN CARLSON HANGING HERSELF, then they might have some serious issues to work through and should probably schedule a meeting with their religious counselor. Oh, and as far as giving atheists a bad name is concerned: a) I’m not atheist, I’m agnostic, and b) I don’t care what kind of name any faceless anonymous group of millions of different people with different thoughts has, that is not my problem.
So, I don’t take it back. But I am thinking a lot about it. While I disagree with some of his/her points, I do understand what Brosworth was trying to say, and if I am not sensitive to jokes about aggressively self-serving, obnoxiously pro-ignorance cable news anchors hanging themselves from figment rafters in straw man office buildings, or the hair-trigger anger and disillusionment of people who believe in the afterlife, I am sensitive to the coarsening of the culture, and in particular, to the ways in which the Internet has sped up the coarsening process and my/our own role in all of that. It is not necessarily something (it is definitely NOT something) we are going to be able to fix, but we can always think about it. That seems like an important thing to do.
It’s the holidays, you guys, if you can even believe it. It is such a cliche to talk about how they sneak up on you, and yet every year it is so surprising how they sneak up on you! Since the next few weeks are all about giving thanks for the things that we have (and we all have way too many things, if you think about it) and for reflection and tallying up the year’s balance sheets before we wipe the Big Board clean and start all over again (although never for real, you always bring it with you, but it’s nice to feel fresh for a minute) it does seem an appropriate time to do this. If we’re going to look back (and forward) we might as well do it with some idea of how we got to where we are and where we want to go. If we’re going to give thanks, let’s know just exactly what we’re giving thanks for. And then, you know, let’s keep going. Why not?
RESET BUTTON, CONSIDER YOURSELF PUSHED!
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I THINK people just NEED TO back the fuck OFF GABE AND let a PLAYA WRITE.
Also it’s THE FUCKIN internet, where the HELL IS the “relax” BUTTON?
OH, there it is.
For all the monster Golfheads (I’m looking at YOU, teacherman):
Whoa that’s way bigger than I thought it’d be (TWSS). Sorry guys!
I hear that all the time.
LIZZ-ARD! LIAZZ-ARD! LIZZ-ARD!
Three cheers for the Liz-bian!
Let’s talk about happy things that happened this week! KOST 103.5 started playing Christmas carols! (though, this does mean that I have to hear the Christmas Shoes song at least once a day).
I got off work today and don’t have to go back for over a week!
I found a couple of awesome jobs that I think I actually have a decent shot at getting interviews for. Possible happy things!
Fingers really really crossed for you (not just pretend crossed). My husband is in the same situation with possible awesome employment opportunities (after a year of looking). What I’m saying (with lots of parentheses) is Good Luck!
Thanks feartie! Good luck to your husband as well (parentheses because why not).
I’m in the same boat. Best of luck.
Uh I work in retail I’ve been listening to Christmas music for three weeks, if anyone here deserves to kill themselves it’s me. “Was her soul not stretched thinner than her heavily-injected forehead? Didn’t she deserve some eternal peace?” THIS GUY
I am happy that I am able to interact throughout the day with a group of people as smart, creative, funny and kind as you all.
I am happy that despite our regular flame ups, we are flaming up in an effort to be honest and good and generous human beings.
I am happy that we have Gabe because he is a smart and funny writer and willing to consider seriously the moral impact of his writing without being apologetic.
I am happy to be a part of a group that is willing to look at itself critically, but also with a great deal of joy and humor and to be part of a community that continually tries to out do one another in BEING THE BEST and not THE WORST.
This is a race to the top guys and we are all winning.
I am happy that Mans is a part of my life. I am also happy that the other day, Baby Friday and I challenged each other to see how many monsters we could name off the top of our heads. She won, but it was close — both of us named over 50.
I am not ashamed to admit that I love this website very much and that all of you make me very happy.
“I’m happy for how much shit we’re allowed to get away with in class b/c teacherman and baby friday are always playing on the computer.”
- Teacherman + BF’s classes
No, Mans, we’re all just competing for second behind YOU
I think we need HUUUGS!
Teach me your gif ways please friends? You can obviously see I’m awful at this
I am learning how to make little crochet cthulhus. That is making me very happy.
There is no abomination like an eldrich abomination!
Upvotes forever for you.
Cthulhu R’yleh Fhtagn!!!!
Cuz an eldritch abomination don’t stop!
You need to sell these on the internets. Then I will use the internets to give you money.
I would use the same internets to give you other money.
I gained perspective on a very troubling issue in my life and thus am working towards making peace with it permanently.
WHUUUUUUT.
I’ve enjoyed my first full week of Tivo Premiere with Netflix OnDemand streaming. I may never leave my apartment again.
I saw Harry Potter at midnight and I feel so weird and happy and I love Harry Potter SO MUCH and why am I such a nerd? WHERE’S THE HARRY POTTER OPEN THREAD?
Facebook.
livejournal.
Hey, I saw Harry Potter at midnight too! Wasn’t it the best? I know the weird happy feeling you’re talking about. When it ended I was so overcome with emotion (WHY AM I SUCH A NERD TOO??) that I turned to my boyfriend and looked up at him and said in an uncharacteristically tender tone, “I love you,” and he (having not heard me) stretched and yawned and said, “It’s late as balls, huh?”
Three cheers for Neville, who was in the movie for exactly five seconds. Decidedly not enough Neville. Did you guys also notice you were surrounded by teenagers and then say, “I’m getting too old for this” but then also cheer and cry and gasp along with them the entire time? It was a roller coaster of emotions. I feel like one of those weirdos who, after seeing Avatar, had trouble rejoining the real world. All Harry Potter, all the time. –Me
YES to all of this. When it was over, I felt like Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights when he’s like “I don’t know what to do with my hands…” but instead of my hands, it’s my whole LIFE. I just feel so weird and happy and emotional after every HP event. And yeah, I waited in line for 12 hours (embarrassinggum) and then made fun of the people “dueling” during the wait.
12 hours? Where in the world were you? I waited a while in a packed, hot hallway at the most unorganized theater of all time (Union Square, NYC). The line wrapped around so we were facing opposite directions, and when it started to move and the people behind us started to go ahead of us, I actually shouted, “No, no, no. I will FUCK a teenager up.” Shockingly, this worked.
I’m worried that when the last one comes out, I’ll actually have a nervous breakdown because I’ll have nothing else to look forward to. What if this is it? What if we have to find jobs at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter because it’s the only way we can meld reality with Harry Potter without being institutionalized?
I don’t know if you’ll see this because I’m late (west coast monster heyo), but I was inside the theater and like thirtyish in line maybe? I was at a huge theater (they boasted before the showing that it was the largest screen in the state, maybe? I wasn’t listening because HARRY POTTER) so there was enough space for everyone. That same wrap around nonsense happened to me too, though and I got so nervous. Someone in front of me in line hadn’t even read the books so I spoke loudly about how lame people were who don’t read the books but show up early in dress robes to the midnight premiere (BUT REALLY? WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE, GO AWAY). Also, I’m immature.
I have that same thought so often it’s pathetic. What will my life be like when I’m not counting down to the next midnight premiere/book release (P.S. miss those).
Today is my parent anniversary; I should be so lucky as to find someone and be happy with her for 22 years and raise 2 sons; one who is great! and me, who is… I havent figured it out yet…
Just know that it is you guys that keep me… coming back… to, this great site… all you wonderfully funny people.
I hope everyone has a great weekend.
Monsters, I fucking love you guys! I love you guys to little tiny itty bitty pieces. You all are the best iFriends a girl could have! Oh, so much love right now! Warm fuzzy feelings!
I was supposed to leave for Spain yesterday but Air France overbooked and the guy behind the counter yelled at me and wouldn’t book me for today. So now I’m at O’Hare eating an Almond Joy.
Well book my ticket for Fluffy Town ASAP (In a related story, isn’t it amazing that while we sit around on this weekend traveling to our respect over monster tribe and whatnot we can waste our time amusing ourselves watching Community on our tiny pocket computers? The world truly is a beautiful glorious disgusting cold dank rotten organ filled orgasmic terribly awesome filled yet stupyfing place.)
I have money in the bank (shorty what you think).
Weren’t you interviewed by Gretchen about three years ago on Fox & Friends, Gabe? FULL DISCLOSURE, PLEASE.
This is just how Gabe treats all of his former flings.
Yeah, she asked him “what about Jesus?”. It’s kind of her thing.
To be fair, she asked him that because he and Jesus grew up together.
I wish I could hit the reset button…d on my sex life, AMIRITE LADIES? SHOP-PING!
See you in another blog post, brutha.
WE HAVE TO GO BACK GABE, WE HAVE TO GO BACK TO THE MILDLY INSENSITIVE YET ENTIRELY HUMOROUS SUICIDE JOKES ISLAND!
Would that this thread were a time thread.
Meme accomplished.
I am embarrassed to admit this, but I need an explanation about the time thread comment. I’m so ashamed.
There was a running joke in Community last night about how different characters were wishing: “would this _____________ were a time ______________ ” i.e. a time machine.
Whoa, what the heck happened here? Your comment’s time stamp says 2:40 pm and AnAmPat’s says 2:42 pm, but when I thanked AnAmPat teacherman’s comment was invisible or something? It definitely was not here earlier. Anyway, thanks teacherman! I have definitely got it now! TWICE!
WATCH last night’s Community.
OH YEAH! I got it. Thanks, AnAmPat!
Happy Things?
Bouquets of kittens!!!!
I wish I had carried this bouquet down the aisle. Stupid flowers.
Most definitely a wedding I would actually look forward to attending. (Open bar still necessary.)
Bar+kittens=Welcome to heaven, Colton Burpo!
It’s all fun until the bride throws the bouquet!
YOU’RE SQUISHING THEM!
If you have a better way to get kitten milk, I’d like to hear it.
Cannot stop laughing at this Mans.
The thing that makes me most happy in this world is Mans.
I guess being eMarried means nothing to you!
Nice. Sister-wives, unite!
(logged in to upvote this.)
Gabe, that reminds me. While I do appreciate being credited for my contributions, I feel that proper citation is important. In the Finnish Porno Switcheroo ( http://bit.ly/aDiRsf ), you incorrectly cited me as “Face Taco” instead of “Facetaco.” I think you know what needs to be done here…
No reset necessary. Just remove the cartridge and blow on it. Everything should be fine, then.
Facetaco takes out notebook and jots down, “I need to be blown.”
Wow, really? A whole post for this? I mean, while I get it, I don’t really come to Videogum for the in-fighting/in-opinionating/in-debating, I come for the funny. So, and I mean this not as apathetically as it sounds, but who cares?
Well, aren’t I a bowl full of bitchy today? I’m sorry guys! I’ll take it down a few notches, yes?
I come to downvote indiscriminately. To each his own, I suppose.
YOUUUUUU!!!! We’ve been looking for you…
Hello! Is it me you’re looking for?
starburst, anyone?
By “starburst,” do you mean “screaming into a pillow”?
Mans is totally on NBA JAM fire right now, you guys. (The most enjoyable kind of ‘on fire’ there is, by the way.)
no, the reset button is nice! basically if it gets super negative or sad or something the reset button gets pushed we go back to puppies/kittens/doublerainbows
previous reset: http://videogum.com/114551/the_reset_button/webjunk/
I’m with you. Was this post totally necessary? Probably not. But I think it’s fine to recognize that everyone has been getting a bit snarky lately (MYSELF INCLUDED!) and we could all probably benefit from a reset. And by reset, I mean a very cold, very dry Grey Goose martini with a twist.
Snorky? Did someone say snorky???
whiskey.
Gin Rickey.
Hey, DirtySpaceNews, 99 OUT OF EVERY 100 POSTS ARE VERY VERY FUNNY. And then the 100th post is THOUGHTFUL AND SINCERE.
You’ll be OK. We are all pulling for you.
I’m not arguing against the post, I’m arguing against the idea of the post. I just think a whole post devoted to it may have been overkill? I don’t know. I’m getting into more than I wanted, I’m in-fighting/in-opinionating/in-debating, so I’ll leave it there.
And yes Gabe, you are very very funny and at the same time thoughtful and sincere. No one can or should take that away from you.
Hate the sin, not the sinner.
I saw the reset button but didn’t actually find it to be a reset post. It seemed to me to actually be 90% self serving explanation. A thoughtful explanation, but not a reset. Maybe you should have posted your response on the actual thread? Instead you decided to single out Brosworth, tear apart his comment in front of everyone, and disguise it as only what Brosworth wanted when he asked for a reset. That’s jack ass behavior which is not nullified just because in the last two paragraphs you say “I get what you are saying” and “happy holidays.”
Oh by the way…happy holidays.
I am a huge fan of birds of prey- hawks, falcons, owls, eagles, etc. This gif has made my day, That One. Thank you.
Me too.
Owls are really pretty bad ass.
I still want to see that Ga’Hoole movie because I love owls too much.
I do too, but it is tough to go to children’s movies alone when you are a strange looking 35 year old man who cough a lot.
I WANT to see that movie because WHAT THE FUCK IS A ZACH SNYDER CHILDREN’S MOVIE LIKE AND how fucking TRITE, EASY, and awful WILL THE song choices BE?
These guys agree.
(These guys scare me)
I will second that emotion.
If you guys like owls, you’ll love this: http://hungoverowls.tumblr.com/
Dont worry Squirrel, the reset button has been pushed.
This is the best use of technology, ever. Eat it, Gutenberg.
Yeah those Police Academy movies really lacked in the special effects department.
I take a week off and come back to this. Did I just get incepted?
Damn it, you guys!
God, I love this movie. Just watched it again the other night.
Yay! I was wondering where you were.
Yeah, me too. Baby Friday and I were actually talking about it yesterday. Is that weird? That seems very weird. Like one of us actually asked the other, “Have you seen Frank Lloyd Wrong around lately?” That seems weird. Oh well. Don’t sweat the petty things and don’t pet the sweaty things, amirite!
Thankfully, cute GIFs are the failsafe key.
PUPPY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AWWWWWWWW I WANT TO EAT ITS FACE IT’S SO CUTE!
I’M GOING TO EAT YOUR FACE YOU PUPPY
Well, as a christian who firmly believes in some kind of afterlife (no burpo), I would just like to say that I am delighted to be a part of a community that tends to be not coarse. Ya’ll so swell!
Also I thought the Gretchen Goes to Heaven was funny, but not as funny as Sad Keanu at the Birthday Party – which I believe is one of my favorites.
Well, my mother killed herself with a bb gun, so fuck you.
Never For*reset button*What were we even talking about?
MOAR UPVOTES!!!!
Huge bummer: there were 0 comments on this thread and I was sitting here googling Holocaust jokes for History’s Greatest “First” when all of a sudden I was surrounded by coworkers wanting me to do other stuff. I ended up in an impromptu meeting — with a screen full of Holocaust jokes in front of everyone — and now I’m like comment #40. Triple ugh.
In other news, there are no funny Holocaust jokes. (That can’t be true. I will find one.)
I’m sure the starving babies in fucking Haiti know exactly what you are complaining about, “hotspur”
There is not a horse high enough in this world to visually illustrate where you’re at, Steve. Kudos?
Oh COME ON! Every time anyone on the internet (Gwyneth Paltrow, Randy Quaid, et al) complains about some trivial nothing Gabe puts up a giant photo of starving third world children with the headline “OH THESE GUYS KNOW WHAT YOU’RE TALKING ABOUT!!!” and everyone applauds and chortles and says “oh my yes yes you’re so funny” but when I do the same thing I am scorned and rebuked. I’m changing the title of my memoirs to “Scorned and Rebuked: The True Story of Behavioral Hypocrisy in the Videogum Commentator Forums.”
I’m sure the starving babies in Haiti know exactly what you are complaining about, Steve.
I’m definitely downloading that on my iPad when it’s published.
Remember Steve,
You’ve (almost) always got my upvote.
“I’m changing the title of my memoirs to “Scorned and Rebuked: The True Story of Behavioral Hypocrisy in the Videogum Commentator Forums.”
That is going to be the worst book I’ll ever read cover to cover.
I would like to know how one might convey chortling in a comment thread. Is there an emoticon?
No, Steve’s right. Enough videogum — I’m off to save the world!
Don’t forget your SHOES!
Shoes? Where I’m going, I don’t need shoes…
(insert gif of me in flying DeLorean on way to Africa full of starving children)
Let’s get some shoes! Baaaatch!
Liam’s Shoes bit is the best thing on the internet since the invention of kittens
Can I be serious for a second? Can we, for the love of sea-blue-eyed Jesus and really big person God, stop being offended so goddamned easily? Is our skin so thin that we get bothered by a goofy make-believe story about a news anchor wanting to go to heaven? In the YCMIU, she’s really happy! It’s not like we’re laughing about real emotional pain leading to real suicide.
Toughen up, monsters. Learn to live with stuff that makes you uncomfortable. It builds character. This guy knows:
HAHAHA, “news anchor”, HAHAHA!!!
THANK you. ALSO, LET’S just all read THIS INSTEAD:
http://hylian90.files.wordpress.com/2008/04/raccoon-complete-thumb1.jpg?w=600&h=1800
Sidenote fyi (and a slight downer)- That ‘slow clap guy’ from Not Another Teen Movie (a film I unabashedly love) is Kyle Cease, a comedian now getting much scorn from the stand-up comedy community for founding an expensive, intensive “stand-up boot camp” along with Louis Anderson that claims to turn any joe shmoe into a successful comedian over a 60-hour time frame.
So by your comment what you’re saying is it didn’t work?
I’ll take this as an excuse to post one of my fave C&H comics!
SO good!
Thank you, That One! This is basically my thoughts on this post.
This holiday season, I am thankful for the overall awesomeness of Videogum, especially for posters like you!
I’m a little late to this diatribe, but we must also consider that, demographically speaking, residents of New York have a much different cultural perspective than that of middle America, or the West coast where I reside.
Let me paraphrase; New Yorkers may laugh at fantasies about humans killing themselves while others may find that of poor taste.
Sensitivities aside, I honestly think Hard Gabe finds his strong suit in humor of higher brow. In this piece I found nothing funny and felt it edge toward discomfort more than once.
Now let me paraphrase all of the responses to this; “WOOOOOOOOOOOF.” Shut up, internet.
Yours cordially,
Medium Viscosity Gabe
I’m going to hit the BE MORE CREATIVE button myself, my reset button died with the shrimp in the Gulf THANKS BP! #forgettingabouthowsummerwascancelled
“Hell is a moral concept that I think is very rude.” Nailed it!
Truit!
Team Universalism!
Does this mean I can finally tell some 9/11 jokes, I’ve got a really good one.
Too soon.
Didn’t Public Enemy already do a whole song about that?
whatchyoo gonna do? / rap is not afraid of you!
Knock Knock.
Who’s there?
9/11.
9/11 who?
You swore you’d never forget.
My favorite.
I love the reset button, for the Who-Gives-A-Damn Record, and the self-awareness it implies. At the end of the day, it’s still just a blog, even if it’s a fun one, and if something goes wrong, there’s nothing saying it has to fester for millenia.
If only more walks of life employed voluntary reset buttons. Fuck it, it’s Friday! Reset buttons all around! Congress! Russia! Wall Street! Chevy! My labmates!
Push the button, Frank.
I’m stealing this.
I completely understand that people have no real control of what ends up becoming an offensive topic in their eyes, but, with no disrespect those that were offended by Gabe’s story, you might want to ask yourself why you let yourself venture too far into the seedy depths of the Internet. Isn’t that right, kitten with a frog cap on its head?:
I just snorted at my computer.
Dear Gabe,
I’m offended.
Signed,
Steve Winwood
PS. Now you have to do an entire blog post where you talk at length about how important it is not to offend anonymous commentators and you will hit the reset button again. YOU JUST GOT SERVED!!!!
“Steve, thanks for serving me. Now if you could just top off my ice tea and bring the check, I would appreciate it.” –Gabe
WWWWWWHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!???????
OOOO WINWOOD GOT STEP UP 3D’D'D’D
As someone who lost a friend recently to suicide and specifically hanging I found the story touched a nerve. However “You can make it up” is one of my favourite parts of videogum and something I shared with said friend who was also a writer. I think it’s important not to let events like this get in the way of creativity so keep it up Gabe and don’t start self censoring.
This.
For me it was that it feels (at least here on a college campus) like we’re still in a culturally sensitive moment about suicide. But YCMIU is one of my favorites too, and I think hit-or-miss art is better than second-guessing. Paula Abdul being interviewed by a sack of russet potatoes is one of the funniest things I’ve ever read, hands down.
WHO BULLIES THE BULLIES? Gabe is one of the guardians of truth and righteousness on the interwebs.
Who Washes the Wash Cloths?
Is this one of those mind-clearing tree-falls-in-a-forest-type of brain-teasers?
For what it’s worth, I find that it’s nearly always counterproductive to lambast ideological opponents: it’s often hard to notice, but accusing people of bigotry is one of the most bigoted things we are capable of.
IT IS definitely super BIGOTED TO HATE on the KKK.
Racism is evil and the war on bigotry will be fought and won in the videogum anonymous commentator forums. God speed, friendos.
Bigoted: “obstinately convinced of the superiority or correctness of one’s own opinions and prejudiced against those who hold different opinions.”
So yes, it is bigoted to hate on the KKK.
Imagine the situation. What outcomes could result from (verbally) attacking the KKK? If anything, I imagine you’d inflame their indignation and accomplish little else. Opposition would probably harden their prejudice against others and ignite self-righteous sentiments.
There is a right and effective way to voice your opinions against your opponents, and it is not with bigotry (which makes situations murkier and charges them with emotions culled from one’s own set of varyingly prejudiced beliefs.) I think if we were interested in finding truth in conflicts, instead of securing our own victory, then we could rise above a great many ills.
“Leave the KKK alone!” –merrymoon
dude – I’m not cool with what you’re saying.
I am obstinately convinced of my superiority and correctness of my opinion that the KKK is bad, and I am more than a lot prejudiced against anyone who holds any opinion that is not exactly that about that situation.
if you keep going with this shit, believe me, I will really keep going with this shit too. you’re seriously wrong!
wait. nevermind. I didn’t ask anything or add anything new to that. there really is nothing in what I said for you to respond to. nevermind.
I disagree that hating something is being bigoted against it, but let’s not bother with this. you’re fine.
reset button.
That is not at all my point, and I was concerned that people might misunderstand me. It looks like that is the case, due to my unclarity. “Hating ON” something, or launching a diatribe, is intrinsically one-sided and aggressive.
To put it succinctly, The KKK is horrifying but I think it is worth noting that the reason views like theirs propagate is bigotry itself. Of course you’re prejudiced against them, and of course I am too. But as far as I know, it is impossible to solve a problem like this by fighting fire with fire—you’re only going to burn everything down.
“Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster.” –Nietzche
Basically I am trying to say that we all ought to take prejudice and partisanship very seriously, because this is much closer to the root of the problem than a lot of people realize.
merrymoon -
as far as people misunderstanding each other I feel the same. of course I know you’re not going to come on a blog in 2010 and say ‘give the kkk the benefit of the doubt cause they’re not so bad’
nowhere did i suggest you were doing that. but i still backed out of this cause i figured your next move was to act like i was accusing you of doing something like that… i tried to prevent you from bothering with some ‘wait, you’re putting words in my mouth, i don’t like the kkk!’ explanation, and just sum up our difference in the ‘bigotry’ field…
so, ok, I didn’t prevent you from accusing me of accusing you of liking the kkk, but at least it was short… whatever…
let’s get on to the meat here: hating on things. diatribes. lambasting political oponents. having opinions. not a single one of those things has ANYTHING to do with bigotry if it is not coming from a bigot.
not even partisanship (meaning sticking up for things that you disagree with just cause the people on your side are saying them) necessarily has anything to do with bigotry.
that shit has to be done dude. it’s not like there are no stakes here. we were talking about fox news. they need to be disagreed with. then we got on to the kkk. they NEED to be disagreed with.
I’m not going to defend anyone specific or everyone that made fun of people who believe in the afterlife. they can defend themselves if they want.
If you are coming from the right place, and you say your angry, hateful words well, it is not bigotry.
to be honest, I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about. of course it is not.
Hating on things, diatribes, and lambasting opponents (I’d rather not limit it to politics) are not necessarily bigoted in the same way that lighting your neighbor’s house on fire doesn’t necessarily make you an arsonist. I doubt whether any of us can ever judge another person with fairness: it is impossible to know every factor that deserves consideration. I will not say who is a good man. However, if someone frequently roams suburbia with an arsenal of molotov cocktails, it is fair to assume until proven otherwise that he is going to commit arson.
Why does Fox news need to be disagreed with? Because they are prejudiced against your ideals. The KKK? Because they are prejudiced against your ideals, and they act on this prejudice.
We ought to hate hate, not haters. Hateful words are rarely directed toward the problem but often toward the people who propagate the problem. The tragic irony is that people who fight intolerance often become hugely intolerant of intolerant people.
Angry, hateful words are not necessarily bigotry, but they are a common symptom of bigotry.
I have failed to communicate my thoughts clearly to you for a few posts now: if my Nietzche quote (of which I was so proud) and this post are still insufficient then I think I’m done. I tried my best.
This horse is in heaven now, you guys.
Fuck, we’re gonna need another reset button after this thread. Can’t we all just get along and get back to posting adorable and funny cat gifs?
as long as we’re dealing with Fox News and people who are employed by NewsCorp., a place that has done more damage to the world by giving idiots a voice not in their heads, no apologies from me for loving the piece.
I know the reset button was pressed and now Penny won’t detect our location from her secret ice fort or whatever, but I’d like to second the calls to chill out. Believers and nonbelievers alike have been taught that it is rude to talk like adults about our differing beliefs. And it accomplishes nothing. I’m not saying that respectful discussion is going to bring one side around to the other because that will never happen. But my opinion that the popular Christian idea of heaven is a fantastical relic from centuries ago shouldn’t offend you. It is my opinion. It has no bearing on your beliefs. I sort of touched on this in a comment on the original video but it’s possible that BOTH SIDES ARE WRONG. It is the afterlife. It is unknowable. Anyone claiming to have knowledge of it is full of shit, even if they’re well-intentioned, wonderful people. I am not 100% certain there is no god. But I think it’s 1000 times more likely that there IS NOT an all powerful invisible entity in the sky that answers prayers and sets up confounding rules for beings he loves which, if they don’t follow, earns them the punishment of being on fire forever. I know that isn’t even what all believers believe, but it seems to be the most prevalent in America. But again, that is just my opinion. It might not be yours. To quote Woody Allen, “Whatever works!”
No.
To clarify: I think the reset button was really pressed for the suicide, not for making fun of heaven.
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he’s actually a jew
And you’re a 47-year-old Jesuit priest who used to own a sandwich shop in New Jersey. Also, you used to be a smoker and you have a birthmark on your left thigh that kind of looks like Florida.
Blind assumptions are fun!
????????? Gabe dellawitz or whatever his name is really is a jew, that’s what he told me
That was a reply to Jonee.
What’s the point in making a good athiest argument? Are Athiests united in some way? Are they hoping to convert the religious to their belief? Wouldn’t that just be another religion? Why is there even a need for debate? Can everyone not just believe what they believe, keep it to themselves, and not judge others on this slippery and downright imaginary scale of worth? Did people miss the point in that episode of Community where Pierce’s mom dies? Or the point of the poker scene in Louis?
Everyone’s beliefs are crazy, everyone’s sexuality is gross, and everyone needs to stop being offended all the time about WORDS. There are WORDS and then there’s INTENT. Was Gabe’s intent in this story to glorify the fictional suicide of a person who pretends to be an anchor on a “news network”? Was it to let those of us who share similar political views to have a huddle and salivate over the thought of those who stand in opposition to our beliefs no longer existing (do these people really even exist?)? No. It was to entertain by way of satirical comedy.
I am a firm believer that in comedy, anything goes. Nothing is off the table. Sure, by following that rule you may offend some at times, come up with lazy (Outsourced) lazy jokes at other times. We need this balance of good/bad I think, just like we need the balance of religious/non-religious. Everyone agreeing always about everything would make life stale. Non?
Ok. Now I’m going to go back to penning mildy humorous Facebook status updates.
tl; dr
Spot on comment
“What’s the point in making a good athiest argument? … Wouldn’t that just be another religion?”
No.
Also: Everyone’s sexuality is gross? Try telling that to my girlfriend, Dance Naked in the Rain Lady.
I am going to agree with your point that everyone agreeing is boring by respectfully not agreeing with you on some of your points. This is a subject I have been considering quite a bit recently, but I am also going to refrain from a TOO LONG ramble and say only, “Have a good weekend!”
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Did you learn nothing from what happened a few weeks ago? I know there is pretty much no chance of you reading this, but I seem to remember you doing a similar thing a couple weeks ago. You need to relax and consider staying out of arguments. Altogether. You cant seem to have a reasonable debate without devolving into a series of expletives.
dsn – I did see this and I appreciate the message.
as far as things degenerating into expletives, what you refer to started when someone took issue with me writing “fuck Americans” and told me to fuck myself. ok. making a point is what this is here for, and coming in swinging is one way to do it. I made a point and called out what I didn’t like in their point. They backed out of it with a suggestion that we might have agreed on some things had they stuck around, but also with another big “fuck you” and no hint of conciliation that they came in swinging in the first place. really not what I would have done, but ok, it’s the internet.
a month later someone brought that situation back up by daring me to call them an asshole. I refused, and even openly gave them the benefit of the doubt that we might just agree on most things from now on. Then they called me an asshole. I saw it hours later while I was hammered, and I almost instantly wrote some angry dangerous shit. Then realized I was acting like a drunk asshole, and, to do what I could to make sure the BIG things were going to be cool, I almost instantly took it back as best I could and owned up for being dangerous.
As for just now: this week, 95% of the gretchen carlson posts’ comments were pure disgust for the way fox news presents christianity as just a given. the same 95%, I’m sure, hate the way fox is indoctrinating people and getting them to vote against their own economic interests and for the more violent of the 2 political parties. maybe cause that’s so obvious, almost nobody made any points to connect those dots on here.
But a few people threw fox a bone with the old “atheists are arrogant” or “nobody really knows what happens after we die” magic bullshit. To counter that crap, I brought up the idea that you ACTUALLY CAN talk about religion as what it actually is (a decision by adults to join a violent, mean and backwards political movement) rather than the ridiculous way fox presents it (a sacred thing you have to do and CAN’T doubt or talk shit about).
Glad I made that point. the world is a fucking sick place, and we’re all trying to figure out how to deal with that. understanding and discussing what makes it so fucking sick is one way to deal.
but obviously I can’t give a shit whether anyone anonymously responds to my one point about what makes the world so fucked up. yeah, whatever – don’t fight about that one if you don’t want to.
Relax, backwaxer. It’s just a ride. You can get off it any time you like.
thanks. yep. whew.
My point is that making an argument for one style of thought over another is the same as going door to door to convince people to believe what you believe. It turns Atheism into a religion.
If you’re trying to convince people to change what they think about theoretical nonsense, then you are fighting a pointless battle.
The real “War” that is going on right now is for people to focus more on what is actually going on ON EARTH, not to draw lines in the sand over who does and doesn’t believe in some fantasy-novel allegories.
Furthermore, your “WAKE UP” attitude is childish and betrays your lack of empathy, which is why you will fail in trying to convince someone who spent their whole life believing something to believe otherwise.
As a Christian who believes in afterlife (but has the humility and intelligence not to claim to know exactly what all that is), I have to say I find a guy using his son’s traumatic experience in that way to be much more offensive than a story about Gretchen Carlson’s demise. I mean, I’m not pro-suicide. But I’m also not pro-Gretchen Carlson, you know?
Those are some scary owls.
holy moly late to the party here (hooray work with no chance to check internet)
I really did not expect this detailed a response (or an actual reset button post), but I really do appreciate the thought and effort. And I definitely see where you’re coming from on all of the points made here. I would like to state again that I was not completely up in arms about the article, but that it just made me feel kinda gross after having read it.
As for the things I said, you’re right about the “otherwise” word, which I did not think about at the time but understand how it could be interpreted that way. Bad word choice on my part. The reason I brought the whole thing up though is because as someone who has experienced and seen others be discriminated and looked down upon for their lack of religious belief but also lives with and interacts with a large percentage of people who share those similar beliefs (or lack thereof), I sometimes feel like I have to catch myself from doing and thinking the same kinds of things towards those of religious bent that I abhorred being done to myself and the people I agree with (if that run-on sentence makes any sense). So when I saw those couple of sentences yesterday, those self-conscious thoughts rose up again, and I felt the need to just kinda remind everyone to maybe relax a bit and take a step back from the whole thing.
So that’s obviously MY prerogative, which anyone is free to disagree with. I’ve come in contact with a lot of arrogant anti-theist types who make it more difficult for more reasonable and less militant non-believers to get the kind of widespread acceptance and respect any person should. That does not make it anyone else’s responsibility to make up for it, as Gabe correctly pointed out, but I just feel the need to point out things like that once in a while for my own sake.
Anyway, I think everyone can agree it’s largely a non-issue in this case and that we all generally respect each others’ opinions and beliefs because we’re ADULTS (even the baby monsters), and I just want to say I love you guys, and I will not prevent you from being great. Everyone have an awesome weekend.
<3 Brosworth
I thought it was funny.
But you left out the part where FOX News had another exclusive.
“Death Is Real”
like i have said before:
you do not have to read the internet if you do not want to do so.
i was offended by that original post because gretchen is hot & the thought of a hot lady dying makes me sad.