[dlgn]

Continued from a different thread.

I think your first mistake was taking everything on here serious.

I hear this again and again and it doesn't make any sense to me at all. Why does it matter if people are being serious? Saying "stop taking it so seriously, it's just a joke" is basically equivalent to saying "I find it funny, so how anyone else feels about it doesn't matter."

The problem is, that even in jest you can say anything and it will be offensive to someone.

I believe there say rule that says that you cannot say anything that is offensive to people but like I said above everything is offensive to someone.

People' opinions at any time are offensive to some other individuals, that is why political matters, religion, and even some human rights issues are extremely taboo subjects.

Although I don't completely agree with dlgn I can see where he is coming from. That being said I feel dlgn is overreacting and he needs to refrain from commenting in order to stop this becoming a huge flame war. I would not have seen this as a touchy subject but apparently it is even as a joke.

"Everything's offensive to someone." This is also a horribly overused excuse and it's simply false. There are billions of phrases that are not offensive, and it baffles me how anyone can simply ignore that for the sake of a fallacious argument.

Here's an excellent reddit comment that explains my point of view quite well.

Before I read this thread, I didn't know what SRS was, and just a few weeks ago, I didn't know what a circlejerk was (and it's still something I wish I'd never googled). I don't know if it's useful or not, it seems like a catalog of some seriously messed up things to say to other people.
I don't post many comments on Reddit. I like to think I'm an accepting person, so I don't want to argue about someone's opinion or make fun of people in a mean way. I've noticed Reddit in general doesn't work that way, though. It seems overall, users really don't like women, gay people, fat people, or non-white people, with special hatred saved for black people.
I'm an Asian woman. I've been dealing with stupid racist jokes ever since I moved to the US. I'm constantly told "it's just a joke" is a legitimate excuse to be a racist. If I don't like hearing the racist joke, it's somehow my fault for existing rather than the joke-teller's fault for saying it, and the general Reddit community supports that approach. It really takes the wind out of my sails, so to speak, when I'm cruising along enjoying funny cat pictures or really weird and bizarre things that get posted in WTF and suddenly some type of fear-mongering, or racist "joke" appears. I don't make gay jokes because I know what it's like to be on the receiving end of that hateful dialog, but I doubt most members have ever had a reason to pause a moment and think about it.
The strangest thing I see consistently, is the chain of events that follow those types of "jokes." Someone will point out what a terrible idea the joke is, and 50 people will scream at them for doing what's honestly the right thing to do. It's pretty shameful, and often makes me question whether I honestly want to be associated with this website. If anything, I think this site proves that, given no rules, people won't come together to build something great, they'll just take advantage of the system to be the biggest jerk possible.
Anyway, that's my two cents thrown in.

MineRealm didn't used to be like this. People always have disagreed, but they were generally respectful about it and didn't constantly go "STOP OVERREACTING". I don't know what caused this, but I don't like it.

"lol, stupid overreacting activists"

I guarantee 99% of us reading this thread didn't think this. And most or all of the participants probably never intended it to be a mockery either. This is why people are saying you're over-interpretting.

The point of the joke is to parody activists. I don't see how it's possible to not see that. I mean, what do you think the joke is?

(The next section is in large to make it stand out and be easier to read.)

You know what really bothers me? When people tell me I'm "overreacting" or "taking it too seriously" without ever explaining why. What makes you think I'm "overreacting" and not just reacting strongly to something that deserves such a reaction?

[Meowrocket]

Whups. Thinking of wrong thread.

Anyway, just stop tearing each other up, guys.
Peace.

[dlgn]

Let me explain why it makes me so angry, shall I?

Liez!

De iron trench iz a horribl plase were hundreds of gollems die ebery day, 2 giv ppl iron. GOLLUMS HAV FELLEINS 2! U ppl plt da tre in trench! I am in da plot nxt 2 de iron trench nd i am founder of a iron trench survivr camp with hammification, nd de glolems sae dat dere is very bad treatment dere. Dey say dat ther cuzin was turnd into an iphone and dere mother is a train weel. Gollemz r peaseful creetures hoo dnt desrve 2 b treeted like dst, nd dey shuld all b releesed. Dry also need da rights of free furnace 4 every gollem der.

#FREE_DA_GOLUMZ
#GOLLEM2012
#givfurnace2golem
#THEYGIVUFLOWERS-UGIVDEMDETH

Heer we hav a witness of iron trench tragedees, with face blur 4 privasy in its natural habitat:

image.jpg

He sed dat he waz goin 2 be shuved in2 lava nd burnt 4 iron nd escaped nd came 2 survivor camp. He is sad life
WE R FIGHT 4 FREEDUM OF GLEM
HE IS SAD LYF

free d gollum b4 dey free u

So we're obviously mocking someone here. The terrible spelling makes that clear. Who are we mocking? Let's translate it and see.

Lies!

The iron trench is a horrible place where hundreds of golems die every day, to give people iron. GOLEMS HAVE FEELINGS TOO! You people put the tre in trench!

I think that's enough. So, to start out, it's clear that this is, to some extent, a joke about inhumane work camps. Since it's a parody, it's clearly mocking people who make statements that are similar to this one—namely, activists who work against horribly inhumane treatment.

Why would you mock people who act against such terrible things? Clearly, you think they care too much and take it too seriously. But how do they "care too much" or "take it too seriously"? What negative effects does being fiercely passionate about human rights have? Explain that to me.

[krinbros]

Dlgn, eat a


And by my comment, the mistake was taking anything on that thread seriously in any way, shape, or form. It's the internet, it breeds improbability.

[eah]

I think the joke is in the unexpected similarity (which has been wittingly presented by the posters in that thread and on the twitter feed) between the mass murdering of iron golems for sheer profit in-game to the atrocities caused by private companies IRL. It's just a little role play. As an example, one of the signs at the iron farm mentioned Apple Inc., being associated with poor working conditions and underpaying workers in China.

If this doesn't convince you, then you'll just need to take my word on this, it was not intended to attack you or activists.

[TechnoProdigy]

Jesus christ, Dlgn. Please for the love of all that is good and wonderful on this Earth; stop over analyzing people's jokes.

[dlgn]

I think the joke is in the unexpected similarity (which has been wittingly presented by the posters in that thread and on the twitter feed) between the mass murdering of iron golems for sheer profit in-game to the atrocities caused by private companies IRL. It's just a little role play. As an example, one of the signs at the iron farm mentioned Apple Inc., being associated with poor working conditions and underpaying workers in China.

If this doesn't convince you, then you'll just need to take my word on this, it was not intended to attack you or activists.

I understand that, but it did so, intentionally or otherwise. Because work camps are something are really really horrible.

Now I'm not going to say you should never make jokes about sensitive subjects. At first, I found it amusing, as it was clearly a parody of horrible comapnies. However, you guys went on to, rather than mocking the moral awfulness of big companies, mock the activists who dedicate their lives to bringing those companies down.

[dlgn]

STOP

ARGUING

IN

THIS

THREAD

I think we'd appreciate it if you set us an example. There wouldn't be arguing except you decided to tie something completely innocent to real life.

How about when Shamp's Restaurant was 'Investigated' by a Minerealmer, and was found to have 'unsafe furnaces' and a 'chicken infestation'- No one saw this as an attack on sanitation and safety officials. How come having something similar to that makes you so outraged? The people here were most definitely, judging by who they are and how they've acted in the past, not intending to hate Social Justice workers.
If I go out on Minerealm and mockingly 'arrest' someone for murdering pigs, am I mocking the police forces?

Thanks, now everyone just shut up about this big argument. It's annoying to the people that come here to have a good time with friends, muck around a little.

-Meow

The police forces can take some mockery. So can sanitation officials. Activists, on the other hand, are almost never taken seriously. Mocking them makes that worse.

And I'd be happy to stop arguing, but I'm not going to shut up about people doing problematic stuff.

[Grelman]

However, you guys went on to, rather than mocking the moral awfulness of big companies, mock the activists who dedicate their lives to bringing those companies down.

Isn't that what G_tus was doing in the very first post. Choosing to more ignore the problem by saying that everything is okay just like all bad companies do?

[dlgn]

However, you guys went on to, rather than mocking the moral awfulness of big companies, mock the activists who dedicate their lives to bringing those companies down.

Isn't that what G_tus was doing in the very first post. Choosing to more ignore the problem by saying that everything is okay just like all bad companies do?

Yes, and I found the first post amusing, because it mocks those companies.

What I took issue with was Piewarrior's mockery of activists. It implies they're stupid (bad spelling) and overreacting to make them into a joke. It makes people less likely to take serious problems seriously because of (WARNING. PSYCHOLOGY AHEAD) classical conditioning: they laugh because they enjoy parodies (don't we all?), and associate a lack of seriousness with the group that is being parodied—in this case, activists who dedicate their time to ending injustice.

G_tus's post, I believe, sent the message "big companies who do bad stuff are awful" through parody. Piewarrior's sent "human rights activists are stupid and overreactionary", which impedes progress in that area.