[meh. stupid people.]

[reenka]

All right, so why is it-- almost without fail-- that when people have a problem with something (in fiction or in art), they say, "eeew, I would never do that"?

I mean, on the one hand, I can understand that people can't help but apply their personal moral code to everything and everyone indiscriminately, whether or not the person is even stating that this is what they believe (which they aren't, merely by writing/drawing it, btw-- and why is that such a hard concept to understand?)

I was just messing around, talking flippantly about father/son incest on a channel, right, and of course there was some idiot saying "but incest is wrong!!" because "I would never want to screw my daddy! or think of daddy while screwing! so it's wrong!" And it's not that I need people to tell me, "yes, Reena, that person is an idiot, just don't get so pissed", but... It's one thing to merely be narrow-minded and judgmental in real life situations-- but when you disallow even discussion that may very well be perverted, even on such a small scale (because make no mistake, this person tried to censor the discussion).... Maybe I just don't want to understand these people; it makes my head hurt. Anything that doesn't fit into their world-view is threatening, weird and scary, and must be somehow destroyed. This is just... unacceptable in every sense as far as I'm concerned, but this is the majority way, isn't it?

I mean, the basic concept of not participating in discussions that trigger one's squicks and looking away, or perhaps learning not to be rude regardless... especially on the internet... clearly this is too much for a lot of people. It's also frustrating 'cause I know this person isn't looking for real discussion-- and I can't bring myself to be rude in return, so I'm stuck fuming silently. In the end, perhaps me asking 'why' is just an escape mechanism so I don't spontaneously combust.

In a way, I think by condemning this type of thinking so whole-heartedly I'm kind of being a know-it-all also, and I'm often told I sound too certain of my opinions, but... really, there's a crucial difference between being certain of yourself at the moment you speak and telling others what to think. Am I wrong?

Comments

[cat-mom.livejournal.com]

I've always thought of the internet as having different social rules than RL, and while it would be rude to bring up a subject like incest in a mixed social gathering (under normal circumstances) to do so on a channel like you described is, I think, a different situation altogether. People enter these discussions at their own risk, so to speak, and if they don't like what they read, then they are free to leave. Instead of silently fuming, I see no reason why you couldn't say something like "we are trying to have a discussion about this and if the subject makes you uncomfortable, then I suggest you leave." People are entitled to their opinions, but not to block the discourse of others.

[yourpoison.livejournal.com]

Hehe, I should probably admit 'discussion' is probably too high-minded of a term for the silly blathering that was going on. On top of this, I'm pretty aware that politeness may keep one from offending most people online in whatever circumstance, but on irc... people tend to ignore you if you're too tentative (well, depending on their maturity level, which was low in this case). So... people weren't really trying to have a 'discussion' if by that one means a serious discourse-- it was merely that we were joking around and this person was like, `This is Sick! Wrong! And Twisted! And I would never do that!' ...except in teeny terms ^^;

I think I was probably most offended 'cause I was just joking & out of nowhere, she 'kicked' me. Plus... well, this is a yaoi (ie, slash) channel for a group which translates smutty mangas. So it's quite different from say... a tea-party between church members or something, even an online tea-party :> So it's not so much that I thought she was rude, per se... as offensive for the specific environment, actually. Like, I consider that channel to be smut-positive, I guess, considering it produces/translates 95% kinky smut type stuff, and that was sort of a flame. Ahh, I didn't even realize that aspect of it bothered me. I was unprepared to be all relaxed and then, boom! Incest is wrong! (I mean, whatever, but do you really say that on a channel that's done shota & incest & S&M a dozen times over...)

[cat-mom.livejournal.com]

Ahh, gotcha. She kinda pissed on the parade. Not really much you could have done then, either, cause she was just being a twat and you probably took it a little personally (since that was supposed to be a safe place to be silly or whatever). Point taken :)