He lost me by making me play a verbal game of whack-a-mole in a thread about battleships. Just kept repeating the same arguments over and over, but alternating, so that I’d whack one down, then another would appear, and I’d whack it down too. But after the third or fourth iteration, he just kept on repeating the same already-refuted arguments. Or such was my sense of things.
But of course in his mind, these are whacks rather than moles.
I agree it isn’t sealioning, as he’s not being superficially polite and nor advocating being polite. But that doesn’t mean his arguments are sound, either.
It’s basically the “bullies will be bullies” argument. That rather than try to fix problems, we should all accept them and “grow a thicker skin.” It minimized something that a particular minority says is a problem, because it’s not particularly insulting to him. That part shows a lack of empathy and/or a devaluing of people who are not like him.
What’s interesting is that he doesn’t try this on the n-word or similar, which is why I pointed out that the same principle that bans one bans them all.
As for censorship: I don’t get the fascination with that term. All moderated spaces will involve some level of censorship. You have to modify your speech to follow the rules. So bringing up censorship like some sort of boogeyman doesn’t make sense.
The question isn’t whether or not we should censor some speech. That question has been answered by being on a moderated board. The question is about which speech should be censored. And, as I argued in the thread, there isn’t really a difference here between this word and other words that are effectively censored.
And if it’s the idea of censoring a word that bothers you, think of it more as censoring the underlying meaning of said word in nearly all contexts where it is used. Using “retard” or “retarded” as an insult inherently implies that there is something bad about being mentally disabled. Just like describing something bad as “gay” (as used in the 90s) implied that being homosexual was a bad thing.
What if someone used the word “Jewish” to mean stingy? That would be pretty shitty, wouldn’t it? Should Jewish people just have to grow a thicker skin and accept that sort of antisemitism? That’s the issue with Whack-A-Mole’s argument.
Well, that and that he plays “whack-a-mole” with his arguing style. Which might be the real reason it got labeled sealioning. Both have that same stubbornness aspect, of continuing to pop back up with the same arguments.
(And even when I want to write something simple, I wind up with 7 paragraphs. I know you prefer things to be brief, and I’m chronically unable to simplify that much.)
Agreed, I don’t think his argument is correct. I just don’t think it is sealioning or trolling. He actually seems to be legitimately arguing a point many including I disagree with. That is not the same as trolling.
Yeah I’m done
Well, I’ve absolutely lost interest in my own fucking thread, so yay!
ETA: And Lee Atwater can continue burning in hell for all of me.
While Whack doesn’t (probably) deserve to be discussed in a troll-tracking thread, he is begging for his own Pit thread for jerkishness from his ongoing behavior in thread.
Troll: No
Jackass: Yes
I’d be afraid of holes in my fingertips.
It had not occurred to me that that was a prototype blood glucose meter finger stick device.
Honestly, as bad as Whack-a-Mole has been in the ATMB thread, Martini has been even worse. I disagree with WaM, but Martini is full-on hateful.
Soooo… do we think that Octopus is a useless waste of flesh, or what? Just askin’.
Surely, you don’t need to outsource your thinking to the hive? It’s sad when a cliché takes human form…
Dive deep below the wave, motherfucker. The sun is disgusted by the sight of you.
Calm down! You know kink shaming is taboo nowadays.
Yeah. And I thought that a long time ago. It takes other people longer to see, I suppose. But “better late than never” eh?
Hey, buddy! How’re you doing? You can go all Rule 34 if you want to, but leave me the fuck out of your tentacles.
You call someone out and then get pissy when they respond? C’mon now… That’s weak.
Look, you’re small potatoes. There’s somebody else that I’m saving my venom for. When you start to matter, I’ll let you know.
thanksbye
