TheGuyThatEveryoneHates
Active member
- Joined
- Aug 22, 2020
- Messages
- 116
- Points
- 28
One of the first things I saw on this section of the site is a rant on Cuties, as well as a rant on bad writing in a dating sim, my first real interaction with the wider community seemed to be a bunch of people jumping into defend a user like a bunch of white knights, or "nice guys." I was having a really bad day at the time, so I reacted badly. I'm sorry for my initial reaction, but I'm not sorry for my reactions afterwards because I feel like the community just kept fight, and pushing, and driving me to react to them instead of just backing off.
The general impression I got from the community users on this site are that they are arrogant, but not in the traditional way.
The best way to describe this mindset is with the following paraphrased quote: "White knights are hated because they don't see other people as people. They see ladies as princesses who don't need emotional support, they need to be insulated like treasures while they protect them. Then, because they were so selfless and brave, they are entitled to a reward, even if that reward is that they get to feel really good about themselves. Worse, they see everyone who isn't a princess as an inferior person who needs to be educated, or an enemy that needs to be defeated."
I think that, with the outrage to Cuties, you can see a pretty clear example of this mindset. They are clearly seeing themselves as morally superior to the rest of the population by assuming that people won't just, you know, ignore it and keep scrolling because the premise sounds a bit sleazy, or watch it once out of morbid curiosity then discover that it isn't as bad as they think it is, then never think about it again.
To put it another way, it says a lot that 4Chan banned images from Cuties, but not literal footage of dead bodies, or written child porn on a few of their communities. Almost as though they just wanted to use the controversy as a way to virtue-signal.
It also must be weird to the girls acting in the movie who are now kinda viewed as the faces of child exploitation and sexualization. Sort of like how McDonald's is viewed as the face of obesity, as though the restaurant chain is somehow forcing people to eat enough of their hamburgers each day to balloon to 300 pounds. As though the problem isn't the people enabling them to eat unhealthy amounts of food, or their own psychological issues. No, they're too stupid to be blamed, the evil burger corporation must be at fault! Just as those poor actresses must have been literally forced to dress in revealing outfits and twerk, because surely they wouldn't want to do that of their own free will, right?
I think that nobody looks good in battles like these because it isn't a fight that anyone can win, because there isn't a reasonable goal or outcome that can be reached, and if there is no one is making it clear what it is. Netflix can't go back in time and not make the movie, the most that they can do is not release it, which will just create a demand for it, which will just result in it being leaked online like with most other controversial things.
I think that, as writers of stories, blogs, and comments, it's so easy to develop this arrogance. It's easy to develop a God complex when you are literally God when you write your epic fantasy story, or even just a simple romance story. It's easy to view yourself as a very smart person who knows what's best for everyone when you've written a 500-word blog post that a couple people agree with. It's easy to think that you aren't a narcissist if you think: "Well, I actually hate myself and have low self-esteem. But, at least I acknowledge my faults, and use critical thinking, which makes me better than all of the other sheeple."
However, I think that we need to be better. We need to acknowledge that these mindsets are toxic and we need to call them out when we see them, rather than reward people who have them. We need to be more selective about which battles we fight, as well as how we fight them.
Rant over. I'm aware of the hypocrisy.
The general impression I got from the community users on this site are that they are arrogant, but not in the traditional way.
The best way to describe this mindset is with the following paraphrased quote: "White knights are hated because they don't see other people as people. They see ladies as princesses who don't need emotional support, they need to be insulated like treasures while they protect them. Then, because they were so selfless and brave, they are entitled to a reward, even if that reward is that they get to feel really good about themselves. Worse, they see everyone who isn't a princess as an inferior person who needs to be educated, or an enemy that needs to be defeated."
I think that, with the outrage to Cuties, you can see a pretty clear example of this mindset. They are clearly seeing themselves as morally superior to the rest of the population by assuming that people won't just, you know, ignore it and keep scrolling because the premise sounds a bit sleazy, or watch it once out of morbid curiosity then discover that it isn't as bad as they think it is, then never think about it again.
To put it another way, it says a lot that 4Chan banned images from Cuties, but not literal footage of dead bodies, or written child porn on a few of their communities. Almost as though they just wanted to use the controversy as a way to virtue-signal.
It also must be weird to the girls acting in the movie who are now kinda viewed as the faces of child exploitation and sexualization. Sort of like how McDonald's is viewed as the face of obesity, as though the restaurant chain is somehow forcing people to eat enough of their hamburgers each day to balloon to 300 pounds. As though the problem isn't the people enabling them to eat unhealthy amounts of food, or their own psychological issues. No, they're too stupid to be blamed, the evil burger corporation must be at fault! Just as those poor actresses must have been literally forced to dress in revealing outfits and twerk, because surely they wouldn't want to do that of their own free will, right?
I think that nobody looks good in battles like these because it isn't a fight that anyone can win, because there isn't a reasonable goal or outcome that can be reached, and if there is no one is making it clear what it is. Netflix can't go back in time and not make the movie, the most that they can do is not release it, which will just create a demand for it, which will just result in it being leaked online like with most other controversial things.
I think that, as writers of stories, blogs, and comments, it's so easy to develop this arrogance. It's easy to develop a God complex when you are literally God when you write your epic fantasy story, or even just a simple romance story. It's easy to view yourself as a very smart person who knows what's best for everyone when you've written a 500-word blog post that a couple people agree with. It's easy to think that you aren't a narcissist if you think: "Well, I actually hate myself and have low self-esteem. But, at least I acknowledge my faults, and use critical thinking, which makes me better than all of the other sheeple."
However, I think that we need to be better. We need to acknowledge that these mindsets are toxic and we need to call them out when we see them, rather than reward people who have them. We need to be more selective about which battles we fight, as well as how we fight them.
Rant over. I'm aware of the hypocrisy.
