See how nice tumblr is?
Can someone please steal Twitter's url and redirect it there?
All the chaos of Tumblr, without actually going to Tumblr.
Rule 1: Be Civil, Not Cursed
This isn’t your personal call-out post.
Rule 2: No Forbidden Posts
Some things belong in the drafts forever. That means:
If you see a post that breaks the rules, report it so the mods can handle it. Otherwise just reblog and relax.
See how nice tumblr is?
Can someone please steal Twitter's url and redirect it there?
The last bit really speaks to me. "So they want a cookie for basic behavior??" YES THEY'RE CHILDREN. COOKIES ARE THE DRIVING MARKET FORCE IN PRETEENS. GIVE THE KID THE DAMN COOKIE.
Cookies are my driving force, and I am in my 60s.
Username definitely checks out and is so very wholesome. I picture you baking your own cookies and sitting down after a long day with one saying "I deserve this" and you absolutely do!
Part of the issue is that online, it's often hard to tell the difference between someone who is genuinely asking questions and someone who is asking questions in bad faith. The (relative) anonymity between people is definitely a hindrance here, you can often not easily tell if the person you're talking to is 15 or 30.
It does not matter at all who the person asking the question is, how old they are, or whether they're asking in good faith or not. You answer the question for the sake of the audience who will read it. Answering the question is an opportunity to demonstrate understanding, inclusiveness, and compassion. Even if you suspect that the person asking is doing so in bad faith, there is no downside to responding as if they were doing so in good faith, whereas attacking them for asking the question is all downside.
If you're feeling frustrated and suspicious and you don't have the patience for it in the moment, then do not engage. You'll only do harm, to yourself, to them, and to anyone else who reads the discussion.
Then answer as though they are asking in good faith, remain calm (which can be difficult, I acknowledge), and avoid dismissing their feelings or position. Remember that you're talking not just to them, but to everybody who reads the exchange in future, and some of those people will need those calm words to turn away from the rabbit hole.
Remember that you're talking not just to them, but to everybody who reads the exchange in future, and some of those people will need those calm words to turn away from the rabbit hole.
This is the most important part. If they're arguing in bad faith, or they're just stubborn and stupid, you're not going to change their mind even with the kindest and most comprehensive response. But there are lots of people watching, and a lot of those people are trying to decide how they feel about the subject in question.
The best thing you can do is stand out as the voice of reason in an exchange. Your conversational partner might not be convinced, but onlookers will be.
And take breaks. You don't have to be everyone's savior. Do the help you can, when you can and just try to make the internet a little safer and happier than you left it.
Tbh, if someone is asking questions, that's (kind of) already a good sign - even if in bad faith, at least it gives space for expressing an opposing viewpoint instead of just closing off all the discussion with insults and attacks.
Doesnt matter if its in bad faith or not, just answer the question with an honest answer. Even if its a bad faith question, the answer isnt. And plenty of other people will read it.
Whenever I mention that the way things get phrased in left spaces matters, I get yelled at that it doesn't matter. This is why it matters.
I'm an adult, so.im not going to let some Internet Dipshit who can't practice what they preach chase me right, but there's plenty of vulnerable kids out there, who do have real problems, that are sick of being told those problems don't matter because of how they look - which is similar to the people WHO ARE ALSO OPPRESSING THEM.
Stop attacking fellow victims of the system. You are not creating allies
Yes. The left is horrible at messaging, both in terms of word-choice AND in terms of attitude. I fundamentally agree with left-leaning ideals far more than right-leaning ideals, but holy shit there are people who are just dog-shit at the messaging, and somehow that messaging sticks the hardest.
Struthless has a really good video about this. I've seen it happen to the young men in my life first-hand. To my siblings, my friends, and - yes - even to myself at one point. And that hole is a hell of a lot harder to climb out of than it is to fall into, and I'm very lucky to have had some good, caring people in my life who helped me to do it. An uncomfortable truth that we on the left must face, is that this is an issue that will only get worse the longer we pretend it doesn't exist.
Big reason why I try to report and shutdown blatantly misandrist shit I see in leftist spaces. It's not clever, it's not funny, maybe it feels good for the person saying it but there is no difference in my eyes between a misandrist and a misogynist. Putting people down based upon intrinsic characteristics they cannot change is the exact kind of behavior done by conservatives.
Heartbreaking: A Twitch Streamer Just Made a Great Point
Years ago I argued that misandrist feminist rhetoric (e.g. all men are rapists) was going to wind up creating a misogynistic counter-culture.
These days, I watch it unfold and just feel very very sad as it will ruin lives.
God damn this hits hard. I was seriously in danger of falling down that hole as a kid, because kids are stupid and the right talks confidently and ad naseum. Also my father wasn't exactly a stalwart of progressive ideals. I'm so very thankful for being a Mama's boy, she is probably the reason I'm not the typical chud I look like.
With that being said, this is also a societal problem when so many parents offload their parenting to the web. And I say societal because it is not often times not the parent's fault as having to work extended hours or multiple jobs just to provide the necessities.
It's really a feature, not a flaw, of the right's long term plan. Stupid people vote for stupid things.
A big part of this is that parts of the Democrat base loves to actively sabotage any Democrat outreach efforts, because they are more interested in smug fart sniffing than strategic pragmatism.