http://www.idkfa.com/v3 idkfa: syndicated http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=5426&msg_id=5452 I've read a couple of those articles too. Here are my convoluted thoughts. It's really really really hard to recognize your own position of privilege. I'm going to use privilege and power pretty much interchangeably. If you don't know what I'm talking about with privilege, read this classic article about white privilege: http://www.amptoons.com/blog/files/mcintosh.html We all have privilege to differing degrees because of factors not entirely within our control such as race, socio-economic status, ability, business acumen, sexuality, gender, and a bunch of different factors. I'm white and thus have some privilege. I've walked into an innercity, predominently black school on library business and been waived past security measures. The black father behind me bringing a forgotten lunch (who looked like he belonged more than me) went through the metal detectors and an extended questioning to get into the school. I don't have power/privilege because of my gender. My brother and I lived in the same dorm years apart. I was routinely harassed by guys in cars and on foot at a certain intersection near that dorm. There were times at night it wasn't safe for me to walk alone. They actually had a safety patrol so I didn't have to. My brother never had this issue. However because of my sexuality, I have the privilege of talking about my life partner and people assume the correct gender. We all have differing levels of privilege. It varies from situation to situation. The Penny Arcade guys were bullied growing up. There they lacked the power because of (I don't know but guessing) lack of social acumen and athletic ability (or whatever, just going with the two most common). In some ways, they still see themselves as victims. Many of their fans likely (again going with stereotypes and typical social patterns) were similarly bullied as children/young adults. And all the fanboys who rally around the lizinthelibrary@idkfa.com (lizinthelibrary) Mercy General Tue, 17 Sep 2013 15:01:37 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=5426&msg_id=5452 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=5426&msg_id=5428 That you laughed meant you appreciated the joke in the context in which it was intended. I can't really speak to the rest. kaiden@idkfa.com (kaiden) Mercy General Sat, 07 Sep 2013 15:39:44 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=5426&msg_id=5428 http://www.idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=5426&msg_id=5426 Why I'm Never Going Back to Penny Arcade Expo This is the second article I've read regarding this topic in the last three days. I'm not exactly sure what exactly is going on here, but I know that their response seemed pretty halfhearted to me. In particular, this bit twanged my "don't say that. don't say that EVER." nerve So let me start by saying I like the Dickwolves strip. I think it’s a strong comic and I still think the joke is funny. Would we make that strip today? Knowing what we know now and seeing how it hurt people, no. To me, this reads "I like the strip, but I regret getting in trouble for writing it." The logical decision here is to say "I'm sorry. No more rape jokes." When this all went down, that's not exactly how things got handled, as they elaborate. I absolutely regret everything we did after that comic. I regret the follow up strip, I regret making the merchandise, I regret pulling the merchandise and I regret being such an asshole on twitter to people who were upset. I don’t think any of those things were good ideas. If we had just stopped with the strip and moved on, the Dickwolf never would have become what it is today. Which is a joke at the expense of rape victims or a symbol of the dismissal of people who have suffered a sexual assault. Because of the aforementioned actions, fervor built up around the idea of dickwolves. Now, it seems that anyone who criticizes Penny Arcade or the way the situation was handled in a quasi-public forum gets accosted by the nerd-army with rape and death threats. So, I have to wonder: Is it something about Penny Arcade? Is it youthful ignorance of societal norms and expected behavior? Are videogame nerds (collectively) assholes? What does it say about me that I laughed when I read that strip the first time round and that I wish I had a fruitfucker poster for my house? conrad@idkfa.com (conrad) Mercy General Fri, 06 Sep 2013 19:02:06 -0800 http://idkfa.com/v3/v_thread.php?thread_id=5426&msg_id=5426