You shout and scream and make a big deal and shame them. Shame the absolutely shit out of them, because pretending that their behavior isn't abhorrent is tacit permission for them to keep going. I kicked out more than asshole at a little movie club I had going at college (which was mostly just for friends, male and female alike, although friends often invited other friends). Doesn't matter if "oh well he's usually a decent guy." I fucking love getting in people's face like that, and god help me if I wasn't shaking with rage every time I had to do it, too.
Today's strip is funny because, per Tycho's spiel... So despite posting it, pulling it and correcting it twice... ...they still have that final panel where it it says 'But if all that's true, than Football... is a game'.
The problem is the article is primarily about the fighting community sucking balls, which we know, and as she says they think they're fine so the article won't change anything. What would have been more useful is instead of discussing what security and the organisers might have done in her mind, is to actually go find out so she could, you know, report on it. Had they done nothing then you can actually enforce change through shaming people holding high level positions, and that's how you go about changing communities, by banning the shitty behaviour from all the places they want to be at.
That image in the first panel looks like it is meant to represent a foot-not-to-ball video computer entertainment game to me, rather than passive TV-watching.
And that sounds good - and saying it feels good - but you have to bear in mind that we have absolutely no idea which guy is just a regular (basically harmless) socially malajusted creeper, and which guy is the one who's crazy enough to follow us back to our hotel room and try to assault us in an elevator, or stairwell, or even just keep following us for the rest of the convention, shouting and screaming. Your advice is well intentioned, but it's a little like telling a camper that all you have to do to get rid of a bear is punch it in the jaw. Yeah, maybe that will make the bear go away - or maybe it will fucking maul you. It's a hell of a risk to take when you're dealing with something that's usually bigger and stronger, and could potentially be seriously violent on a hair trigger. I'm not trying to say that all - or even most - guys are like that - I'm trying to say that there's no way to know, and that makes 'shouting and screaming and shaming' them a hell of a lot riskier a proposition than it may seem to you.
You're absolutely right. I approach it like I do with the people I work with: Boundaries need to be set, and made absolutely clear otherwise someone runs the risk of being hauled in front of the police because no one ever sat them down and told them "The unwritten rule I am now writing down for you is STOP TOUCHING WHEN YOU HEAR STOP." I also approach it from my own personal perspective, which is as a strapping young lad, and I have relatively little to fear from doughy, round Tekken players. I definitely in no way meant this as a guide for, let's say, a 100-pound woman, because that sort of confrontation can get ugly very quickly in a way that it simply won't with me. But again, you're right, and I was foolish not to point out that was my own personal, individual experience.
I agree with you totally, those boundaries need to be set - but they need to be set by the convention, with signs making it clear that sexual harassment and assault, and non-consensual groping, grabbing, glomping, et al, will not be tolerated under any circumstances. The alternative is that you put it on each woman to set and enforce those boundaries, and while that ostensibly sounds reasonable, in practice, it can put us at serious risk. Particularly when the atmosphere at a lot of conventions assumes that assault doesn't happen, and that everyone is nice, and that you're the troublemaker for insisting that something bad happened, or for refusing to take part in the 'loving atmosphere'. And once you're fingered as a 'troublemaker', things can get real ugly, real fast. I've seen people viciously insulted and harassed simply for relaying their experiences being assaulted and groped at conventions. People are deeply unwilling to believe that this kind of thing can happen in their community, and unfortunately, they're much more willing to believe that you're just a liar, or mean, or trying to 'hurt the scene'. That's why the enforcement needs to be shifted off the shoulders of the victim, and put on the convention itself, and their security. The alternative just does not work.
True. I'm not arguing with you, dude, it was my club to run and I was the relevant ruling body. But you're right about building the infrastructure that changes it from an individual to a corporate issue.
I just can't understand how screwed up in the head you have to be to actually think that if a woman is dressed provocatively, or in a skimpy cosplay outfit, that somehow gives you license to just walk up and grope, grab, or molest her. How in the hell can somebody think that's okay? How badly do you have to have been socialized to genuinely believe that an attractive woman at a convention is community property? That's what really fucking blows me away - this pervasive sense that guys are entitled to access to our bodies. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, don't get me wrong - I can't picture anyone from Broken Forum acting that way - but I just get so baffled and frustrated trying to comprehend the mindset that thinks it should be okay to walk right up to a woman at a convention and grab her breast, or pick her up and carry her around. What the hell could those guys be thinking?
Terrible for a number of reasons. I can't blame THEM for me not knowing what the hell it's about. I did some quick googling and it turns out it's about some profession LoL players who got banned for frequent harassment. I had originally read LOL-crimes as being crimes about getting lols, but I guess I was wrong there. The punchline, however, is terrible. The whole Silence of the Lambs schtick doesn't work at all, but this particular punchline is just bad. Also Abusagr doesn't need to be in quotes. It's the guy's name.
You couldn't get the broad strokes of what it's about from the context? You haven't shown yourself to be a real smart guy here. I'll give you a sympathy like but unlike you I won't be a dick and then delete this post.
Aw. A grudge. Deleting the post was my deciding not to be a dick, dick. I thought better of starting a spat. I guess you did not? And considering that I admitted to misunderstanding what they meant by LOL-crimes, and adding that to the fact that EU West means absolutely nothing to me, then no, I didn't know what it was about. That said, it doesn't matter what it's about. The punchline has nothing to do with the setup for the joke excepting that the setup was used as an excuse to riff on a recognizable scene from Silence of the Lambs. And dearie? I'm all kindsa real smart.
I don't want a spat either, but you cut me deep. I'll re-purpose my vast intellect for good if you do too. I'll also stop making dumb posts in the #1reasonwhy thread. Promise. Anyway, I don't think the joke is improved by knowing that LOL in this context refers to League of Legends (and I figured EU West was a server, so that didn't matter). I actually read it as a riff on gamers (well, let's be honest - male gamers) being dicks in general. As is often the case with PA, there's the guts of a good idea here, but the actual expression of that idea doesn't quite work.
I plain ol' just don't understand the punchline. This is a "You're in the *cough ... hack ... ahem* ... you're in the pit of despair. Don't even think about trying to escape" joke, right? Where you think the guy is horrible, but actually he's polite and normal? Is that a comment on whatever this LoL news is, or is it just random?
Nah it's... just an awful comic. I know about the professional LoL player ban and I don't find the comic funny.
Y'know, sometimes Tycho is just fucking spot on. Having had some non-trivial amount of interaction with school boards myself, I think today's blog post contains one such moment (my bold): Could apply just as easily to HOAs, of course.
Thumbs up on the gender mix however, and I'm not sure if it's representative of the readers or not, the artist selection just seem a bit white... The bit with Mike & Jerry at the end seem for a lack of a better word, terribly unfunny, but that is subjective. As a whole since I'm not a fan of reality shows, I doubt I'll watch any more of 'Strip Search'.
I lasted just about three minutes. I detest reality shows, especially those where the focus is on personalities and not the challenges/talents, but I gave this a chance thinking that PA could totally undermine the conventions and do something crazy with the formula. Nope. Bog standard and low budget.
In which Gabe, a 30+year old man, tries marijuana for the first time. No really, he's only just trying it now because its no longer illegal. I guess good for him to overcome his fears like that, but I still can't help but giggle at the whole thing.
Shoot, judging from his early posts about how his anxiety was so bad he couldn't leave the house, I'm still mystified he managed to get married before going on anti-anxiety meds.
Does he never speed? Ever park illegally? I believe he partook in the dreaded file sharing when the cool kids were doing it. I believe he might have even used... Napster! (Before it was totally emasculated.) I think there's a bit too much hand wringing going on there.
Considering America spent most of the 80s terrorizing schoolchildren with ill-advised tales of the horrors of drug abuse, it shouldn't be shocking that a few of them came away from it pretty damned hung up.
I'm going to agree with Gnu on this one. For kids who came up in the 80s and 90s, the anti-drug program seemed like it was EVERYWHERE. You couldn't even go to an arcade to relax without seeing this shit: Also keep in mind this was before the Internet was a major thing, so the messages you're getting as a kid are coming through approved sources and the kid-based rumor mill, neither of which promoted a healthy understanding of drug use. Not to mention that file sharing, speeding, and parking illegally aren't generally things people associate with jail time. Driving drunk (or "buzzed") would probably be a more apt point to make, though Gabe obviously isn't someone who does that.
Consider also that he shares a story about his brother dying of a drug overdose. That'll leave a mark.
Yeah, file sharing back in the day wasn't really that "bad", and was pretty much something everyone did. Parking illegally won't wreck your life, but getting busted for possession used to (yay decriminalization efforts!) I didn't consider it bad(like, felony call the authorities kind of bad) when growing up, but I thought pot was fucking stupid and dangerous for a long time. I can only imagine how much more reinforced that would have been if a friend or sibling died to a drug overdose and solidified all of that anti drug propaganda for me. Instead what most of us saw were perfectly normal and cool people who also smoked pot, which defused the idea that it was the devil's drug and lead to terrible things.
For the sake of comparison, think about the entirety of the DARE program and all the various laws and punishments you'd find out about regarding pot. Then compare that to this:
My quibble is with the "it's ILLEGAL so it will kill you!" I graduated high school in 1982, so I'm a little older than Gabe (or many of you), but I learned early on that many things that are illegal aren't necessarily bad, and many things that are perfectly legal have a higher chance of killing you. For instance, cigarettes. Perfectly legal, but will probably kill you. The Penny Arcade guys have made a career of tweaking authority, and calling bullshit on pronouncements from on high. It surprises me that the legality of pot is his turning point. Given the "it'll kill you" indoctrination you guys say he's undergone, you'd think he'd be shouting from on high that even though pot is now legal, it'll still kill you.
The criminal penalties are unbelievably harsh for even marijuana. Until the recent change, any form of growing or sale, regardless of level, in Washington state is basically a unemployment death penalty - 5 years, $10,000 felony. The full forfeiture stack applies. Same deal for 40g+ possession. More practically normal possession volumes are annoying misdemeanors, but you can't blame anyone for staying the hell out of it. God only knows why he believed all the horseshit they sold him on the health effects, however.
So, Penny Arcade started a Kickstarter to bring back their audio podcasts. Amusingly, they set the funding goal at $10. I find this hilarious.
It is funny. Though there's someone in comments DEMANDING they explain how they'll spend the :10bux:. Because the Internet. Because... the Internet. I used to love the podcasts, so I'm glad they're coming back. They're great walk-to-work listening fodder. And for those who passed on the reality show, it's actually weirdly enthralling despite (or maybe because) the contestants don't do the usual reality show backstabbing folderol. Check out the most recent elimination for sassy banter and a genuinely funny 90 minute comic. [video]
After Erika was booted off, Robert Khoo took her to dinner and basically gave her a whole bunch of tips for 'making it' in the intarwebs comics scene, so that was pretty cool.
Hahaha. NeoGAF is losing its tiny nerdy mind over that Kickstarter. Though 42 pages in someone makes this reasonable point:
Kickstarter is weird, if you don't want something to succeed or don't believe in it, just vote with your wallet, and shut up about the project. The more word of mouth something gets, the more likely someone is going to hear about it and donate to it. I don't really think they needed to do a KS, I often wonder how much these two guys make every month, it has to be pretty amazing. But that said, I don't have to donate to the KS...and if someone else wants to, they can go right ahead.
I'm sure they do pretty well, thanks to the business genius of Mr Khoo. For some reason this fills people with rage. STARVE IN AN ATTIC LITTLE CREATIVE PEOPL! STARVE IN AN ATTIC! YUO WILL HAVE 2 FIND UR OWN ATTIC I WILL NO PROVIDE 1!~!! Unrelatedly, I liked their most recent strip, mainly for the phrase 'squirrel them away in your vagina':
Shockingly, and perhaps not shockingly, they have already broken $100,000 in their DLC Kickstarter. That's ten thousand times more than their goal. And it's not halfway over. What is their secret sauce that makes people want to throw money at them like that?
Did you really read all 60 pages of it? Please tell me yes. The sense of entitlement on the first page is amazing. They want money to produce a podcast? They were going to talk to each other anyway! This is the most disgusting thing ever! Speaking of which, where's my new Broken Forum Podcast, Astromarine ?!?! It was implied that you promised us more podcasts!
