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PaperclipPerfector  5mo ago (text post)   4755 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for December 24, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Stop being so hateful and condescending. Proper "improper" capitalization can actually improve clarity. There's a reason why people do it.

What is the purpose of this excessive reaction? Stop being so belligerent.

My response is fine. People should be kinder.

If you get a red modhat comment telling you not to post something, your comment is not fine.

You asked me a question. I responded with my reasoning. And my opinion is not going to change, red modhat comment or not.

That person called their coworker a midwit. Not in passing, but as a directed insult. This is rude and I don't like it.

No ruder than calling someone a "cuck", surely. Get off your high horse.

I do not personally know Tom Scott

So it's fine for you to insult a public figure by (literally or figuratively) calling him so unattractive and unmanly that his wife is fucking other men behind his back.

But if I say that a former colleague of mine is of average intelligence (without mentioning her name, nationality, the company she worked for or any identifying characteristics whatsoever), then I'm being "rude" and "hateful".

Moreover, your absurd double standard implies that it would be okay for you to call my former colleague a midwit (based on my description of her), but not for me to do so - because I know her personally?

With all due respect: get lost.

It's rude to insult anyone. And I am rude sometimes.

It's not nice of me to call Tom Scott a cuck, but I don't think of him as a real person. The only reason why I am able to insult him in the first place is because Tom Scott, the person, does not exist. I wouldn't speak like that about anyone I know, because they would be real, and even just thinking badly of them would make me feel terrible.

Insults deindividualize a person. In the case of Tom Scott, he's already deindividualized as an online entity to me. However, you can't call your coworker a midwit without knowingly engaging in deindividualization. I, on the other hand, could call her that.

Edit: I will not respond to your comment if you wish not to continue the conversation. I will, however, make a note here that I have thought and written about this topic at lenght. The labor of deindividualization significantly differs based on familiarity, on whether you know someone or not. This is what makes insults bad. And rudeness is only a partial reflection of this labor.

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