Would you judge me this way if I showed more cleavage?

[gurdymonkey]

"This person/this person's SCA kit looks [  ]really farby   [  ]really authentic (check one). Therefore, this person is evil and must be out to spoil my good time. (Even though this person hasn't done anything. Yet.)I KNOW! I shall spoil this person's good time FIRST by starting the nasty name calling before this person knows what hit him/her. Brilliant! Why didn't I think of this before? If I start now, I can take over the Knownee Worldee* by tea time . Soon everyone will LOVE MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE and Despair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Or be crying into their piss flavored cornflakes because They Deserve It!"

Godwin's Law infected one of my bastions of civilization today. Who let these barbarians in here?  I did an archive search. Nobody's used the term "Nazi" out of proper historical context on that list since 2001!  I feel dirty. I feel furious. For the trouble I took to make a polite objection - and it WAS polite - I was treated to more rudeness. Quite honestly, I feel like getting medieval on the person who started it and the person who dived gleefully and nastily onto the pile with such helpful comments as "It's an insult, it's supposed to be offensive."


My father came to the United States at the age of 5 in 1936 from Frankfurt am Main. My grandparents abandoned everything they had because of real Nazis.  So yeah, you could say I have a problem with it.

From SCA Corpora, Section 2.B. Requirements for Participation at Society Events: "All participants are expected to behave as ladies and gentlemen."www.sca.org/docs/govdocs.pdf (Appears on p. 15 of this PDF document.) Funny how people feel they are exempt from this requirement if they have a chance to attack someone who is minding their own business pursuing their hobby to the limits of their talents, time and budget.

The world (Known and otherwise) is full of judgemental assholes. Please, don't be one of them.

(*Because if you insist on spelling it with terminal e's you should at least pronounce 'em. Otherwise they'll feel unloved.)

Comments

[carbonphoenix.livejournal.com]

My SCA kit looked terrible when I started, even if the person who started the comment has been in years, what right does it give other people to comment freely on it?

Re: Jeepers...

[gurdymonkey.livejournal.com]

Sweetheart, this has been going on for years in different places.

I left Tribe.net over it.

I left Immortal Geisha over it for a solid year.

I restrain myself from hitting "Enter" on certain bardic lists.

It finally reared its' bigoted head on one of the Japanese boards. And for the record, plenty of people I respect weighed in on the side of harmony.

[reynardine.livejournal.com]

You were incredibly polite. I couldn't believe the answers that person was giving back, not only to you, but to others on the list as well. She was rudeness at its height. (I didn't say anything since both you and others had said everything that I would have wanted to say by the time I got around to reading the thread.)

Furthermore, let me say you have always been very polite to me regarding my well-meaning but often poor attempts at garb.

Jeepers...

[minstrlmummr.livejournal.com]

One very ugly side-effect of so many of us having 'Net access is the cyber-asshattery some people use in other fora, bleeding onto SCA correspondence. (Alleged) people type venom into their computers which, if directed at them in person, would merit physical violence, because it's so easy and there are so few real-life repercussions. The one time I saw a flamewar effectively shut down was on Middlebridge -- a knight issued a formal SCA challenge to the offending poster.

But in order for that to work, one needs knights a)who are active on such lists and b)care about people who are neither fellow-fighters or (prospective) consorts 8(

^%$#ing cowards.

Re: Jeepers...

[kass-rants.livejournal.com]

Who needs knights? Last time I checked, there were these people called "moderators" who have this convenient device labelled "delete member".

Lisa, you're too good to these jerks. They deserve nothing more than your barely-veiled scorn.

Re: Jeepers...

[gurdymonkey.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I took a vow to be on an assholery-free diet this year. I said what needed to be said courteously - and only once - and moved on.

Now, as it happens, I was recently invited to become a moderator on the list in question. This morning, I put Mr. "It's an insult, it's supposed to be offensive" on moderated status - for however long it takes for him to learn manners.

Re: Jeepers...

[minstrlmummr.livejournal.com]

This morning, I put Mr. "It's an insult, it's supposed to be offensive" on moderated status - for however long it takes for him to learn manners.

Elegantly done 8)

I think the challenge on Middlebridge probably matches some members' preference for teh drama.

Re: Jeepers...

[laurensa.livejournal.com]

This morning, I put Mr. "It's an insult, it's supposed to be offensive" on moderated status - for however long it takes for him to learn manners.>>

Oh, well played!

I have so often inadvertently offended someone when I have one of my frequent bouts of foot-in-mouth disease, and I always just want to crawl into a hole. I cannot imagine the mindset that is proud of being a crude, tactless, mannerless ass.

Re: Jeepers...

[minstrlmummr.livejournal.com]

It's possible the word "needs" conveyed a stronger thought than I intended. When I say that I rather like the idea of someone publicly willing to defend me from an asshole who would, in the real world, be back-slapped by his laughing buddies for his cleverness, I most definitely do not intend to speak for anyone's romantic notions other than my own 8)

Of COURSE I can make my own joke about such a clod which would be remembered longer than the insult. I just get tired sometimes.

Re: Jeepers...

[gurdymonkey.livejournal.com]

I understand. Gaius went all blue steel medieval on someone for me once and it was a thing of beauty.

He knew I was fully capable of defending myself - he felt it was a privilege to do so. Either way, it made the requisite dent in the skull in question.