The replies to this tweet=wow (Beyonce/Ronda Rousey/Feminism stuff)

[AmberCutie]

Last week I did some reading/video watching on the subject of Ronda Rousey's controversial video about "Do Nothing Bitches". I had sort of forgotten about it until I came across someone retweeting this earlier:



I read the article, THEN read the replies to the tweet and holy shitballs, batman! Some bitches be crazy! What good comes from replying to a tweet like this with "kill yourself" and "STFU HOE"? I imagine it's just butt-hurt Beyonce fans disliking someone putting down their favorite artist, and maybe it would have been better aimed at Rousey instead, but I was still taken aback.


I can see where the writer of the article was coming from. When you're a HUGE entertainer and have been a positive voice for feminism and empowerment of women, supporting statements like Rousey's may not be the best laid plans.

This is one of the videos I watched last week about the Do Nothing Bitches speech:



So many of us ACF girls have touted the idea, repeatedly, that putting someone down in order to compliment others is a huge No-No. So I related to what alb was saying.

And from Rousey's vid, I get the feeling that her success has inflated her ego too much and turned her into a bit of a twat. But that's just my opinion.

So I wondered what ACFers (constructive and non-assholish/trolly) thoughts were on these subjects:

• Beyonce's feminist agenda
• Rousey's controversial video and #DNB
• Big name entertainers taking political/controversial stances
• Violent/threatening replies on tweets/articles about controversial topics

 

[CharlotteLace]

Ronda's comment feels like misguided feminism. I get that she was trying to emphasize that she doesn't need to fit social constructs of femininity to be successful or feminine. It sucks that she got defensive and put down those who enjoy being "traditionally feminine". (I feel like there's a better term for it, but you get the gist.)

Really, she would have done better with "others don't get to define how I should act as a woman," or something of the like. That would have been way more empowering to people in general, as opposed to just empowering athletic girls. While she might have been trying to rally girls and emphasize that it's not all about being pretty, being pretty is okay too. I mean, fuck, you could argue that Pink has made similar statements with her music videos. But did we really consider her controversial when she came out with this song?



I have no problem with celebrities taking political stances. Just because they have a louder voice doesn't mean they're not entitled to voice their opinion. It sucks that humans have a natural tendency to rally around people they admire. Yayyyy mob mentalities. That's also the downside of Twitter. You can directly interact with celebrities, writers, everybody! But there's also an opportunity for direct and personal attacks, which is shitty.

(Didn't comment on the article as I haven't had time to read it yet.)

 

[CharlotteLace]

I've thought about it a bit more, and I want to add something. I think it's interesting that women who find success in certain endeavors usually emphasize their own talents as being things to aspire to. Writers and scientists emphasize intellect, models emphasize being glamorous, athletes emphasize strength and athleticism, etc. Shows that everybody has a bias when it comes to being a role model.

 

[marchards]

I don't think it's useful to assemble an opinion on a social or political issue (like feminism) based on the bad judgement shown in a series of carefully-selected tweets.

 

[mynameisbob84]

Bullet points, yo! (I learnt how to use actual bullet points! Thanks, Amber )

• I like Beyoncé.
• I like Ronda. And while it's barely relevant, I think she's hot as hell and would totally let her ragdoll me.
• It's kinda depressing how stupid people can be. It would be nice if we'd evolve to the point where we could disagree with a person or an ideology or an opinion without resorting to death threats.
• I don't think either Beyoncé or Rousey ever asked to be appointed ambassadors for feminism.
• I think we've reached a point culturally where we (perhaps subconsciously) dissect everything famous women say and scrutinize their every word looking at things from a feminist viewpoint when it's often not prudent to. And we shouldn't. We don't analyse every word Donald Trump says and weigh up how well he represents men and men's issues. We hear him, we sigh, we disagree, we move on.
• Beyoncé should be able to publicly show her support for someone she considers to be a bad-ass without being cross-examined because said bad-ass said something that perhaps isn't strictly feminist. I don't think that makes Beyoncé any less of a feminist.
• Ronda Rousey stating that she'd rather be an ass-kicking machine than a woman who marries a rich man so she never has to work again isn't fundamentally un-feminist. Maybe she voiced that preference in a manner that alienated a lot of women who feel that it's perfectly okay for one partner to rely on the other financially (and so long as everyone involved is happy, I think it is). But the notion that it's empowering to be a financially independent woman strikes me as more feminist than not.

 

[JerryBoBerry]

I don't think it's useful to assemble an opinion on a social or political issue (like feminism) based on the bad judgement shown in a series of carefully-selected tweets.

Humans make opinions all the time based on far less.

 

[marchards]

Humans make opinions all the time based on far less.

I never said they didn't. I said it wasn't useful.

 

[AmberCutie]

I never said they didn't. I said it wasn't useful.

Discussions on forums don't always have to be useful, some are just meant to keep people entertained for at least a few minutes.

I appreciate your contributions to this forum, but if you don't find this discussion worthy of your time, no point in posting within the thread. No offense intended here, just sayin'.

 

[Gen]

I don't think either Beyoncé or Rousey ever asked to be appointed ambassadors for feminism.

Did you miss this?! I think if you're going to claim to title of Feminist, you're kind of opening yourself up to these kind of criticisms - to a point. Beyonce gets it way harder than anyone and I think people are always trying to find fault in her feminism.

I think the media sometimes puts too much emphasis on female celebs identifying as feminist, because they're essentially pressured to say yes, but once they do, I think their actions are held to a higher standard, which can be good or bad, depending on how you look at it. But hardly anyone will ever be "good enough" for everyone.

I was actually having this discussion yesterday about Joss Whedon, how once you take on the identifier of "feminist", people have such high expectations, for good or for bad. Whereas if Avengers: Age of Ultron was by someone like Michael Bay instead, people still may have grumbled about Black Widow or whatever but I think they'd do so less. And on one hand it's like, nobody can be your perfect feminist who delivers exactly what you want at all times. But on the other hand I think if you're going to proclaim yourself a feminist then you're kind of putting yourself to a higher standard anyways, and you should be making yourself a bit more accountable. (But oh man does the attempt to be The Most Feminist Ever get tiresome quickly. I definitely identify as a feminist but I hate being pandered to and I think the attempt to cater to that crowd has lead to a lot of bland stories.....I'm looking at you, Lady Thor!)

Aaaaaaaaaaaaanyways. I don't like the whole "empower yourself by dissing others", I think that's unnecessary. Ronda seems like a badass but yeah, the DNB thing seems stupid. I wish Queen Bee wouldn't align herself with that but I can see the positive message that they're trying to convey.

(As an aside, I hated in that article when the author was like "what about sugar babies who are just trying to pay for books for school?!?!" It seems a bit unfeminist to me, to act as if WHY she's sugar baby-ing is relevant. I'm a student sex worker but that doesn't make me more noble or respectable than someone who's planning to do this job forever. Hate that shit.)

Those fans though, good lord. Somehow "STFU HOE" is feminist, or "bitch, no one asked for your opinion"?! There are a lot of interesting points to make about how intensely Beyonce is criticized for her feminism compared to a lot of white women, or to unpack the notion that a woman who's a feminist should have to adhere to certain standards to ~uphold her feminism~. But "stfu bitch" is not useful or helpful, or even really saying anything. Obviously Twitter sucks for big discussions but they could at least add WHY or just say "I disagree, blah blah blah".

I always get disappointed when I see responses like that, for example there was some chick on YouTube who posted a whole video about how lazy and stupid and gross fat people are. A friend of mine, who talks a lot about skinny shaming (she's an itty bitty actress), was basically saying "well the responses are worse" because a lot of people were responding to the YouTuber just like this article. And I hate it because it takes away so many of the good, valid points that can be made against these things when you're just like "stfu die bitch". Then the actual valid responses get lost in a sea of death threats and vitriol, and the negativity becomes a focus as opposed to the actual arguments.

 

[mynameisbob84]

Did you miss this?!

Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaybe...

 

[TeganTrex]

I'm going to preface this statement with this:

I fucking LOVE Ronda Rousey.

However, while I do feel like her statement about do nothing bitches came from a place of good intentions and a lot of defensiveness, she's better than that.

As a camgirl, and by her definition of "do nothing bitches", I'm exactly that. I strive to look my best to entertain mostly men in order for them to pay me for my companionship and my time.

Women's worth and value is not determined by their breeding status, their relationship status, their body or athletic status, or anything of the sort.

My worth is not determined by my job.

And trying to look "pretty" IS NOT DOING NOTHING. Fitness is WORK. Make up and contouring and entertaining is WORK. And telling models that they are "better" than that is fucked up.

And, I'm hoping that if Ronda really thought her statement through, she'd amend some of it.

EDIT: Also, another thought.

I will say that I think it's bullshit that so many women get sexualized in positions where it's not required.
Ronda's job does not require her to be sexualized at all, so people acting like her attractiveness has ANYTHING to do with her being an ass-kicking machine are doing the world a huge disservice.

However, my job REQUIRES some sexualization, so I don't get irritated when I see people dissect my attractiveness and tell me to work on certain things or certain aspects.

The difference between me being sexualized and Ronda being sexualized is that I actively chose a position where I knew I would be facing that. It was my decision, and feminists should honor that choice. I was not coerced into it and men did not make me do it. De-valuing sex workers because they capitalize on their appearance by choice is inherently unfeminist.

 

[MFCGod]

Kind of off topic but on topic - women and work

In the past, a family used to be able to be supported by one person working a job, the husband, and then the wife would look after the children, which is also a job.

It's obviously right and correct women can now choose to work, but realistically, most couples also want children

The problem is you can't afford to have children without two pay checks, so who looks after the children? usually it's the women that have to juggle it somehow/.

So women's freedom to choose to work has largely become their "freedom" to have to work two jobs, a career + childcare

You lucky ladies with your modern freedom lol.

 

[JerryBoBerry]

The problem is you can't afford to have children without two pay checks, so who looks after the children? usually it's the women that have to juggle it somehow/.

This i tend to disagree with. It's entirely possible to afford children on two paychecks, one even. People do it all the time. What does make it difficult to afford is two children AND an extravagant spend-freely lifestyle. Usually you have to make choices to do away with other frivolous things and put the money where it's important.

I live in an economically depressed area and know people that live on one income of less than $24,000 a year. They cook their meals from scratch at home and don't go out. They don't go on vacations every year. They live in a modest house that is paid for. They drive used cars with no payments. Diapers, they buy cloth ones instead of expensive disposable ones and then clean them themselves. Some have made their own washing machine out of 55 gallon barrels, then hang their clothes on lines outside just to avoid the hundreds of dollars that go into buying commercial units. I know people who make their own hand soap and laundry detergent even. (i'm one of those).

Smartphones, higher internet speeds, satellite tv with all the sports packages...all those things are choices, not necessities, that cost thousands a year. Cut out all the crap, and don't live extravagantly and the amount of money you need to live on goes way down. One person can then stay home to cook and do laundry and other things. That also saves daycare expense. Many people around here actually have a better quality of life on one income doing it that way over people with two incomes doing it the 'normal' way most others do now.

Affording children on two paychecks is entirely possible, easily possible in fact. But most people choose to live beyond their means to begin with and don't want to make the tougher choices to make that possibility come true.

 

[gingerhobbit]

So I wondered what ACFers (constructive and non-assholish/trolly) thoughts were on these subjects:

• Beyonce's feminist agenda
• Rousey's controversial video and #DNB
• Big name entertainers taking political/controversial stances
• Violent/threatening replies on tweets/articles about controversial topics

I don't get real excited about music, so I don't pay a lot of attention to pop stars. I have no idea about Beyonce's feminism. But somebody who at least tries to communicate something good can't be all bad.

The Rousey thing, I guess I've always had more respect for people - male or female - who do tangible, important things than I do for people who do unimportant things. I mean, I just have more respect and admiration for a researcher trying to find a cure for Alzheimer's, or a firefighter who rescues people, or even a garbage collector who performs a critical service. It doesn't mean that I judge people who aren't that, or even that I would want to be one of those people, because I don't, but yeah, I do place a higher value on them.

It's like that movie where an asteroid was coming, and the government had to choose a limited number of people to fit into a cave and survive the impact. The people who did important things, real things, got more priority over say, an actor, or a waiter, or a person who owned a knick-knack shop. Those who have more to contribute are deserving of more respect and gratitude, I think.

Fortunately, there's no asteroid headed toward Earth, so the rest of us can do whatever the hell we want to do, and we can tell anyone who judges us for that to fuck right off. Of course, I wouldn't tell Ronda Rousey to fuck off to her face. I don't want a video of me bloodied and lying in the fetal position crying for my mommy to show up on YouTube.

Celebrities and their opinions...meh, they're entitled just like anyone else. And just like anyone else's, we can give it weight or not.

Twitter and general internet trolliness - well, I firmly believe that you can never overestimate the stupidity of people. Most people just suck, and on Twitter, everybody can show everybody else exactly how much they suck. It is what it is.

• I think we've reached a point culturally where we (perhaps subconsciously) dissect everything famous women say and scrutinize their every word looking at things from a feminist viewpoint when it's often not prudent to. And we shouldn't. We don't analyse every word Donald Trump says and weigh up how well he represents men and men's issues. We hear him, we sigh, we disagree, we move on.
• Beyoncé should be able to publicly show her support for someone she considers to be a bad-ass without being cross-examined because said bad-ass said something that perhaps isn't strictly feminist. I don't think that makes Beyoncé any less of a feminist.
• Ronda Rousey stating that she'd rather be an ass-kicking machine than a woman who marries a rich man so she never has to work again isn't fundamentally un-feminist. Maybe she voiced that preference in a manner that alienated a lot of women who feel that it's perfectly okay for one partner to rely on the other financially (and so long as everyone involved is happy, I think it is). But the notion that it's empowering to be a financially independent woman strikes me as more feminist than not.

These three points. Definitely.

I think the media sometimes puts too much emphasis on female celebs identifying as feminist, because they're essentially pressured to say yes, but once they do, I think their actions are held to a higher standard, which can be good or bad, depending on how you look at it. But hardly anyone will ever be "good enough" for everyone.

I was actually having this discussion yesterday about Joss Whedon, how once you take on the identifier of "feminist", people have such high expectations, for good or for bad. Whereas if Avengers: Age of Ultron was by someone like Michael Bay instead, people still may have grumbled about Black Widow or whatever but I think they'd do so less. And on one hand it's like, nobody can be your perfect feminist who delivers exactly what you want at all times. But on the other hand I think if you're going to proclaim yourself a feminist then you're kind of putting yourself to a higher standard anyways, and you should be making yourself a bit more accountable. (But oh man does the attempt to be The Most Feminist Ever get tiresome quickly. I definitely identify as a feminist but I hate being pandered to and I think the attempt to cater to that crowd has lead to a lot of bland stories.....I'm looking at you, Lady Thor!)

And this, too.

 

[SageSometimes]

I like Ronda Rousey, but I think referring to other women as "do-nothing bitches" reminds me of women in the fat acceptance community saying "bones are for dogs, real men prefer meat." When you say things like that, it kinda just sounds like you're not as comfortable with yourself as you say you are. Even if you are comfortable in your skin and proud of yourself, and just reached your breaking point with insulting comments, you still made a conscious choice to turn those slogans into movements.

It's a little ironic that the proceeds from the sale of those DNB shirts are being donated to a charity for mental health and self-esteem issues. Even if your only goal in life is to be a housewife or a sugarbaby, your self-esteem is just as valuable as Ronda Rousey's.

 

[marchards]

Discussions on forums don't always have to be useful, some are just meant to keep people entertained for at least a few minutes.

I appreciate your contributions to this forum, but if you don't find this discussion worthy of your time, no point in posting within the thread. No offense intended here, just sayin'.

The opposite is the case: I find this discussion very worthy of my time.

I often see entire articles on social and political issues written for various websites based on literally nothing more than a series of tweets carefully selected to confirm the bias of the writer. Apart from being the second-most sinister form of lazy journalism (the other being the over-reliance on "experts"), it's useless in deciding whether or not a proposition is true. There is no way to determine that from the information given.

I felt it was both relevant and useful to point this out, as no one seems to have done so already and other posters seem to regard it as the basis of an opinion. If this was a mistake, and no one's really bothered if something is true or not (i.e. that it's a forum understanding that the entertainment value of these things is not dependent on whether or not the content is based in reality), then I won't post this sort of thing again.

 

[AmberCutie]

I felt it was both relevant and useful to point this out, as no one seems to have done so already and other posters seem to regard it as the basis of an opinion. If this was a mistake, and no one's really bothered if something is true or not (i.e. that it's a forum understanding that the entertainment value of these things is not dependent on whether or not the content is based in reality), then I won't post this sort of thing again.

I'm really confused by this whole thing. Am I the lazy journalist in this scenario? That would be an awkward accusation.

I asked how people felt about the sort of tweet-replies that I witnessed, as well as the subject matter of the article and videos I posted. The Rousey video really happened, obviously, and the Beyonce concert really happened... does that not count as "based in reality"? I included a couple of my own opinions within the opening post.

I'm not really sure where within that there was a mistake.

But yes, if others are having a conversation (or are just starting one) and all you have to say is "this isn't able to be discussed", I'd rather you just not post at all, because it doesn't add anything to the thread aside from a derailment such as this one.

 

[JickyJuly]

I think gender equality/feminism is an ideal. None of us lives fully up to our hopes or beliefs even if we hate to admit it. Despite considering myself a feminist, I routinely call my (female) neighbor names that are pretty misogynist. Honestly, I don't even try not to. People like to point out flaws and failures in others in order to tear down ideas they disagree with or generally make themselves feel superior. It's crap. I'm glad Beyonce throws the word feminist around. It might be the only time some of her fans hear the word in a positive light. I respect her for trying even if it's a flawed attempt.

 

[ThePioneer]

As a society, we are overly critical of everything celebrities say and do. They are entitled to their own opinions and shouldn’t have to consult a PR team every time they do an interview or open their mouth. We’ve all said things, that while we stand behind the original intended message, would have worded them a bit more eloquently in retrospect.

"To be honest, it's a honor to have a real powerhouse of a woman like Beyoncé just recognize my existence," she said. "It's surreal how something I thought was a pre-fight rant in my hotel room that would end up scrapped on some editor's floor has taken off to the point a cultural icon like Beyoncé is playing it between songs at her concert. Such a huge compliment, I couldn't be more grateful."

When I originally heard her speech I perceived it as just that, an unapologetic rant about being called too masculine. It felt very casual like she was just getting something off her chest, not like she was attempting to make some powerful preconceived statement. She clearly has her own ideology in which she attributes her success, but I didn’t get the feeling that she was intentionally saying there is anything wrong with other people being traditionally feminine (from the quote anyway, the subsequent “Don’t be a #DNB” is a whole different story). It was merely her responding to the people who have criticized her over the years. You know, the same people who are always commenting on other women being too fat or too skinny, critiquing their choice of clothes and hairstyle, etc.

In the end it’s still women insulting other women instead of being supportive, but sometimes it feels good to call people out when they have been trying to bring to down your whole career/life. However, I can understand how other people would find what she said offensive and I agree that we shouldn’t have to put others down to reaffirm our own choices.

There are so many flavors of feminism that it doesn’t matter what you say, someone out there is going to take offense and devalue your opinion because it’s not perfectly inline with their own. I think it’s important to take the positive from her message, as Beyonce did, and move on with your life.

 

[gingerhobbit]

There are so many flavors of feminism that it doesn’t matter what you say, someone out there is going to take offense and devalue your opinion because it’s not perfectly inline with their own. I think it’s important to take the positive from her message, as Beyonce did, and move on with your life.

Truer words have ne'er been spoke. And it's just as true for every other -ism.

 

[VeronicaChaos]

I'm really confused by this whole thing. Am I the lazy journalist in this scenario? That would be an awkward accusation.

I asked how people felt about the sort of tweet-replies that I witnessed, as well as the subject matter of the article and videos I posted. The Rousey video really happened, obviously, and the Beyonce concert really happened... does that not count as "based in reality"? I included a couple of my own opinions within the opening post.

I'm not really sure where within that there was a mistake.

But yes, if others are having a conversation (or are just starting one) and all you have to say is "this isn't able to be discussed", I'd rather you just not post at all, because it doesn't add anything to the thread aside from a derailment such as this one.

The way I gathered it, and forgive me if I am wrong, is that @marchards is saying that some Twitter backlash isn't indicative of the actual reception of these celebrity "feminist" statements, not that they shouldn't be discussed.

If so, I happen to agree with him. I think we put a lot of emphasis on radical social media posts and use that as "proof" of the public outcry. It's the same with social justice warriors of any type, really. It creates drama where there isn't any. It's a facade, it's a political campaign, it's entertainment. People know that by posting these sort of things that people will pay attention to them, in the exact same way trolls be trolling. Maybe some of them believe what they're actually saying, maybe some don't. Regardless, human opinion runs the entire spectrum and there will always be people of a certain stance no matter how crazy.

 

[Snowie1969]

I can be clear on one thing: no matter what one's opinion or point of view is: it never warrants threats of violence or death. One can debate, and try to persuade others to try to see things in an other way, but the moment you issue a threat of violence, you simply lost the debate.

 

[gingerhobbit]

I can be clear on one thing: no matter what one's opinion or point of view is: it never warrants threats of violence or death. One can debate, and try to persuade others to try to see things in an other way, but the moment you issue a threat of violence, you simply lost the debate.

Personally, I think the only acceptable response to any Twitter brouhaha is: "I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries." Is that 140 characters?

 

[SageSometimes]

Personally, I think the only acceptable response to any Twitter brouhaha is: "I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries." Is that 140 characters?

Without the quotes it's only 100, so you're good!

 

[fandango]

The way I gathered it, and forgive me if I am wrong, is that @marchards is saying that some Twitter backlash isn't indicative of the actual reception of these celebrity "feminist" statements, not that they shouldn't be discussed.

If so, I happen to agree with him. I think we put a lot of emphasis on radical social media posts and use that as "proof" of the public outcry. It's the same with social justice warriors of any type, really. It creates drama where there isn't any. It's a facade, it's a political campaign, it's entertainment. People know that by posting these sort of things that people will pay attention to them, in the exact same way trolls be trolling. Maybe some of them believe what they're actually saying, maybe some don't. Regardless, human opinion runs the entire spectrum and there will always be people of a certain stance no matter how crazy.

Totally agree with what you say, twitter comments like this tend to be like a cesspit of human opinions. I hate when I read articles that use twitter as a means of gauging the publics opinions on anything. Normally they will search out the most extreme tweets and use them to support whatever agenda the article or author is promoting. Also the relative anonimity and herd mentality leads to people saying more and more extreme things that they would never dream of saying to anyones face or in public and probably dont even really believe themselves, so in my opinion these tweets should just be ignored or maybe not ignored but certainly not given any real weight.

 

[AmberCutie]

The way I gathered it, and forgive me if I am wrong, is that @marchards is saying that some Twitter backlash isn't indicative of the actual reception of these celebrity "feminist" statements, not that they shouldn't be discussed.

If so, I happen to agree with him.

OH for sure, if that's what I was actually asking for, I would agree it isn't helpful to the total conversation.

But I was directing conversation/debate/opinions of multiple subjects, individually, as well as how they all convene together. That's why I put them in bullet points.

It seems such a popular thing now to respond to touchy subjects with violent responses such as the ones in the twitter replies, I was hoping to get some comments on that, and how that affects us in society during such a social era.

 

[Ambers Troll]

I really like the way Ronda Rousey's comment was put. Her point was that her body shape comes not though some form of body sculpting, but as a result of what she needs her body to do. She is not someone like a body builder or fashion model, in body terms an amateur (into looking good), but more like a dancer or athlete. Anyone commenting on her body shape as not being feminine enough needs to readjust their view on what feminine is.
Ronda is not even saying that she likes her own body shape this way, just that it is necessary for what she does. Comments on her body shape come from #DNB's (men and women), those who really work physically would never comment in such a way, appearance just doesn't matter to them, success does.

I don't see her comments as much for feminists to complain about, men are beginning to get similar comments about body shape from #DNB's too. My first post here was on body shape through your work, exactly the issue Ronda was commenting on. She just doesn't have time to sculpt her look for her own or others pleasure, and if she did she may well end up injured from lack of training. Each muscle has a purpose in her job.

[ #DNB's I would call hustlers, as opposed to workers. They can be in any profession and any sex. ]

 

[gingerhobbit]

OH for sure, if that's what I was actually asking for, I would agree it isn't helpful to the total conversation.

But I was directing conversation/debate/opinions of multiple subjects, individually, as well as how they all convene together. That's why I put them in bullet points.

It seems such a popular thing now to respond to touchy subjects with violent responses such as the ones in the twitter replies, I was hoping to get some comments on that, and how that affects us in society during such a social era.

You might be interested in a book called "This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things" by Whitney Phillips. She studied internet trolliness and basically concludes that it's just a reflection of and encouraged by the broader culture.

 

[Snowie1969]

Personally, I think the only acceptable response to any Twitter brouhaha is: "I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelled of elderberries." Is that 140 characters?

Nooooo.... not the farting in my general direction... aaaarrrrgggghhhh (i suspect that is how Joseph of Arimethea died)

 

[marchards]

I'm really confused by this whole thing. Am I the lazy journalist in this scenario? That would be an awkward accusation.

You are not the lazy journalist in this scenario. You are the person who stepped in to say I shouldn't post X if I'm not interested, and I was explaining why I was interested.

I asked how people felt about the sort of tweet-replies that I witnessed, as well as the subject matter of the article and videos I posted. The Rousey video really happened, obviously, and the Beyonce concert really happened... does that not count as "based in reality"? I included a couple of my own opinions within the opening post.

I'm not really sure where within that there was a mistake.

It's not a "mistake". It's an observation that might not be useful to assemble an opinion on a social or political issue (like feminism) based on the bad judgement shown in a series of carefully-selected tweets. I intentionally didn't phrase it in terms of a "mistake" or even as a fixed fact.

But yes, if others are having a conversation (or are just starting one) and all you have to say is "this isn't able to be discussed", I'd rather you just not post at all, because it doesn't add anything to the thread aside from a derailment such as this one.

I'm not sure it counts as a "derailment" to question the validity of the information which informs an opinion. Quite the opposite: it's directly relevant and might be of interest not just to you personally, but to anyone interested in putting together opinions on any issues. The reason I posted is because I keep seeing things like this, and I thought people who are not me might find it interesting. Other posters seem to agree.

If what you're saying is that you personally find my opinion uninteresting, and that therefore I shouldn't have posted it, then that's fair enough. I've only been posting for a while and I haven't put together enough of a picture of you personally to determine whether any of my posts will interest you enough to merit inclusion in a discussion.

Maybe I completely misread this whole thing. Is this one of those whimsical threads like a horoscope where it's implicitly understood that no one's supposed to take it seriously? If that's true then I owe you an apology (which I promise you will publicly receive from me) and I won't post on this thread again.

But, ultimately, it's your board. If you tell me not to post on this thread (or any of them!) again, I won't. You don't need a reason.