We've Seen The Future, And It's NSFW

[Imp_Emissary]

Listen, guys, I'm sure it's all meant in good fun and you're mostly targeting the people who do ridiculous stuff, but you're lumping the assholes and lunatics in with actual transgender people. Even if you've decided to just assume that tumblr is full of nonsense, you should at least appreciate that you're punching down.

We like to think we punch in every direction. Like a starfish.

A starfish made of fists.

:/ I looked but couldn't find any Fist Starfish. Which is kind of sad to me...

Grey, it's up to you and Cory to rectify this. Birth this creation into the world.

Anyway, fun comic, I like the little touches. Like the McDick's logo, and the Escapist being on one of the computers.

Wouldn't it be a Starfist then?

Not really sure. I guess whoever makes/finds it first gets to decide.

Even more incentive to find or make it.

 

[Fsyco]

On the third panel the guy says "I need that ************ to sign some insurance papers."
Why is he using a pronoun there?
The sentence structure does not work.
Just try replacing it with any other pronoun, it just sounds silly.

That's because ************ doesn't work as an actual pronoun in any proper sentence. Thus, characters who speak in complete sentences would need to use "that ************."

************ works perfectly well as a pronoun, the other character seems to have no problems using it as one.
And if the character saying "I need that ************ to sign some insurance papers." just dropped "that" out of the sentence, it would work just fine, whether or not ************ is a pronoun or not.

Ashley has no problem using it because he doesn't use it in a grammatically correct sentence. "************ is x" would only work if ************ is a proper name. The reason I use "that ************" as a pronoun phrase is because in the sentence, "I need X to X," it would sound more like a proper name than a pronoun.

But if we accept ************ as a pronoun (and if they don't, why use it?), then "************ is X", is grammatically correct just like "she is X" would be.

And while the second guy might be grammatically incorrect in his statement of "************ is X" if ************ is not a pronoun, it is still not an awkward statement, and works is conversational usage whether or not ************ is a pronoun or not, while the first guy is only not awkward if ************ is not a pronoun.

I think you're over analyzing the joke. Trying to use "************" as a pronoun is like trying to fit the square peg in the round hole. You -could- do it but it looks really awkward. It feels fundamentally wrong. The word is not meant to be used that way, and isn't built in such a way that is conducive to pronoun useage. Pronouns are short and snappy, while "************" is large and draws attention to itself. It's like if the one of the guys from Assassin's Creed replaced the dagger of his hidden blade with a full-sized claymore.

 

[loa]

Yes those pronouns are an actual thing and they make trans peoples plight which often times doesn't get taken seriously to begin with seem ridiculous and are approriative as fuck so you shouldn't do that.

I have no idea what you're trying to communicate with this post. Also 'approriative' is not a word. Would you like to try again? I'm sensing it has something to do with trans people, although you could be trying to parody tumblr users. Poe's law and all.

If you treat pronouns like fashion statements, you're appropriating [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_appropriation] what trans people are going through as just a fashion statement.

 

[Seydaman]

I get that people want to be all inclusive and accepting

But, can we stick with three pronoun types for now? That's easier to remember....

 

[VanQ]

I hear that Erin's one bad mother....

This is not satire. I repeat. This person is 100% legitimate.

You sure? Looking at the feed, it would appear to be quite tongue in cheek. Looking at the pic itself, I found this same thing posted several times attributed to different people. It just looks like copypasta to me, and deserving of little more than a "cool story, bro," rather than complaints that it's a legit phenomena.

Erin is never safe for work. She doesn't need her own pronouns for that.

I don't know, maybe if she worked for al Qaeda.

The feed itself is just someone taking ridiculous tumblr posts and collecting them in one place for people to gawk at. I remember quite a while ago finding the actual tumblr where the person who posted it was from and they were serious about it. This is just somewhere that it resurfaced recently.

 

[Fsyco]

Yes those pronouns are an actual thing and they make trans peoples plight which often times doesn't get taken seriously to begin with seem ridiculous and are approriative as fuck so you shouldn't do that.

I have no idea what you're trying to communicate with this post. Also 'approriative' is not a word. Would you like to try again? I'm sensing it has something to do with trans people, although you could be trying to parody tumblr users. Poe's law and all.

If you treat pronouns like fashion statements, you're appropriating [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_appropriation] what trans people are going through as just a fashion statement.

You know, that page you linked to says that many see Cultural Appropriation as a sign of acceptance, so maybe it isn't so bad. Although seriously, don't most trans people use 'he' or 'she', just not the one that they were born with? And what's wrong with using 'it' for people that don't want to use those two?

 

[Eamar]

Actually, the target of the joke is the small, but quite dangerous, culture of tumblr users who romanticize and appropriate the trappings of mental illness, as is quite clearly demonstrated in panel two.

Who are these people?

Mostly teenagers who don't know what they're talking about, but not exclusively.

I've met plenty, and not just on the interwebs.

For a while, bipolar disorder became trendy for some reason. So many people would claim to have it, or openly wish they had it, or express envy at my diagnosis. As someone who actually is bipolar, I cannot tell you how angry that made me or how dangerous that behaviour is.

The romanticisation of mental illness is nothing new though - just look at the stereotype of the "tortured artist", who's either bipolar or clinically depressed. Look at how often suicide is portrayed as some beautifully tragic, "romantic" thing.

 

[BreakfastMan]

For a while, bipolar disorder became trendy for some reason. So many people would claim to have it, or openly wish they had it, or express envy at my diagnosis. As someone who actually is bipolar, I cannot tell you how angry that made me or how dangerous that behaviour is.

The romanticisation of mental illness is nothing new though - just look at the stereotype of the "tortured artist", who's either bipolar or clinically depressed. Look at how often suicide is portrayed as some beautifully tragic, "romantic" thing.

Don't forget the autistic genius. That one was actually really popular in the gaming community for a while. Seriously, like half of the people on gaming forums would claim to be autistic. It was terrible, and quite possibly marginalized actual autistic individuals. :\

 

[Eamar]

Don't forget the autistic genius. That one was actually really popular in the gaming community for a while. Seriously, like half of the people on gaming forums would claim to be autistic. It was terrible, and quite possibly marginalized actual autistic individuals. :\

Very true, though I'm never sure whether or not to include autism under the mental illness banner. Some autistic people I've spoken to have had no problem doing so, while others have been very much against it.

Regardless, you're right in that the behaviour is the same.

 

[[REDACTED]]

You know, that page you linked to says that many see Cultural Appropriation as a sign of acceptance, so maybe it isn't so bad. Although seriously, don't most trans people use 'he' or 'she', just not the one that they were born with? And what's wrong with using 'it' for people that don't want to use those two?

"It" is dehumanizing as all fuck. "They" is a perfectly acceptable substitute, unless you're the kind of terrible person who enjoys correcting people based on outdated grammatical rules that never really applied in the first place. (Seriously, don't be that guy. Nobody likes that guy.)

Edit: Getting rid of the bit about cultural appropriation. Further research, thought and discussion has led to me to the conclusion that the concept is inherently flawed, and not worth defending.

 

[Steve the Pocket]

And yet Moviebob has to put an age gate on his video if he so much as utters that word. I will never understand this site's censorship policies.

The Tumblr community really needs to address this shit, because not seeking treatment really does hurt people.

Except that there is no "Tumblr community". Tumblr is not a giant boarding house where everybody in it lives together and hangs out with each other regularly. Not everyone who uses the site should be accused of being complicit in it if they don't personally condemn it, just like I wouldn't say the same about Reddit and their chauvinistic assholery (though in their case, at least, the owners of the site could shut down their subreddits; Tumblr is even more decentralized yet).

 

[BreakfastMan]

The Tumblr community really needs to address this shit, because not seeking treatment really does hurt people.

Except that there is no "Tumblr community". Tumblr is not a giant boarding house where everybody in it lives together and hangs out with each other regularly. Not everyone who uses the site should be accused of being complicit in it if they don't personally condemn it, just like I wouldn't say the same about Reddit and their chauvinistic assholery (though in their case, at least, the owners of the site could shut down their subreddits; Tumblr is even more decentralized yet).

Well, yes, there quite obviously is a Tumblr community, in the same sense that there is a gamer community, a gay community, a black community, and a jewish community. And yes, some people in the community should share some guilt if they don't condemn it. Shit doesn't change on its own and very often the greatest catalysts for change in a community come from within a community, not without. The reason that the Moral Majority viewed as representative of all Christianity in the US is because regular Christians let them speak and don't actively condemn them. The reason that Nazis aren't viewed as an inseparable part of the Black Metal and Hardcore Punk communities is because many members and leaders in those communities actively condemn that shit.

 

[Alleged_Alec]

]

You know, that page you linked to says that many see Cultural Appropriation as a sign of acceptance, so maybe it isn't so bad. Although seriously, don't most trans people use 'he' or 'she', just not the one that they were born with? And what's wrong with using 'it' for people that don't want to use those two?

"It" is dehumanizing as all fuck. "They" is a perfectly acceptable substitute, unless you're the kind of terrible person who enjoys correcting people based on outdated grammatical rules that never really applied in the first place. (Seriously, don't be that guy. Nobody likes that guy.)

Sorry, but I really don't understand why 'it' would not be okay, while 'they' is.

 

[cjspyres]

Finally. Someone had the guts to stand up and say what needed to be said. I don't know where these people are getting the idea that JGC is making fun of Trans people, because they aren't the ones saying this stuff. It's the self-righteous, special snowflake, "I deserve to be entitled because WAAAAAAAAH!!!!" idiots that are doing all of this. The people who go onto Tumblr and make up or fake having a mental illness, or social problem, just for the attention.

For example: Nearly every time I go onto Tumblr, I never fail to see the overly aggressive LGBT people or Gender Fluids constantly harassing people. And hell, they even do this to their allies, saying that, "because you aren't like us, you can't support us, because you have no idea what it's like". They repeatedly attack people or shame people for being white male cis. And it confounds me. Why? Why would you treat people the way you've been treated? Especially the people that want to help you? And they say, "We have the right, because we've been treated like this, so we can do whatever we like". Meanwhile, they scream EQUALITY, and don't really mean it. Hell, they don't want equality. They want to be better. They think they're better.

And it just never ceases to amaze me. How? How did this happen? You look to other LGBT people and they're ashamed of the Tumblrites. It's hurting their cause. I mean, I could never, ever condone doing what they do (Tumblr idiots), and I'm apparently "one of them". I'm pansexual, but that sure as hell doesn't make me feel like I have to make all the straight, white, cis people feel bad about themselves. Keep in mind, I'm only talking about the idiots on Tumblr here. I fully support LGBT, obviously. It just ridiculous.

Honestly, I want to thank Carter and Rydell for tackling this issue. I know it might seem stupid, but even though it's a small group on Tumblr, it's a very loud and hateful, and stupid group.

 

[Fsyco]

]

You know, that page you linked to says that many see Cultural Appropriation as a sign of acceptance, so maybe it isn't so bad. Although seriously, don't most trans people use 'he' or 'she', just not the one that they were born with? And what's wrong with using 'it' for people that don't want to use those two?

"It" is dehumanizing as all fuck. "They" is a perfectly acceptable substitute, unless you're the kind of terrible person who enjoys correcting people based on outdated grammatical rules that never really applied in the first place. (Seriously, don't be that guy. Nobody likes that guy.)

As for cultural appropriation, it's a much more complex subject than most judgement-happy tumblrites make it out to be. I guess the important thing to remember is that cultural appropriation involves a fundamental lack of respect towards the culture being imitated. Most invocations of the concept I've seen take it more than a wee bit too far. Dressing up as a Native American for Halloween is insulting. Having dreadlocks while being white is not.

Why is "It" dehumanizing? It's a perfectly functional gender-neutral pronoun. I refer to people of unknown gender as 'it' alot and they don't seem to mind. And even if it does, what is it going to do about it? *huehuehue* But seriously, maybe that should be the new social justice campaign: making "it" less 'dehumanizing' in everyday conversation. Or to make the concept of dehumanizing people less evil (my argument that one out of 7 billion is super tiny almost never works).

Also, I'm more of the guy who corrects people's outdated grammatical rules (like the whole 'don't end sentences with prepositions' thing is applying Latin grammar rules to English, and it's perfectly acceptable to do so). Since languages are living, changing things, it would be silly to nitpick rules like that.

 

[Kururu999]

McDicks is incredibly offensive, not all fast food chains have penises.

 

[SneakTeeth]

Sorry, but I really don't understand why 'it' would not be okay, while 'they' is.

]

You know, that page you linked to says that many see Cultural Appropriation as a sign of acceptance, so maybe it isn't so bad. Although seriously, don't most trans people use 'he' or 'she', just not the one that they were born with? And what's wrong with using 'it' for people that don't want to use those two?

"It" is dehumanizing as all fuck. "They" is a perfectly acceptable substitute, unless you're the kind of terrible person who enjoys correcting people based on outdated grammatical rules that never really applied in the first place. (Seriously, don't be that guy. Nobody likes that guy.)

As for cultural appropriation, it's a much more complex subject than most judgement-happy tumblrites make it out to be. I guess the important thing to remember is that cultural appropriation involves a fundamental lack of respect towards the culture being imitated. Most invocations of the concept I've seen take it more than a wee bit too far. Dressing up as a Native American for Halloween is insulting. Having dreadlocks while being white is not.

Why is "It" dehumanizing? It's a perfectly functional gender-neutral pronoun. I refer to people of unknown gender as 'it' alot and they don't seem to mind. And even if it does, what is it going to do about it? *huehuehue* But seriously, maybe that should be the new social justice campaign: making "it" less 'dehumanizing' in everyday conversation. Or to make the concept of dehumanizing people less evil (my argument that one out of 7 billion is super tiny almost never works).

Also, I'm more of the guy who corrects people's outdated grammatical rules (like the whole 'don't end sentences with prepositions' thing is applying Latin grammar rules to English, and it's perfectly acceptable to do so). Since languages are living, changing things, it would be silly to nitpick rules like that.

Hey, I'm someone who uses they a lot and not it. It as a word alone would be fine for description, but unfortunately a lot of terrible people put "it" to use as a negative thing. The word has frequently been used not for people who identifying as both/neither female and male, but as a word for most trans people who only use male or female pronouns as a way to insult them and say their gender isn't legitimate and further use it to imply they're subhuman and should be treated like garbage (or worse). It has been used as an abusive word for other groups of people too (particularly in people abusing children). They doesn't have that same history of use behind it which is why that's used in language more frequently.

There actually have been a few attempts to retake it and slam people using the word as an insult too! It just hasn't gained as much ground on that.

 

[PBMcNair]

Sorry, but I really don't understand why 'it' would not be okay, while 'they' is.

Basically, "they" is for people, and if memory serves, in some languages using the plural form is respectful.
"It" is for rocks, chairs and other inanimate objects. People generally don't like being objects.

 

[kuolonen]

snip

You know, personally I do not care for this matter one way or the other, for or against, but it's this type of froth mouthed defensive bites that make me side with the other side, even if the other side is composed of Hitler, Stalin and Fox News. Even were it directly targeted at transgender people, if they get offended by this level of joke, they are the kind of people I would not like to be in any kind of contact with. That is the kind of image that is getting off here. Something to think about.

For one, I did not think of transgender people were target of this joke until your I read the, in hindsight predictable, "defensive bite" -posts. I knew from the start that pit that is called tumblr has once again spewed something new out, after missing terribly the point of noun discussions that are afoot.

 

[Kyogissun]

Oh god, please keep up this Tumblr mockery. That little pocket of the website that is so god damned vocal about how they're being 'oppressed' and how 'we could never understand them' and in denial of their 'movement' being nothing more than another teen angst level of temper tantrum that they really need to just be smacked up over and over.

Because until they start acting like adults, they're never going to be taken as seriously as they want to.

Honestly, I want to thank Carter and Rydell for tackling this issue. I know it might seem stupid, but even though it's a small group on Tumblr, it's a very loud and hateful, and stupid group.

I don't think it could be better said.