Way back in junior high and my first two years of high school, I ran with a seriously geeky crowd. Star Trek, Dungeons and Dragons*, we were into the whole nine yards. There were four of us and we spent most of our free time together. What we said and did remained within the group because there weren't any mechanisms for others to discover it. Some of us drew comic books, others wrote fiction, but none of it saw the light of day beyond us.
What happens to you when everything you do is public? What happens when your freshman crush can see every part of your life as can everyone else in the school? Dig this.
Well it’s simply cause I’m genuinely scared of driving so it just takes me longer to actually try and learn to drive, nothing to do with wanting independence and communication is anxiety inducing because I get judged on literally anything I say or do :/
— Keith ‧₊✜˚. semi ia (@taegyuflirt) August 10, 2021
"(C)ommunication is anxiety inducing because I get judged on literally anything I say or do."
Indeed you do, Keith. Since our lives are online and the kids are posting all kinds of information on their social media accounts, every part of you is available for critique.
Confession: My fiction was horrible. Some of my cartooning was funny, but only in bits and pieces.
Had we lived in the fishbowl of Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and what have you, we'd have quickly become conformist and risk-averse. We'd have also agitated for a non-judgmental world. Any standards would have been a threat because we couldn't have lived up to them, at least not in all the parts of our lives that would have been visible.
It's no wonder some of the kids want safe spaces. We had our safe space, it was wherever the four of us happened to be. We were hidden in plain sight from people who might have judged us. Social media has ripped our lives open.
Speaking Of Judgment
A few days ago, a fan sitting behind home plate at a Rockies game, called out to the Colorado mascot, Dinger the Dinosaur. The dude in the goofy costume was a few aisles away and the fan wanted to get a family picture with Dinger. His yells got picked up on the home plate mike. With sensitivity that would make a moth's antennae jealous, the racial justice crew misheard "Dinger!" as the N-word. They leapt into action and howled out their cries of "RACISM! RACISM! RACISM!" Here's one.
Old Mike wasn't surprised that the fans around the dude didn't react to the N-word. He knows our type. We're perfectly comfortable with someone shouting racial epithets at the top of their lungs. It's who we are and Mike hates us.
This is Mike.
The WaPo hates you so thoroughly that they keep this guy on the payroll to write about how horrible we are and, from time to time, pen something or other about sports business.
That's something to keep in mind.
Bonus Bit: If you want to see how the rest of the folks in the media reacted, check out this thread. They hate you. They all really, really hate you.
* - We used the original three books, of course.
For the record, I liked your ST:TNG parodies. I still chuckle at the line about forcing lions to become vegitarian. Of course, that was well after the events of your story.
ReplyDeleteA couple of Garage Logic tie-ins. First, in regard to the Rockies statement on the fan yelling Digger (because that is what he was yelling), to get the attention of the Rockies' Mascot; Joe reminded us of this gem:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkaNKH8vxF4
Second, off topic. Apparently, the Governor of Oregon has removed the requirements to read, write, or perform any math, in order to graduate from High School. They had a long discussion on the stupidity of that and how the Democrats are treating minorities as "less than" others. And because they are "less than" they can't be expected to perform at the same level. Kenny has been reading interviews of former slaves done in the 1920s. Apparently, Jefferson Davis hired teachers to educate his slaves. So The President of the Confederacy did more for black people, than modern day Governor of Oregon. The discussion starts in the late 30 minutes. Kenny's revelation hits at 42:00 of the August 10th Garage Logic (spotify, iTunes, anywhere you get your podcasts).
They hate you. They all really, really hate you.
ReplyDeleteThat seems like a pretty good example of white fragility. No one was harmed the media coverage, yet so many people seem offended by it. Why did you think this was worth mentioning? What did it mean to you?
What about this world would make Michael Lee think otherwise? You want a list of times sports fans have shouted out racial epithets this past year?
I agree with you strongly on the need for safe spaces, though; places you don't have to perform for the rest of the public. Mine was always among board gamers (in high school, mostly the chess club).