The Shame Game

[Tennyson]

@Ghost said in The Shame Game:

@Tennyson said in The Shame Game:

@Lithium said in The Shame Game:

@Tennyson Only thing downvote worthy in that, is the assumption that all countries have the same rights as others.

Oi. Tooootally separate discussion. But yet another reason why Americans behave like overpriveleged children. They don't understand just how good they have it when compared to a large portion of the world.

I think it's sad that Canadians and the English and the Germans and the French and the Swiss and the Swedish and the Australians and the Luxembourgish don't have freedom.

They, like, must be reallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreally jealous of America having it written on a piece of paper that we're allowed to talk, because those dudes are clearly not allowed to speak.

Edit: Found and shared a gif, because in Wales, they get put in jail if they gif and I wanted to show off how great it is to be free.

Wow. That. Was an incredibly obtuse and derailing reply. It took a cited example of 1st world privelege and turned it into an exposition of ignorance.

It's also a perfect example why shaming is a failed methodology.

[Coin]

@Tennyson said in The Shame Game:

@Ghost said in The Shame Game:

@Tennyson said in The Shame Game:

@Lithium said in The Shame Game:

@Tennyson Only thing downvote worthy in that, is the assumption that all countries have the same rights as others.

Oi. Tooootally separate discussion. But yet another reason why Americans behave like overpriveleged children. They don't understand just how good they have it when compared to a large portion of the world.

I think it's sad that Canadians and the English and the Germans and the French and the Swiss and the Swedish and the Australians and the Luxembourgish don't have freedom.

They, like, must be reallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreally jealous of America having it written on a piece of paper that we're allowed to talk, because those dudes are clearly not allowed to speak.

Edit: Found and shared a gif, because in Wales, they get put in jail if they gif and I wanted to show off how great it is to be free.

Wow. That. Was an incredibly obtuse and derailing reply. It took a cited example of 1st world privelege and turned it into an exposition of ignorance.

It's also a perfect example why shaming is a failed methodology.

Yeah, that was a horrible derail.

There are an immense amount of countries that are underprivileged and whose do not have the same policies and rights as others. The U.S. is one of the ones that are the loudest about their freedoms (to the point where "this is a Free Country" is the motto of every asshole who wants to do whatever the fuck they want without any repercussions) which is why people, like @Tennyson here, singled it out. But saying "oh, there's a bunch of other countries that aren't oppressed" doesn't meant that there aren't a shitload of other countries that are.

It's kind of like saying "white men are overprivileged with regards to equal gender rights" and being told "oh, sure, but so are black men and muslim men and latino men and chinese men"--yeah, no fucking shit. Doesn't mean the original statement isn't accurate.

[Ghost]

@Tennyson said in The Shame Game:

@Ghost said in The Shame Game:

@Tennyson said in The Shame Game:

@Lithium said in The Shame Game:

@Tennyson Only thing downvote worthy in that, is the assumption that all countries have the same rights as others.

Oi. Tooootally separate discussion. But yet another reason why Americans behave like overpriveleged children. They don't understand just how good they have it when compared to a large portion of the world.

I think it's sad that Canadians and the English and the Germans and the French and the Swiss and the Swedish and the Australians and the Luxembourgish don't have freedom.

They, like, must be reallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreally jealous of America having it written on a piece of paper that we're allowed to talk, because those dudes are clearly not allowed to speak.

Edit: Found and shared a gif, because in Wales, they get put in jail if they gif and I wanted to show off how great it is to be free.

Wow. That. Was an incredibly obtuse and derailing reply. It took a cited example of 1st world privelege and turned it into an exposition of ignorance.

It's also a perfect example why shaming is a failed methodology.

What? No. I'm not being obtuse and ignorant. Every now and then I just enjoy celebrating my American freedom and first world privileges, and feel bad for all of those countries that have been around far longer than ours that are simply too afraid to embrace freedom and everything awesomely American. True fact: The English really do spend a lot of time being jealous about our culture and our impressive political leaders, and are both not allowed to speak against the queen (death by petrol) or the prime minister (death by flamethrower in asshole), so they just spend a reallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreally large amount of time staring across the ocean with sad, puppy dog eyes wishing that they had the political process and discourse to follow in our example, if they so chose.

So, with that, I choose to express my freedom by posting a gif of American Hero Kenny Powers showing a small, Mexican farm league baseball team what's up.

[Tennyson]

Moving right along then.

[Ghost]

Replying to myself and DOUBLE POST: BECAUSE FREEDOM!!!

...and it's my God (and Ronald Reagan) given right to derail this currently NOT derailed Shame Game thread with talk about global politics and societies with a short diatribe about how, as an American, I'm getting reallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreally sick of waiting for other countries to talk about how great America is, so I'll do it for them...

Totally not derailing the Shame Game thread with politics.

#Sexy drawn-on abs on birdmen.

#ShameGame

Edit: Tennyson, could you delete your comment above mine? I didn't think you were gonna post so soon and it's delegitimizing my "DOUBLE POST" thing. It makes me look like a douche.

[Ghost]

@Ghost are you about to rerail this derail with a derail designed to rerail? Answer? YUSSSSSS

but first...a Hulk Hogan gif that doesn't involve his penis

NOW.

Some of you find yourselves the victim of shaming that my little bell icon has informed me were up-voted. A shaming tactic was laid in place on this very forum! It can happen anywhere.

RERAIL: There are differing grades of shaming, but can shaming be used as a force for good, or at least some kind of low-grade entertainment to make a conversation less serious?

Let us discuss.

[Vorpal]

Well, you know that in my country of origin people are persecuted by the government for criticizing or speaking ill of the president over social media, there are gag laws that forbid the press from touching certain subjects in an unfavorable light and the president has sued, won, and appropriated newspapers after they were critical of him?

Tennyson is right, I do think- most Americans don't really know how good they have it. German and French speech (to pick two of the mentioned countries, because I only have so much time >_< ) aren't as free as most assume. In France, for example, it is an offense to insult the national flag or anthem (there goes Penn and Teller's 'burning the flag' segment), and you also can't insult or make fun of anyone who serves the public under the restrictions of "offending the dignity of the Republic"- which is probably why, to Eddie Izzard's surprise, the French had not developed the art of stand-up comedy by the time he took his act there (seriously, though, Eddie Izzard is a god.) Positive portrayal of drugs is also punished- newspapers and magazines criticizing drug laws and arguing for drug reforms get hit over and over by the government with penalties and sanctions.

In Germany, Insult is punishable under Section 185, as well as the use of symbols of 'Unconstitutional Organizations' (initially the Swastika, but expanded to any organizations the government comes to consider unconstitutional.) It also punishes disparagement of the Federal President (section 90), the state and its symbols (90a), Organs and Representatives of Foreign States (103), insulting of faiths, religious societies and organizations dedicated to a philosophy of life if they could disturb public peace (166) and dissemination of pornographic writings (section 184- there goes fanfiction.net.de!) Assemblies must be registered beforehand, and groups can be banned from assembling- like banned political parties.

That's a small handful of things, really... and while America has its own ugly snags (and this post is in no way an attempt at waving them away), comparatively speaking I'm going to stay with it. I thought the perspective of an outsider who is becoming an American by choice might add something to the discussion.

[Ghost]

I do know one thing that only America will have and no other nation could:

American Gladiators.

Because it would have to be "Belgian Gladiators" or something stupid like "Gladiators in Italy".

...and if some other country used American Gladiators, then President Donald Trump would totally send someone over to that country to America a BGM-109 Tomahawk Cruise Missile into their Prime Minister's arsehole.

[Vorpal]

... am I the only one who had a crush on Nitro?

Asking for a friend >_>

[Kestrel]

Relevant: Monica Lewinsky on the Price of Shame (22:30 minute TED Talk)

Choice quotes for those who CBA to click:

I was seen by many, but actually known by few. And I get it, it was easy to forget that 'that woman' was dimensional; had a soul, and was once unbroken.

I lost my reputation and my dignity. I lost almost everything, and I almost lost my life.

There is a very personal price to public humiliation, and the growth of the internet has jacked up that price.

We talk a lot about our right to freedom of expression, but we need to talk more about our responsibility to freedom of expression. [...] Let's acknowledge the difference between speaking up with intention and speaking up for attention. The internet is the super highway for the id, but online, showing empathy to others benefits us all and helps create a safer and better world. We need to communicate online with compassion, consume news with compassion, and click with compassion. Just imagine walking a mile in someone else's headline.

I can imagine that just by posting this there's already a visceral hard eye-roll reaction for a holier-than-thou attitude. And honestly, that's the problem with certain internet and global cultures. Apathy is currency, and acting like you give a shit gets people either defensive or suspicious.

[Ganymede]

@Kestrel

I think the sentiment is sound, but the practice has left us cynical. There are countless stories of internet charity cases gone wrong, and countless stories of guilty victims, all of which are verified and relatable.

Ms. Lewinsky's sentiment unfortunately comes off as a sound-bite. It wasn't her intent. And someone out there will hook onto it, and ride it into the oblivion of meaninglessness.

To me, the real shame is not how the internet can make you feel worthless, but how the distance therefrom can make you feel forgotten.

[silentsophia]

I'd like to point out that we have people in America who starve to death. FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS, LOLOLOLOLOL. SPOILED AMERICANS.

We have Americans who die for want of simple, preventative medicare. Fucking spoiled Americans.

Don't get me wrong, we have it great in a lot of ways. But we also have a lot of problems.

We also have sexy guys named Nitro.

[surreality]

@silentsophia Pretty much this.

I'm not down with the generalizations that kicked this off. This is mostly because I have a notable distaste for generalizations and think they make people look narrow-minded and bigoted.

I realize these statements are essentially conversational shorthand for many people, who don't feel like 'wasting' the words to say something more like, "It seems to be fairly common for many of <group> to do/think/say/behave <thing>," but I don't consider the spending of those words to be a waste.

It's the difference between blindly insulting a group based on group membership alone, and observing that within that group membership exist individuals -- potentially even a majority of the membership -- that behave in a certain manner.

It's not an insignificant difference and it's a sticking point for me personally. I recognize that most people intend the latter even when stating the former; otherwise their logic is shot to hell with the first individual that does not demonstrate <behavior>, and most folks aren't that dumb. Unfortunately, not 'wasting' those words makes the bigots and those using conversational shorthand generally indistinguishable without spending so many more words on the subject than they would have if they had bothered to be clear from the outset.

[WTFE]

One disappointing thing in China is beer. Chinese beer ranges from tolerable (the better ones from Qingdao) to stuff that barely manages to exceed even American beer in flavour. It's because of this that I have to keep scanning Taobao for bargains on imports. Like this:

That's 48 half-liter tins of German beer. It's exported German beer, so pretty much the worst of the breed. Still, worst of breed from Germany exceeds best of breed in China so that's fine by me!