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[PA Comic] Wednesday, January 1, 2014 - Primal
Geth
LegionPerseus VeilRegistered User, Moderator, Penny Arcade Staff, Vanilla Staff vanilla
LegionPerseus VeilRegistered User, Moderator, Penny Arcade Staff, Vanilla Staff vanilla
Posts
Gamer Dater - My Video Game Dating Website full of Faygo
Strip Search Wastebasket of Broken Dreams App I made
It is a delicious, delicious lampooning of many people's sense of entitlement.
The lamp is a lie.
Though I must disagree on one point: While the PAX may be bigger and more important than Mike or Jerry or Penny Arcade as a whole, I would be devastated to finally make it to the PAX (I've been fantasizing ever since moving to 'the lower 48') and discover neither of my gaming-community heroes participated much anymore.
Please, I beg you, Mike and Jerry, do not ever remove yourselves completely from this thing. I can understand distancing yourself, since not everyone appreciates PA for what it is (as evidenced by the reactions to the loss of PAR and PATV), but PAX is your thing. It may have grown up, but it's still yours.
Yet the line that struck out to me was how he said this was something he has to figure out by himself. I get what he means, in terms of he's the only person who can change himself. But he is in no way alone. Ignoring the obvious of his wife, kid, and close family and friends, well.. I'm sure everyone in the greater PA family would be willing to help on some level, even if it's as simple as staying out of the way. I recognize that Mike & Jerry don't read the forums, but.. just like any part of this community, We're all here to help.
Anyway, as much as I would want to see Mike and Jerry being front and center whenever I finally make it to a PAX, if Mike has solid reason to feel like it's hurting PAX (or Child's Play) for him to be at all front and center, it's hard to say he shouldn't. I hope at minimum they continue to do some kind of panel, even if it's not main stage huge like what they do now.
Don't take Peyote to have a personal epiphany, eat bad Olive Garden instead. There's probably a whole series of comics in that.
Still, a really moving post.
Steam profile.
Getting started with BATTLETECH: Part 1 / Part 2
All food poisoning gives you fever dreams, as your body turns itself inside out while making you hate the very idea of food.. It is the worst kind of sick and lingers for weeks.
As far as his Resolutions post...I think it takes a big person to say that. My favorite line is toward the end, " I’ve said I’m sorry for the things I’ve said but I’ve never apologized for who I am." How often have you heard it said - by some brat or in a show or whatever - that they'll never apologize for who they are or how they live their life? That seems to be the thing these days. "BE YOURSELF AND FUCK THE WORLD IF THEY DON'T LIKE IT!" That's got to be the worst advice in the world. I hope I'm not misreading the sentence. Mike demonstrates one reason why this doesn't work out so well...I can see entirely how he became the jerk he described. It has been a boon for him and for us with Penny Arcade, but he really lucked out. It could have been quite the opposite, as I'm sure it is for many people. He has found success and fulfillment, and he has obtained a wife, family, and many friends. The odds of pulling that off while being a jerk are pretty much up a rat's ass. For the folks who are the opposite and lament their existence, maybe that post can be a bit inspirational. Hell, I hope it can be inspirational for anyone, even those that are content. Maybe the problem isn't that all girls are stupid, maybe when you miss every fly ball because the sun was in your eyes, the problem isn't the sun. Maybe your employers aren't all greedy assholes, maybe you should look at the common thread: you. You might get irritated with friends that seem to avoid you for no reason, but maybe they avoid you because you push them away.
I might be stretching a little in my attempt at applying his post (and I might be projecting just a wee little bit here), but I can't say enough how much that was appreciated and how I wish more people would say that. Apologizing for what you've done is appreciated, but maybe you need to look in the mirror. If being a jerk isn't working out for you, it's time to multiclass into nice person.
"Gabe has gone Tycho". If this is considered insulting, so be it.
On Assholery: In distilled form: "Will the strip lose it's edge if you go all nice an shit?". Is there a fear of this?
Personally, my trepidations exist, but do not abound on this question.
Since the current thread-theme is "Yes! Be nice! Yay Nice.", I will underdoggedly take the counterview.
Those who perform for the masses develop assholian traits to enhance their survival.
This is obviously different than being force raised in the bonsai-mold of Asshole, but.
The wicked rip of satire requires some underlying assholiness.
I wish this line would sing with more soul, but it don't.
"Don't throw the satire out with the shittyness".
-Unrated
LAMP @ 4:22!!
Arguably the best song of the century. I'm not exaggerating.
Maybe I'm early?
I hope not.
I sincerely hope that the deeds will match the words. I had considered not reading PA anymore, but I think people deserve chances, especially when they've shown they're willing to admit they screwed up. I actually like Mike and Jerry a lot, which is why some of the stuff they've done was so upsetting to me, especially considering how much contact they've had with people and situations that should have meant they'd known better.
Mike (I doubt he'll read this, but you never know), forgive yourself, man, and love yourself. That's the best place to start, and then talk to people and really listen to their stories. Open your heart.
I, too, am wondering what that meant.
Somehow I got a reputation as nonviolent.
I don't understand this sentiment. If the comic's funny, who cares if it was written by Mao and Stalin then illustrated by a member of the KKK?
Uh... plenty of people would, probably?
There is a whole debate about separating the author from the work (see the brouhaha over Orson Scott Card's dickbaggery and the recent Ender's Game film), but the what it boils down to is that if you feel uncomfortable or upset by someone's actions enough to wish to disassociate from his or her work, then that is absolutely your prerogative. If the creator is a racist, a homophobe, a bully, or just an all out and out asshole, and someone no longer wishes to consume the media from them because of it, then I don't think you should them guff for their rationale. Certainly not, "But it's still funny! Why you gotta bring up that this dude belongs to a group that lynched (or still lynches) minorities? Just forget about it and laugh!"
Who's saying it's not? People can have all kinds of bad opinions (in fact I'd bet that you're thinking this about me right now). I disagree with the intense focus that so many here seem to put on the Moral Qualities of the author. Certainly not "Why you gotta bring that up," but certainly "that doesn't change the character or quality of the work." The germane question is: is it funny when you have no idea who wrote it?
I wouldn't turn my nose up at a working HIV vaccine discovered by a racist.
Instead, I've decided that Mike's personal efforts to change should be encouraged. If we don't let people who screw up and cause harm know that there are people out there willing to give them a chance, where's the incentive to change? If you screw up, and people write you off, what's the point of becoming a better person? I've dealt with just that situation. I've had people write me off, close off any chance of forgiveness.
While I believe that you should be a better person for your own sake, whether people give you a second chance or not, it doesn't hurt to know that there's a chance to help heal those you've wronged by making amends.
Dude, a medical breakthrough that could affect the lives of the entirety of the human populace on Earth (which is necesarily would be a result of work by many, many people, not just one, at that) is not even equivalent to an artistic work that is created by one or two people. Maybe some of my food is grown by someone who thinks chinks like me should deported back on the boat. Well, tough shit for me, I still gotta eat. But I don't gotta consume a webcomic, book, film, et cetera.
So that's why it's not a problem of an individual chooses not to do so because of reasons outside of the work itself. If enough chooses not to, it does send a message. On the flipside, if you choose to continue to consume this work even with the acknowledgement that, yeah, this person kind of sucks, then that's ok too. But asserting that everyone should follow that latter viewpoint? Nah, dude. Nah.