i love nick kroll. his face is extremely emotive and makes me laugh- sort of like roger from american dad. it doesn't even take a joke- just a facial expression.
i really didn't dig that music video you linked me tho, var.
i might still check out the show tho
+1
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ElldrenIs a woman dammitceterum censeoRegistered Userregular
Ell, there are a lot of counterfactuals that annoy me but the idea that the war is prevented with a stronger Prime Minister (like say Churchill) just drives me up the fucking wall.
Which war?
WW2: Europe's Bogus Journey.
Hmm, I've been thinking about that lately. The way I see it, Chamberlain, who took (takes?) so much of the blame did almost everything right, keeping the lead-up to of WWI in mind.
Now, in hindsight that didn't work out, but I hardly can blame him for that.
Eh, he could have done a better job with the military build up and so forth. But wars happen due to complex social and political trends, not the actions of individual leaders. This tends to be one of the last bastions of Great Man Theory taught as history.
Thank god most IR folks don't do great man theory on this anymore.
WWII is a lovely mix of realist theory plus constructivism plus legalism and norms now. Which makes sense.
Individual events like say Malta or similar high level conferences tend to fall under elite theory but again, that is more of a look at the head of a special interest than individuals though they do get looked at for outcomes.
It doesn't happen among the Mil History types* either. The place where I tend to see it the most is in History taught at the K-12 level where it's loved because it makes for easy narratives.
*You see it sometimes when talking about Battles but it works on a tactical level because the scope is so much smaller.
scale and scope are super important
fuck gendered marketing
+2
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y2jake215certified Flat Birther theoristthe Last Good Boy onlineRegistered Userregular
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH
maybe i'm streaming terrible dj right now if i am its here
+3
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BeNarwhalThe Work Left UnfinishedRegistered Userregular
Ell, there are a lot of counterfactuals that annoy me but the idea that the war is prevented with a stronger Prime Minister (like say Churchill) just drives me up the fucking wall.
Which war?
WW2: Europe's Bogus Journey.
Hmm, I've been thinking about that lately. The way I see it, Chamberlain, who took (takes?) so much of the blame did almost everything right, keeping the lead-up to of WWI in mind.
Now, in hindsight that didn't work out, but I hardly can blame him for that.
Eh, he could have done a better job with the military build up and so forth. But wars happen due to complex social and political trends, not the actions of individual leaders. This tends to be one of the last bastions of Great Man Theory taught as history.
Thank god most IR folks don't do great man theory on this anymore.
WWII is a lovely mix of realist theory plus constructivism plus legalism and norms now. Which makes sense.
Individual events like say Malta or similar high level conferences tend to fall under elite theory but again, that is more of a look at the head of a special interest than individuals though they do get looked at for outcomes.
Individuals can still impart a lot of flavor, and can generally affect important outcomes if their positions within the social/political decision making process allow them such (generally absolute monarchs, dictators and presidents)
That is why elite analysis is important.
I find Nixon's trip to China a great thing to teach this with.
But stuff like WWII has so many interlocking parts elite analysis tends to be only useful on micro level events not the run up to the war as a whole.
Elites can be individuals (Zhou or Mao or Nixon or Kissinger) or special interest groups with small heads. And certain areas such as opening relations can be instrumental. But stuff like say the start of WWII? Not a great place for that type of analysis.
+1
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TraceGNU Terry Pratchett; GNU Gus; GNU Carrie Fisher; GNU Adam WeRegistered Userregular
going through this cs101 class makes me want to get an arduino thingie and program a little robot or summat
you can get arduino's at radioshack bro, it's almost certainly gonna be pricier than you can find online, and you'd probably be better getting a more specific kit you think would be fun.
It's kinda neat that you can find them in brick & mortar stores though, I got one for a bro as a last minute graduation present.
maker magazine has a shop with all types of little microcontroller thingies in it
Ell, there are a lot of counterfactuals that annoy me but the idea that the war is prevented with a stronger Prime Minister (like say Churchill) just drives me up the fucking wall.
Which war?
WW2: Europe's Bogus Journey.
Hmm, I've been thinking about that lately. The way I see it, Chamberlain, who took (takes?) so much of the blame did almost everything right, keeping the lead-up to of WWI in mind.
Now, in hindsight that didn't work out, but I hardly can blame him for that.
Eh, he could have done a better job with the military build up and so forth. But wars happen due to complex social and political trends, not the actions of individual leaders. This tends to be one of the last bastions of Great Man Theory taught as history.
Thank god most IR folks don't do great man theory on this anymore.
WWII is a lovely mix of realist theory plus constructivism plus legalism and norms now. Which makes sense.
Individual events like say Malta or similar high level conferences tend to fall under elite theory but again, that is more of a look at the head of a special interest than individuals though they do get looked at for outcomes.
Individuals can still impart a lot of flavor, and can generally affect important outcomes if their positions within the social/political decision making process allow them such (generally absolute monarchs, dictators and presidents)
That is why elite analysis is important.
I find Nixon's trip to China a great thing to teach this with.
But stuff like WWII has so many interlocking parts elite analysis tends to be only useful on micro level events not the run up to the war as a whole.
Elites can be individuals (Zhou or Mao or Nixon or Kissinger) or special interest groups with small heads. And certain areas such as opening relations can be instrumental. But stuff like say the start of WWII? Not a great place for that type of analysis.
Johnson's Reconstruction is probably also a good teaching example, as you have an individual (Johnson) and a few moderately sized special interest groups (Radical Congressional Republicans, the Southern planter class)
but yes I concur.
fuck gendered marketing
0
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TehSlothHit Or MissI Guess They Never Miss, HuhRegistered Userregular
going through this cs101 class makes me want to get an arduino thingie and program a little robot or summat
you can get arduino's at radioshack bro, it's almost certainly gonna be pricier than you can find online, and you'd probably be better getting a more specific kit you think would be fun.
It's kinda neat that you can find them in brick & mortar stores though, I got one for a bro as a last minute graduation present.
maker magazine has a shop with all types of little microcontroller thingies in it
I just meant if you wanted to go pick one up and fiddle with it now -- I know I've been tempted to pay the premium but I don't have enough space in my apartment for any more projects.
y2jake215certified Flat Birther theoristthe Last Good Boy onlineRegistered Userregular
TOO MUCH TCHTUNA
maybe i'm streaming terrible dj right now if i am its here
0
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kaleeditySometimes science is more art than scienceRegistered Userregular
there was actually a big longterm fight in my family over kicking a computer years ago
our family pc had a gargantuan dent in its side that my mother blamed on my brother and I kicking it in one of our bouts of anger, thus we couldn't be responsible enough to take care of things
but this was like a chunk of steel and we didn't wear shoes in the house
we would have lost blood doing this with our feet
0
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Irond WillWARNING: NO HURTFUL COMMENTS, PLEASE!!!!!Cambridge. MAModeratormod
I recognize that in the past I've done the "Ew! {Subculture I don't like}! Gross!" thing and I still do it occasionally. I'm trying to do it less, or at least couch it in more neutral language. "I don't care for {X}" rather than "fucking {X}ies." I'm human, I don't walk on water (mostly).
so here is something i'm kind of interested in:
you and i have been here a long time. you're not quite as old as i am, but still relatively old.
has your perspective towards subcultures generally or nerdy subcultures specifically shifted at all over the time you've spent here?
mine have really pretty dramatically. i'm not really sure if it's a function of just getting older or something else in my life or having to occasionally moderate some kind of problematic subcultures full of really poorly-socialized, resentful young people, or just something in my character.
it kind of seems like a few other of our older members have kind of drifted in this vague direction over time, but you seem to have kind of a distinct perspective.
My time here has made me want to be less judgmental
What is gained by me raging about or tsk tsk pitying people I see at pax who are into different stuff than me? How the hell am I am expert on which of those people are going to be successful? I can't possibly know what problems or successes they have going on. It feels pretty lame to feel sorry for them because they are "other ".
The board is a place where I've met all sorts of people into all kinds of stuff and I would have missed out on a shit ton of fun if I'd made assumptions about nerds and subcultures.
huh mine has kind of had the opposite effect.
like i came into this place really gung-ho about subcultures and subversion and hard unapologetic individuality and nerd solidarity and somehow had it kind of stripped away over the years.
i wonder why that is.
like, i don't even really personally identify with "mainstream". i think i'm probably kind of a weird dude. i just have really mixed feelings about celebrating that.
0
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Irond WillWARNING: NO HURTFUL COMMENTS, PLEASE!!!!!Cambridge. MAModeratormod
Ell, there are a lot of counterfactuals that annoy me but the idea that the war is prevented with a stronger Prime Minister (like say Churchill) just drives me up the fucking wall.
Which war?
WW2: Europe's Bogus Journey.
Hmm, I've been thinking about that lately. The way I see it, Chamberlain, who took (takes?) so much of the blame did almost everything right, keeping the lead-up to of WWI in mind.
Now, in hindsight that didn't work out, but I hardly can blame him for that.
Eh, he could have done a better job with the military build up and so forth. But wars happen due to complex social and political trends, not the actions of individual leaders. This tends to be one of the last bastions of Great Man Theory taught as history.
Thank god most IR folks don't do great man theory on this anymore.
WWII is a lovely mix of realist theory plus constructivism plus legalism and norms now. Which makes sense.
Individual events like say Malta or similar high level conferences tend to fall under elite theory but again, that is more of a look at the head of a special interest than individuals though they do get looked at for outcomes.
Individuals can still impart a lot of flavor, and can generally affect important outcomes if their positions within the social/political decision making process allow them such (generally absolute monarchs, dictators and presidents)
That is why elite analysis is important.
I find Nixon's trip to China a great thing to teach this with.
But stuff like WWII has so many interlocking parts elite analysis tends to be only useful on micro level events not the run up to the war as a whole.
Elites can be individuals (Zhou or Mao or Nixon or Kissinger) or special interest groups with small heads. And certain areas such as opening relations can be instrumental. But stuff like say the start of WWII? Not a great place for that type of analysis.
Johnson's Reconstruction is probably also a good teaching example, as you have an individual (Johnson) and a few moderately sized special interest groups (Radical Congressional Republicans, the Southern planter class)
but yes I concur.
Yeah for internal politics that would be a good example. New Deal with Roosevelt would be a good one for competing special interest and individual power.
0
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ElldrenIs a woman dammitceterum censeoRegistered Userregular
I recognize that in the past I've done the "Ew! {Subculture I don't like}! Gross!" thing and I still do it occasionally. I'm trying to do it less, or at least couch it in more neutral language. "I don't care for {X}" rather than "fucking {X}ies." I'm human, I don't walk on water (mostly).
so here is something i'm kind of interested in:
you and i have been here a long time. you're not quite as old as i am, but still relatively old.
has your perspective towards subcultures generally or nerdy subcultures specifically shifted at all over the time you've spent here?
mine have really pretty dramatically. i'm not really sure if it's a function of just getting older or something else in my life or having to occasionally moderate some kind of problematic subcultures full of really poorly-socialized, resentful young people, or just something in my character.
it kind of seems like a few other of our older members have kind of drifted in this vague direction over time, but you seem to have kind of a distinct perspective.
My time here has made me want to be less judgmental
What is gained by me raging about or tsk tsk pitying people I see at pax who are into different stuff than me? How the hell am I am expert on which of those people are going to be successful? I can't possibly know what problems or successes they have going on. It feels pretty lame to feel sorry for them because they are "other ".
The board is a place where I've met all sorts of people into all kinds of stuff and I would have missed out on a shit ton of fun if I'd made assumptions about nerds and subcultures.
huh mine has kind of had the opposite effect.
like i came into this place really gung-ho about subcultures and subversion and hard unapologetic individuality and nerd solidarity and somehow had it kind of stripped away over the years.
i wonder why that is.
like, i don't even really personally identify with "mainstream". i think i'm probably kind of a weird dude. i just have really mixed feelings about celebrating that.
That was an anticlimax. Kid just left the pizza. The pepper must have been some kind of protest. The waiter boxed it to go, though, so that'll be a fun surprise later.
[Muffled sounds of gorilla violence]
+1
Options
Irond WillWARNING: NO HURTFUL COMMENTS, PLEASE!!!!!Cambridge. MAModeratormod
That was an anticlimax. Kid just left the pizza. The pepper must have been some kind of protest. The waiter boxed it to go, though, so that'll be a fun surprise later.
Some poor bastard is going to wander into their kitchen late at night, be making a cup of tea, and sleepily decide that a slice of cold pizza is a good idea
going through this cs101 class makes me want to get an arduino thingie and program a little robot or summat
you can get arduino's at radioshack bro, it's almost certainly gonna be pricier than you can find online, and you'd probably be better getting a more specific kit you think would be fun.
It's kinda neat that you can find them in brick & mortar stores though, I got one for a bro as a last minute graduation present.
maker magazine has a shop with all types of little microcontroller thingies in it
I just meant if you wanted to go pick one up and fiddle with it now -- I know I've been tempted to pay the premium but I don't have enough space in my apartment for any more projects.
I have a subscription to Make and it has a lot of projects and stuff in it
maybe I will browse through and try one
I was intimidated before but I am feeling more stronk
has your perspective towards subcultures generally or nerdy subcultures specifically shifted at all over the time you've spent here?
mine have really pretty dramatically. i'm not really sure if it's a function of just getting older or something else in my life or having to occasionally moderate some kind of problematic subcultures full of really poorly-socialized, resentful young people, or just something in my character.
it kind of seems like a few other of our older members have kind of drifted in this vague direction over time, but you seem to have kind of a distinct perspective.
I think that due to your position as a mod, you have to deal with some of the most egregious and aggressive aspects of those subcultures. I hear it from @jacobkosh, too.
To me, people who like anime are people who like anime. To you, people who like anime have a vocal minority contingent to whom it is TYRANNY WORSE THAN HITLER that we don't have a dedicated anime megathread, and who (I assume) will make sure you get reminded of that in your PM box on a regular basis. And isn't liking anime EXACTLY LIKE BEING GAY therefore if you don't let them have an anime megathread then YOU'RE JUST LIKE A HOMOPHOBE.
I think that's going to wear you down. I think that's going to have a similar effect on you as, say, aggressive sexual harassment, except that you're being harassed over somebody else's characteristics (the harasser likes anime) rather than your own (you have a vagina). I think that makes it easier to (correctly) externalize the harassment as assholes being assholes.
But I think that kind of emotional wear and tear is extant even if it doesn't get manifested in the same way or break you down to the same degree. You simply can't have people hostile to you all the time without it souring you. That's why mods burn out. Cops have to deal with it, too, so do ER workers like @Atomika. Anybody in a position of authority.
But you asked about me, and I'm talking about you, which is unfair.
I have noticed that the subcultures for which I've voiced "Ew! Gross!" sentiments are the subcultures that I've either tried out and decided I didn't like (furries, for example) or feel like I might be easily stereotyped as (burners, for example). In that way, it's a form of posturing, trying to escape the stereotypes that I feel I am easily pigeonholed into. "Don't see me as a burner. Just see me as a dude who happens to like doing drugs at outdoor parties occasionally. Just... y'know... in the forest rather than the desert. Where I can take a shower the next morning."
Using furries as an example, I've done the "Ew! Furries!" thing here and elsewhere in the past. But I still end up friends with furries via other communities - mostly through Magic judges or BDSM - so I have to reconcile that I've been "Ew!" towards furries in the past with the fact that there are furries I know now who I like. The easy way to reconcile that is to say to myself, "Well, these furries aren't like those furries. These furries are not as gross." Which is true, but that opens up another question - what makes them nicer?
For me, the reasons I got grossed out by furries were issues of sexual misconduct and personal responsibility. It was people rampantly violating my and others' physical boundaries. It was people putting up sexually explicit furry art in locations where children (who were attracted by the cute cartoon animals) would see it. It was people refusing to take responsibility for stuff that they needed to do because "don't bother me I'm a cat now. meow!" (no, you're a dude who pushes a broom now because that's the chore you chose and I have dishes to wash.) And of course it was the simple hygiene issues because nerd gatherings smell bad.
So for me, it's not so much about being less judgmental, but adjusting the targets of my judgments. You'll see me be really angry towards these sorts of behaviors here. That's why I got really bristly at PantsB's post about how "all behavior is above even personal social, unspoken reproach is as irrational" because, well, duh. The things that grossed me out about furries aren't really unique to furries, and if somebody is a furry but does not engage in those reprehensible behaviors towards which there are very good objective reasons to be critical, then why should I disrespect that person?
I've gone through a similar process with things that I have never had any involvement in. My hatred towards organized sports had to do with my association with them with PE class (which was horrible), grade school bullying (which happened most frequently around sports & PE & recess time), and my problems with high school (which were particularly intense during homecoming and other times I was expected to show spirit towards institution I actively despised). But my girlfriend loves football and so do some of my close friends. For me to be okay around that and not be hostile, I had to identify and dismantle the structure that led to my hostility.
If I get a little testy about the bronies thing, it's not just that I enjoy the TV show. (I do.) It's that when that aforementioned girlfriend was feeling flight-anxiety on our last trip together, I put on MLP on the iPad to calm her down. It's that one of my best friends had a birthday party last weekend, where her favorite birthday gift was a Rainbow Dash sippy cup that she carried around with her all night. So when people go "Oh god, bronies!" I'm like, "Hey man, you're talking about people I love."
But while my personal connections to these subcultures lend this topic an emotional import, they don't define my position statement. I don't really hang out with any Homestuck fans, but I know there are Homestuck fans here, so if somebody is judgmental towards Homestuck fans for liking Homestuck (beyond a Ludious-style insult comic performance art ribbing) I recognize that it doesn't feel good. That's not the kind of community I want to be a part of.
Eventually I'm going to be 90 years old in a nursing home and none of the subcultures outside my four walls will make sense to me. There will be gatherings of people who love things that I can't even imagine right now. Maybe there will be people who like to dress up like vintage kitchen appliances and walk around going "whirrrrrrr!" I don't fucking know. But if I don't want to age into complete cultural irrelevancy, I have to make an effort between things that truly are worth shame versus things that I simply find alien. And that impetus to understand and accept grows, not shrinks, with age.
Feral on
every person who doesn't like an acquired taste always seems to think everyone who likes it is faking it. it should be an official fallacy.
there was actually a big longterm fight in my family over kicking a computer years ago
our family pc had a gargantuan dent in its side that my mother blamed on my brother and I kicking it in one of our bouts of anger, thus we couldn't be responsible enough to take care of things
but this was like a chunk of steel and we didn't wear shoes in the house
we would have lost blood doing this with our feet
a friend of mine kicked his family's computer with his rollerblades on
why you would be wearing rollerblades in the house in the computer room while playing quake i have no idea - we were kids
anyway it made 4 little dents where the wheels of his rollerblades were
hi everyone sarksus has bad videogame opinions and i let our deep personal friendship cloud my judgment when i read his positive steam review of Banished (no I will not link it for you)
it's bad, or at the very least not good
don't make my mistake
You could be anywhere
On the black screen
+1
Options
TraceGNU Terry Pratchett; GNU Gus; GNU Carrie Fisher; GNU Adam WeRegistered Userregular
No one is really mainstream
We all have our own little quirks and kinks and fantasies that we don't want the world outside our head knowing about.
Some of us humans are less shy about that. Thus we feel offended when they are so free with their hidden thoughts and desires while we must continue suppressing our own.
Posts
The world is moving on without you old man, we will play with matches
this tinderbox planet will burn with the reckless overreach of the young and you will burn with it
NNID: Hakkekage
i really didn't dig that music video you linked me tho, var.
i might still check out the show tho
scale and scope are super important
maybe i'm streaming terrible dj right now if i am its here
Breakfast of champions
That is why elite analysis is important.
I find Nixon's trip to China a great thing to teach this with.
But stuff like WWII has so many interlocking parts elite analysis tends to be only useful on micro level events not the run up to the war as a whole.
Elites can be individuals (Zhou or Mao or Nixon or Kissinger) or special interest groups with small heads. And certain areas such as opening relations can be instrumental. But stuff like say the start of WWII? Not a great place for that type of analysis.
Fixed
No booze on weekdays!
It's a rule I have.
Or else I would totally agree with you.
s/he's right
maker magazine has a shop with all types of little microcontroller thingies in it
@Donkey Kong
Johnson's Reconstruction is probably also a good teaching example, as you have an individual (Johnson) and a few moderately sized special interest groups (Radical Congressional Republicans, the Southern planter class)
but yes I concur.
I just meant if you wanted to go pick one up and fiddle with it now -- I know I've been tempted to pay the premium but I don't have enough space in my apartment for any more projects.
twitch.tv/tehsloth
maybe i'm streaming terrible dj right now if i am its here
our family pc had a gargantuan dent in its side that my mother blamed on my brother and I kicking it in one of our bouts of anger, thus we couldn't be responsible enough to take care of things
but this was like a chunk of steel and we didn't wear shoes in the house
we would have lost blood doing this with our feet
huh mine has kind of had the opposite effect.
like i came into this place really gung-ho about subcultures and subversion and hard unapologetic individuality and nerd solidarity and somehow had it kind of stripped away over the years.
i wonder why that is.
like, i don't even really personally identify with "mainstream". i think i'm probably kind of a weird dude. i just have really mixed feelings about celebrating that.
i am real bad at it
maxed out smartpistol last night. going to try playing like a big boy with guns you have to aim and see if i can cut it
do i have you on xbl?
Yeah for internal politics that would be a good example. New Deal with Roosevelt would be a good one for competing special interest and individual power.
deep-seated subconscious self-loathing?
idunno
I'm frankly as baffled as you personally.
that is correct.
I'm PantsB on XBL, I'll probably play tonight
QEDMF xbl: PantsB G+
I've always been a firm believer of a little nip of something in your morning coffee as a good way to start the day.
Especially in winter.
i have pub trivia tonight and will probably be on late
will look you up when i get on
assuming i can figure out the new party interface that is
Some poor bastard is going to wander into their kitchen late at night, be making a cup of tea, and sleepily decide that a slice of cold pizza is a good idea
I have a subscription to Make and it has a lot of projects and stuff in it
maybe I will browse through and try one
I was intimidated before but I am feeling more stronk
I think that due to your position as a mod, you have to deal with some of the most egregious and aggressive aspects of those subcultures. I hear it from @jacobkosh, too.
To me, people who like anime are people who like anime. To you, people who like anime have a vocal minority contingent to whom it is TYRANNY WORSE THAN HITLER that we don't have a dedicated anime megathread, and who (I assume) will make sure you get reminded of that in your PM box on a regular basis. And isn't liking anime EXACTLY LIKE BEING GAY therefore if you don't let them have an anime megathread then YOU'RE JUST LIKE A HOMOPHOBE.
Fursecution memes like this one don't really help matters.
I think that's going to wear you down. I think that's going to have a similar effect on you as, say, aggressive sexual harassment, except that you're being harassed over somebody else's characteristics (the harasser likes anime) rather than your own (you have a vagina). I think that makes it easier to (correctly) externalize the harassment as assholes being assholes.
But I think that kind of emotional wear and tear is extant even if it doesn't get manifested in the same way or break you down to the same degree. You simply can't have people hostile to you all the time without it souring you. That's why mods burn out. Cops have to deal with it, too, so do ER workers like @Atomika. Anybody in a position of authority.
But you asked about me, and I'm talking about you, which is unfair.
I have noticed that the subcultures for which I've voiced "Ew! Gross!" sentiments are the subcultures that I've either tried out and decided I didn't like (furries, for example) or feel like I might be easily stereotyped as (burners, for example). In that way, it's a form of posturing, trying to escape the stereotypes that I feel I am easily pigeonholed into. "Don't see me as a burner. Just see me as a dude who happens to like doing drugs at outdoor parties occasionally. Just... y'know... in the forest rather than the desert. Where I can take a shower the next morning."
Using furries as an example, I've done the "Ew! Furries!" thing here and elsewhere in the past. But I still end up friends with furries via other communities - mostly through Magic judges or BDSM - so I have to reconcile that I've been "Ew!" towards furries in the past with the fact that there are furries I know now who I like. The easy way to reconcile that is to say to myself, "Well, these furries aren't like those furries. These furries are not as gross." Which is true, but that opens up another question - what makes them nicer?
For me, the reasons I got grossed out by furries were issues of sexual misconduct and personal responsibility. It was people rampantly violating my and others' physical boundaries. It was people putting up sexually explicit furry art in locations where children (who were attracted by the cute cartoon animals) would see it. It was people refusing to take responsibility for stuff that they needed to do because "don't bother me I'm a cat now. meow!" (no, you're a dude who pushes a broom now because that's the chore you chose and I have dishes to wash.) And of course it was the simple hygiene issues because nerd gatherings smell bad.
So for me, it's not so much about being less judgmental, but adjusting the targets of my judgments. You'll see me be really angry towards these sorts of behaviors here. That's why I got really bristly at PantsB's post about how "all behavior is above even personal social, unspoken reproach is as irrational" because, well, duh. The things that grossed me out about furries aren't really unique to furries, and if somebody is a furry but does not engage in those reprehensible behaviors towards which there are very good objective reasons to be critical, then why should I disrespect that person?
I've gone through a similar process with things that I have never had any involvement in. My hatred towards organized sports had to do with my association with them with PE class (which was horrible), grade school bullying (which happened most frequently around sports & PE & recess time), and my problems with high school (which were particularly intense during homecoming and other times I was expected to show spirit towards institution I actively despised). But my girlfriend loves football and so do some of my close friends. For me to be okay around that and not be hostile, I had to identify and dismantle the structure that led to my hostility.
If I get a little testy about the bronies thing, it's not just that I enjoy the TV show. (I do.) It's that when that aforementioned girlfriend was feeling flight-anxiety on our last trip together, I put on MLP on the iPad to calm her down. It's that one of my best friends had a birthday party last weekend, where her favorite birthday gift was a Rainbow Dash sippy cup that she carried around with her all night. So when people go "Oh god, bronies!" I'm like, "Hey man, you're talking about people I love."
But while my personal connections to these subcultures lend this topic an emotional import, they don't define my position statement. I don't really hang out with any Homestuck fans, but I know there are Homestuck fans here, so if somebody is judgmental towards Homestuck fans for liking Homestuck (beyond a Ludious-style insult comic performance art ribbing) I recognize that it doesn't feel good. That's not the kind of community I want to be a part of.
Eventually I'm going to be 90 years old in a nursing home and none of the subcultures outside my four walls will make sense to me. There will be gatherings of people who love things that I can't even imagine right now. Maybe there will be people who like to dress up like vintage kitchen appliances and walk around going "whirrrrrrr!" I don't fucking know. But if I don't want to age into complete cultural irrelevancy, I have to make an effort between things that truly are worth shame versus things that I simply find alien. And that impetus to understand and accept grows, not shrinks, with age.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
a friend of mine kicked his family's computer with his rollerblades on
why you would be wearing rollerblades in the house in the computer room while playing quake i have no idea - we were kids
anyway it made 4 little dents where the wheels of his rollerblades were
I'm on PC because badass SLI is worth putting up with Origin.
I've also cleared out most of my bins the night before bin morning!
I know a mouse is still better for many situations but still
it's bad, or at the very least not good
don't make my mistake
On the black screen
We all have our own little quirks and kinks and fantasies that we don't want the world outside our head knowing about.
Some of us humans are less shy about that. Thus we feel offended when they are so free with their hidden thoughts and desires while we must continue suppressing our own.
To that I say Cowboy Bebop
maybe it's just not your kind of game?
nope