Topic: The Chit Chat Thread

@themcnoisy
Does make for an interesting read. Does hit a bit of a nerve for me. Seeing or hearing people constantly spread propaganda running down political parties can become tiresome quite quickly but it helps that I don't have any love for any of these parties. Tends to happen much closer to elections of course.

It's when the propaganda starts to become discriminatory in its nature that I have a real problem with it. I had to end a couple of friendships due to people spreading some really nasty stuff and refusing to accept how awful it was to spread this sort of content. It's a really hard thing to end a friendship but we all have that line.

@Rudy_Manchego It is far easier to take the cynical view of what is going on, especially when it effects something that you're looking forward to, rather than look at the bigger picture. Sony have studios in America who may be directly or have family that have been affected by the events. But of course some do not even think of this. I mean a few gaming events have been postponed. Is that really such a massive thing for people to start throwing accusations around and getting so angry? Some people really do need to have a big reality check before they comment.

@LN78 Well you say that but what happens if your fear of mushroom soup led to hate that led you to systematically persecuting mushroom soup eaters? Slippery slope... you'll probably end up on a volcano with your arms and legs chopped off and having to live in a black helmet. probably.

@JohnnyShoulder Agreed - I mean the thing is, this is a momentous event that is rocking societies globally and obviously in the US. If you view any decision like Sony's through that prism, it makes it completely understandable. I am disappointed too but hey, it is video games. The PS5 will be announced at some point and it will be released. I'll cope.

@KratosMD The YouTube comment you are referring to could be any number of things.

A fake account?
Someone who legitimately doesn't face the same social problems the BLM movement is against?
His life could already be really good?

It's also a YouTube comment - the worst comments of all time slightly worse than the Daily Mail or BBC comments sections.

You shouldn't view these comments with much value, the overwhelming majority of black African Americans do support BLM.

I remember when the British National Party (far right known racists) were crowing they had a Muslim supporter as an example. Just because one lunatic does or says something doesn't mean its a widely held belief.

@LieutenantFatman Ah ha, that is were we differ LF. I never hit ignore and never unfriend for political viewpoints. That's what the political parties want you to do.

I have a ton of friends who are active Brexit supporters and used to post Propaganda. The stuff about straight bananas and letting immigrants in etc. I would research it properly and give them the unblemished truth about the law or rule and why it was implemented. If anything its more important that you are willing to research and call out the posts eligibility. They are on my friends list as they are good people, but as the paper illustrates its easy to fall into a Propaganda trap, isolation is the ultimate aim.

@KratosMD No Kratos, you have taken my post too personally there.

Just because someone is the same colour doesn't necessarily mean they share the same experience. For instance a black bloke in downtown New York isn't going to have the same experience as a black bloke living in the middle class suburbs. I'm playing devils advocate here but he may not feel that way and maybe never felt bullied, felt racism or faced intimidated in his own area. Again I don't know, I haven't seen the comment nor want to as its not worth your or my time, as its not the general consensus around the issue. Especially the thousands of black African Americans who are speaking out about injustice and the heavy handed police brutality which has been filmed for all to see.

@themcnoisy
It does get to a point though where it's less political viewpoint and more racism than anything else for some people. A lot of people seem to happily confuse the two.
You're right though, isolation is a bad place to be and burning bridges doesn't achieve anything positive.
But yeah, I tend to ignore the brexit stuff, I am glad that most have stopped beating that drum though, was getting a bit much.

@LieutenantFatman anyway mate, if you fancy joining a crew we will be playing BF2 next week if you are up for it! @Th3solution and @RogerRoger are setting it up so could be a laugh having 4 of us involved.

@JohnnyShoulder quick question bro, did you get Pes 20 this year? I picked it up this week and need the co-op Trophies again if you have the game.

@KratosMD A friend of mine is from African descent (I feel like I have to state this to make it somehow more credibly), and he thinks in a similar way. Just like I have a homosexual friend who absolutely despises the gay pride. People are individuals, and everyone can have their own opinions. That doesn't mean he thinks racism is acceptable; far from it, but it does show that you can't just lump everyone in one group and expect them to have the same opinion.

I like to refer to this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2d2SzRZvsQ

I think he makes a good point, and I 100% agree with it. As long as we keep defining people on the colour of their skin, you create the opportunity for racism (and discrimination in general) to exist. Until when we see each other as equals, as another human being, instead of a ''black person'', ''white person'', or ''gay person'', this won't go away.

@themcnoisy
Thanks matey, I'll see if I'm able to make room on the hard drive, sounds like good fun.

@themcnoisy Nah not got it this year , went for Fifa instead through EA Access. Only just recently though.

Cheers for the tag @themcnoisy. That looks like a fascinating read so I'll look at it later and share my thoughts.

@Octane I can somewhat understand why somebody wouldn’t be enamoured by Pride. It kinda does feed into stereotypes even if that does result in being able to see Britney Spears and B*Witched for like £20. That’s without taking into account all the infighting that goes on, same as any other social group. There’s colourism among BAME people, the bloody LGB Alliance etc, the problems won’t end when the blatant human rights abuses end. At the same time, I can definitely see why the sentiment of not even looking at another person’s skin tone, sexuality etc is important, but I fear that may just end up erasing specific cultures. Of course, nobody wants to be treated worse for those reasons but even a very wide and shallow look at rap for example, shows that it’s deeply rooted in the injustices black people have faced over the years. I guess it should probably be taught in schools to try to avoid things getting this awful, unlike all those historic atrocities committed by the UK that mysteriously are never discussed in high school.

@nessisonett Well, cultures are already disappearing as we speak. It's kinda inevitable. The more globalised we become, the less variation of culture will exist.

You can't have both it ways I think. As long as we label people, there is an incentive to create an ''us vs them'' mentality.

I've just pre-ordered TLOU 2 to save € 15. And since I'll avoid any gaming site from mid-June until I've finished it, this will save me also a lot of stupidities.
Sound like a good plan to me.

@Octane
There's a huge amount of people out there that really like to label themselves though and I imagine there always will be. For many, that's part of their identity. I think the best thing you can probably do is educate people.

Did anyone ever see any of Charlie Brooker's programs on video games? What did y'all think of them?

Making one post on this topic, and then I'm dropping it, because I don't come here to get into contentious political arguments. But some recent posts have gotten my blood boiling, and I need to speak, if only briefly.

I've always found the idea that people who deviate from the white, heterosexual anglo-saxon protestant model of normality are somehow obligated to support whatever social movement claims to represent them, or are obligated to believe in a cause or hold certain political opinions because of their skin color/gender identity/sexual orientation/etc. etc. to be extremely offensive, ignorant, and othering.

There is variation in ideology and life experience within every category of human on the globe, but somehow, in the United States, at least, you don't get to have that freedom anymore without coming under attack over it. Only white straights get to freely choose their destiny as a part of their moral, spiritual, and intellectual evolution as human beings. The rest of us are expected to think and speak like clones of one-another.

Are you black, but don't necessarily think these riots are the best idea in the middle of a pandemic, or think they won't end up having a postive lasting impact? You're "arrogant," apparently, or an uncle tom. A self-hating black, because, you know, you don't get to have an opinion. And god forbid if you're black and have the temerity to join the police.

Are you gay, but aren't really into embracing gay culture, or find the 'gay pride' movement to be unhelpful in a time when the goal should be the complete normalization of same-sex relations? Same deal. Self-hating gay. And god forbid if you're a right-wing gay, because, according to the gatekeepers of gayness in our culture, that disqualifies you from the club (particularly remembering the reaction to Peter Thiel being outed).

Are you trans, but think that being part of a tiny minority of human experience doesn't mean that society needs to reshape itself to reflect you? Do you think that, even if trans people should be accepted, that maybe it's dangerous to allow children, who frequently question and challenge gender roles as they're discovering who they are, to undergo hormone treatments that have profound effects on how their young bodies develop, sometimes leading to irreversible changes and/or side-effects? You're transphobic.

And so on and so on.

Let me tell you, the worst thing in the world is a white, straight "ally" who thinks they have the right to tell you what you should be believing, or what your destiny is.

And, frankly, nobody should support ANY social movement, or hold ANY beliefs, because of what cultural identity group they belong to. People should interrogate everything in their environment, and consider for themselves what is helpful and what is harmful, regardless of whether a group claims to "represent" them or not.

"""""""""""I""""""""""" choose who represents me, because I am the person who gets to decide what my broader social identity is. Not you. Not some protest movement. No-one else. That's what it means to be equal. That's what it means to fully human.

@Ralizah To be honest, at least in the UK, I see far more Tory politicians who are gay than Labour politicians. I think people fail to realise that social and political issues are completely different. It might be different in the States though, having a true two party system probably makes most decisions binary. Trump himself got elected on the back of rather a lot of Hispanic voters, all things considered. I guess that’s one of the problems with white middle-class liberals, their lack of experience leads them to be incredulous, instead of understanding that many Hispanic people were extremely poor under the Obama administration. Hearing a ‘continuation’ of that compared to Trump promising change, it’s not hard to see why many would take his word for it. It’s definitely wrong to try to fit every single person into a template based on their background, in a way that’s exactly what these people think they’re fighting against.