Sex Panther said:
TCTTS said:
You seriously don't believe that there are currently white supremacist groups in this country??? Posts like your are EXACTLY what I was talking about earlier. Then again, we've been over this before, but I would expect nothing less from someone with a signature such as yours.
TC, allow me to respectfully, slightly disagree...
I'm with Ben on this one. White Supremacists/Nationalism is such an inflated narrative-driven boogeyman "issue". Do they exist? Of course... Are they complete scum? Absolutely... Do they have any real influence? Give me a break... but like Ben said, the media and far left wing politicians make it seem like they are the number one threat to American safety, and it's a complete joke.
Look, this show is absolutely amazing. I love it, and think it might be the best show of the year. But I hated the first episode, and decided to hang in there specifically because you asked the board to wait and see where they go with the white supremacist angle. And I'm obviously glad I did... But this show is not an isolated incident, and that's why I think people have an issue. I am constantly hit over the head with very subtle to not so subtle references and depictions in all forms of media of white men essentially being bad and evil. I honestly don't know how anyone could say that isn't true... I'd hope that my track record on this board and what I consider to be a very reasonable/moderate right-leaning outlook would earn me the benefit of the doubt.
And I don't think its fair to shout down people who make these statements on this thread. I have seen nothing over the top or out of line. It's a discussion board, and one of the central themes of this show is racism. Just because some of the posters frequent forum 16 and have clearly right-wing outlooks, doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed to give their opinions... Some of my best friends are HUGE liberals, and we don't see eye to eye on lots of things, but we're still good friends and I enjoy hearing their perspective as it helps me see where they're coming from on issues and usually leads to both sides understanding the other a little more with empathy and not disdain.
One of the most challenging things about posting here in the current "climate," or whatever you want to call it, is trying to determine which complaints about this kind of stuff (Hollywood politics, race, etc) are genuine, and are truly worthy of calling Hollywood out vs. the "complaints" from people who are doing nothing more than actively looking to b*tch, be offended, start fires, create soapboxes to spew their bias, etc. Admittedly, because there are increasingly so many voices here who are part of the latter group, I tend to sometimes "shout down" or unfairly group those I shouldn't who are part of the former group. They all become "one side" to me and I should no doubt practice what I preach and aim for more nuance in determining the difference. For that, I apologize.
But in this particular instance, the guy who started this latest tangent (if you want to call it that, even though I think it's fair game in this thread since it's what the show is partly about) was claym711 with his "white supremacist dumbassery" comment, and claym711 has such a hatred for me that it borders on obsession. In the past, the lengths he has gone to to call me out are honestly creepy, so it's hard not to reciprocate in the extreme at times. Then there's BenFiasco14, who, I'm sorry, I just can't take seriously with a signature like his, even if he claims it's somewhat tongue in cheek (which doesn't make complete sense, but whatever). I mean, I'm dealing with someone who has such a hatred for CNN that he chose to make his signature about it, but then in the very next post admits he doesn't even watch CNN. In other words, these are the kind of people I'm usually dealing with in these threads, so it's hard to sometimes reel it back when engaging with the more level-headed of the bunch who have genuine concerns. (And for the record, truth be told, Ben at least attempts to explain himself and make an effort to engage, so I probably shouldn't be so hard on him either.)
As for the heart of the matter, I'm sorry, but I'm with amercer 100% on this one (a couple posts above). I agree with you (SP) and others that white supremacy isn't sweeping the nation or anything like that, but I do believe it to be an issue worth confronting and examining, and I don't see it as any different than the other topics amercer listed. So I think it's totally fine to inject into something like
Watchmen in the way Lindelof is doing. Again, if you want to see exactly how NOT to do it, go watch
Queen & Slim. To me, sh*t like that is where forum 16 frequenters should be aiming their ire, and I'd be right there with them. That said, as hard as it is for me to not group all Hollywood complainers into one stereotype bucket, as I mentioned yesterday, it's seemingly equally as hard to sift through which of these shows/movies are sincere in their efforts to engage in politics, race, etc, so I understand the impulse to want to b*tch about it all equally.
In short, I'll try to exercise more nuance and I hope those on the "other side" can do so as well.
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