Stumpside Chats #20
Gross People Do Not Get To Like What I Like [Sep 20, 2024]
Redditors and libtards should not be allowed to like the same things as me. It makes me very agitated when scum of the Earth bug people like things that I like or agree with me on something. It's fweaking gross dude.
This ranges from political opinions to vidya or even aesthetic preferences. In undergraduate, as most of you know by now, my minor was in Justice and Equity Studies (JEI) so I was naturally exposed to a lot of libtarded political opinions. Most of them were utter garbage, but every so often someone would say something I agreed with, at least nominally. This did have the benefit of making liblarping easier at times because I could say that I believed in [insert policy here] as well, even though the way this manifests in each of our minds is wildly different.1
For example, in my Sociology of Crimes class (which was taught by probably the most ardent lefty I've ever had as a professor) he would often say things like “the law is meant to serve the people and not the other way around” which is something that I agree with immensely. Except in his mind that probably meant something like letting black people steal from Walmart with little to no consequences because they have to “feed their families.”
On the other hand, I believe in it because I've read enough case law to know that there are a lot of times where the court does something heinous because “it's what the law says” such as in Katko v. Briney where the plaintiff sued the defendants after he broke in to their property (for the second time) to steal antiques for his collection and was injured by a shotgun trap they had rigged in an upstairs bedroom. The Court found for the plaintiff and the defendants (who were incredibly poor) were forced to sell their farm to the damages. The Court was correct from a legal perspective but it was completely heinous from a moral perspective. The case should have ended in a pre-trial motion for the defendants or, if it went to a jury, the plaintiff should have only gotten $1 in damages. There are a number of similar cases where some exception to the law should be made for the common good, but that doesn't happen for whatever reason.
This is one of those things that bothers me so much about Conservatives, especially the “Rule of Law Conservatives” who religiously adhere to the law. I find it repugnant when this sort of thing happens and it's particularly distasteful when people act like it's a good thing. It's a perverse sort of Idealism (I don't even like using that word here but it's technically accurate) that is devoid of practicality or any degree of reality. This issue is why, more than any other reason, I support authoritarian systems. There just needs to be someone with the power to just ignore the law at will and say “Hey so basically you are all retarded and I'm not going to let you do that because it's stupid.”
Beyond that, it also just sucks the fun out of something when gross people like what I like. Sometimes I can just ignore it, such as when I come across some bug person Redditor squirming over Star Wars or something. I can just not think about all the freaks who like this thing that I like. But sometimes you can't. Sometimes there is a freak in real life who finds out you like something that they also like. Then they will launch into their little autistic tirade about how much they like Star Wars as well. In most cases, at least in my experience, they aren't even as in to it as you are and get stuff wrong constantly. Having gone to a college known for its aerospace program, there were a lot of total geeks who were in to Star Wars and wanted to talk to me about their OC as soon as they found out I've read a lot of Star Wars books. It's really hard to escape that scenario without seeming like a douchebag to everyone else.
In case you haven't figured it out by now, I really like the steampunk aesthetic. My Minecraft server/modpack2 is based around a steampunk aesthetic, and I love games like Frostpunk and it's sequel (which I pre-ordered the deluxe edition of and have spent 13 hours playing already). I like the setting because 1) It's usually very Europe-coded (especially Anglo) because it tends to be set in the colonial era and 2) steampunk technology is advanced enough that you can get away with things like aircraft and mech suits, but it's also got a sort of grit to it that is devoid in any other technological setting. You get the romantic appeal of man's dominion over nature through technological ascendancy without compromising any on the human element. It's not as simple as pushing a button to “initiate the hyperdrive”; you have to shovel coal or pump oil into a furnace to power your creaking and groaning ship, patching holes and whatnot just to stay afloat. Unfortunately a lot of troons also like steampunk stuff. Virtually all of the mod devs for the Create add-ons I have installed on the server are some sort of homofag. Sigh.
The problem with this is that when gross people like what I like, I can't say that I also like this thing without people assuming I am also gross. That's why I had to make a post “defending Star Wars”3 because everyone, understandably, assumes it's Reddit coal. When it comes to politics it's even more damaging since optics are much more important, but also because stupid people can make bad arguments for good policy. It's very important that you make sure that not only is your policy decision a good idea, but that the arguments you put forward to defend it are also sound. If not, some Twigger will point to the stupid logic that some 90 IQ boomer has applied to why “Thing Is Bad” and pretend like that's the only reason to believe in Thing. That's why I correct so many people that agree with me on things. It's not enough for you to have the right ideas, you also need the right reasoning.
Also it's just inherently natural to not like gross bug people freaks so they should be allowed to agree with me, just in general.