Miles Presents: Fuck Your Feelings · 3:26pm Feb 20th, 2020
So yesterday I was a bit quiet when it came to explaining my stance on the latest wave of Bronydom drama to come at us in the post-show months.
It all revolves around this image :
Twitter, in all its moral grandstanding glory, had a hissy fit.
Then it got even more shitty when Jim Miller and Peter New decided to get involved and virtue signal. All in all, it led to a favorite artist of mine stepping away from the fandom, and led to one or more barrings from Babscon.
I'm no stranger to being ridiculed for my sense of humor. It was something I dealt with on a semi-regular basis when Letters was in its heyday.
If I was more talented or more popular, my sense of humor might have barred me from attending fan events. And that pisses me off.
Because people are much, much more than the jokes they tell and enjoy.
Take yours truly for instance. Am I as detestable as any character in my most popular story? Of course not. I created the Disgruntled cast and slowly made them more raunchy and stereotypical for comedy's sake.
Anyone judging me by my content in Letters would be disregarding my dozens of other stories, that deal with relationships, slices of life, and kinks and fetishes, and I'm sure it's the same with these artists that have been driven away. All because Twitter denizens feel the need to virtue signal to vindicate themselves.
People creating and enabling today's outrage culture are looking at one piece of the puzzle, and that's immature and dangerous. If you're doing it in this fandom, I promise you, all you're doing is hurting the whole, and after almost ten years, there's not a lot of the 'whole' left.
Dang. All I want is to enjoy MLP. No idea why people do that stuff.
People have a right to their opinion, but now to how it is perceived. Posting that picture on Twitter was publicizing a piece that plays on several racist tropes in America.
The artist was free to publish it, but people are also free to decry and dislike it, and detach themselves from the creator as well.
It's not virtue signalling to say: "Maybe you shouldn't proudly create and publish racist-based content." It's also not virtue signalling to say: "I don't want to deal with you anymore."
It does seem like a rather tasteless joke. Don't understand why anyone would post a picture like that and not expect a negative response.
5206466
Is something a stereotype if it's true, though?
Is something a stereotype if the group it's supposed to apply to, decides to embrace it as its own and make it their own image?
5206470
Yikes.
5206470
I don't see any african americans stepping up to say its fine. at least not yet.
You're not going to get any happy campers either if someone claims to "love what the Confederacy represents: State's Rights" and ignore any attempt at answering "rights to what?"
5206466
How is it racist?
5206480
I will flag your comment as a troll because I can't believe someone can be that myopic. Still.
It is racist towards African Americans, harkening back to century-old media stereotypes (i.e. squinch a bit a see the melons), and is a poor taste reference to American Slavery.
No wonder it created such a backlash. I don't know what the artist expected of something that would rather fit a 4chan thread.
5206482
Well, I am a foreigner. Probably went o'er my head.
Seriously why do people do this.
Please don't post racist stuff in my stream.
I'm not sure why you don't understand how this bothers people, but most of us really don't want to see this shit.
I really don’t see what the problem is
Amen brother. People are overly dramatic I feel, and get uppity about nothing.
5206496
Well from what I can tell, this is a picture portraying Applejack as a southern slave owner. Now I don't know why the artist drew this or what their intention was but here's the thing, even if they hadn't intended to upset anyone they should have had enough awareness to understand why this might upset people and if they weren't prepared to deal with that they probably shouldn't have posted it in the first place.
I admit I laughed hard when I saw this, but the water melon IS gratuitous.
First and Foremost, we are past the point in which we are "supposed" to be offended about shit like this. If you are offended then that is your right. What is not your right is to "Call-Out" the person based on one of his/her works because you don't like it. Tumblr almost died from this shit. if you don't like something then just ignore it and move on, if you like something (either because of a warped sense of humor or "other") then enjoy it and move on. As long as nobody is getting hurt physically based on something like this (and I can't see how a picture could do that) then the problem is with the person seeing it and not the artist. I myself thought it was funny. Douse that make me a raciest? Fuck no. I showed this picture to an African friend and he laughed his ass off (he is a fellow brony). Douse this mean that we shouldn't have a right to be included in activity's because we like something that others don't? NO, it doesn't. We will always be different. I am in my 30's and have seen America change through the ages (both for better and worse), my opinion of the "lets all get offended because of one person and start a linch-mob because I want attention" (i.e. the 'Safe-Space') crowed get too much leeway as is. Now for the big question. Should we exclude others for their personality and sense of humor? My answer is no. Did this person add a comment about being 'Pro-Racist'? Not that I can find. I find tasteless jokes funny BECAUSE they say, "this sucked. let's make it so the future won't repeat it". Would you rather go back to the 80's or (god forbid) the 70's when REAL racism actually happened (burning crosses, the whole 9 yards)? I think not.
I am sorry for the wall of text and will probably get a lot of down votes based of the first few sentences without others reading the whole thing but I hope that "some" of you will read this and think about how you personally feel about this. Instead of what the internet tells you to feel. Are you offended because you are actually of black descent and it affects your social life and "per-suet of happiness"? or are you just lashing out at one guy because you don't like it and can't stand the idea that others may like it and not be raciest.
5206515
Never forget history, lest we are doomed to repeat it.
Besides this was funny. I got a Mexican racist basket once, filled with peppers and tortillas. haha I never laughed so hard.
5206520
That is one of my all time favorite bits from Gabriel Iglesias
5206523
I was never so happy to see someone steal a joke before that. ha good times.
5206515
5206520
Yeah it is funny in a shocking kind of way but here's the thing, people are allowed to get upset about it and I can totally understand why someone might get upset by it. The best jokes are the ones that inspire controversy but if you aren't prepared to deal with the controversy you're probably better off not making the joke in the first place.
5206526
Getting upset is completely fine. To get emotional is to be human.
When you rant, rage, and harass others for what they find funny, THAT'S when I get all "fuck your feelings, fuck off back to your safe space".
5206526
I think Duckman said it best.
5206537
I think he's saying people should stop taking things way out of proportion.
Wow, this is quiet the shitstorm.
Sorry to hear about the people who got harassed. Hope they are doing okay.
Makes me wonder how many of the people who lost their mind over this at the same time are fans of the "zebradom" fetish that has exploded in the fandom, the one that by their logic stereotypes blacks as only having rape on their mind and makes them even worse people.
pbs.twimg.com/media/ERBo5mHX0AAkzPg?format=jpg&name=medium
5206539
Now that you mention it, haha.
5206537
Did you read the rest, or stop at sentence number 3?
5206533
Yeah well freedom of speech goes both ways, you can make whatever jokes you want but people are also allowed to get pissed off at whatever you're saying.
5206533
Your argument can be boiled down to "If you can't handle the heat, etc.," which can rightfully been thrown back at whoever utters it: "If you can't handle the heat of people being angry at you, maybe you shouldn't have posted something publicly, and instead have stayed in your private circles."
The snake bites its tail in this type of argument.
Free speech doesn't mean freedom from consequences, and it doesn't spare someone from reading the room, especially if the room is a public forum like Twitter.
I agree.
5206539
Shots fired!
5206546
That doesn't mean one should be torn into because of the message they present, however.
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Boy howdy did you two miss the forest for the trees.
Simply put. They chased the artist out, and that is the issue. You shouldn't attack someone for a joke or a piece of art.
(Edit) I should add that, I get it freedom of speech isn't a protection from fallout, but at the same time we can be annoyed by it in turn, we can keep the song and dance going from the beginning to the end, won't change much. The only thing that can and should change is people having thicker skin and/or not being gratified for attacking someone morally, based solely on one thing.
5206554
I can't really say for sure who was in the wrong as I don't have the full picture but like I said this goes both ways. If the artist wound up walking away because of what others said then that's unfortunate but ultimately the artist should have been prepared to deal with the blowback before posting something, that anyone could have recognized after a single glance, that was clearly gonna upset people.
5206554
People can produce their racist content if they want, that's their freedom. But they can't expect to be shielded from the consequences and the rightful criticism of it. It isn't that hard to understand.
The artist fucked up and he got the answer that fit the poor taste of his production.
5206559
The artist didn't fuck up. Besides now that is no longer the point. you clearly didn't read anything, and any discussion with you is over.
5206558
I see what you mean, at the same time, an artist or comedian should never have to defend themselves or their jokes. It ultimately leads to failure or insecurity, it eventually may lead to suicide, I've seen it happen tore someone apart. As much as I may agree the artist should endure, at the same time him being attacked aggressively, is not right, nor should it be supported.
5206566
If you aren't able to defend what you're saying why are you even saying it to begin with?
5206568
Defending a joke isn't what is required, frankly, it's a pointless endeavor, too many people. That is beside the point , and in the end, we go in a circle. I honestly feel similar to you, but it does not remove the poor nature of how they acted. This obviously can lead and has led to many artists killing themselves, I pray this is not such a case. Either way, it seems you and I are pretty solidly in our views, and we can both seem to agree here, that speaking against how they spoke is fully within our rights to say, and disapprove of, but not think is a lawful issue, which it isn't.
To be frank and fair, this current climate of attacking people and essentially blacklisting them, banning, and the like for words picture or the like, is frankly what is the issue, not so much the art or the artist, is but an example.
5206572
I just call it Outrage Culture, as many others do.
5206576
I know, I do as well, but I learned that many people tend to ignore you if you use that as the name for it.
5206577
If only that made them ignore the jokes we make as well.
5206578
If only.
Differing opinions. That is the real conundrum.
5206577
5206578
But at the same time if somebody is intentionally trying to spread hate shouldn't somebody speak out against it and if the other person wasn't trying to spread hate they should be able to make that clear. The second you start making racist remarks for any reason you need to be able to defend your reasons behind saying it and if you can't just don't say anything to begin with.
I have no sympathy for anyone who tries to incite outrage and gets exactly the kind of outrage one expects in return. I don't believe for a second that anyone could draw a picture like this and honestly believe no one would take offence.
5206539
This isn't a one-sided thing. People are being harassed on both sides. RatOfDrawn posted "Please don't make Applejack racist :(" because he's a huge Applejack fan, and then people angry at him posting his opinion started sending him porn and shock images by dm. (Which was actually pretty funny, because they clearly don't know practically all Rat draws is Applejack porn.)
While I can see how people might be upset with the cucking porn, I don't have a problem with it. It's porn, it's supposed to be kinky, and people don't choose what turns them on. But the Applejack picture was specifically created and published in order to create the drama Miles is complaining about. The artist did this in order to hurt and bully people, and he succeeded. I have a couple of black brony friends who are upset about this because there are people in the fandom (not necessarily the artist) who are legitimately racist, and this emboldens them and makes blacks feel less welcome. A few artists have pulled out of the fandom over this because they don't want to be associated with racism. It's a bad picture created for a bad purpose, and people have a right to be upset.
As a former con chair, I wouldn't ban somepony from attending a convention for drawing this. However, people who are making threats towards specific conventions or people, who would make the convention a less safe place for attendees, do need to be banned.
5206559
5206566
The artist didn't buck up because this is exactly what he wanted to happen. This picture was created specifically to bully people and incite drama, and so far it has led people on both sides of the discussion to quit the fandom. This isn't an isolated incident, he does this a lot, and it sucks. I don't come to horse cons or Fimfiction because I want to be surrounded by racist drama. I come here to write stories and be around friends, and this sort of thing makes that harder.
5206586
I feel for you, but the issue is why people are making it dramatic, they could ignore it, sure it may offend people, but you don't need to pay attention to the artist, it isn't right to attack said, artist, best to ignore, yes?
5206539
Yeah its hypocritical
Does anyone else think Colonel Applejack looks adorable, she just needs a bucket of chicken! 21 herbs and spices!
It's unfortunate such things happen. Though there is a degree of accountability by anyone who does any sort of creative effort.
An ideal situation, if I may suggest, would have been this individual who made the work that came off racist should've ensured proper 'tags' or 'warnings' were put into place to prevent it from getting out as it has.
The other thing is the artist should, in the least, acknowledge they did something offensive, take it down, and, if they really want to post it, upload the image to a site that is lessaggressive than Twitter.
Freedom of speech is important. Same goes for freedom of expression. However it comes down to also knowing your audience and acting accordingly.
As I'm 100% blind, I could only gauge what is going on here through reading the comments. However I've learned over the years how to better respect the feelings of others. It is a simple matter of whether-or-not you intentionally created inflammatory content, or did not intend it to come off that way. In either case it is best to be accountable, make a point of putting out the 'fires' as much as possible, and do what you can to reach neutrality.
Artistic expression is a lot similar to living with a special need / limitation / disability. Do you want to be identified for the 'label' / 'stigma' / 'stereotype? Or do you want to take ownership of your condition, find ways to positively interact with others, and find yourself seen for more than the negative things most of society associates with disability?
Are some people too sensitive? Yes. Are some people insensitive. Yes. However common interests, like "MLP: FiM" should beused to help more people come together in a positive way while the more extreme 'outliers' do what they do in places that are not highly, if at all, frequented by just about anyone.
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