Waves feebly

[blamebrampton]

I have been ill. And overworked. But mostly ill.

A short time before Mr Brammers gave me his virus, he decided we should switch ISPs. In theory this was a good idea, in actuality, it was weeks of me having no internet. While dying. I tried to read a book. It was Wolf Hall. It fell on my face every time I every time I felt faint. Alas, I felt faint quite a bit. That is one big bloody book. I took to reading Agatha Christie paperbacks instead. Lovely and thin.

I have an enormously long post on Australian politics coming up in the near future. I do not have one on the current fandom brouhaha, though I do think satire is the appropriate response to both. I have a dream in which rationality is commonplace, but in the words of the Ruddbot, that's:

Comments

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

What, of the many, is the particular fandom brouhahaha to which you refer?

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Not worth pointing to.

It's high emotions and straw man arguments for the most part, with one reasonable thesis on each side, which is rarely the thesis being actually argued.

The logical inconsistencies of these things shit me to tears, as well as the rampant escalations, because the origins are *always* one person's opinion which is easily engaged with quietly, or ignored or shrugged off in the vein of 'Yeah, OK, some people like Vegemite, it takes all types …' But someone else gets offended, and they email someone else, and then someone posts something more unreasonable than the original unreasonableness in their journal, and offends yet more people, and suddenly it's a 'thing', and more people are upset about the existence of the thing than were ever likely to be upset about the origins of the thing or any of the actual debate within the thing. And I could almost cope if people were rational in their arguments, but the logical inconsistencies do my head in and I end up swearing like the Australian Prime Minister*.

*Current model as of 21/8/13.

[lil-shepherd.livejournal.com]

Not the SFWA thing?

I am, I have to admit, much more au fait with your political situation than I am with any fandom kerfuffle, primarily because when I m awake at night I listen to the BBC World Service...

[shiv5468.livejournal.com]

Britpicking isn't it? That old stand by

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Essentially, yep. It's so headbangy because it starts by arguing a position that no one is actually holding, and then ends with, as the other day, someone I know to be perfectly decent and lovely making the EXACT same argument that filmmakers make in favour of whitewashing under the mistaken belief that they are standing up foe the poor oppressed non-Brits. I would point out the inconsistency of demanding respect for non British culture while denying all possibility of respect for British culture being important, but that would involve me pretending we're marginalised, whereas we're really a mouthy lot who has at some point invaded most countries of the world. In the very clever words of Rowan Williams on a similar matter, one should never confuse being annoyed with being oppressed.

[shiv5468.livejournal.com]

I'm marginalised. I'm marginalised by having proper respect for commas in a world that doesn't care.

Hee, but no, not oppressed but certainly annoyed.

[meredyth-13.livejournal.com]

Again!? The advantage of having a nearly dead flist is that I do not see these things. I am just smacked of the gob variety that it happens.

I am over people. Really - bring on the pandemic plague. I'm ready to go, and will be happy to take 98% of the world's population with me.

:D

(I am eagerly awaiting your political recap - I need a good laugh. I was lectured by a friend when in Aus for not keeping my Aus electoral roll position, but as I calmly pointed out - I don't live there any more and long term voting from a foreign country is awkward. But mostly, it's because I live and vote here now; I don't feel I have a right to a voice there when it is not my home. And honestly? I'm kind of grateful right now I don't have to.)