Hey, folks, SinSynn here.
Hmph.
I know the lil’ preview box thingy on the homepage is gonna do sumpthin’ funky with my intro, so, uh…
…Suddenly I’m missing the ol’ school pagebreak, from back in the day when the HoP had the wacky comment system an’ whatnot, and El Jeffe used to riff at me for writing lengthy intros.
Good times, man. Good times.
*Meeeeemories…Pressed between the pages of my mind. Misty, watercolored MEEEEEEMORIEEEEES…of the way we were*
…
Yes, that is very much me singing. It’s hard to represent properly in text form, but you get the gist. It sounds as bad as it looks, but I deliver it with unbridled enthusiasm.
-_-
Hush, and don’t you judge me.
…
Goddammit WHERE’S MY DISINTEGRATOR?!?
I left it RIGHT HERE.
…
Which one of you knumbskulls took my disintegrator?!?
I know Dragon’s Claw doesn’t have it, cuz we’re all still here.
That prolly means…
Ummm…Has anyone seen BushCraft?
0_o
Eesh.
Yeah…that totally wasn’t my disintegrator anyhow, so whatever.
*ahem*
Ok….So, on wif da tentacles.
*Hello, House o’ Paincakes! That’s me on da right :)*
Firstly, I owe an apology to Dave G, fer the hasty response to his objections.
Let’s not get it twisted- I encourage objections, and the resulting discussion that might result from such. That’s what the House is all about…
…and sigh…
The House is a…wait for it…’safe place,’ where anyone and everyone should feel safe ’bout discussing this crazy, very very silly thing we do. Anyone leaving a comment should feel secure that their opinion is just as valuable as anyone else’s.
No, I’d never delete a comment, or edit a comment. Haters are more than welcome to hate. They just validate what I already know- a lotta people are hypocrites that don’t practice what they preach.
Don’t like what I say?
Good.
Now think about why, and put it in the comments.
Be advised- terms like ‘that’s offensive’ are not valid arguments. Those are opinions. Know the difference before you start typing, ‘k?
K.
I offer this apology to Dave G cuz he deserves it. I was hasty, an’ maybe a lil’ heated. I know Dave is a cool cat, and he was on point for putting his opinion out there. I will do my best in the future to treat folks who step up to the plate better in the future, I promise.
That’s my word. I take it very seriously.
Dave, I’m sorry fer da riff.
We’re gonna give yer comment a proper response. Let’s take a look.
From Dave G.-
Gonna step in and disagree with you here.
Sure, there are plenty of social justice warriors building aggressively safe spaces across the internet, but it doesn’t mean their point is wrong, just maybe their approach. I’ve written about this before, but I’ll touch on it again:
When my wife was looking at getting into 40k she was _really_ offended by the stuff she was reading about when it came to creates a female Space Marine chapter. The forums were toxic when searching the topic and GW’s fluff, imagery and miniatures do nothing to bring a better perspective to a male dominated hobby. (If anything, the ultra-machoism actively reinforces these negative views.) A weaker person might’ve been turned away by reading page after page of people going into detail about why an entire gender should be excluded from the hobby. In her rage, she turned to Chaos, Khorne to be specific, because a demonic army can be styled any way she wanted to – but having to make a decision like that is wrong.
We’ve encountered some of the similar attitudes the author touches on too. Spoke to a younger guy about the topic over beers about a month ago. Real polite guy, tried helping us out by explaining how the fluff excludes women from the Space Marines, weak bodies compared to men, yadda yadda. He didn’t get it. But it helps to underline the point that Games Workshop is having a negative impact on male and female gamers (and potential gamers) alike.
EDIT: This isn’t even to touch on the representation of other races within these games, except on the rare occasion when it tends to be some ultra-stereotype. (Aziz Ansari has a great episode about this in his new series Master of None.)
That’s Dave’s comment, in it’s entirety.
Feel free to go read my response to it, which was kinda like, ‘Uh, GW is all about money. And what they think is gonna sell is what they’re gonna make. Not fer nuthin,’ but despite the embarrassingly lengthy list of anti-GW posts I’ve written, they just keep on doing what they do…and dagnabbit they keep makin’ money doin’ it, so…yeah.’
‘Cept maybe I had just a tiny amount…a wee bit…a smidgen of attitude that Dave didn’t have comin,’ for which I am sorry.
Hope we’re clear on that.
Just cuz I’m from da Bronx doesn’t mean I gotta be a jerk alla da time. Blah.
*I do hafta post pictures of Megan Fox tho. It’s in my contract. Which Loquacious has somehow bound my soul to, and now jokes constantly about how flammable the paper is. Apparently I’m not going anywhere for a very, very long time. OH FER THE LOVE OF GAWD PUT THE MATCHES AWAY. I’M TYPING*
Ummm…I’ll werk out the ‘pic editing/notations thing’ next time.
And yes, I am well aware that Megan is naow single.
…I hope this random motel has good wifi…
…
Right. Dave’s comment.
I don’t feel a need to address the comment about ‘aggressively building safe spaces.’
That contradiction speaks for itself.
You mean censorship and exclusion, I’m sure, so…yeah. ‘Nuff said. Moving on.
Dave then goes on to discuss how his wife was offended to the point of rage when exposd to the 40k online community and this, welp…this I believe.
40k forums are pretty venomous if ya ask me. I avoid them for the most part, although I cannot deny I’ve spent a fair amount of time on them. Enjoyable time, too. Particularly on the Tau forums that are out there, and a few others that were/are Xeno-centric.
Cuz you know I’m all about da Xenos.
:).
Cool, enthusiastic gamers can be found on forums, no doubt. On the flip side of that, I’ve seen things in places like Dakka Dakka that make even my stomach turn.
*Von’s cat just puked in it’s mouth a little*
Still, I will argue this.
F*ck the fools, and the haters. F*ck errbody.
Nobody hasta be happy with yer 40k army except you.
And if they don’t like it, they can gets ta steppin.’
So, no… a stronger person would’ve flipped the bird and done what they wanted to do, but then this story doesn’t have a victim. Nobody ‘forced’ anybody to do anything. That’s absurd.
But I see what you did there. That’s a good trick.
Here’s my response:
This is our hobby, and the world is full of stoopid. The internet even more so. Don’t let the internet push you around. That’s not what you do this for, is it? To get the approval of random fools on the internet?
I sure hope not.
You deserve better. We deserve better. These are our toys, and we’ll play with them as we damn well please.
Don’t let anyone take this simple pleasure- which you deserve, which you’ve earned– from you. It is yours and yours alone.
Fer the love of gawd, I swear.
Grrrrr….
Anyway- Dave G’s wife…
*pause*
Who Dave simply refers to as ‘my wife’ like, a sign of ownership or whatever patriarchal nonsense is goin’ on here…
*yawn*
All too easy.
Anyway- Dear Mrs. G,
I’m very sorry you caught flak on the stoopid 40k forums. You don’t deserve that. Nobody deserves that, and you’re hardly alone when it comes to being attacked by Trolls for espousing an idea that morons can whine at. It happens to everyone. EVERYONE.
Please don’t let that discourage you in any way, shape or form in the future. Seriously. If you wanna make a Chapter of all-lady Beakies then by gawd, you make yerself the biggest, bestest Chapter of all-lady Beakies that anyone’s ever seen.
I present to you a dare:
I will purchase and mail to you a 10 pack of Beakies (cuz the deal on the 5 pack is so whack…) if you would -fer realz- commit to this venture. I am all for Lady Beakies, and da first 10 pack is on me.
I’d be happy to post about it here at the House, or offer you as many Guest Posts as you’d like to brag ’bout how awesome they are.
I say f*ck the haters where they breathe, Mrs. G.
Right. Where. They. Breathe.
Sincerely yours,
SinSynn
Boom. Done.
Not fer nuthin,’ but that’s what YOU should’ve told your wife, Dave G.
Hmph.
Moving on.
*Pretty simple, really*
In the 40k Universe created by Games Workshop, Space Marines are men. Period. Like it or not, folks, that’s how it is. If you don’t like it, then make up your own fluff. Dear Lawd, each and every 40k fan in da whole entire world has read a buncha gawd-awful fluff in their time, whether it was in an actual Black Library book or not.
I actually read a Black Library publication where a Dreadnaught came out the back of a Land Raider once.
-_-
DID NO ONE CATCH THIS? WHERE WAS THE EDITOR ON DIS ONE?
Errone knows Dreadnaughts don’t fit in Land Raiders. Errone.
Stoopid…Black Library.
They’re stoopid.
Anyway, I doubt Lady Space Marines could possibly be any worse than some of the tripe I’ve seen people attempt to pass off in the name of ‘fluff,’ so whatever. Lady Beakies wouldn’t raise an eyebrow…if I had eyebrows on my stalk-mounted-ocular-appendages, anyhow.
I clean my orbs with my tongue. Just sumpthin’ to think about, in the event any Terran Females got past da Megan pic.
*Every once in a great while they don’t immediately scream ‘OH GAWD WHAT IS IT GET IT OFFA ME NAOW’*
Dave G also throws in a buncha stuff about how Games Workshop allegedly ‘has a negative impact on both male and female gamers’ because…Space Marines are men?
Uh, what?
How is this a problem? It’s the fluff.
Cadians have purple eyes. Salamanders are black. All the armies have stoopid names.
And Space Marines are men.
Why is any of this an issue, especially when you can just make up your own fluff, if you’d like? 40k players do it on the regular.
Space Marines are men because men make better Space Marines. In reality, the universe simply made men capable of growing bigger and stronger, and those are the qualities that the Emperor was looking for when he wanted to design friggin’ Space Marines.
To be perfectly clear, the universe absolutely did not make men any smarter, or any more or less valuable in any way, than women. Just bigger and stronger. That is all.
There’s nothing to ‘get’ here. These are simply facts. What the heck is so offensive about facts?
Jeezus Christmas, if the world valued ‘bigger and stronger’ over ‘smarter,’ where the hell would we be?
0_o
Women and men compete in physical sports separately because everyone knows what would happen otherwise. If you would like to debate these somewhat inconvenient facts (for some folks), then please, do go on.
Humans, both male and female, are amazingly complex organisms that are capable of incredible things. They just happen to be designed differently. I don’t see it as a big deal, as both genders seem to have their pros and cons.
*shrug*
Space Marines, on the other hand, happen to be brainwashed, homicidal zealots, so…yeah.
*These Space Marines also happen to be Latino, but we’re getting to that*
And finally, Dave G. throws out the old race card.
Oh dear.
Sigh.
Look, Dave G. and all you race-baiting fools, this may come as a shock to you, since all your figures are painted to reflect the number with which each race of humans infests this miserable rock, but the folks who created 40k, and everything within it are…wait for it…white guys.
*gasp*
Now, riddle me this- would you complain about a black person, or a Latino person, creating art featuring people of their particular race?
Yes no maybe?
Ok, so…the folks that created the whole Warhammer Universe are white dudes from the UK, and hey- waddayaknow- the Warhammer Universe totally reflects that!
I know, crazy, right?
The things in this world that people create might reflect who they are. Might feature a lot of influences they were exposed to growing up. Might even provide some insight into where they came from.
Maybe, if they’re lucky, the things people create endure long after they’re gone, and their creation will stand in testament of who they were, what they accomplished, and even what they loved.
But that’s not acceptable to you, is it?
It all hasta change, to reflect your worldview. And whatever anyone creates in the future, I suppose. Every creative human, everywhere, has an obligation when they create things now. It all hasta break down into percentages of some sort, or something? How does this work, exactly?
Sigh.
…
Oh, no, wait.
What am I saying?
OF COURSE the creators of Warhammer are racists! And so is every damn fool who DOESN’T paint the figs in their army to accurately reflect the various races of the Earth, in the correct percentages.
I mean, that’s what you’re implying, right?
I’m not sure…
Pray tell.
So, there ya go.
In defense of Games Workshop.
…
I never thought I ‘d type that sentence. Like, ever.
Lolz.
Until next time, folks- Exit with catchphrase!
- SinSynn
The post In Defense of Games Workshop…Actually appeared first on House of Paincakes.