Vox Day vs. “squee”

Vox Day

Little is more amusing than watching some wannabe armchair psychologist try to analyze a given person or phenomenon, particularly through the prism of the Internet, and wind up so far off the mark they need a search & rescue team to find them. That’s probably why I find such enjoyment in reading this lecture by everyone’s favorite übermensch-in-his-own-mind, Theodore “Vox Day” Beale, about how Real Men^TM wouldn’t be caught dead using such a girly term as “squee” in any context, no way, no how:

The binding is not ideological, but socio-sexual. Now, I don't happen to know what "one of Correia's Alphas" might be, but I find it very hard to conceive that Perlhaqr is either a sexual ALPHA as per Roissy or an Alpha Male according to the socio-sexual hierarchy. He might as convincingly attempt to defend his predilection for hair-braiding or high heels. Alphas do not menstruate, they do not use their iPhones to self-shoot in bathrooms, (they seldom have iPhones in the first place), and they most assuredly do not "squee" over anything.

I see we have a newbie, here. Hi, Vox! Welcome to the Internet. TV Tropes shall be your guide.

One can be excited. One can be pumped, jacked, or psyched. One can rejoice, one can enthuse, and one can celebrate. But one can no more be an alpha male and "squee" than one can queef, lactate, or get pregnant. Only gamma males like McRapey, who revel in their perverse delusions, consider it not only fitting, but downright cool, to express themselves in terms that are popularized and primarily utilized by junior high school girls.

Wow, Mean Girls was, like, totes right about how complicated – and very, very bitchy – all this social stuff is. But please, tell me more about how to conform with the the MRA-Approved Manly Vocabulary for Socially Insecure Males:

Should he wish to lower the probability of attractive adult women recoiling in disappointment, disgust and outright horror, Perlhaqr may also wish to consider excising "OMG", "ZOMG", "soooooooo", and "One Direction" from his vocabulary.

You may take our ‘OMG’s and our ‘Biebz Foreverz’s, but you will never take our smileys! =(

Today’s moment of funny was brought to you by the Society for the Preservation of Rigidly Narrow Social Roles and Antiquated Norms. (You’re welcome.)

More brief thoughts on civility

Godless ethicist/philosopher Daniel Fincke is once again rankling feathers around the atheist blogosphere, this time by proposing a civility pledge to encourage people to moderate the tone of their arguments when addressing individuals or situations they disagree with. Predictably, there’s plenty I wholeheartedly agree with and a fair amount I take exception to for various reasons (though none of which amount to dismissing it as “tone-trolling”, an accusation flung around far too casually and inaccurately these days). In short, I believe it depends entirely on who is being addressed: those who are open to new ideas and reasonable disagreements, versus those who have a priori closed off their minds to any different perspectives in their zeal to discriminate against others because of their ethnicity, sexuality/gender identity, religious beliefs, and so on.

As is usually the case, the always-level-headed Ed Brayton best summarizes my feelings on the matter:

There are hard bigots and soft bigots. Ten years ago when the first court ruling on same-sex marriage came down in Massachusetts, 70-80% of Americans were opposed to marriage equality. Now it’s about 55-45 in support, and a much higher percentage support equal rights and protections for gay couples as long as you call it a civil union rather than a marriage. And in another ten years, I have no doubt that the numbers will reverse themselves completely and it will be about 70-30 in favor of equality. Why? Because most of the people who were initially opposed to it weren’t really bigots, they were just ignorant. They didn’t hate gay people, they just didn’t really know any and they were scared of such a big change so quickly. Once they started seeing that same-sex marriage didn’t really change anything and that gay couples were no different from them in any meaningful way, they changed their minds. So I think that soft bigots need to be talked to in a reasonable and civil manner.

But Tony Perkins? Joseph Farah? Eugene Delgaudio? These are hard bigots, people who are absolutely committed to hatred and discrimination and will do whatever it takes to maintain their hegemony. A civil discussion with them or about them will achieve nothing. For them I reserve nothing but ridicule. And while I do take the time to break down their arguments and show why they’re irrational, I also reserve the right to call them what they are: bigoted, authoritarian assholes.

Heads and nails, as he would say himself. Those who are honestly ignorant (as opposed to dishonestly so) and simply haven’t encountered or sought out anything that might change their minds should be treated with civility, at least when making a first approach. More often than not, being introduced to new ways of thinking – usually by encountering the very people they know little about and seeing how perfectly decent and harmless they are – is the ticket to getting them to see the light.

Daily Blend: Sunday, January 20, 2013

Phil Plait

Phil Plait ^[pictured] explains the many problems with education vouchers: They’re basically thinly veiled attempts at inflicting anti-science garbage upon impressionable young minds.

Isn’t it interesting how those who try to tarnish scientists’ credibility always end up destroying their own instead?
(via @BadAstronomer)

Difference between Islamist extremists and anti-feminist cranks: The former throw acid in women’s faces, while the latter just joke about it. (To his quasi-credit, Conlon later apologized.)
(via Pharyngula)

And finally, here’s why the Oxford comma isn’t all bad:
(via @normative; RT: @radleybalko)

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

And you will know the wingnut by their inability to write

John Rocker

John Rocker is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who was canned after revealing his inner bigot. This obvious assault by the PC police has naturally resulted in a new writing gig at the WorldNetDaily, that haven for sub-literate kooks and cranks of all flavors, and Rocker seems keen to fit right in by spouting masterpieces of word-salad English like this:

We haven’t quite reached the level of expectable in the American mentality as it relates to the deterioration of individual responsibility and its replacement by the proverbial government crutch, but rest assured that day is just around the corner.

That’s just pure gold right there. Are these people just immune to dictionaries, or has some schoolhouse trauma permanently impaired their memories of English class? There are only so many explanations to account for writing that bad. And the pseudo-intellectual flair just clinches it.

Be sure to read the rest, if you can stomach it. At least the idiocy is overshadowed by the guaranteed hilarity.

(via Dispatches from the Culture Wars)

Daily Blend: Friday, September 07, 2012

Bill Donohue

Right-wing pundits everywhere wish to remind you they’re a bunch of lying sexist idiots.

Meanwhile, Bill Donohue ^[pictured] would like to remind you that he’s still a disgusting child-sexual-abuse-excusing jackass.

Petition to replace Columbus Day with Armstrong Day!

And finally, it would appear that the Disqus CAPTCHAs on this blog aren’t exactly language-sensitive.

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Tags: Sandra Fluke • sexists • misogyny • misogynists • birth control • contraception • Todd Kincannon • Ann Coulter • Dana Loesch • Michelle Malkin • Michael Berry • Chris Barron • Jonah Goldberg • S.E. Cupp • Bill Donohue • The Catholic League • Sean Ratigan • Robert Finn • Catholic Priests • clerical child abuse • Columbus Day • Armstrong Day • Neil Armstrong • Christopher Columbus • Indians • Native Americans • Disqus • CAPTCHA

Daily Blend: Monday, August 13, 2012

Stephen Baldwin

The Catholic League’s Bill Donohue truly is a pathetic spectacle.

Failed actor’s ^[pictured] publicist praises his “heroism” for praying at seizing epileptic woman’s side while trained medical professional revived her.
(via Mommiest)

And finally, Cracked.com presents OMG I WANT ALL OF THESE PETS RIGHT NOW (starting with these domesticated Russian foxes):

If you have any story suggestions, feel free to leave them in the comments or send them in.

Tags: Stephen Baldwin • The Catholic League • Bill Donohue • Latin • corpus delicti • Vatican • Catholic Church • epilepsy • seizures • Brad Taylor • Peninsula Hotel • foxes • silver foxes • savannah cat • Pixie-bob • Legend Cats • Dmitry Belyaev • Siberian Fox • zonkey • camas • Saarloos Wolfhound