Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt
from the all-talk dept
This week, both our winners on the insightful side come in response to our long post about Twitter and the Hunter Biden laptop story. In first place, it’s a simple anonymous comment:
A terrific essay, which will never be read by the target audience because it’s longer that a tweet…..
In second place, it’s Jonny 5 commenting on the fact that the original story didn’t have named in the byline:
The fact NY Post writers, NY POST, refused to put their name on the story ended this nonsense for anyone with even a hint of having critical thinking skills.
The problem, as always, is that we’re dealing with a lot of people who don’t clear that low bar.
For editor’s choice on the insightful side, we start out with one more anonymous response to that post:
This adds to Republican paranoia as Republican believe that any loss, opposition or failure to agree with them, or explanation of why their conspiracy theories are wrong, is all part of a conspiracy against them.
Next, it’s AbolishDisney with a comment about the disappearance of Nintendo Power scans from the Internet Archive:
If copyright maximalists had their way, all media older than 30 years would be magically erased from existence, never to be seen again.
I’ve actually seen people defend perpetual copyright by arguing that it would be “unfair” if new releases had to compete with earlier works. According to them, it’s a Good Thing™ for old media to be destroyed, because that forces consumers to buy new media in its place.
Over on the funny side, our first place winner is another anonymous comment about the Hunter Biden post:
But…
Hunter Biden’s laptop! What about Hunter Biden’s laptop? And, for that matter, Hunter Biden’s laptop.
In second place, it’s Drew Wilson with a comment about game developers who complain about “woke reviewers”:
“Woke” Is the New Get Out of Jail Free Card
Are you tired of people calling you an asshole because you are acting like an asshole? Do people look down on you for being a racist or being a traitor to your own country? Are you having a hard time getting that second date because of your misogynistic attitudes Is your product being review bombed because it is bad?
Well, thanks to our new amazing product, your life is about to change forever! Introducing “woke”!
Woke is a revolutionary new product by Jerks Incorporated! Simply apply it to any problem you have and watch those problems magically disappear!
Did you get called an asshole for being an asshole? Blame the woke mob!
Getting backlash for using the N-word willy nilly or treating LGBT community members badly? Call it woke mentality that’s destroying your country!
Did that date leave you because you the first things you said to her was [18+ comments only redacted]? Say she was just woke!
Did you release a AAA-like game, but only give yourself a month to build it and didn’t bother to do bug fixing or run it through proper QA processes? It’s all the woke reviewers fault!
So, next time your problems catch up to you, remember one thing: woke! The get out of jail free card for everyone without an inkling of self-awareness.
To order your woke, order now at Americans for Revoking the Constitution for Glorious Leader Trump Crying Eagle Let’s Go Brandon Waving American Flag Covfefe Inc. Just pay 12 easy payments of $15.00 plus taxes and shipping and handling.
Remember, when the world says “nope!”, just remember “woke”!
For editor’s choice on the funny side, we start out with Pixelation and one more response to the “woke reviewers” post:
If the issue is bad reviews from the “woke” crowd, where are all of the reviews from the “asleep” crowd?
Finally, we loop back to the Hunter Biden post where JSpitzen offered up a comment that in this day and age sadly needed to be labelled as humor:
To summarize the heart of Mike’s argument, there is no evidence of anything nefarious. BUT, consider, how muddled is this whole topic. Surely one would expect at least some evidence of almost anything (the age of the universe, the death of God, etc.). Thus the flaw in Mike’s argument that there is no evidence: the absence of any evidence that might implicate nefarious activities is, intrinsically, evidence of nefarious activities.one would expect to exist is, itself, evidence of nefarious activities. Q.E.D. (By the way, this entire comment is intended as humor.)
That’s all for this week, folks!
Comments on “Funniest/Most Insightful Comments Of The Week At Techdirt”
If Drew Wilson’s comment isn’t a competitor for Funniest Comment of the Week, I’ll be really disappointed…
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if you meant “Funniest Comment of the Year”, then I agree wholeheartedly.
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I really should post comments more around here. Thank you for liking my comment!
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Yes, I meant that…
For all the world
Is a stage, that I am the target of many fruits and vegetables.
For all that I have learned of the human species, they can and will do anything, at any time, to anyone.
And not give 1 Flying fickle finger of fate, about it.
“New” my ass; they just ran a find-replace on “politically correct”.
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My next bumpersticker:
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You could make a small mint by having T-shirts and/or hoodies made up with that particular meme!
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This is largely true, which brings immediately to mind what Neil Gaiman had to say on the subject:
Anyone who complains about “wokeness” or “political correctness” is really just complaining that they’re being asked to stop being assholes and accept that people of other races/genders/sexual identities deserve to be treated as equal human beings, who deserve the same level of respect that they do… and they hate not being able to look down on or abuse those people in public. Pretty much any complaint about “wokeness” is just a complaint that they now live an a culture where someone other than a white, straight cis male can be treated as someone with equal value.
Re: Re: 'There are consequences for me using slurs now, where will it end?!'
Equality feels like oppression to those accustomed to privilege, and when someone has spent their entire life making themselves feel better/superior by punching down being told to knock that off is I’m sure all sorts of jarring since if they can’t denigrate those around them how are they supposed to reassure themselves and/or others that they are better than those people?
In regards to the ‘replace politically correct with…’ line of the quote you posted one I ran across a number of years back and that has always stuck with me is translating ‘PC’ to ‘personal consideration’, as as your comment rightly note it shows what’s really being complained about, namely caring about other people.
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For some people, they are so used to having everything made for them, when anything isn’t directly made for them, they feel slighted. It doesn’t matter that most things still are. It doesn’t matter that a majority of things still are. They will whine and complain unless EVERYTHING is made for them.
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It’s unfortunately not a case of affluenza, ie, rich people behaving badly and expecting to get away with it.
It is a case of white supremacy reasserting itself.
The former will be cured eventually, as the law will convict badly-behaving rich fucks. The latter, however, needs more radical treatment.
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That’s true. For example, any movie that features a strong woman or minority protagonist will usually be attacked, and there will be the claim that nobody makes movies with white men any more.
But, it’s not true. White males are still the typical protagonist in a majority of, if not all, movies. A quick check of the 2022 domestic box office reveals that Top Gun, Dr. Strange, Jurassic World and Batman were in the top 5 live action movies this year so far – all stories headed by white males. But, erm, Black Panther was also there and a couple of the others had different looking supporting characters, so that obviously means that white men are being written out of history or something.
That’s why the use of “woke” as a pejorative is an immediate indication that the person you’re talking to probably doesn’t have a grasp on important issues. If someone claims to be knowledgeable about real problems, but is also whining about how fictional races are being portrayed by non-white actors in fantasy movies, you can probably ignore their opinions quite safely.
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Which is why the anti-“PC” crowd had huge overlap with the “there is no such thing as privilege” crowd. And also the crowd that says bigotry isn’t a thing at all, while constantly bigotting.
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Of course this is what woke ideologues would like to claim. But in fact, woke ideology is a constellation of false shared left-wing beliefs, going far behind political correctness, although that’s included.
Political correctness itself isn’t “treating people with respect”, it is an Orwellian distortion of language used to conceal the truth from everyday usage in order to promote woke agenda items. Calling illegal aliens “undocumented” or “migrants” is meant to obscure the fact that they have entered the country illegally and that they have no right you be there. Calling crazed, stinking, drug-addled, possibly dangerous bums “the homeless”, or now “unhoused” or “undomiciled”, is meant to obscure the danger and inconvenience they pose to normal people (and each other).
But wokeness goes farther. Gender ideology is not just about treating trans people with respect. It is about forcing people to accept lies as truth in every place where the woke have captured control – in Democratic government, in public schools and universities, in the remaining large newspapers, on the large generic speech platforms. Critical race theory has its repulsive “antiracist” DIE initiatives and race-based admissions and hiring discrimination. Woke ideologues mock “freeze peach” as they attempt to silence and cancel people who disagree with them.
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You son of a bitch, I was in the middle of my Masami Okui playlist. How dare you interrupt my J-Pop jam session.
Kinda like how the right wing uses “woke” in any sense other than “the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them”, which (alongside the phrase “stay woke”) is how the term was originally used in AAVE, from which right-wingers appropriated the term in much the same way they try to appropriate all culture and language to suit their own authoritarian desires—is that what you mean?
The term “illegal alien” is less about accuracy and far, far more about dehumanization. “Undocumented immigrant” is more accurate because the immigrant—the person—in question is in the country without proper documentation (and thus in the country illegally). But thinking of them as an “illegal alien” makes it easier to imagine them as a monster, a lesser being, a subhuman thing. But doing that also lets you stop thinking about what the conditions in their home country are like, such that they felt the need to risk entering the U.S. illegally knowing that deportation back to said home country is a possibile consequence. It also allows you to avoid thinking about what role the U.S. may have played in making other countries so shitty to live in that people feel the need to flee those countries for the U.S.
Referring to the homeless as “crazed, stinking, drug-addled, possibly dangerous bums” allows you to paint a picture of every homeless person as Johnny Crackhead when you know that’s not true—and for what? What good does it serve to paint an image of every homeless person as a violent drug addict when homelessness isn’t always caused by, and doesn’t always lead to, drug addiction or violence?
And you can’t even do that, given how you still refuse to unconditionally condemn the Club Q shooter without also mocking trans people.
Who was it that incited an insurrection meant to force the United States government into accepting a Big Lie as the truth? 🤔
And how would you suggest we solve the problem of racial unfairness in American society—let white people have all the power again?
A few things.
Now fuck off back to your JK Rowling circlejerk, Hyman.
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I’d also like to add that a chunk of them are vetereans, and Trump tried to steal from the VA while being the worst President of the USA in recent memory.
So the White Supremacists also hate the troops. After all, desegregation fucking STARTED in the USAF…
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“Trump tried to steal from the VA”
Let’s be fair – he tried stealing from everyone. He even gave a heads up as to what he thought of veterans with his comments about people like John McCain. He denigrated a gold star family during a campaign rally.
Then, ensured that Americans were vastly disproportionately affected by COVID, and has apparently gone on to violate other parts of his oath after his time in office with, for example, the insurrection and his hoarding of documents. All of which spit in the face of actual patriotic troops.
“So the White Supremacists also hate the troops”
Only the ones who don’t wear the right hoods under their helmets.
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“The term “illegal alien” is less about accuracy and far, far more about dehumanization.”
It’s also very telling. There’s several issues in the US regarding immigration. Some are economic migrant, the “they took er jerbz” types they want to imagine (though, that neither addresses why undocumented immigrants who speak no English can so easily replace their skills, nor why there’s so many local business owners able to employ them without issue).
But, there’s other types – legit refugees, often fleeing warzones the US has participated in. Visa holders imported to fill jobs local could do, but the visa holders are easier to control for lower wages. People who just happen to overstay other visas, but are a little too white or from a different border to worry about.
There’s a lot of issues, but if a person says that all the problems are due to some brown people coming over one border that can be repelled by a magical barrier, they’re deluded. Which is why you end up up with a Florida governor “proving” the problem by human trafficking people from Texas to a state where he doesn’t expect they’ll be treated as human beings (where they are).
“And how would you suggest we solve the problem of racial unfairness in American society”
I suspect he can neither explain what CRT is nor understand that it was a college level course and not a kindergarten one.
Same as these guys think that drag is not a centuries-long tradition with no necessary direct sexual connotation but rather a new thing that appeared when they realised they couldn’t just hate on gay people in polite society. Fear and ignorance are the drivers, and they insist on retaining the ignorance. I heard that it was bliss, but I’ve never seen anyone as scared.
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I’m going to leave this unflagged, as it represents exactly what Neil Gaiman wrote about.
But JhonBoi, don’t get the idea that just because I leave unflagged a glaring example of a clinically proven madness, straight out of the DSM, that doesn’t mean that I’ll also leave alone any- and everything you manage to scribble – I’ll most definitely be standing in line to hit the Flag button when your meds fail to kick in, and you start feeling like TechDirt is your private and unassailable soapbox. Again.
sumgai
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Wrong asshole.
That’s Hyman Rosen, knwon transphobe AND NeoNazi-aligned harasser.
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Hyman.
Shut the fuck up.
You are a NeoNazi and you want to murder people who don’t conform to your ideology.
Re: Re: Re: It will be in your name too
“woke ideologues”
That’s another $10 donation to a trans-youth charity. I’m going to make your evil do some good bro.
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I’m not sure why you need the excuse of a supposed evil person saying stuff in order to donate to charities you care about, but you do you, I guess.
Woke ideologues. Woke ideologues.
Woke ideologues. Woke ideologues.
Let me know if you want some more.
Re: Re: Re:3 Keep it up bro, I gots deep pockets
It’s so that your shitty words do some good in this world. And to make sure that you know you are helping people you hate, by being a fucking clown.
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“Orwellian distortion of language used to conceal the truth from everyday usage in order to promote woke agenda items.”
He says using doublethink and the two minute hate. Interesting…
“Calling illegal aliens “undocumented” or “migrants” is meant to obscure the fact that they have entered the country illegally”
No, it’s because different words have different meanings, as does asylum seeker or refugee. It’s also notable that you people spend a lot less time complaining about an H1-B visa recipient or an ETSA traveller who overstays their time than you do complaining about a refugee who escape a country you bombed.
The rest of your nonsense suggests you need to go to an actual educational facility to learn what they are teaching instead of listening to what a con artist tells you they are saying. It’s amazing how less scared and hateful you’ll be if you learn from some who’s not using fear to sell you something.
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No. “Woke” is just another term hijacked from Black people by white assholes. You don’t get to re-define it (and rather poorly) for your purposes.
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The true nature of the book The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science can be revealed by removing the word “Politically” from the title.
Re: Re: Re: Or as I like to call it…
“The Factually Incorrect Guide to Science”
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White males know that their time in the spotlight is up, and they are no longer the ideal candidate for a spouse, partner or collaborator. Women have always known that only a woman can love another woman, and non-binary and transgender folk have evolved to see past meaningless limits such as binary genders, a yoke placed upon us by privileged men trying to scare everyone with their imaginary friend.
But our work must continue. Only when all the corrupt figureheads of male chauvinism have been toppled can we progress as a species. The alternative is Trump, and that is not a sacrifice worth making for heterosexual relationships.