If you have a problem with what Penny Arcade releases, don't read it.
It's not like you'll miss much.
It's not like you'll miss much.
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Penny Arcade Rape Controversy
- Thread starter lilyhollow
- Start date
- Status
Ok, I will try and take this seriously, which will be difficult because it is ridiculous, but I will give it a shot.
They didnt take the original criticism seriously because it was ridiculous. It also isnt actually clear to me that the response was actually targeted specifically at the first blog post linked. Which affects the strawmanness of the second comic.
The attempt to justify being opposed to rape but not murder was pathetic. That rape is real but when joking about murder the fact that there is a stupid motive for this makes it ok (even though people are murdered over things as trivial as game controllers) but somehow the ridiculousness of dickwolves is not relevant. I am certain there are people out there who due to their experiences with violence and murder would find the Gabe killing Tycho comic extremely disturbing, but that is ok.
Also the idea that because murder is a part of video games but rape isnt means it is ok to joke about one but not the other is also just retarded.
The point being, the original blog was dumb.
Hence the response was dismissive. Consider also that it's a webcomic - it's a joke. It isnt a dissertation on the impact of new media on socio-sexual relations. The fact that they went on to do exactly what they were criticised for was the whole point - to summarily dismiss the whole premise of the argument. It essentially was to say "Penny Arcade is offensive by design, deal with it".
The accusation of hypocrisy didnt hold weight, the Dickwolves t-shirts were crass, but I dont have a problem with it.
The fact that the t-shirts were being sold for money is just how they operate. Trying to paint this as a callous attempt to profit from the suffering of others is unfair. More likely they thought dickwolf tshirts were hilarious.
Have a nice day.
They didnt take the original criticism seriously because it was ridiculous. It also isnt actually clear to me that the response was actually targeted specifically at the first blog post linked. Which affects the strawmanness of the second comic.
The attempt to justify being opposed to rape but not murder was pathetic. That rape is real but when joking about murder the fact that there is a stupid motive for this makes it ok (even though people are murdered over things as trivial as game controllers) but somehow the ridiculousness of dickwolves is not relevant. I am certain there are people out there who due to their experiences with violence and murder would find the Gabe killing Tycho comic extremely disturbing, but that is ok.
Also the idea that because murder is a part of video games but rape isnt means it is ok to joke about one but not the other is also just retarded.
The point being, the original blog was dumb.
Hence the response was dismissive. Consider also that it's a webcomic - it's a joke. It isnt a dissertation on the impact of new media on socio-sexual relations. The fact that they went on to do exactly what they were criticised for was the whole point - to summarily dismiss the whole premise of the argument. It essentially was to say "Penny Arcade is offensive by design, deal with it".
The accusation of hypocrisy didnt hold weight, the Dickwolves t-shirts were crass, but I dont have a problem with it.
The fact that the t-shirts were being sold for money is just how they operate. Trying to paint this as a callous attempt to profit from the suffering of others is unfair. More likely they thought dickwolf tshirts were hilarious.
Have a nice day.
^ I actually really mostly agree with Hipmonlee for the most part. Thats how I originally viewed this whole situation, and although I may have changed my opinion a little since then, I still mostly feel this way.
I see nothing ridiculous about the original criticism. It didn't even seem terribly "anti-Penny Arcade" per se. The blogger mainly just made a statement as to how they were personally affected by the joke, and why. I don't even see any seriously anti-PA comments in the comments section of the post-- not before they had already put up their dismissive response, at least (I haven't checked past that).Hipmonlee said:
The justification for being offended by references to rape and not murder involves the idea that rape is considered an issue that is not taken seriously enough by a long shot, both socially and legally. I have not done the research to form a strong position on that myself, but that's the idea, and the fact that people do believe this to a serious extent should at least grant their arguments the merit of being considered "arguments" and not "oversensitive whining." It's also terrible when people just completely dismiss this idea of a "rape culture" altogether, as if they are at all qualified to do so. Instead, they should admit that they have no idea what any of that means and are too lazy to find out for themselves. It seems that that's what you're purporting to be the true "message" behind PA's response (that is to say, on some level, PA is saying "well we see your arguments, but we really just do not know or care about any of that stuff and are going to keep making comics because that's what we do; sorry"), and, I don't know. From what I've read of the actual written responses that they've made, they acknowledge the arguments of the opposition and then summarily reject them with no real basis. They say things like "Penny Arcade could trigger people? That's batshit crazy!" when the more truthful (uninformed) statement would be "Penny Arcade could trigger people? Well, I don't know or care about that and just want to make some more comics now please."
I don't believe that the Penny Arcade guys are bad people or anything (their comic is horrendous, though). I just feel that the way they've handled the situation is childish, lazy and willfully ignorant. I really can't fault the feminist community for any of its outrage, and I certainly wouldn't refer to it as "overreaction."
So...in summary.
The comic was completely inoffensive to omgsensetive people.
The initial criticism was just plain stupid.
Penny Arcade handled it like a joke because the criticisms were that stupid.
More offense.
Penny Arcade continues to handle it like shit.
More people make stupid comments at Penny Arcade.
Where mah achievement at.
The comic was completely inoffensive to omgsensetive people.
The initial criticism was just plain stupid.
Penny Arcade handled it like a joke because the criticisms were that stupid.
More offense.
Penny Arcade continues to handle it like shit.
More people make stupid comments at Penny Arcade.
Where mah achievement at.
When I first read this I thought they were being sarcastic. It just seems like really dry humor. "Rapists are really the worst" and "Go, and rape no more." both sound sarcastic to me. But I'd be surprised if they were endorsing rape.
But ya, I think this really turned into a shitstorm over nothing. I mean, come on these guy right fucking comments on the internet, surely they're not that important.
Legally, maybe not. Socially, of course it is taken seriously. Rapists are seen as the lowest form criminal, and even in prison are treated as such. I have no problem with this. But to encourage women to be broken objects by needing to protect them from just the word rape, this does a disservice to rape victims while empowering rapists.
Why is this topic about riduclous overreactions happening five months later? Are we Fox News? The only new development was Gabe saying people had come forth saying they would feel uncomfortable around Dickwolves shirts if worn at PAX and they removed the shirt from the store as a result as they want it to be a welcoming environment.
in muslim countries if a woman gets raped she gets the blame
and if you get raped, you're gonna need FIVE MALE WITNESSES
you saw how she was dressed
and who she was talking to and what she was drinking and OH MY GOD I THINK THIS WOMAN HAS ACTUALLY HAD SEX BEFORE case closed yerhonour
I don't understand. 3 pages of discussion and/or jokes have already occurred and your contribution of choice is "old"?
pardon me?
I'LL WEAR WHAT I WANT IT'S NOT MY FAULT OK?
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