Git Gud at: Anxiety, Part Two

I need to get better at expressing “negative” opinions, so please have a few more controversial takes:

(d) Tears of the Kingdom isn’t a good game, but it isn’t such a bad game either. It’s a decent handheld title that’s useful for occupying a fifteen-minute bus ride. I kind of wish Tears of the Kingdom didn’t exist, but there are worse Zelda games.

(e) The Marvel superhero movies are American fascist propaganda. I know this is a caricature of a liberal brainrot opinion, but it’s true. Ironically, those movies are way too long and extremely boring.

(f) I still resent the Barbie movie for representing Los Angeles as being full of white people and then making fun of the one character who’s trying to learn Spanish.

(g) The 1984 Ghostbusters movie isn’t that good. It’s actually kind of painful to watch. The 2016 remake is infinitely better, and I’m not just saying that because “it has girls.”

(h) FromSoft games would be objectively better if they were less difficult. They can still be difficult and punishing, of course. But FromSoft should really consider adjusting the number sliders just a little.

Monkeys on Typewriters

I really need to get better at disagreeing with people online. 99.99% of the time, I'm happy to block people, ignore people, or just generally nod and file away their opinion in the back of my mind with the expectation that it will make sense later, or if I had more information.

I also try to be careful that expressing my own opinions online isn't just an excuse to bully someone or make someone feel bad. I'm not deluded enough to think that I have an audience, but still, I don't want to be in the business of making unintended targets feel attacked.

But sometimes, every great once in a while, someone who usually has good taste will give voice to a strange prejudice that I don't think they're aware of, and I sort of want to, idk, reach out? Out of love and respect. As a kindness, sort of?

( Read more... )

And sure, I want to push back against sexism and ethnocentrism. Of course I do. But really, I just think the broader culture would be more interesting if you removed the gates that are labeled with, like, "only girls are allowed to like Legend of Zelda" or whatever. A good analogy is how, back in the early 2010s, the majority of male comic book fans and gamers hated cosplay. This prejudice seems ridiculous now. Even if it's not for you, why deny your subculture a cool and interesting thing that benefits everyone?

But my anxiety has unfortunately transformed my general policy of "tread softly" into "don't ever say anything that might be interpreted as disagreeing with anyone for any reason." And that's not healthy.