#it's not funny to spread misinformation for the sake of a meme

[bluegekk0]

i think you're so awesome because you made pk so cute and skrunkly and hes awesome... but canon pk made a bunch of children and dumped them into the literal abyss

aw, thank you! im happy to hear that you think so

and, well. that whole thing is still part of fpk's story, i didn't just forget about it (and neither did he). it's just a bit more nuanced than how the general fanon portrays it as. the vessels hatched from within the abyss and climbed out, he didn't toss them back in if they were impure like a lot of the memes and fandom jokes would make you think. having to see them hatch, which many of them did not survive in the first place, and then watching so many of them slipp during their climb and fall to their deaths, it permanently broke something in him, even if at that point he kept telling himself that they were simply void beings, and that void did not feel pain. not that it excuses what he did, but if he had a choice, or was aware of their true nature, he would've never put them through it. he thinks of himself as a monster for what he's done, and some would agree, but to me he was a broken man, desperate to save the kingdom he's sworn to protect, left with no other option but the one he, at the time, thought wasn't as cruel as it ultimately ended up being

as a side ramble, i find it quite annoying how much people simplify what happened and even spread straight up misinformation. there's nothing in the game that suggests he himself threw the impure vessels back into the abyss, all we know is that he was standing at the top and waiting for the first one to make the climb, and yet people take that as fact and make memes and jokes about it, spreading it even further. i'm not saying he did nothing wrong, of course what he did was cruel, but whenever people say "he tossed his kids into the abyss", they always skip the part that explains what actually drove him to it. he didn't do it for fun, he was desperate and was left with no other choice. you may still hate him for it, that's subjective, but leaving that part out fundamentally simplifies what's a really interesting moral dilemma that makes his character so engaging. all for the sake of "haha fork man murders kids" jokes. it's really frustrating and makes me avoid talking about pk outside of the fpk au context. and every time people make those jokes about fpk i get more upset than i'd like (which, as a heads up, doesn't apply to you, since you did make a distinction between him and canon pk, so don't worry about that)

sorry about the rant, i just had to get it out of my system cause it always frustrates me. it's one of those things that makes me want to distance myself from the rest of the fandom, on top of already feeling a little alienated with some of my headcanons about the characters. the jokes were a bit funny at first, but it sucks to see such an interesting character dumbed down to a william afton-esque caricature

[meeowdiastudies]

Meme-ocracy

Memes in politics; does it help?

TL;DR

Yes it helps in attracting attention and keeping people engaged and entertained, but the concise memes may have oversimplified content which may distort and diminish the real matter and also with the nature of memes being funny, audiences may not take it seriously, making the political situation a laughing stalk (not that it is). 

~

Today, in the age of information overload, political discussions have found a friend in memes (Kulkarni 2017). These humorous images and captions have spawned on social media platforms, shaping the narrative and influencing public opinion (Zhang & Gearhart 2022). While the intention behind political memes to engage and entertain is achieved, the consequences are much deeper than it seems.

Oversimplification

Memes serve as a double-edged sword in the realm of politics. On one hand, they have the potential to make information accessible, providing quick and accessible ways for people to participate in political discussions (Jones 2018). On the other hand, the nature of memes simplifies complex issues, and while making them more digestible for a wider audience, this simplicity comes at the cost of overlooking details for the sake of a fun concise meme.

The danger lies in the distortion of facts and the spread of misinformation. Memes can oversimplify complex issues, reducing them to catchy punchlines that may misrepresent the reality of a situation. In a world where the spread of fake news is already a significant concern, political memes can further blur the facts in public discourse.

Take it seriously!

Moreover, the reliance on memes in political conversations may contribute to the trivialization of important issues. When serious matters are condensed into humorous media, the weight and value of the topic may be lost. The risk is that citizens, bombarded with meme after meme, may start viewing politics as entertainment rather than a critical topic (Panke 2013).

It's essential to acknowledge that humor can be a powerful tool for engagement, but its effectiveness in conveying accurate information is questionable (Kravets 2021). Finding a balance between amusement and keeping it real is important to not lose the essence of the political matter. While memes have become inevitable in online political discussions, their impact on the quality of these conversations remains highly controversial.

As we navigate the meme-fication of politics, we should ask ourselves whether laughter induced by political memes is a sign of a healthy and engaged community, or is it a cover-up for the trend of oversimplification and misinformation - or you could just enjoy the memes, but maybe, just maybe, not let them dictate your narrative on the matter.

References:

Panke, L 2013, ‘Polintertainment: The use of the humour in political communication’, Sphera Publica, vol.13, no.1, pp.2-18.

Kravets, O 2021, ‘It’s no joke: The critical power of a laughing chorus’, Marketing Theory, vol. 21, no. 3, pp. 1-16.

Kulkarni, A 2017, ‘Internet Meme and Political Discourse: A Study on the Impact of Internet Meme as a Tool in Communicating Political Satire’, Journal of Content, Community & Communication Amity School of Communication, vol. 6, no. 3, pp.13-17.

Zhang, B & Gearhart, S 2022, ‘It’s Obviously Funny to be a Meme: Viewing, Sharing, and Creating Memes for Political Entertainment and Observation ‘, The Journal of Social Media in Society, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 53-76.

[cyanidefilledcandy]

Was talking to a friend a few days ago about how he's, in his words, chronically online and how he takes breaks and is now beginning to take a break and I told him how I've been doing the same for a while now. He mentioned the FOMO he gets and at first I agreed because I didn't actually hear him. But once I did, I told him no. I don't get FOMO from not being online. (I don't think I ever have.) And I didn't say this because I didn't want it to seem like I was trying to invalidate his feelings (I'm REALLY not), but all I could think is, "Missing out on WHAT exactly? The latest asinine online discourse of the hour?"

And lo and behold, I log onto BlueSky to checj messages and browse for like 2 minutes and I have 26 notifs and I was immediately like "Ok....who did I piss off?" because anytime I have over 3 notifs, it means there's drama afoot. And of course, it's about a meme/tweet I posted (that I honestly don't even remember posting) and people are mad as all hell about it and apparently, this was an issue before where I guess it went viral and people started attacking the hell out of the OP.

Not because he said anything off the wall or because he was someone who did something bad, oh no! It was because he didn't use "plot hole" correctly (which I was aware of and didn't care that much because....joke) and how dare he say the internet has almost all human knowledge on it? And wow....it's amazing the things people get up in arms about...

Also, someone said I stole it instead of coming up with my own jokes, which I am not nor have I ever been a comedian. And secondly, sorry I'm not online all the goddamn time, I guess?

Also also, the internet DOES have the "total of all human knowledge", maybe if you stop getting all your information from fucking Tik-Tok and Twatter, you'd realize that. (And that's not to say there isn't rampamt misinformation and companies with agendas out there, but let's be real....most misinformation gets spread through social media.)

And this is exactly why I don't remotely have any feelings of FOMO from not being on social media as much.....cause this. THIS is what you're "missing out" on. People being angry and miserable for the sake of being angry and miserable. I quoted a post recently where I said I do not understand people who actively choose to be miserable all the time. I get sometimes, and especially get when it's about something serious. But this shit is just ridiculous. I'd say "touch grass", but I don't think that would be enough. 😵‍💫

In any case, I wound up deleting it. Not because of the comments, in fact, I liked most of them. But because I didn't want the OP to get harrassed over something so. Fucking. Stupid. I also apologized to him because he and his partner commented on it and I just told them the truth, I really did not know there was all this drama surrounding it and the last thing I want is to send vitriol towards someone who doesn’t deserve it. I just saw a meme I thought was funny/relatable, reposted it, and literally forgot all about it....because again, I just thought "lol funny pic".

[wild-at-mind]

It’s funny because I would actually describe my political views as pretty radical. However I don’t talk about it much online because the way it seems to be normal to talk about these things online is just utterly noxious to me. Sorry to use an old fashioned word but it fits the best. Like, physically repellant. The first thing is the very black and white thinking, it triggers a part of my brain (that maybe is the OCD or maybe the Evangelical church or a toxic combination of both) that causes me to emotionally seize up almost immediately.

Then there is the endless belittling of anyone who slightly disagrees or you just don’t like. It’s all funny online shit and memes I guess but to me it’s so toxic. It says to me ‘if you become friendly with us, this will be you if you even slightly step out of line’. Or if it’s not belittling, it’s the refusal to interpret anything other than in the absolute extreme it can possibly be, like a few weeks ago when someone told me anonymously that I must be a nationalist defender because I said it’s not nationalism for Biden to address the American people and express hope for a better US after the Capitol Hill riots. I’m not even American but I don’t feel I was wrong to say that, like, I’m so glad some people can survive on a diet of endless unadulterated misery and pessimism but as I may have expressed before, that would kill me! (Or even if the sentiment doesn’t work for you personally 1. he was addressing  an entire, gigantic country, and 2. you are still jumping to the worst possible and most extreme conclusion about what he is saying. What is the benefit here?) Meanwhile, all the funny online shit and guilletine memes goes on and on. We all tweet rat emojis at the gay politician, it’s so funny and no one has a problem with it (because we will nudge them out of our cliche if they do), and the actual specifics of what we want and what we are trying to do, to be, as leftists, are never fucking talked about! I’m going to assume in good faith that some of the people talk about it with their irl organising groups but many people are not in a place they can meet with fellow leftists on their doorstep (i.e. me) and they came online to try and learn more that way, and this is what they got. What I think I find most difficult is how easily misinformation spreads through a kind of exaggeration, that cannot be corrected because if you do you look like you are defending the action being talked about. It always goes like: ‘X politician did this really bad, awful thing!’ ‘Actually, this is misinformation. What he did was this slightly less bad thing.’ ‘Oh, I suppose you think slightly less bad thing is ok then??!!’ Like, there’s not much argument with that, is there? The 2nd person really does look like they are defending the slightly less bad thing, even if their intention was just to correct misinformation, because of a quirk of how arguments work. What I rarely see talked about is why on earth is the 1st person putting out exaggerations like this, which you often see happening over and over again in political online spaces, and should they be held accountable for that? If slightly less bad thing is very bad, surely it will stand on its own if described accurately and not exaggerated? The worst part I think is how at some point online leftists seem to have decided all discussion of racism is meaningless idpol?! Like, I fully support the movement to root out TERFish ideology in lefty online spaces, but for gods sake why is there not a similar one to boot out this kind of quasi-racists in leftism? I think it’s because it spoils the fun if someone actually says ‘that joke about a person of colour who is in power doesn’t hit the same as it does about a white person, in fact it is offensive, even if that person of colour is in a position of power. If you are white maybe avoid that kind of joke towards ANY person of colour’. I have no idea how this shift happened, I understand a lot of anti-racism blogs on here went inactive when a lot of blogs did during the drop-off in users, but that was more of a reaction to the changing userbase than the cause of it. I’ve been here a long time and it has changed so much, the way people talk about racism, it’s like people think it barely matters in their leftist ideology now. Wtf?? For the above reasons I really feel that tumblr is no longer a good place for political stuff (and twitter definitely isn’t x10000000), leftist meme culture in general is very frustrating for me on any platform (e.g. my facebook feed during the last general election) and I think the best idea for me to learn and grow at this point is to get back to the primary texts these people are doing a very bastardised version of and work from there. It’s hard because part of me kind of believes that the only reason I think this is because the truth is I really am the very essence of the liberal they all hate. But that isn’t reflected in my politics at all! So what does it even mean?

[grayareaculture]

inside the belly of the beast is just more blood and guts

ever since i discovered i had this power, i started deconstructing arguments from people who had outrageous opinions, knocking down building blocks of information that made up their thoughts, and looking for glitches and inconsistencies. this power helped me stay sane when i encountered 2d fandom police who often spread lies and misinformation or just straight up bad logic for their cult followers to eat up. it even became enjoyable, like a fun chess game where i get to refine my strategic thinking skills.

the past few years of trump presidency was more or less the same vibe, especially ever since covid happened. it was the first time i really threw myself into the razor sharp claws of the news cycle and sharpened myself against them. i’d point out so many inconsistencies everywhere all over the place. “for people who are so pro-life, they sure like to defend their Choice to not wear a mask.” “funny how nobody stakes out protests when TSA forces us to get rid of our water bottles but the minute there’s a mask mandate brenda and her hubby are out shouting profanities on the streets.” — among a whole ton of other memes and sarcastic call outs. for a while, i clung to this practice like a life line. every time something stupid happened in the news, i’d run to my friends so we can criticize the illogic of it all. it wasn’t until recently that this routine began to lose its original flavor. tweets taking governors like the fucker in dallas texas who’s trying to ban schools from requiring masks and showcasing how those who agree with his mandate are all ironically against pro-choice made me want to puke. these proclamations on social media that were made to cope with the insanity just didn’t do it for me anymore.

because that’s just it, isn’t it? we do this to cope. we do this to make sense of the nonsensical. because accepting that there really are people in the world who are both pro-life and anti-mask is just too unreal and hurtful and impossible. it is absolutely heartbreaking to see the system give no fucks about black lives. it is absolutely heartbreaking to see folks taking “china virus” at face value and attacking asian elders whether they’re actually chinese or not. our elders for fuck’s sake. to feel this stab to the gut over and over again and just accept that people with so much hate and fear is part of our reality each and every time we encounter another tragic story is too much fucking pain to bear. how else can we make sense of it all? how am i supposed to accept that any of this insanity exists in our world without at least pointing out the root of logical inconsistency so i can go to sleep at night knowing i’m not crazy for wanting justice and better lives for (actually) oppressed communities? dear God—

have mercy. i can’t even laugh anymore at the jokes, the memes, the sardonically existential and morbid humor. i have plunged deep into the belly of the beast and have already found all there is to find. there isn’t going to be anything else except more bloody and disgusting guts. there’s only so many times you can take apart a group’s illogical beliefs before you reach the same damn conclusion that fear grips us all, is at the root of our evil and hate, and fucks us up, hard, from the inside out. people fear what they don’t understand. people fear themselves. tell any white woman she’s being a little offensive when she said xyz about your hair or outfit and she’ll cry you a river about how she’s not racist. like my god, brenda. black people are dying out here and you’ve colonized so many different homes in so many different countries and your worst fear is that we think you’re racist? get the fuck over yourself and do something useful for society, like acknowledge your mistake and commit to learn. you don’t have any reason to be upset other than your fear of your own damn self. well guess what? we’re afraid of you too. but guess what else? you can change and do better. we can all change and do better without putting our guilt on someone else.

i started reading the body keeps the score (finally, after many weeks of saying ‘you’re next’ on my shelf). our brains are quite amazing in how much trauma it can handle. our thalamus helps regulate things like our mood, appetite, and response to fear. it’s a necessary evil. we wouldn’t last long as a species if we ate everything that came our way or if our bodies didn’t tell us to run when there is a real present danger. and yet, too much of it prevents our frontal lobes from functioning properly too. we can’t make informed decisions or operate on logical cognition if our brains constantly got stuck on this is a dangerous situation and you need to run NOW. fear causes all sorts of illogical things to happen. i bet fear was the first thing that popped out of pandora’s box. but it’s a pity fear wasn’t present to stop epimetheus from opening it.

so yes, the world is fucked up and violent and hateful. but i’ve really reached a point where deconstructing bad logic and pulling morbidly cynical jokes out of it just doesn’t cut it. i’m tired of seeing more and more bloody guts. i want to push for hope, push for goodness, push for justice. if i’m not doing just that, then every word out of my mouth is a waste of breath.