#xqc head must be insane for him to go to bat like this. dream is LOYAL.

[simpingresponsibly]

discourse//

are people ready for nuance yet or is everyone still too angry?

the thing that struck me was that at the end of the stream, Tubbo said that he couldn't fathom the way that Dream thinks about things (despite Dream over-explaining himself to the point that I assumed Tubbo was being deliberately obtuse). if he was being genuine, which i do think he was, it stems from an age old debate in mcyt fandom and broader philosophy, on the importance of intention vs impact.

what matters more: the intention of your actions, or the impact of them? and it's a complex question, doubly so when your actions have ripples beyond the range of the average person. the answer can't really be one or the other, there has to be a balance, which both parties probably know, even if they aren't framing it in those terms.

Dream puts most of his emphasis on the intention of his actions. he's talked before about being deeply interested in psychology, in understanding how people think and why they think the way they do. he wants to understand people and be understood, hence the over-explaining, and hence why he wanted Tubbo to understand what his intentions were with why he chose the parts for the video. knowing Dream, it makes sense why he values it more; he can only control the intention behind his actions, not the impact. Dream gives disclaimers where he can and encourages his audience to act with kindness, but ultimately he can't control what happens. he can only control himself, and if he was constantly holding himself accountable for what other people do because of him, he'd go insane.

this is good and bad, as most things are.

Tubbo and his group tend to place emphasis more on the impact of actions. it's why he kept talking (nonsensically imo) about 'bad actors' and how Dream did/didn't handle their presence during the gituation, and why it mattered so much that Tommy's mom was secretly going through a divorce. it's also why he kept saying that certain sections of the video did not come off the way Dream intended. while I interpreted the video way differently than him in some points (I was never thinking that Tommy was being accused of child labour, Tubbo's own sore spot was probably getting in the way of this), and agreed in others (the way the editor information was presented was really misleading, it wasn't until Dream provided outside context that I understood what was going on), Tubbo placed a lot of value on what he saw as the impact of the actions. it's why that group tends to be held by the balls by their fans; the vocal fans are the people who are easiest to measure the impact of their actions against. the issue with this lies in the fact that an impact is not objectively measurable, and depends heavily on other people's experiences.

many issues with the Dream Team have come from them treating other people as equals. that's as loaded as it sounds: they are doing what they should be doing in a completely just world, giving most people the benefit of the doubt, and assuming everyone is on the same playing field. unfortunately, that is not the world we live in, and navigating the power structures that surround the cc-sphere requires a delicate touch that does not come naturally to three cis white men who were raised in middle class families. it's not to say that they're not trying, but it doesn't come easily or quickly to them. they've had to learn some very hard lessons because of it, and their actions have had some severely negative impacts on people despite their best intentions. they see the world through an individualistic lens that doesn't account for the sociological complexities that surround identity and agency. so they treat everyone equally, and sometimes it backfires and hurts them and the people they interact with because of it.

because intention is what matters most to Dream and he sees someone as just another person first and as their identity second, he'll blunder through without noticing the other dynamics at play. it's definitely a position of privilege not to notice. but it's a privilege he doesn't want, because he just wants to communicate as two individuals and not a collection of labels that society has put on them (I think this also plays a role in his adversity to being labelled queer).

since intentions matter more, it shirks some of the responsibility for the impact of Dream's actions. which isn't great, because we do live in a world where that matters. but he also deeply cares about other people's intentions, and isn't interested in the same double standards that other people shove onto him.

Tubbo doesn't agree, and probably attributes a lot of Dream's beliefs to ignorance and irresponsiblity, because of how he's seen the effects of power impact those in his life. it's also something Tommy has brought up with his opinions on replying to Tweets. they believe they have to step on eggshells around others (unless they feel they have the moral upper hand) because of their potential impact. it also has to do with the precariousness of internet public opinion and audience retention and not wanting to be on the wrong side of it. it's also why they're accused regularly of being spineless.

the stream didn't change my opinions at all on the situation, which is an incredibly messy one, with a lot of old emotions coming up. but I feel like I understood them more, and the reason they will never see eye to eye on it or probably anything else again.