Author Topic: PC190: A Window, Clear As A Mirror  (Read 14647 times)

Talia

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Reply #25 on: January 24, 2012, 11:04:37 PM
What a wonderfully backhanded.... compliment?
Maybe you'd like to start thinking about what you are saying and how many people you are insulting before you post.  It would be greatly appreciated.


Not really. This author did take the tiredest tropes in the genre, and he did make them into something fresh and new.

You'd have to have a pretty thin skin to find that insulting.


The objection was over your choice of words more than anything. Even if it wasn't intended that way, the first statement you made could be interpreted in a few pretty negative ways.  (Assuming you meant it the most innocuous interpretation - I haven't myself noticed a swath of fairy and unicorn stories starring gay protagonists, but some may exist..).



ElectricPaladin

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Reply #26 on: January 24, 2012, 11:09:25 PM
What a wonderfully backhanded.... compliment?
Maybe you'd like to start thinking about what you are saying and how many people you are insulting before you post.  It would be greatly appreciated.


Not really. This author did take the tiredest tropes in the genre, and he did make them into something fresh and new.

You'd have to have a pretty thin skin to find that insulting.


The objection was over your choice of words more than anything. Even if it wasn't intended that way, the first statement you made could be interpreted in a few pretty negative ways.  (Assuming you meant it the most innocuous interpretation - I haven't myself noticed a swath of fairy and unicorn stories starring gay protagonists, but some may exist..).

I haven't the slightest clue what Balu means when s/he sees "gay" in stories, except that s/he sees it all over the freaking place.

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Talia

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Reply #27 on: January 25, 2012, 03:19:21 AM
Just a reminder to please remember Rule No. 1 even when someone says something potentially objectionable.



eytanz

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Reply #28 on: January 25, 2012, 08:44:12 AM
I haven't the slightest clue what Balu means when s/he sees "gay" in stories, except that s/he sees it all over the freaking place.

I think that in this case Balu literally meant "A fantasy story with unicorns and fairies that wasn't about homosexuality". Regardless of Balu's prior posting history, it was an unfortunate word choice because stories don't have sexual orientations; a story isn't "gay" or "straight", though a story may be about gay themes.



eytanz

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Reply #29 on: January 25, 2012, 08:55:15 AM
I can't quite decide if I entirely enjoyed this story, but what I do know, is that I think it was one of those stories that went beyond just being entertaining and had a lot of depth to it. I found it rather challenging. I really did appreciate the way the light-hearted writing was covering up a lot of conflicted emotions. And the reading was excellent. But I'm not sure I like where Malcolm's journey took him, and I'm finding it very hard to express why. I might give it some time and return to it and see if a second listen/read will help me clarify my thoughts.



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Reply #30 on: January 25, 2012, 07:00:23 PM
I haven't the slightest clue what Balu means when s/he sees "gay" in stories, except that s/he sees it all over the freaking place.

Gay is a pretty common synonym for lame. It is difficult to see how anybody who read this story could think that the word related to the protagonists sexuality.

Apart from anything else, the thing was about a man trying to reconnect with his wife.



ElectricPaladin

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Reply #31 on: January 25, 2012, 07:23:40 PM
I haven't the slightest clue what Balu means when s/he sees "gay" in stories, except that s/he sees it all over the freaking place.

Gay is a pretty common synonym for lame. It is difficult to see how anybody who read this story could think that the word related to the protagonists sexuality.

I really don't think you should use gay as a word for lame. While there are people who are actually gay out there in the world, using "gay" for "lame" is pretty insensitive, especially since there are so many perfectly reasonable words for lame. For example:

  • Lame
  • Stupid
  • Dumb
  • Bad
  • Inadequate
  • Boring
  • Poorly Done

And so on.

Honestly, "gay," in that context, is similar to saying "jewed" to mean "cheated." Would you be as blithe about saying that someone who becomes violent and angry is "so black?" Would it be appropriate to mutate "latino" into something that means, I don't know, something about creeping into somewhere one doesn't belong?

Bottom line: it's crude and cruel to boil an entire group of humans down to a single adjective that reflects what you imagine to be that group's least attractive trait and then use that adjective in a negative way.

Quit it.

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Talia

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Reply #32 on: January 25, 2012, 07:24:36 PM
I haven't the slightest clue what Balu means when s/he sees "gay" in stories, except that s/he sees it all over the freaking place.

Gay is a pretty common synonym for lame. It is difficult to see how anybody who read this story could think that the word related to the protagonists sexuality.

Apart from anything else, the thing was about a man trying to reconnect with his wife.

Next time just use "lame" or some other term if you would. Using 'gay' in that sense reads like a slur. Sorry to seem picky, but it bothers me.



Kaa

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Reply #33 on: January 25, 2012, 08:06:14 PM
It is difficult to see how anybody who read this story could think that the word related to the protagonists sexuality.

They were trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, hoping you hadn't used the word in the sense you did.

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eytanz

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Reply #34 on: January 25, 2012, 09:04:25 PM
It is difficult to see how anybody who read this story could think that the word related to the protagonists sexuality.

They were trying to give you the benefit of the doubt, hoping you hadn't used the word in the sense you did.

Exactly. I was giving the one translation of what you said that seems to me to be within the realm of acceptability.



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Reply #35 on: January 28, 2012, 07:59:22 AM
I loved this story. I don't know how anyone would see the ending as him as the unicorn becoming her pet... she finally set him free, and he'll continue, a bit less broken but content, helping others reach their dreams now that he's realised he doesn't have any left.



LaShawn

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Reply #36 on: February 23, 2012, 04:51:24 PM
This one was okay. I agree what the woman did was pretty selfish, but on the flip side, I think he was blind to what she wanted as well. Or maybe I'm reading too much into the line "You were right...it's probably better not to have kids." Sounds to me like she wanted kids at one point, but he talked her out of it, and that was the point where she started craving more to life than he was capable of giving. But that's just my opinion.

The sad thing though was that instead of moving on, he was so fixated on her that he forced himself to change into something else, not for his peace of mind, but to try to understand her. By the time he found her, he had completely lost himself. Very sad.

I loved the bit with the fey actress. Any actress that sleeps with a knife sounds cool. Would love to see more of her.

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