#bitchassness

... as someone who follows a lot of bohemia-focused accounts on Tumblr and Instagram ... I like it, aesthetically speaking. It doesn't match me perfectly because my hair isn't long and straight, I would never wear boots with heels that thick, and I don't wear sleeveless anything without a jacket or cardigan. But I liked it, so I saved it to one of my boards.

The person who created/originally posted it seems to appreciate the hippie life, past and present, and I can understand and respect that. Hippie culture is problematic as much as any other (sub)culture, but it has its merits.

But what caught my eye was the comments responding to the image, including one where someone posted an "improved" version of the image with the Black Lives Matter banner removed.

Now, I have made a New Year's Resolution to spend less of my energy arguing or debating with folks online, and instead use that energy to create something that brings me joy or a sense of accomplishment. But I first saw this Pinterest post last year, so I hadn't arrived at that decision yet.

When I tried to call out the not-so-subtle way in which white supremacists try to sneak their dogma into every conversation or online interaction, Pinterest refused to post my comment. So I tried editing it to remove the phrase "white supremacist" assuming they flag that phrase as unacceptable in any context. Pinterest still wouldn't post it.

So I decided to post a more subtle, less obvious criticism of why the comments are toxic. Pinterest allowed it.

Fast forward to today, and I see this image offered on my homepage based on my interests ...

And once again, the comments are ... unfortunate. There are accusations ranging from the label "POC edition" being problematic to someone insisting that the moodboard is promoting segregation.

I'm not sure how that person landed at the idea that acknowledging that Dark Academia has an unfortunate pro-Eurocentric bias is the same as promoting segregation. It kind of reminds me of how racist people often accuse anyone who addresses the issue of racism of being racist.

It's not a "POC edition" in that only POC are meant to engage in it. It's simply recognizing that a divide exists within the aesthetic, and then attempts to suggest ways in which people can close that divide. (Granted, it could've been a little better like recommend specific books, films, artists, teas, coffees, musicians, etc. and branch out of Asia/Middle East more.)

But to accuse the creator of being divisive ignores the fact that there are countless memes that recommend the same Eurocentric and Euro-American literature, music, films, art, etc. for this aesthetic. Recognizing something doesn't create separation.

No one is saying only POC should partake in the above. It's simply acknowledging that POC contribute to this aesthetic as well, and here are just a few ways you can incorporate those contributions into your life.

Well, apparently Pinterest didn't like that statement either. I wasn't being combative or argumentative, but Pinterest wouldn't let me post. Apparently it's OK for others to criticize anything that focuses on addressing racial and ethnic inequality, but Pinterest doesn't like it when you respond to those criticisms.

But that's OK. It makes me question whether I'll continue using my Pinterest account after this year, but that's OK. I have plenty of places I can express myself, and maybe, just maybe joy and a sense of accomplishment will come with it.

Thankfully, @slavetothespear has already addressed some of the bitchassness in my post’s comments section left by smarks who are butt hurt that I called out the audience at last night’s PPV because they can’t recognize that Roman Reigns put Braun Strowman over. I considered leaving it alone and simply deleting their comments, but @slavetothespear replied before I could get to it and I don’t want them to look like they’re responding to no one. :-)

But let’s be clear, most of Roman’s haters – whether they’re smarks or not – get their education on wrestling terminology from smarks. That’s why most of them don’t know what certain wrestling terms mean. They just think they know what certain terms mean. Then they go onto posts written by Roman Reigns’ fans and try to spout their ignorance, thinking they’ll just leave a snarky comment then bounce.

That’s cute.

They constantly reveal that they don’t know what a “jobber” actually is. They don’t know what “buried” means. And thanks to this (see below), they clearly don’t know what it means to “put someone over.”

At no time is it required for another wrestler to be “100%” and lose a match “clean” in order to put them over. In other words @thatmuchcooler, you’re wrong.

Putting someone over in a storyline – which is what this is, btw – is to get the audience to perceive the character the way the company wants the audience to perceive them. It’s not a simple matter of winning or losing a feud. That’s a moron’s definition of the wrestling phrase. 

OK. Let me break it down for you because I know your Roman haterade has left your mind dehydrated and confused.

The company wants the audience to view Strowman as an unstoppable beast with no feelings or remorse about how he pursues an opponent. He’s this generation’s combination of The Big Show and Kane. It’s not enough for him to be big. He also has to strike fear (not just intimidation) in the hearts of the audience when his music hits. So this is a journey to building that image and character for Braun. 

First, they started with Strowman demolishing jobbers week after week. Next, they gave him a mini-feud with Sami Zayn, the beloved Underdog from the Underground. Surely, he wouldn’t really hurt that cinnamon roll, right? He did. And without remorse. Then, they gave him Roman Reigns and Big Show to feud with in a semi-jumbled story because WM 33 came along and they had to juggle a few things. Not the best way to do it, but I understand the circumstances changed.

Anyway.

The Big Show feud was to demonstrate Strowman’s physicality as a worthy successor to this role. And the Roman Reigns feud is to demonstrate Strowman’s vicious, hyperfocused, runaway-locomotive merciless brutality. He beat The Big Show with the awesome superplex off-the-top-rope match. And last night, he beat Roman Reigns while displaying he doesn’t give a damn that an already injured man, struggling through a personal mourning phase, lying beaten in the middle of the ring completely exhausted was admitting defeat, he was still going to teach that man that this fight is over when he says it’s over. 

Again, it’s not enough for Strowman to be big. He has to be brutal if he’s being set up to take on Brock Lesnar, as so many have suspected. Roman, battered and bruised before even showing up to the ring, is indeed putting Strowman over. He’s helping him earn that character image, so Michael Cole repeatedly mentioning that he’s not 100% is absolutely a part of this story. 

And last night, I said Roman’s better than all those hating smark assholes because they think they know how good Roman is by shouting garbage like “Thank You Strowman!” and “You deserve it!” to a bleeding and writhing Roman Reigns. Yet he’s 10 times better than they think he is because he’s essentially playing them like a pipe and they don’t even know it. 

For his part in this storyline, Roman Reigns put Strowman over. 

You’re welcome. 

Hey @radiationfeelings! Just so you know, the easiest way to make sure your reblog/comment doesn’t get read in its entirety is to start your reply calling me “fucking dumb.” I think we both know that if you actually read my blog, I’m a lot of things, but “dumb” isn’t one of them.

But kudos to you for behaving exactly the same way every racist white person behaves when they’re challenged on issues of prejudice and inclusivity. I can see from your brief Tumblr bio that you’re 25, bi and Swedish, so congratulations on hitting all the markers that tell me that racism (especially anti-black racism) around the world will continue long after I’m gone and you’re yet another white Millennial who will keep it forever alive to mar the daily lives of as many PoC as possible for generations to come. 

Oh, and btw, just because you’ve seen PoC who agree with you about not adding the black and brown stripes to the rainbow flag doesn’t mean you’re validated in your resistance to change and inclusivity. I’d be happy to introduce you to black and brown people who support Stop & Frisk laws, black people who don’t find the Confederate flag offensive, and Asian-Americans who think internment camps were completely justified during WWII and we shouldn’t hesitate to use them again today. 

See, I can find PoC to support a wide range of opinions on political issues that contribute to their marginalization because I recognize that PoC are not monolithic or share a hive mind. See, we can disagree on a number of important topics that affect our community and recognize that it’s OK to do so because we’re human. Something you (and others like you) fail to notice because 1) you don’t see PoC as humans capable of the same complexity as white people, and 2) you think you can trot out a PoC who will cosign your bullshit and it will somehow make all your crooked straight.

If a PoC can vote for Donald Trump and support his administration, I’m pretty sure I can handle a queer PoC telling me that the additions to the rainbow flag are offensive or unnecessary. So kindly keep that “but I have black friends who agree with me” strategy out for these discussions. They will get you no where.

… jumping I’m seeing from anti-DCEU trolls is harping on the CGI for Cyborg’s suit. Basically, the phrasing follows along the line of “it looks like shit” and “it sucks.” When pressed for details to support their opinion, I see a slapdash spew of it looks “cheap,” “lacks depth” and “should be more [insert vague term].” 

What fascinates me here is their illusive grabbing at straws. They don’t like it, therefore it is bad. It’s not what they expected, therefore it is bad. When I point out that their complaints are lacking in substance, I’m accused of engaging in “fandom defensiveness.” 

So you’ve provided nothing of value to support your insistence that it sucks, but you’ve decided that since it doesn’t look like how you thought it would appear, it must be bad CGI. But I’m somehow wrong for requesting something more to give your statement a much-needed source of support. ‘Kay.

Look, I get not liking the suit. Personally, I don’t like Aquaman’s suit. It looks like the color scheme I would expect to see on the Creature from the Black Lagoon, not Aquaman. I think the colors are fugly and don’t complement each other well at all, the fit looks uncomfortable for the actor, and it’s not at all what I would’ve gone with for the major revamp of the big-screen version of this much-lampooned character. But do you hear me saying all the costumes in the film are therefore crap because I don’t happen to like what they chose for Arthur Curry? Do you hear me insisting that the costume/wardrobe department are lacking in skill because they did something that wasn’t what I expected? Nope.

Why? Because wanting something different doesn’t mean the team working behind the scenes are bad at their job. Their rationale for going their route may not mirror mine. It’s that simple.

But the anti-DCEU trolls are out in large numbers insisting that Victor’s body doesn’t have the Robocop-esque qualities that they expected, therefore it must be bad CGI. Let’s forget the fact that he should look nothing like Robocop, even the rebooted version. Let’s forget the fact that Victor’s new body is made of a material that until now has never been effectively used on this scale on planet Earth. Let’s forget that his body is essentially a bio-organic polymer that shouldn’t look like anything anyone in the Justice League has seen thus far in the DCEU.

Nope. All that matters is the CGI must suck all around because Cyborg doesn’t look the way your pitiful skills in Adobe Creative Suite would make him look.

The trolls also conveniently forget that this same CGI team also crafted the big-screen speedforce look for Barry, how it appears to work with his suit, the water graphics for Arthur when he’s interacting with the ocean waves, all of Batman’s highflying stunts and batgear in motion, explosions, major crashes, and elaborate death-defying stunts, but … hey, you think Victor’s body should look like the hot plate in your apartment and it doesn’t … so … bad CGI.

Yeah, I get it.

I’m just engaging in “fandom defensiveness.”