I'm of the opinion that people who get upset at things like Molestia are being much too sensitive about it. As if people who make jokes about bad subjects really support those subjects. Like, I wonder if some of them have ever heard a comedian in their life. I'm of the opinion that the best way to rise above something unpleasant is to learn to laugh at it. Laughter is a wonderfully liberating medicine. If you take things too seriously at all times, you're basically ensuring you're going to be angry and hurt for a much longer time than if you learned to let it roll off your back.
I strongly suggest you guys look up why people have such a beef with rape culture and why people had a problem with things like Molestia and Daniel Tosh's rape joke. In short, rape jokes like those are plain and simple bullying. It's punching down rather than punching up. Here's actually a really good article on the concept. To laugh at something that had power or once had power over the people is liberating I agree, but a lot of rape jokes, especially the ones found in Molestia didn't turn out that way. It portrayed rape and molestation as something silly and innocent and even though you might say "well, I know that that stuff is bad and would never do it in real life", by laughing at it and accepting it you are subliminally approving of it. This becomes really problematic when you encounter that one person who doesn't get that it's unacceptable and then thinks that raping or molesting someone is just a way of showing affection or whatever. It normalizes the idea that rape is no big deal, which sounds absurd but there is evidence to suggest that it does. There's a lot of injustices in this world and when it comes to the subject of rape, things like Molestia are seen as a contributing factor. Maybe you agree or disagree with these articles, but I know that I was once the kind of guy who thought a joke was harmless. But after looking into it I saw the kind of damage it could do. I'm also really, REALLY against bullying.
Maybe you should have read the blog before making such judgements. I followed the blog for nearly a year, and read all the back posts. The only thing that ever got truly "molested" was a toaster. Everything else was either consensual, or had the indication of consent. The only bullies in this case were Pinkiepony, Purple Tinker, and the rest of the DWM group. They sought to censor something that they just as easily could have ignored. The entire movement was founded on a lie, anyway.
I did read the blog and I do know that it wasn't all consensual. Rape was used as punishment for some guards, rape was threatened on some pony that was chained up. I don't think it ever crossed into full-blown porn but it was there and I remember that before a certain point, it was kind of prevalent. It did actually die down towards the end as I don't remember any of the recent comics being too problematic. I actually did like the gamer Luna arcs, but that didn't change the fact that the blog was still basically founded on the premise that rape jokes with pony character is funny, and it really isn't. Also, I don't think anyone who was on a "side" of this argument came out looking like anything but *squee!*s. Okay, maybe Pinkiepony because as far as I understand she started the blog to both remove problematic content and raise rape awareness in the brony community, which is still kind of disturbingly high (which to be fair, I rarely randomly encounter this stuff in the wild, I have to be shown it) and for it she received death and rape threats, which kind of surpasses bullying and goes into criminal territory. This also doesn't change the fact that the rape culture is still a thing and ignoring it is not the solution. Please read the two articles I posted before. This isn't so much an issue of offending someone but an issue of normalizing behavior and attitudes towards rape and sexual assault. The fact that victim blaming is the norm and that people will often show more sympathy for the rapist than for the rape victim. I've seen this stuff happen and it's kind of sick.
Meh...I don't really care. I will miss Gamer Luna though. As long as the "White Knights" stay away from the clop community, I have no qualms with them.
Gamer Luna isn't gone... JJ's new blog, minus the suggestive elements. http://askgamingprincessluna.tumblr.com/
I did not take a side. But I have to refute what you said about Pinkiepony. I watched it happen, I went back and read her tumblr and what she said happened. I'm not going to go into detail, but the first story that brought about all this is HIGHLY doubtful and she never showed any proof of it. In fact she would hardly talk about it or answer relevant questions about it. Suffice to say, any four year old that knows about and understands what rape is has WAY more problems than a cartoon pony on tumblr. I'm looking at you, parents of said four year old... Her second story about being cornered in a mall department store dressing room is laughable at best. She called her dad when it happened? Didn't scream for help or call 911 or mall security? Of course no evidence past her word on this either. Police report, security camera footage, anything? In any case, I care not for her cause or whatever for she is nothing but an attention *****. And her methods worked. Look at how many people know about her and her escapades! But I will not be one of the people giving her any more page views. I hope she fades into obscurity and everyone forgets her, for that is the worst thing imaginable for someone like her. And for her white knights I leave this... And to me, this is the best possible outcome for this whole thing. Gamer Luna is fantastic and I'm glad that will live on.
[video=youtube;sVvRwtzHcWI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=sVvRwtzHcWI[/video]
>sudo apt-get install R.A.N.T if you got the joke then you win 10 free internets, reclaim them in http://www.everypony.com/radio.php every Friday at night I'll say it simple and only one time, no, i'm not sad/mad/happy/sensible about it. is just that putting this news in a pedestal of "all glory to the fallen one, bla bla bla " is just really ... why? why am i even giving bucks about it? so the only thing i'll say it's barely "important" about this blog going off is : too bad now there's no more art about molestia or princess luna--"ouh wait but JJ said that the new tumblr blog for luna"- well then nothing of value has been lost, the ride will still be going, and the only thing left that isn't going to appear now is new molestia's bits about stuff, and jokes i think i'll miss in some day/month/year/millenium. now the only thing i'll say about what other pages has said about the reason of it's close is now the reason why i'm posting actually my thoughts inhere; I've heard a lot about this girl from tumblr "pinkiepony" that was suppose to be the one marking out the exit of this blog, i hate her for trying to cut off the fun of others, like i know all that "edgy" movement about "down with molestia" and all that stuff, but aren't people allowed to have fun? to joke about something you don't really find funny? why is that even a thing? if people find ponies funny and other don't? the same with molestia's blog, if you don't find her jokes funny but offensive , then what? you should do an entire movement and hype for stoping everyone?, i find it really stupid and un-moral. But the real true was about this is that a VA (which name's i don't remember) posted in twitter one pic of the blog (the one for Thanksgivens of 2013), so some guy at has-youknowwho alerted the copyright deparment and the next thing you knew is just spaghetti flowing around tumblr until it drown it down, or something like that, i really can't tell the full story since my source dissapeared, and so my willing to search about it that said, i think is just another case of C&D , and the ride isn't gonna stop, meh, i really can't tell, cheers and hope for a good day sir
If Pinkiepony was lying and making the whole thing up, then I guess she comes out as an ******* as well. Personally, I don't think saying "the lack of a rational response" is proof it didn't happen and actually, I think part of the problem is that when woman say that she has been sexually harassed or violently threatened our first reaction is to try and poke holes in the story rather than give her the benefit of the doubt followed by finding reasons for why it was her fault rather than the attackers. I mean, it's not like you are presenting any proof it didn't happen and this actually sounds a lot like rape culture right here. Heck, part of the problem of rape culture is women feeling like no one will believe them when they say these things happen...I think that is kind of what happened. If any four year old knows that rape is a problem it sure doesn't seem like it. I mean, just read this (and the links it provides for context). I mean saying that "every four year old knows rape is bad" is like saying "every four year old knows racism is bad" and yet that is not the world I've seen. I still see no one care about what other Native Americans think when it comes to using a derogatory term. You can go onto Xbox Live and hear that racism is still alive. I see examples all the time of racism and sexism in the world today. Humor, as I'm pretty sure it says in one of the articles I linked to before, does play a part in normalizing these negative behaviors. You can read this to learn more about humor and racism just to get an idea of how they can work together. Edit: Also, the Anita Sarkeesian Kickstarter controversy is just one example showing that sexism and misogyny is still alive. Clearly not everyone is aware that those things are bad and I think this is just another reason why we should take this problematic stuff more seriously.
Um. I'm not saying anything about what may or may not have happened to Pinkiepony. Her history is not in question here. I was talking about her reasons for starting the DWM movement. Her four year old niece saw a picture of Princess Celestia and said, "That's the one that rapes ponies." Or so her story goes. This event she has never backed up or brought proof of. THAT is what makes her argument flimsy. I need not disprove something she has not proven in the first place. And my statement from before stands. If you have a four year old that knows about and understands rape, shame on the parents. She created this facade to gain attention for herself. She even sold shirts for it. And if you believe she wouldn't be taking "administrative costs" for herself from those sales "for charity", I have a bridge to sell you.
I was referring more to this part: "Her second story about being cornered in a mall department store dressing room is laughable at best. She called her dad when it happened? Didn't scream for help or call 911 or mall security? Of course no evidence past her word on this either. Police report, security camera footage, anything?" Actually, if you are basing your arguments on "what she is saying isn't true" you do need to provide evidence because other than threatening everyone's fun and laughter at the expense of rape victims she hasn't really done anything to make me at least discredit her. If our justice system operated like this, witness testimonies would be practically worthless. "The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence." This means that just because you haven't proven something has happened, doesn't mean it didn't happen. Also, whatever reasons PinkiePony started all this is really quite irrelevant. Rape culture exists outside of the pony fandom and is a problem. Stuff like Molestia contributed to that problem and some people felt that it was even worse because it was based off content that is suppose to be empowering for little girls.
This thread is slowly going overboard...Think we all need to take a step back and not make arguments here. What has happened has happened. We won, we lost. Whatever your perspective, a tumblr blog is closed, go on with your day.
Isn't the topic name posing a question though? I think this is the perfect place for an argument as long as it remains civil.
This discussion in itself borderlines the terms of this board, depending on your rule interpretation so I'm kinda surprised it's even lasted this long.
This isn't the first time this topic came up and it didn't seem to pose any problems. I don't remember the rules by heart but I think in this board, as long as we don't link to anything inappropriate or illegal we're allowed to discuss topics like this.
So now the strawman appears. Rape is bad, rape culture is bad. I've never said otherwise. However, I do not agree that Pinkiepony is a saint in all this. She created the movement and has profited from it. The ending of the tumblr is a good thing, but her means were highly questionable. Take a look at her responses to asks on her tumblr to people and her vitriol towards people. She is anything but nice. My only argument against what you said is that Pinkiepony is blameless in what happened in the DWM debacle.
It is the serious discussion forum, and I think it's interesting to see some of these colliding viewpoints. I'm liking that it's staying civil, as it should. The discussion isn't so much about the silly blog as it is the importance of eliminating the rape culture that exists in the world. Do I think APM promoted rape culture? No, from what I saw it was a sexualized version of Celestia giving ponies embarrassment and making them uncomfortable. Due to the fact that the blog never got explicit, I can assume that anything that did happen was consensual. I haven't read the blog in a long time and was never a big follower though, so I'd have to look at it again in order to say for certain. That's just my impression as it is right now. Did DWM go too far? I think it seems like it. Again, I'm not a big follower, but seeing [MENTION=200]Dragonbait[/MENTION]'s discussion with [MENTION=6391]Xander[/MENTION], I think this pinkiepony person was being overly sensitive to a suggestive tumblr. I feel that the APM blog was on a similar vein as a porn site, in that it was a place for people to go to... well, relieve some stress. I know I did so myself on some of my visits to the blog, keeping in mind my interpretation that anything that might have happened after the comics ended were consensual and if not, things ended there. Again, my impression of Molestia is that she was very sexual, but not a rapist. The problem is that the issue of rape culture still exists, whether or not APM encouraged it shouldn't really matter at this point. Instead focus should be geared towards the issues that still exist, such as the lack of punishment for rapists and the amount of victim blaming, and some more definite sources of rape culture, such as poor comedians that were never funny in the first place so it's a wonder they have a TV show that's popular enough to still be around.
