The Miscellaneous PC & vidya Games Thread

[garbon]

When your views cross into the domain of opposing the existence of a vast group of innocent people and working to charge the law to restrict their rights then the its just an opinion defence falls down.

I am 100% positive that JK Rowling does not oppose the existence of trans people.

She has her own views that I may agree or disagree with, but you are seriously strawmanning what her views are.

Here is what I think about JK Rowling: she is not a very self-aware person. She lies, but I don't even think it is intentional. Back when I paid attention to things Harry Potter she would bend over backwards pretending plot holes and other inconsistent things were entirely pre-planned and not issues. Later when diversity became more fashionable she was bending over backwards trying to pretend that her 1990s book series about white straight people was in fact very diverse. She just wouldn't let her work speak for itself, she always had this weird need to be seen as never wrong or virtuous or something. I don't know her personally of course, but I found her extremely bizarre in her public statements.

So sure she has said the right things about trans people and said some shitty things about them. Does she in fact have coherent thoughts about trans people? I don't know. I don't even think she knows. It certainly wouldn't surprise me if sometime down the road she insists that she was very pro-trans the whole time though. Tons of characters in Harry Potter were actually trans, honest! 

Granted that is all based on my memories of 2010s JK Rowling she might be different now, I don't pay much attention to her public statements anymore.

Yeah, I think I'd mostly agree with this though I think she's hardened her stances after evolving opposition to her stances.

Agreed it is a strange pivot from someone who made a lot of money on a well-received, though poorly written, series of books who at first tried to make up claims to burnish her credentials (Dumbledore was always gay though text says nothing) and then took a hard turn rightward over trans issues.

The literary awards she received undermine your claim that the books are poorly written.

Not sure if you are serious.

E.L. James has won awards too.

[Tamas]

So anyway, I downloaded Mount and Blade 2 via Game Pass. Can't really see any big difference from 1, and I played that to death many many years ago, I don't think I will play this sequel much.

[Valmy]

Not sure if you are serious.

E.L. James has won awards too.

The award for most adjectives used to describe a fantasy man's junk?

Though to be fair I don't know if she was even very poetic about that. I don't really want to read sexual fantasies about non-sexually compatible people, that doesn't seem like fun.

[Valmy]

So anyway, I downloaded Mount and Blade 2 via Game Pass. Can't really see any big difference from 1, and I played that to death many many years ago, I don't think I will play this sequel much.

Really? Ah too bad I was looking forward to playing that at some point...whenever I get around to it.

Right now I really want to play Pentiment but damn I never have time for gaming any more.

[Josquius]

Yeah. Some of the top steam reviews for MB2 were poor which put me off getting it. Which is a shame as I was looking forward to it.
Some hints it could be it was just released too early and future versions will be good.

[crazy canuck]

Not sure if you are serious.

E.L. James has won awards too.

I am serious, you might want to look at the prestigeous awards she won after the first three books.  And before Harry Potter became a household name.

Your apparent need to criticize her writing ability gives support to the point Brain is making.  You can love the art but not the artist. 

[garbon]

Not sure if you are serious.

E.L. James has won awards too.

I am serious, you might want to look at the prestigeous awards she won after the first three books.  And before Harry Potter became a household name.

Your apparent need to criticize her writing ability gives support to the point Brain is making.  You can love the art but not the artist. 

Now you are confused. I was able to discern that her writing was overhyped long before she came out against trans issues.

[Barrister]

Hate groups tend to be sneaky around language these days.

https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Gender_ideology

Just arguing that anyone on the opposite side of an issue is a "hate group" - it's no better than right-wingers labelling those they disagree with as Paedos or groomers.

[Barrister]

Not sure if you are serious.

E.L. James has won awards too.

I am serious, you might want to look at the prestigeous awards she won after the first three books.  And before Harry Potter became a household name.

Your apparent need to criticize her writing ability gives support to the point Brain is making.  You can love the art but not the artist. 

Now you are confused. I was able to discern that her writing was overhyped long before she came out against trans issues.

I kind of thought after the first couple of books, which were really just workmanlike YA fiction, Rowling kind of grew as a writer (as did her wordcounts).

Let's be clear - she was still writing Young Adult fantasy books, so it's a low bar, but later books were well written.

[garbon]

Not sure if you are serious.

E.L. James has won awards too.

I am serious, you might want to look at the prestigeous awards she won after the first three books.  And before Harry Potter became a household name.

Your apparent need to criticize her writing ability gives support to the point Brain is making.  You can love the art but not the artist. 

Now you are confused. I was able to discern that her writing was overhyped long before she came out against trans issues.

I kind of thought after the first couple of books, which were really just workmanlike YA fiction, Rowling kind of grew as a writer (as did her wordcounts).

Let's be clear - she was still writing Young Adult fantasy books, so it's a low bar, but later books were well written.

I think that's fair on the early books. My impression on the latter was the opposite, I thought she outmuscled her editor to their detriment.

[Sheilbh]

Yeah though I think they are still an improvement on the early books.

I think her real skill has been the world-building stuff which is why the films and the game etc are still going as they are.

[Josquius]

Hate groups tend to be sneaky around language these days.

https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Gender_ideology

Just arguing that anyone on the opposite side of an issue is a "hate group" - it's no better than right-wingers labelling those they disagree with as Paedos or groomers.

This isn't a both sides the same issue. The very fact an issue has been created where there shouldn't even be one is down to the work of hate groups and culture warriors.
It's ridiculous how they've shifted the Overton window on this in some people's eyes - I'm the one with conservative views on trans people, that the way things are seems to be fine and any change needs a good argument. But instead you have this false reality being presented where its radical trans extremists on the attack, with zero regard for reality.

[Barrister]

Hate groups tend to be sneaky around language these days.

https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Gender_ideology

Just arguing that anyone on the opposite side of an issue is a "hate group" - it's no better than right-wingers labelling those they disagree with as Paedos or groomers.

This isn't a both sides the same issue. The very fact an issue has been created where there shouldn't even be one is down to the work of hate groups and culture warriors.
It's ridiculous how they've shifted the Overton window on this in some people's eyes - I'm the one with conservative views on trans people, that the way things are seems to be fine and any change needs a good argument. But instead you have this false reality being presented where such a status quo view is somehow way out left and an attack on... The way things are.

But that's just it - what you view as the "status quo view" really isn't, and most people think that there's very much an issue.

But instead of acknowledging that and trying to argue your point, you're just declaring the debate over and that you've already won it.

[Josquius]

But that's just it - what you view as the "status quo view" really isn't, and most people think that there's very much an issue.

But instead of acknowledging that and trying to argue your point, you're just declaring the debate over and that you've already won it.

Except it is. I know what the status quo is. The transphobes arguments are built on tapping into people's ignorance of the situation around trans people.

For instance that there's never been laws around what toilet they can use, professional sports have been struggling with defining who qualifies as a woman for  decades without culture warriors storming in and declaring trans people aren't allowed, women's shelters have been open to trans people for at least 15 years with zero incidents, trans prisoners are always dealt with on a case by case basis and overwhelmingly tend to be victims rather than aggressors in prison assaults, etc...

I don't think the debate is over and I've already won. I dispute that there even is a debate to be had despite the efforts of some to make it a thing. And though some headway is being made by the transphobes in recent years, polls overwhelmingly show that most normal people outside of twitter circles don't give a shit.

Trans people are a thing. They have been for decades. Meh.

[Sheilbh]

Posted a reply in the Brexit thread - but can go anywhere - just think we should maybe return this thread to gaming?