It is quite extraordinary how liberals will sign on to the notion of civility, even when that is used as a cover to not take strong public stands. Cartoonists Reuben Bolling and Tom Tomorrow take aim at his kind of advice.
Tom the Dancing Bug 1396 please don’t use the n-word
I hope that this isn’t derailing anything but I suddenly woke up from a nap thinking about South Park and Family Guy, as well as this one cartoon I love to death.
I think I became a healthy adult after realizing that “South Park” and “Family Guy” are the two most equally overrated and needless television programs out there. Where “South Park” and “Family Guy” pointlessly take potshots at whoever they don’t like, whether it be LGBTQIA+’s, women, immigrants, Africans, Muslims, Atheists, and whatever label you pick out of the hat, this one cartoon I love has a very specific target for specific reasons. This cartoon I really love welcomes anything that deviates from social norms. Any rule that restricts the two main characters of this show from seeking pleasure, whether it be sex or sweets, they break. “South Park” and “Family Guy” do a similar thing, but only to foolishly further their own reactionary political agendas. My point is that, for lack of a better word, you look like total sociopath when you go after everybody you think is being stupid.
Did I forget to mention that “South Park” and “Family Guy” both went after autistics? Yeah, that’s more than enough for me to hate them. Contrary to popular assertion, I have every single right to be offended and outraged when I am set up as a social and political target.
You’re a fucking idiot. (Since you see no problem with incivility, I’m sure you’ll have no problem with that opening.)
The reason why certain kinds of civility -- including, for example, the principle of charity, default respect, etc -- are important is because they are a countervailing force against the tendency to political polarization.
Political polarization, and the ideological entrenchment that inevitably follows from it, are a disaster. The lesson of history, practically the whole of history, for the whole of time, is that polarization and entrenchment have bad outcomes. Even when they are necessary, the result is almost always terrible.
You’re a twit, and you should stick to physics, because this stuff is just asinine.
wontbehere4long, you didn’t name the cartoon that you love, but did fans of it recently create headlines for terrorizing McDonald’s employees because the company didn’t give its restaurants enough of a certain kind of limited edition sauce?
nothanks @#2,
Ah yes, that awful political polarization. It leads to such rudeness! Who can forget the great successes of civility in creating major social changes? How the British and French and Belgians relinquished their colonies after getting polite letters to do so . How King George agreed to American independence after getting that nice note from Benjamin Franklin and invited him to tea to discuss the process. How the South agreed to give up slavery after Lincoln said he would be awfully pleased if they did so. And so on.
Politeness and civility are fine between equals. But when there is great inequality, civility becomes a weapon used by the powerful to silence those who are powerless because it makes it easier to ignore them.
@nothanks
And since you’ve taken that approach, you’re admitting that there are situations where incivililty is justified. So, now we’re just down to arguing whether the current political situation qualifies or not.
The name of the cartoon is “Panty and Stocking with Garterbelt.”
To talk about why I love this cartoon to death would be launch into another essay, so I’ll keep it short.
1. It has little to no punching down. Heck, it even made a joke about Asperger’s that I as an autistic giggled at.
2. It draws heavily from shows like Dexter’s Laboratory, Samurai Jack, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, Powerpuff Girls, and My Life as a Teenage Robot to name a number.
3. It has absolutely off-the-walls animation.
4. It was made in Japan, but it mainly targets the current anime industry for not taking risks and exploring new ideas, and repeating the same formulas of shonen and romcom over and over again.
5. The two main female characters are anarchists who are only interested in sex and sweets respectively. They don’t give a crap about society’s rules.
“Political polarization, and the ideological entrenchment that inevitably follows from it, are a disaster.”
Yeah, like that Mandela guy was a disaster all those decennia he polarized against the white supremacist regime in South Africa. Civilized people like you were so much more effective. (/sarcasm).
Some things never change. Already when I was 15 in the late 1970’s I saw straight through this stupidity.
wontbehere4long -- Ah! I thought it was Rick and Morty you were referring to.
Apparently it’s on Crunchyroll, so I’ll have to check it out.
The uncivil ones make the civil people look better. The best of the civil and uncivil realize this.
You can deal with me or you can deal with that demon over there.
(When push comes to shove, I’m with the demon, not you)