How to Talk Shit on the Internet
“People are just as allowed not to love things as they are allowed to enjoy them,” writes cultural critic Keith Wagner in Baffler ‘s essay “Don’t Let People Enjoy Things.” Wagner (creator of architecture critic blog McMansion Hell ) shuts down one of the dumb memes in existence today, where fans bravely defend Game of Thrones and Marvel movies from those who dare tweet criticism of the two franchises rather than argue about the content of those criticisms, but by inserting a comic. which says, “Let people enjoy things.”
She makes her point beautifully, we don’t need to rephrase her, but let’s make three important differences in the rules of interaction when talking shit:
Don’t spoil someone else’s party
Criticize things in your own space and anyone who wants to attack you will have their own argument. Post it in a designated place on the Internet, in a sharing space, or in a designated discussion space, or on the general “public Internet”. Blog is, gram, tweet, technological. If someone walks into your space to disagree, they are better off playing by your rules.
But if you’re heading to someone else’s online space – their feed, blog, or subreddit – and you see that they like what you don’t like and you can’t help but add your criticism, then you’ve given up on sublime. You’re an asshole now, and the “let people like” defense is true.
Don’t hate player of thrones, hate game of thrones
This rule is less about what you are allowed to say than about exaggerating your reasoning. There’s a difference between Game of Thrones and Anyone who likes Game of Thrones is misogynistic shit. Now, there are some works of art and entertainment that only the worst people can access! And people can enjoy things by clearly revealing shitty things in them. (How do people who hate Skyler in “Breaking Bad.”) But in most cases it is necessary to distinguish between product defects and shortcomings of his fans.
Many fans are smart enough to see flaws even in their favorite pieces. Millions of people still watch Friends – the main show on Netflix – but many of them can point to its shameful, homophobic and misogynistic moments . They know the plaster is as dazzling white as Ross’s teeth. And they like to talk about it. These are people who do not hide behind “let people like it”.
So if you’re going to offend fans of an item, consider whether your beef is with them or with the item itself. Maybe both! But don’t think about it.
Give it back only if you can
If you’ve posted criticism where outsiders can see it, you’ve invited an argument. If you can handle it like Wagner, then good luck. But if you hate that people can voice wrong opinions in front of you, then maybe don’t post. There is a difference between personally holding your own opinion and expressing it to others, even if it is more difficult to distinguish the former from the latter on social media.
Write your criticism to a like-minded friend, show it to your partner, or make fun of something in private Twitter messages. You can get really nasty in private, that’s great, and you find that you don’t want or need any debate. You just needed to feel heard by the right person.
I am not looking forward to this comment section.