Comments for ctrlclick.com

Comment on Jim Sterling reminds us how good gays behave [UPDATE] With response by Joshua Meadows

Joshua Meadows — Thu, 03 May 2012 20:35:16 +0000

Dagon, you simply repeated the same thing that Gman said — albeit in a more aggressive and less valid manner. I already addressed those points both in the original article and in my response to him. As far as "deliberately reading," it's based on a pattern of behaviour on his part that many people other than myself have picked up on.

In any event it's rather moot as this article is from four months ago and Jim already acknowledged that while he did not intend to sound the way he came off, he understood where I (and, again, other people) came to that conclusion. Furthermore, he stated that he would attempt to make his opinion better-clarified in the future.

I'm not sure if this got relinked someplace else or what and that's why people have come along now to comment on it, but it's a bit like beating a dead horse as Jim resolved this to my satisfaction back in January.

Comment on Jim Sterling reminds us how good gays behave [UPDATE] With response by Dagon

Dagon — Thu, 03 May 2012 12:41:24 +0000

Well, I think you misunderstand the point Sterling is trying to make. He is saying it would be great if Drake was a homosexual because then people would understand the fact that being gay is more than the stereotyped flamboyant. Everybody can be gay and in the end it does not matter. Drake seems like a "normal" heterosexual man but is in fact gay. Just like many gay people. To be gay is not something you can see on people, in contrast to what many homophobic people believes. So if people had played Drake or interacted with the charterer in Fallout and finds out or get hints that he is gay, it underscores the fact that gay people are just normal people. That there are many way to be gay and in the end it does not matter how we interact and perceive people. People had played Drake for a long time, bonded with him, understood him and suddenly it would be communicated to the player that he is in fact gay. Maybe that would come as an revelation to people, that being gay is just something you are, that you like people for how they are, not for their sexual orientation. That is not the same as saying the best positive gay role model is one who isn't flamboyant, doesn't bring up his sexuality. He is just saying that in Uncharted games this would work well (I think he argues well for this)

I understand your reading of Sterlings arguments but to me it seems that you deliberate read his arguments in the worst and negative way possible. Instead of looking at what he is arguing and saying, you in my view actively misread him to get a negative spin on what he is saying. You put believes and meaning that he never states and interpretation of his underlying agendas is poorly argued for. I suggest you read up on something called the hermeneutic circle. It is a great method for reading a text and understanding it. It also gives you a good way to check if your arguments are in fact valid or grounded in the text you are criticizing.

Comment on Jim Sterling reminds us how good gays behave [UPDATE] With response by Joshua Meadows

Joshua Meadows — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 12:30:01 +0000

Gman:
It seems to me he wanted Nathan Drake to come out as gay, because Drake it would fly in the face of the stereotype that all gay men are effeminate.

Right, though when I read it the initial opinion seemed to be that someone who happens to be gay and/or effeminate is somehow doing something bad. Jim clarified in the Google+ conversation above that he didn't mean to come off that way and said he'd take it under consideration in future articles that that's how he was presenting himself, which is really all I can ask for.

I do agree with you that he does seem to have a deliberately affected antagonistic persona, though. The aforementioned Google+ behaviour demonstrated a Jim Sterling I found significantly more reasonable and much easier to converse with. But ultimately whether affected or not, it's the voice he chooses to represent himself professionally and it should be handled as such.

Comment on Jim Sterling reminds us how good gays behave [UPDATE] With response by Gman

Gman — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 09:45:39 +0000

I don't feel this is what the article was trying to get across. While the attitude you mention is a problem, I don't think that's what was being said here. It seems to me he wanted Nathan Drake to come out as gay, because Drake it would fly in the face of the stereotype that all gay men are effeminate. I don't think this was meant to say that effeminate gay people are bad, just that, if Nathan Drake suddenly became effeminate upon coming out, he would conform to a stereotype, rather than defying it, which is something I think would be better consciousness-raising-wise.
P.S. Also, it seems, to me at least, that Jim's persona is pretty deliberately self-effacing, I sort of doubt that anyone actually acts as he does and in his somewhat more sober videos he acts normally, which makes me thing his normal character on the show is supposed to be self-depircating.

Comment on BioWare writer blasted for being female by GR

GR — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 07:41:39 +0000

"DISGUSTING PIG HOMOGAY OMG RAHR RAHR YOU'RE A CANCER"

"fuck you"

"OMG HDU"

And people ask me why I've given up on games that involve other people…

Comment on How to handle criticism, or why the staff at TUAW are bullies by Josh

Josh — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 00:51:38 +0000

Can I say you're my friend? I want to be able to say you're my friend.

Comment on Jim Sterling reminds us how good gays behave [UPDATE] With response by Joshua Meadows

Joshua Meadows — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 05:42:11 +0000

Thank you guys.