{=:E

I found this picture the other day on Facebook

I’m pretty sure that if you look up “autistic” in the dictionary you will find this picture next to the definition. 

That’s kind of harsh though, so let’s critique this shit all analytic-like.

This really bugs me. Do you know what this picture says? “Even though I’m going to judge your hobbies don’t you dare judge mine.” I have nothing against cosplay. If dressing up as Naruto characters is how you get your kicks, more power to you. But you do not get to ride a moral high-horse at the same time. You do not get to act like your shitty activity is better than mine. I like to drink. It makes me feel good. Some would say I have a problem, but I bet if you told people that pretending to be anime characters made you feel good, some people would say that you have a problem too. Now I know that someone might say “Hey wait! But when you drink you end up doing stupid stuff and can harm those around you! Cosplay is harmless fun!” This complaint, however, is invalid: There are many forms of intoxication, as pointed out by Nietzsche in The Birth of Tragedy. Alcoholic intoxication is probably the most recognizable form in Western society, but there are plenty of other ways to forsake one’s sense of identity, and the large cons where cosplayers gather is a perfect place to partake in this sort of intoxication. I believe it’s called a con high. You lose yourself. Shit happens. Anyone remember that one soccer game in Ghana where people got trampled to death because of a panic that had taken hold? I’m pretty certain no alcohol was involved there, just human emotion on high.

Let’s talk about the wording of that diagonal slash that bisects the picture with which I have much umbrage. “If you need drugs and alcohol to ‘have a good time’ you need to grow the fuck up.” I’ve already mentioned near the beginning of this piece how ironically intolerant this is, but I’d like to take a moment to say that both booze and cosplaying are buried deep into human culture, both serving Dionysian principles.

Beer is the oldest known alcoholic beverage, dating back to 6000 BCE. It is referenced in early Sumerian writings. It can be argued that beer made civilization possible. This man certainly does. Pretty much every culture in the world recognizes and drinks alcohol in some form or another.

Dressing up as something else is just as ingrained in cultures around the globe. In Things Fall Apart, Chinua Achebe describes the protagonist Okonkwo dressing up as an Igobo deity as part of a religious festival. For the duration of the ritual he is treated as if he is actually the spirit in question. One has to look no farther than our own Halloween traditions to find another example of self-disguise. The point I’m trying to make here is that although the motivations behind both activities have changed greatly since their antediluvian inceptions, to deride either as childish is to misappropriate culture.

In addition, there is some serious image manipulation going on here. A bunch of respectable-looking people are wearing funky-colored wigs, contrasted with some guys getting sick-nasty fucked up (I think one of them might be bleeding?).

Here, let’s turn the tables.

I don’t understand how someone can think THIS is a valid amusement:

And not THIS:

See how easy that is? If your argument hinges on image, then you’re dead in the water.

If this is a troll, I give it 6/10. I got mad, but not in a RAEG sort of way.

EDIT:

So I’ve basically received near-universal criticism upon posting this, especially from people that I respect greatly. However, I think the dissonance stems from how the original photo is interpreted. It seems that the general consensus is that it is an attack on solely binge drinking.

I disagree. Let me tell you why.

Cosplayers have to put up with a lot of shit. When you tell people that you like to dress up as a character from a cartoon, you have to expect the occasional snigger or sideways glance. The internet intensifies this to a level of maliciousness, to the point where extreme cases are used as fixed references.

The original picture merely reverses the polarities of the vitriol, where binge drinking becomes a fixed point of reference for alcohol in general. You can drink responsibly, and you can also drink irresponsibly. I will readily admit that I have done both. I’ve done some really shitty things while under the influence of alcohol. Mornings where I wake up not remembering half of the night. 4 a.m.’s spent vomiting and crying. Good friends getting really angry at me because I’m bad with limits. Mon meilleur ami m’a appelé alcoolique fonctionnel.

But that’s not the only way to drink. And I believe that it is readily apparent that the creator of the picture is suffering from a case of slave morality. My group has been downtrodden and mocked, and it’s time for our oppressors to have a taste of their own medicine! This sort of mentality can be found in all areas of life. I remember once an anon on /tg/ explaining that the reason why so many people who hang out at gaming stores are total jackasses is because it’s the only form of social interaction with which they are familiar; in school everyone was mean to them, and so they think that being mean to others is a valid form of interaction. In the same fashion, the cosplay apologist uses the same language with which s/he has been derided (i.e., being called “immature”) and uses the dregs of imbibing as the sole representative of imbibing at all.

I’m going to end this post with an existentialist moral: Don’t be rude to people who have different tastes than you. It leaves them bitter and drives them Underground.  

1. pishyposhy reblogged this from espritdecalmar
2. espritdecalmar posted this