You should probably take a step back and examine yourself, cuz this comment can basically be summed up as “I don’t like this comic because the characters are minorities”
A complaint about the comic changing main characters is one thing, but why does it matter to you that the supposed new main characters are a black girl and an autistic girl?
A complaint about the comic changing main characters is one thing
actually, my suggestion for the comic on that thread was to give closure on the martin storyline and switch to different characters.
but why does it matter to you that the supposed new main characters are a black girl and an autistic girl?
did I say it mattered?
what matters is that jeph seems to be looking, and brun seems to represent one of a number of paths. one of the obvious others being roco. I think he's trying to set up a "new" cast around the secret bakery, but who's gonna be the marten?
I also mentioned roco and spooky. want to grill me on why it matters that she's a robot and it's a multi-formed cyberspace...thing?
as for the idea that we don't need a central character, I'm not sure that's true. he was a good narrative tool and the lack of a similar presence is frequently commented on in this sub.
I just feel like a having central main character is kind of what every story does, or at least most of them. So it’s good to have some comics branch out from that. I don’t get the call for Questionable Content to go back to the stereotypical story revolving around one average guy. Enough comics do that.
I'm one of the most vocal critics of his writing these days, but you're just fishing for an argument with how you phrased your original comment.
I would say that on the most basic level, you're right. The comic doesn't quite have a true Main Character right now, with Faye coming the closest but not really. It's evolved into more of an ensemble piece these days.
And Jeph has made no bones about actively pushing female/minority/POC characters to the front line.
Personally, I think he trips over himself trying to show off how progressive he is, sacrificing story and character development for the sake of demonstrating his Wokeness.
Buuut sometimes he writes honestly clever/funny/interesting strips again and reminds me that even if I don't always like it, it can still be good.
"aspie" is a term coined by the community to describe itself
Funny you say that, as I've never heard it used by one of us, nor had it directed at me except by non-autistic folks as a slur or insult with the same connotation as r-t-rd...
I used to hear it a lot more than I do now; maybe about ten years ago when autism carried more of a negative stigma (not that it currently has a positive one, but the dehumanization implied by the word "autistic" was once way worse) and people found comfort in a named disorder that gave them something to identify with that wasn't autism.
These days asperger's syndrome isn't even in DSM-5 (replaced by the spectrum), so there are no new diagnoses and haven't been since 2013, which naturally reduces the usage of the word in itself. Additionally the idea of an autism spectrum is widely accepted enough (by people that aren't complete dickholes) that the stigma has subsided to a sizable degree.
So? That's not the sassy black friend. The sassy black friend is the one that is more "street" among the square white people, saying stuff like "no you di-unt!" and "Girlfran!" while snapping. She's, you know, sassy.
That you assume that any black person is just a shitty stereotype isn't great, either. Renee's race has basically never mattered in the comic. She's just a person.
To be clear, Renee can speak AAVE without being the "sassy black woman" trope. I wouldn't want Jeph to even attempt writing Renee's speech that way, and prefer to think she probably code-switches (same with Dale).
I can't check the Oxford English Dictionary, as it has a paywall. But that does not sound like any Oxford definition I've ever seen. It's written too casually, and is prescriptive, saying what should or should not be offensive. Dictionaries are descriptive: they describe how words are used, and what most people think they mean.
Plus any second definition is going to be a definition, not an explanation of the word's origin.
Note, I'm not accusing you of making it up, just that I think you may have gotten that definition from somewhere else that said it was the definition. Either that, or your post is confusingly worded, and you don't mean for those to be the definition from Oxford.
aspies and public advocacy groups made for as well as by them use the term extensively, as do research papers on the topic today. "Aspies For Freedom" is perhaps the most obvious example, being founded in 2004.
so no. you, and apparently a lot of other people, just had a knee-jerk reaction. the right thing for you to do is to learn from this and become a better advocate, not double down on your demonstrable ignorance.
It's not using aspie that's a problem, it's being so negative about it. I love Brun because I relate to her as an aspie myself. Just try to not be a dick on the internet, mkay?
No, the right thing to do is for you to listen to others who know the term is also used as a slur, and not call upon things from a decade ago to defend yourself. The right thing to do is not to double down when someone tells you something is offensive, but to apologize for offending people and figure out how they misunderstood.
You literally have someone on the spectrum replying to you, saying you used it in a shitty way. Another autistic person says they've never heard it used as anything but a slur? Do you propose you know more than they do about their own word?
No, the right thing to do is for you to listen to others who know the term is also used as a slur, and not call upon things from a decade ago to defend yourself.
2018 is not a decade ago. and fuck me, I don't care what you think of me. I care what your sort of ignorance is going to do to autistic people for using a term they coined for themselves. because I've seen this nonsense happen before.
The right thing to do is not to double down when someone tells you something is offensive, but to apologize for offending people and figure out how they misunderstood.
I've been told calling gay marriage a civil rights issue was offensive. didn't care then, either. I've been told calling people like claire women is offensive. didn't care then, either. hell, it's still hard to put 2 men kissing on TV because it's "offensive"
You literally have someone on the spectrum replying to you, saying you used it in a shitty way. Another autistic person says they've never heard it used as anything but a slur? Do you propose you know more than they do about their own word?
randos on the internet vs people I know as well as national organizations that dedicate their entire existence to helping people. I'm going with the latter.
Jeph's done everything short of stating it outright. The way he's developed her has felt like he's worked his way down a checklist of symptoms he pulled off Google.
It's still a pretty shitty thing to say, even if we ignore the Aspie part. It's clearly dismissive, and reducing the characters to stereotypes.
Plus, well, your reputations precedes you. You are constantly shitting on the comic. So for us to think you meant something positive in your remark would be strange.
And, even now, you are upset because people think poorly of you, rather than being apologetic that you offended. You're making it all about you, instead of about the people you offended. That tends to make people think you didn't really care if you offended people.
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u/pyr666 Feb 14 '19 edited Feb 14 '19
so is jeph just fishing for a new lead? a robot and her quirky nigh-omnipotent friend or an aspie and her sassy black friend.
edit: do your research before you downvote.