Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum, Form smells a Random Banter #235

[dafrca]

Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death.

-- Omar N. Bradley

I also like the one I read that said a man who feels no fear is not brave, he is a fool. I just can't remember who said it.

[Peelee]

The grandfather in the movie Angus had a good monologue on bravery and fear.

ETA:
Angus: You got balls, grandpa. More than me.
Grandpa: Superman isn't brave.
Angus: Did you take your pills this morning?
Grandpa: [chuckles] You don't understand. He's smart, handsome, even decent. But he's not brave. No, listen to me. Superman is indestructible, and you can't be brave if you're indestructible. It's people like you and your mother. People who are different, and can be crushed and know it. Yet they keep on going out there every time.


I liked that movie a lot. Spoke to me as the social outcast back in the day.

[halfeye]

Beyond that, I find that people will forgive any flaw in a character* more easily than perceived cowardice. And I can hardly think of any work (literally, I got Silence by Scorcese and that's it) that presents a "coward" in a sympathetic light.

Flashman in the Flashman books is a coward, he's sort of supposed to be unsympathetic, but I'm not sure he is.

There's also the factor that in the old days coward was conflated with what's now called gay, which was then so despised it was illegal.

[dafrca]

There's also the factor that in the old days coward was conflated with what's now called gay, which was then so despised it was illegal.

While this could be part of the issue, I know there is a long history of militaries executing "deserters" for cowardice under fire or in war time. The thinking is they put their fellow troops in more danger by not doing their duty. That context of a coward was and I propose is still very strong in many cultures. Fear should not stop you from doing your duty. Just a thought of course.

[BisectedBrioche]

So, I'm cosplaying Joan Lambert from Aliens for Halloween =3

I thought about getting a wig, but short wigs are annoying, and it seems like a lot of effort for just a Hallween costume, so I just tied by hair and fluffed it up a bit.

[Peelee]

So, I'm cosplaying Joan Lambert from Aliens for Halloween =3

I thought about getting a wig, but short wigs are annoying, and it seems like a lot of effort for just a Hallween costume, so I just tied by hair and fluffed it up a bit.

I don't more the source material, but I know costuming. That looks badass.

[factotum]

Flashman in the Flashman books is a coward, he's sort of supposed to be unsympathetic, but I'm not sure he is.

The problem there is that the Flashman books are played for laughs. If you look at the Flashman character as he first appears (in "Tom Brown's Schooldays", George McDonald Fraser nicked the character for his own purposes) then he's an absolutely horrid piece of work who manages to get expelled from school for nearly roasting another boy to death in front of an open fire.

[Anonymouswizard]

The problem there is that the Flashman books are played for laughs. If you look at the Flashman character as he first appears (in "Tom Brown's Schooldays", George McDonald Fraser nicked the character for his own purposes) then he's an absolutely horrid piece of work who manages to get expelled from school for nearly roasting another boy to death in front of an open fire.

To be fair, while I haven't finished it, he's not much nicer in the first book. Doesn't nearly roast anybody, but did very explicitly

Spoiler: Trigger Warning

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unrepentantly commit rape.

I hear it's mainly in the sequels where e he stopped being a nasty piece of work.

[Bartmanhomer]

Due to multiple deaths, toxicity, and drama that has been going on at Youtube, I've finally reached my breaking point that I'm taking a very long break off of Youtube.

[Lacco]

I also like the one I read that said a man who feels no fear is not brave, he is a fool. I just can't remember who said it.

My favourite quote about bravery was "A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer."

EDIT: What? Toxicity on youtube? Deaths? What kind of videos you watch?...

[Rater202]

I somehow managed to sprain my foot in my sleep the other day. It's not a super bad sprain, but there's a constant low-level ache that gets worse when I walk and I'm just kind of annoyed at how fragile the human body is.

[Bartmanhomer]

My favourite quote about bravery was "A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is brave five minutes longer."

EDIT: What? Toxicity on youtube? Deaths? What kind of videos you watch?...

Well, so many of my Youtube friends that I know passed away from health issues. The toxicity of the environment on Youtube always starts people's drama on Youtube and don't get me started on the swatting with the Youtubers. Yes is that bad on Youtube.

[Fyraltari]

I somehow managed to sprain my foot in my sleep the other day.

Well, so many of my Youtube friends that I know passed away from health issues.

Oof, my condolences to you, Bartmanhomer. Stay strong.

the swatting with the Youtubers.

The what now?

[Anonymouswizard]

Due to multiple deaths, toxicity, and drama that has been going on at Youtube, I've finally reached my breaking point that I'm taking a very long break off of Youtube.

My advice is to take at least two months off and then ask yourself if you want to go back. To be brutally honest, it doesn't seem like you have the best relationship with YouTube or the people on it, as it's not your primary source of income or might be worthwhile just finding something new.

Do keep in touch with your friends though. Friends are worth more than a site, even if you meet them via one.


So writing a D&D setting while I wait for NaNoWriMo to begin, and my first port of call was to trim the beards. I was making dwarves into a more practical people who, while on the decline, are possibly going to be around long after human empires fall due to pure stubbornness. So deserves no longer have bushy beards as a matter of course, it's to dangerous while working the forge. A long beard is instead a status symbol, saying that you don't have to do the kind of work that makes it impractical (and yes, I'm considering running with dwarven women having beards).

[Rater202]

My best guess is that I rolled into a position where my foot was at an awkward angle long enough to overstrain it.

[Form]

The grandfather in the movie Angus had a good monologue on bravery and fear.

ETA:
Angus: You got balls, grandpa. More than me.
Grandpa: Superman isn't brave.
Angus: Did you take your pills this morning?
Grandpa: [chuckles] You don't understand. He's smart, handsome, even decent. But he's not brave. No, listen to me. Superman is indestructible, and you can't be brave if you're indestructible. It's people like you and your mother. People who are different, and can be crushed and know it. Yet they keep on going out there every time.


I liked that movie a lot. Spoke to me as the social outcast back in the day.

A short speech, but a decent one.

So, I'm cosplaying Joan Lambert from Aliens for Halloween =3

I thought about getting a wig, but short wigs are annoying, and it seems like a lot of effort for just a Hallween costume, so I just tied by hair and fluffed it up a bit.

I think a lot of people won't be able to identify the character on sight (I wasn't), but it's a nice outfit! Google tells me the character is canonically trans. I'm guessing that informed the choice of costume? A nice touch.

My Halloween 'costumes' just consist of lame excuses as to why my non-costume is my costume:

'I'm a very fresh zombie.'
'I'm a philosophical zombie.'
'I'm a spooky, scary skeleton, but the skeleton's on the inside.'
'I'm a not yet deceased ghost.'
'I'm Frankenstein on his off hours. The doctor, not the monster. No, I don't wear a lab coat when I'm off the clock.'

[Peelee]

[The what now?

You're gonna hate that this happens so much it has a word for it. Swatting is someone (usually a minor, always someone incredibly immature) making false reports to emergency services with their intended victim's information, with the goal being to have heavily armed police prepared for the worst respond.

For example, you are playing Xbox online and suddenly a GIGN team breaks down your door and rush in, rifles up, because the 12 year old you beat half an hour ago called 112 and said you were holding people hostage and had already killed one.

[Rater202]

You're gonna hate that this happens so much it has a word for it. Swatting is someone (usually a minor, always someone incredibly immature) making false reports to emergency services with their intended victim's information, with the goal being to have heavily armed police prepared for the worst respond.

For example, you are playing Xbox online and suddenly a GIGN team breaks down your door and rush in, rifles up, because the 12 year old you beat half an hour ago called 112 and said you were holding people hostage and had already killed one.

People have been killed becuase of pranks like these, by the way.

And there's really no way to stop it. The Police have to take every such call seriously because if they don't then real emergencies will slip through the cracks.

[Fyraltari]

You're gonna hate that this happens so much it has a word for it. Swatting is someone (usually a minor, always someone incredibly immature) making false reports to emergency services with their intended victim's information, with the goal being to have heavily armed police prepared for the worst respond.

For example, you are playing Xbox online and suddenly a GIGN team breaks down your door and rush in, rifles up, because the 12 year old you beat half an hour ago called 112 and said you were holding people hostage and had already killed one.

[Rater202]

You act like you think that deters entitled immature dumbasses.

The kind of people who do this doesn't care about that. To them, police aren't enforcers of justice or a tool of social control, they're a weapon to shove down the throat of anyone who ticks them off and they never think they'll suffer any consequence for using and abusing emergency services this way.

[Peelee]

In addition to what Rater said (all of which I agree with), it's common for minors to be the perpetrators, which means the possibility exists that their records are more or less hidden once they turn 18 (or 19 in some places). I'm no lawyer and didn't do crime as a kid so I don't know exactly how it works, not to mention that each state has its own laws and handle each occurrence on a case by case basis, but suffice it to say that kids who know (or think they know) about the possibility for a lack of severe punishment may be more emboldened.

[Rater202]

In addition to what Rater said (all of which I agree with), it's common for minors to be the perpetrators, which means the possibility exists that their records are more or less hidden once they turn 18 (or 19 in some places). I'm no lawyer and didn't do crime as a kid so I don't know exactly how it works, not to mention that each state has its own laws and handle each occurrence on a case by case basis, but suffice it to say that kids who know (or think they know) about the possibility for a lack of severe punishment may be more emboldened.

I took a juvenile justice class as part of my soc degree.

Now, Juvenile Court Judges have an absolutely disgusting amount of leeway when it comes to determining punishment for a convicted minor, but generally speaking, unless someone is seriously injured or property damage exceeds small claims the kid will probably only get a slap on the wrist.

Varying by region, of course.

Wanna know something that really pissed me off? We watched a video about two juvenile detainees both being reviewed for parole by the same juvenile court judge.

One kid read like a budding sociopath and blamed everyone but himself for his stealing and wrecking an expensive car while crossing state lines. Judge tore his argument apart.

One kid was a teen father in for something minor who wanted to be a better father than his own disappeared parent, tried and failed multiple times to get a part-time job as part of a weekend work release program(nobody would respect the fact that he could only work part-time weekends) but had a proper job lined up guaranteed once he was paroled and had actually been up for parole a few months before but voluntarily delayed it becuase he was trying to work through his issues and he and his counselor mutually agreed that he wasn't ready for it yet. He takes full responsibility for his actions. The judge acknowledged he was trying his best.

The ****head got let out, but the kid who wanted to take responsibility was not.

[Form]

People have been killed becuase of pranks like these, by the way.

And there's really no way to stop it. The Police have to take every such call seriously because if they don't then real emergencies will slip through the cracks.

In principle yes, but there's a difference between taking a valid report about a potentially life threatening situation seriously and barging in with guns blazing based on 1 phone call without confirmation or taking stock of the situation first.

[Keltest]

In principle yes, but there's a difference between taking a valid report about a potentially life threatening situation seriously and barging in with guns blazing based on 1 phone call without confirmation or taking stock of the situation first.

If they have been informed of an actively violent threat in an area, they have to take it seriously, because the time spent on recon could be the difference between somebody living and dying.

[Bartmanhomer]

Oof, my condolences to you, Bartmanhomer. Stay strong.

The what now?

Swatting is when the police raid in your house.

My advice is to take at least two months off and then ask yourself if you want to go back. To be brutally honest, it doesn't seem like you have the best relationship with YouTube or the people on it, as it's not your primary source of income or might be worthwhile just finding something new.

Do keep in touch with your friends though. Friends are worth more than a site, even if you meet them via one.

Thank you for the advice. I might be thinking for three months if possible.

[Peelee]

Swatting is when the police raid in your house.

That's a bit too simplistic.

Thank you for the advice. I might be thinking for three months if possible.

Can I recommend that you just avoid the channels that specifically target drama? Seems like you'd be happier for longer instead of just going offline for a bit, then plunging straight back into the very things that wear you out.

[Form]

If they have been informed of an actively violent threat in an area, they have to take it seriously, because the time spent on recon could be the difference between somebody living and dying.

Even if the validity of the report is questionable? The ones processing this kind of report have a responsibility as well, as do the ones responding to it. How can you respond to a situation without at least some recon? Without knowing what you're actually dealing with? Because that gets people killed as well.

[Bartmanhomer]

That's a bit too simplistic.

Can I recommend that you just avoid the channels that specifically target drama? Seems like you'd be happier for longer instead of just going offline for a bit, then plunging straight back into the very things that wear you out.

Yes. Exactly. Thank you Peelee.

[halfeye]

Even if the validity of the report is questionable? The ones processing this kind of report have a responsibility as well, as do the ones responding to it. How can you respond to a situation without at least some recon? Without knowing what you're actually dealing with? Because that gets people killed as well.

The 2017 Wichita swatting occurred on December 28, 2017, in Wichita, Kansas, United States. The incident began as an online dispute between Casey Viner and Shane Gaskill, regarding the video game Call of Duty: WWII. During the dispute, Viner threatened to have Gaskill swatted, and Gaskill responded by giving him a false address for his residence, one that was occupied by an uninvolved person, Andrew Finch. Viner then asked Tyler Barriss to make the required fraudulent call to initiate the swatting. Wichita Police responded to the address, and as Finch was exiting the house, police officer Justin Rapp fatally shot him.

Barriss pled guilty to involuntary manslaughter and many other charges from unrelated incidents he was wanted for. In March 2019, he was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.[1] Viner was sentenced to 2 years' community service and 15 months' imprisonment for his involvement, while Gaskill was sentenced to 2 years' probation. Officer Rapp was not charged for Finch's death.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017_Wichita_swatting

Deaths are probably rare, I'm not sure whether there are any others.

[Peelee]

Even if the validity of the report is questionable? The ones processing this kind of report have a responsibility as well, as do the ones responding to it. How can you respond to a situation without at least some recon? Without knowing what you're actually dealing with? Because that gets people killed as well.

How many times do you hear reports of "we received a call but had reason to suspect the validity, had an ample amount of time to investigate, and found it to be spurious"? I would imagine rarely to never, and not because it doesn't happen, but because they probably don't publicly report things like that.

I think what we see is confirmation bias. We see the instances where, for whatever reason, the report did not have questionable validity, timing and speed were of the essence, detailed investigation beforehand was not possible, etc etc. We're seeing the plane come back riddled with bullet holes and questioning why more armor isn't put into the places with the most bullet holes.