this post was submitted on 28 Feb 2024
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This strip has always rubbed me the wrong way. If you make a statement in a public forum, don't be surprised when the public responds. They are not entitled to your attention, but you're not entitled to their silence. I will not be providing any sources to back up my position, but I'm sure your requests for them will be very witty.
Sure. That's not what sealioning is, though. As the comic illustrates, sealioning is bad faith weaponizing of false politeness and feigned high mindedness, not honest inquiry.
Sure, but the comic both starts with a public comment that they still refused to engage with and makes it like, weirdly racist?
It's funny, but diffuses the message a bit.
It does stick with you though, so it has that going for it.
How was it a "public comment"? Two people were talking to one another. The sealion interrupted their conversation and inserted itself into it. Then it followed them around instead of fucking off when shown it was not welcome in their even more private lives. Not everything needs to be a debate, not everything said needs to be debunked / supported by evidence beyond every miniscule amount of doubt. Know when to leave, simple.
Mr. Sealion overhears a conversation in public with clearly racist messaging and politely asks why he's hated.
Then he does things that depict the blatant stereotyping as correct.
You guys can pretend it's not on the whole a weird message if you want, it just makes you the lesser for it.
Or the "sealion" represents the kinds of people that engages in that behavior and has nothing to do with race.
that's the cool part about "representing" and "racism"
I don't hate POC, I just hate the "urban", "lazy", "criminal", etc...
you know those KINDS of people (look, I can't help it that the terfs who made this shit also happen to side with nazis)
So why did the author use language deliberately evocative of racial debates?
Because the author, humorously, made the sealion a sealion
It's actually the comic that coined the term. The creator just, for some reason, decided to use weirdly racial language to depict it, and imply the prejudice is based on evidence.
Which is kind of weird.
As is pretending it isn't, when you could just say "yeah it's a little problematic" and move on with your life.
Just an FYI, viewing everything through the lense of "racist/not-racist" is common in the US, and not so much elsewhere.
Your impression that "pretending it isn't", is simply... because it isn't, for most outside the US.
Hope that helps clear this up. Learning about new things is always fun, and a good thing. Right?
Wow, that's a particularly shit take, nice job.
Let me guess. American?
Let me guess, your country has deep seated issues with racism the population either refuses to acknowledge or "solves" by simply not letting other races in?
This comic was made by an American, in reference to an American issue, so pretending the American viewpoint isn't valid by virtue of being American is just, you know.
Stupid. Intellectually dishonest. Dare I say, pig headed.
No... Not really. But hey. You do you.
"sealion" is not a race.
So why did the author use language deliberately evocative of racial debates?
Her: I don't mind most people. But racists? I could do without racists.
Him: Don't say that out loud!
racist: Pardon me, I couldn't help but overhear...
Him: Now you've done it
[...]
My edit kind of ruins the whole sea lion sealioning visual joke but I hope my point comes across well enough.
I am sure some people who troll racist would do some sealioning but they are doing it in bad faith cus. Ya know, racists.
I get that you can group people based on race but you can also do it based on what they believe in, which I feel the latter is what most people thought David Malki was going for.
...is this satire?
To add what other people have said: the sealion in the comic is following them around and being obnoxious. It even follows them to their bedroom.
One aspect of sealioning is continually trying to "debate" someone for something they once said, even if they're currently engaged in a completely unrelated conversation.
But the reality they're referencing is someone being "in their house" in the sense of being in their tweet replies. Nobody is following you around online, you're carrying them around in your pocket.
i invite you to look at my inbox
I invite you to not look at your phone, the internet is ironically not a private place
i don't understand what this means
What inbox? Like people are sending you angry emails? Still doesn't really have a "following you around" vibe.
my inbox on lemmy. there are users who will follow me from thread to thread harassing me about an argument we had days ago, or will bring it up out of context if i reply to them, which happens often when i don't pay attention to the username. some of them make posts an comments whining about how biased the mods are when their harassing comments are removed or they get banned, and some have even gone so far as to start maintaining multiple identities to continue to spread misinformation and harass me and other users.
and the invitation to see my inbox was a bit hyperbolic. in truth, you only need to look at my comment history and the few individuals with whom i have had protracted disagreements should leap out at you.
some people will definitely follow you around online if you rub them the wrong way.
That seems more like you are going to hang out in a place where those people also hang out, and are encountering them there, as opposed to them following you around.
that's, obviously, not how I would characterize it, but if you need to be right you can think whatever you want.
Thanks I appreciate that, I do need to be right and will think whatever I want.
The proper response would have been to apologize at the first opportunity.