Time to Cancel John Carmack

[Creaphis]

I'm not sure if I'm joking with that title or not. I actually am really disappointed that he's headlining a sci-fi convention that's specifically for people who are "tired of woke propaganda." I guess he really is just famous for his technical acumen and I shouldn't have expected him to have emotional intelligence on top of that.

 

https://www.basedcon.com/

 

Here's his tweet trying to justify his involvement as non-political. 

 

In reality, condoning and signal boosting shitty people is a political act even if you don't want it to be. And straight white cis men really are responsible to tell other straight white cis men that selfish bigotry is not okay. Bigots don't care when people outside of their in-group tell them to fuck off. That just fuels them. They need to hear it from their in-group. Ignoring that responsibility is a moral failing.

 

Thoughts?

 

 

[Andrea Rovenski]

rich guy who only cares about one or two things giving free credit to the worst people in the world because they like the same cartoon worlds? Color me surprised! But seriously, if you do look into carmack's character, he gives off the "only good at one thing" vibe, and while we all love the one thing he is good at, he is very clearly horrible at a lot of other stuff. i can imagine, given his extreme wealth and professed lack of care about "either side", that he probably genuinely believes he isn't doing anything wrong, but that doesn't change the reality of his actions. we can only hope someone close to him can knock his head into shape at this point.

[Mr Masker]

It's definitely questionable but I don't think this is really worth having him deplatformed currently. This may go further or turn into something worse, but I feel like saying "Time to Cancel John Carmack" is jumping the gun a bit. We shall wait and see...

Edited May 18, 2023 by Mr Masker

[LexiMax]

11 minutes ago, Mr Masker said:

It's definitely questionable but I don't think this is really worth having him deplatformed just yet

 

Given Twitter is now being run by a rich nincompoop who unbanned neo-nazis and their apologists while banning journalists and left wing gun clubs, I don't think that deplatforming him off Twitter is even in the cards.  So it was probably meant facetiously.

Edited May 18, 2023 by LexiMax

[Doomkid]

I'm going to ram a pitchfork into the eye socket of the next person who says "woke" in my presence, I have never been so tired of a word before holy shit

[PsychEyeball]

5 minutes ago, Doomkid said:

I'm going to ram a pitchfork into the eye socket of the next person who says "woke" in my presence, I have never been so tired of a word before holy shit

Remember when everyone said "SJW" in regards to well, about anything? Woke is just the new iteration of that, AKA a filler word with no meaning that people use without knowing its true meaning like ever.

 

Good thing is that about anyone who ever say these words can usually be safely ignored without you missing out anything.

[thiccyosh]

Bruh

[RataUnderground]

Honestly, this doesn't change my opinion of him much. 
I mean... Have you guys read Masters of Doom?
Carmack can't be denied everything he accomplished, but he always lacked the most basic empathy, and with his profile, it was obvious that he was going to be easy prey for this kind of discourse.

[Murdoch]

40 minutes ago, Creaphis said:

And straight white cis men really are responsible to tell other straight white cis men that selfish bigotry is not okay.

 

It's really not that simple.

 

Every single one of us has psychological biases, formed over time by any number of environmental factors including how their parents were, how their friends were, their religion, etc. Once those biases are in place, getting them out is very, very difficult.  It's like trying to unbake a cake. Anybody simply saying "you're wrong" and "stop doing that", regardless of who they are, is unlikely to have an effect because the thing a lot of people don't realise about bigots is that they think they're the good guys. They really think (as evil and ludicrous as it is) that gay people, trans people, different races, whatever their chosen target is, are inferior and evil.

 

I have no idea what the solution is, but simply saying "that's wrong, don't do it" almost certainly isn't it. Early intervention is best; kids aren't bigoted pieces of trash unless they are taught to be so. The older the person, the harder it is to get them to change. That's why the BS going on in places like Florida trying to remove early teaching about LGBTQ+ is so infuriating, because that's the best chance of drawing a line in the sand and stopping the next generation of bigoted assholes from forming.

 

As for "canceling" Carmack, it's an unpleasant association he's probably not giving due consideration to the optics of. Is it an indirect show of support... arguably, kind of. Does it mean he supports them directly? I sincerely doubt that.

 

15 minutes ago, Doomkid said:

I'm going to ram a pitchfork into the eye socket of the next person who says "woke" in my presence, I have never been so tired of a word before holy shit

 

Yeah, it's really kind of lost all meaning. Hell even the ones who keep banging on about it can't even define it.

[SleepyVelvet]

[DJVCardMaster]

That is quite a hot take and totally questionable, but canceling is still a thing? He is clearly a person from another time, it is better to:
1) Ignore his comment and proceed
2) Telling said person that his take is nowadays considered as being a douche

I feel like both "Woke" or "Based" are the same for me, just regular pollitical views for young people like myself, and it's fine as long nobody tries to harrass or go against anyone's thoughs in a violent manner. Is someone being a douche to somebody? Tell him, make him feel bad or regret, or just ignore. Nobody is commiting crimes.

["JL" was too short]

Can you even cancel someone who really isn't doing much of anything relevant anymore?

[LoatharMDPhD]

// 404:: Cancellation not found.. contact your network administrator for assistance...

 

 

[LexiMax]

6 minutes ago, DJVCardMaster said:

He is clearly a person from another time

 

I have had the good fortune to meet a number of his contemporaries, both online and in person, and both before and after my transition.

 

His blasé attitude is in no way representative of developers from "their time."  If anything, he's the odd one out.

[LoatharMDPhD]

// So... Rocket science isn't a thing in the 21st century?

[KCLaz]

John Carwack :c

[LadyMistDragon]

Oh for god's sake....I guess he's not really that old (mid 50s) but the point is that his relevance has been steadily declining by year to the point where he's at a point where it's safe to ignore him. Though as someone said, he does align with a certain libertarian worldview that would tend to fear wokeness, he's far from the most deserving person of cancellation.

 

 

25 minutes ago, Doomkid said:

I'm going to ram a pitchfork into the eye socket of the next person who says "woke" in my presence, I have never been so tired of a word before holy shit

.......I've felt the same way to be honest, though it comes from both sides, just one is meant negatively and laughable while the the other one is obnoxious enough to drive the average person away.

[Ludi]

Damn, that's cringe as hell.

 

Fuck "libertarians" (i.e. people who fight any social change regardless of the context) and fuck people who say "woke" like it's a term with any real meaning.

 

I really hope he changes his mind, but seeing the pattern of cold apathy towards the emotions of others throughout his life makes me think that's unlikely. Very sad.

Edited May 18, 2023 by Ludi

[xScavengerWolfx]

I agree with doomkid with the word "woke". I am getting so so SO goddamn tired of hearing that and all these other words this gen has been flinging out. I mean John Carmack isn't really doing anything worth getting cancelled over is he?

 

I mean i don't really keep up with the political stuff since i don't care for it myself....but i agree with civvie 11 how the hell dose he have the same face for 30+ years? I guess he is a hyper intelligent doom to kill us all legit rocket man from another planet. 

[xScavengerWolfx]

Just now, Ludi said:

Damn, that's cringe as hell.

 

Fuck "libertarians" (i.e. people who fight any social change regardless of the context) and fuck people who say "woke" like it's a term with any real meaning.

Nah man, now kids are using the term "let him cook" God i wanna eat a cyber demon rocket after saying that

 

[Individualised]

25 minutes ago, PsychEyeball said:

Remember when everyone said "SJW" in regards to well, about anything? Woke is just the new iteration of that, AKA a filler word with no meaning that people use without knowing its true meaning like ever.

 

Good thing is that about anyone who ever say these words can usually be safely ignored without you missing out anything.

"Woke" is more like the new iteration of "PC". I.e. a word the conservative right use to describe anything they don't like

 

Disappointed in Carmack.

[Ludi]

Sorry if this is off topic but the political right (from my American perspective) really is a parasite that sucks the life out of, uh, common sense and logic. 

 

Carmack is obviously a prodigy in his field, but it seems that reading the room really isn't.

 

It really, truly sucks that he would give the time of day to people like this, and try to pass it off like it's "apolitical". I honestly hope that the inevitable backlash really yanks his head out of his ass.

Edited May 18, 2023 by Ludi

[dasho]

Wow who cares

[Murdoch]

1 minute ago, Ludi said:

Sorry if this is off topic but the political right (from my American perspective) really is a parasite that sucks the life out of, uh, common sense and logic.

 

Indeed. I don't have any political beliefs. I hate that crap. I distrust people in power as a matter of principle. I can be summed up basically by the unless they are doing some genuine harm to someone, think what you want but leave people the fuck alone, you don't get to look down on or hurt anybody just cause of who they are, the truth matters, and help and support people who need it. But yeah, right wingers especially in America make me nervous. Anyone who doesn't understand why really needs to pick up a book talking about how the Nazis came to be. And if they don't get it, hit themselves over the head with it, and keep reading it till they get the point. The left are by no means perfect either, but some of the shit the right are pulling like the aforementioned crap in Florida, weakening child labour laws, book banning, getting teachers sacked because they showed a disney movie with a gay character in it etc etc is barking mad lunacy.

[Individualised]

1 minute ago, Murdoch said:

But yeah, right wingers especially in America make me nervous. Anyone who doesn't understand why really needs to pick up a book talking about how the Nazis came to be. And if they don't get it, hit themselves over the head with it, and keep reading it till they get the point.

I'm not American but I saw the stuff about what they were doing with Zooey Zephyr in the news lately and that shit really scares me. Textbook fascism.

[LexiMax]

1 minute ago, Murdoch said:

Indeed. I don't have any political beliefs. I hate that crap. 

Not all of us have that luxury.  My existence has become a political football, no matter if I like it or not.

 

I don't take sides because I want to, but because the other side wants to either forcibly de-transition me or kill me.

[Ludi]

16 minutes ago, xScavengerWolfx said:

Nah man, now kids are using the term "let him cook" God i wanna eat a cyber demon rocket after saying that

 

 

Yeah but people aren't say "let him cook" to discredit people based on their identity. Need we remember what happened to Dylan Mulvaney?

[Snaxalotl]

Wow, a sci fi convention where we all look to the past instead of forward into the future. I'm sure there are a lot of science fiction stories that adhere to traditional cultural standards..... right?

 

[Ludi]

3 minutes ago, Snaxalotl said:

Wow, a sci fi convention where we all look to the past instead of forward into the future. I'm sure there are a lot of science fiction stories that adhere to traditional cultural standards..... right?

 

 

Even Carmack should be able to see the irony

[LadyMistDragon]

4 minutes ago, Snaxalotl said:

Wow, a sci fi convention where we all look to the past instead of forward into the future. I'm sure there are a lot of science fiction stories that adhere to traditional cultural standards..... right?

 

Yes, and they also push some ideology not entirely unlike Italo-futurism while at the same time, thinking that social change is bad m'kay and unfortunately, there is a certain assumption of European cultural supremacy if one is willing to examine older sci-fi stories. I still like some of them but they have a way of belonging to a different time when certain people might as well have been invisible.

Edited May 19, 2023 by LadyMistDragon