Monday, December 31, 2018

Ways to Try to Come Together in 2019


2018 was a brutal year for separating people of different ideologies. Here are some strategies for trying to unite people. And, yes, uniting people is a worthwhile goal. Positive energy is healthier than negative energy, and if you gain an ally, they might be there in your time of need, and they might even do a 180 and start promoting some of the same beliefs as your own. You won’t be able to change everyone and you may have to choose who you try to change, but if you show respect, you can change some people. While most of the tips below are about direct behaving, some points are about how you may be perceived when you behave a certain way in public.

This document is a work in progress and will likely be added to/modified as more thoughts occur to me.

·        Don’t treat everyone with an opposing viewpoint as the enemy. Remember, it’s likely that from their perspective that they’re the ones on the side of good, and if you treat them as the enemy, you’ll be on the side of bad to them.
·        No name calling. Few if any people change their minds because someone called them a rude name.
·        Likewise avoid sarcasm where possible, acidy sarcasm even more so than playful sarcasm (even there use caution; humour doesn’t always translate well). You might have some valid points, but if you spew venom, people will tune out your points.
·        Don’t justify bad actions by what the other side does. As the old saying goes, two wrongs don’t make a right. Likewise, don’t say that one person’s actions are okay people because are ignoring another person’s actions. It’s okay to start a separate debate/thread on the other individual on your own if you think they’re being overlooked somehow.
·        Ask questions to understand, not to conquer. If you ask questions so you can respond with a “Now I got you”, they’ll resent it and likely firmly cement their position. However, if you ask to understand, they might warm up to you even if they still disagree because they feel they’re being heard.
·        Don’t base all your beliefs on partisanship. It’s only to lean one direction politically but have some beliefs on the other side of the political spectrum. In fact that makes you more rounded.
·        Remember that the goal isn’t to see how far you can get to one side of the political spectrum or the aaother. In fact if you go too far, the moderates on your own side might start to distance themselves from you and even apologize on your behalf whether you want them to or not.
·        Make yourself available to answer questions from the other side, and answer politely. If they are genuinely curious about your perspective, that’s a very good thing.
·        It’s okay to take a neutral stance on a particular topic, either because you don’t know the answer or because you can see both sides. It means you are thinking before making a firm decision.
·        Most people are complex and have contradictory elements, so if you see an apparent contradiction, don’t call them a hypocrite. Instead point out the contradiction and ask them how they reconcile the two beliefs. There might be some nuance you’re missing.
·        Don’t be afraid of the other side changing your mind. That will only happen if they actually have a valid point, which means you’re open to new ideas and growing as a person.
·        Use caution when using emotions in your arguments. Your intensity might scare people into hiding their opinions. Stick to facts when possible.
·        Paraphrase things back to them in sentences that show you are trying to understand them, e.g. “If I understand you correctly…” You might indeed be missing something, and sometimes people reconsider points when they’re reflected back at them.
·        Where possible, assume their coming from a good place and have no ulterior motives. If you tell them that when they say x they must mean y and z, you’ve likely lost them, especially if they mean no such thing. This again is where emotions can be a liability. You can work yourself up into imagining the other side saying things they aren’t/believing things they don’t.
·        Don’t assume that two people on the same side believe the exact same things. What might on the surface appear to be hypocrisy might actually be one person believing one thing and another person on the same side of the political spectrum believing something different. Neither side of the political spectrum is one mass engaging in group think.
·        Likewise, avoid fearing “the Other”. People eat, drink, sleep, poop, etc.  The person with a different ideology isn’t some sort of alien whose traits can’t be discerned by humans.
·        While it can be tiring making the same points over and over, keep in mind that arguments you’ve made in the past might not have reached the person you are currently debating with. There are rarely shortcuts in trying to change multiple people.
·        Use caution with humour. While it can make an argument fun and used correctly can help people warm to you, you should try not to demean the other person’s perspective in the process. Do use humour, but be smart about it, and be aware that you might be using it on an unsympathetic audience.
·        Even if you find someone’s beliefs appalling, keep in mind that they might be struggling over the idea that something they’ve believed all their lives could be wrong. Be respectful of that (and not in a way that might seem condescending).
·        Don’t try to silence other opinions. If you do, they’ll simply find like-minded people to state their opinions to. There are of course special circumstances like someone inciting violence, but where you can, fight for people’s rights to state opinions you find appalling. If you do, the person you disagree with might respect you, and you’ve planted a seed in them.
·        Unless a study has been reproduced multiple times, when quoting stats, don’t assume they’re the be all and end all. Stats can be manipulated, and things like sample size, age/race/gender/location of sample group, etc. are important.
·        Even when using stats that have held across multiple sources, use caution when applying them to celebrities. Some celebrities use their fame to hide things, and in recent years, things that have been going on for years have been unearthed. Conversely celebrities might be more prone to false accusations from people (e.g. because the accuser wishes to enter the talk show circuit). Also people can read what other people have written when accusing celebrities, something that is rare with someone in the public. So things can skew the stats in either direction where celebrities are concerned.
·        While it’s okay to be aware of the cultural forces that might shape someone’s opinion, don’t dismiss their opinion as being shaped by those forces, at least not directly do them. While that might be true in part, they may see it differently. People tune out if their beliefs are treated as a symptom of a problem.
·        Remember that what might work in an academic setting might come across as condescending or elitist in the non-academic world. In whatever environment you’re in, consider what respect means. In some places political correctness might be seen as respectful, but in other venues it might actually come across as disrespectful.
·        While everyone is entitled to some safe spaces for their opinions and feelings, keep in mind that not every place is such a place. Facebook pages, academic institutions, etc. are places for debate and if you state an opinion there, people have the right to counter-argue.
·        If a debate isn’t working out for you, thank them for the debate and politely state why you are exiting the debate. If online, turn off notifications if the debate is stirring things up inside.
·        Don’t judge a person’s merit on their religious beliefs or lack thereof. There are noble people and a-holes across all religious beliefs, including atheism.
·        Avoid calling for the deaths of someone or celebrating their deaths in forums where supporters might be around. It just makes you seem bloodthirsty.
·        If a joke from a celebrity doesn’t “land”, criticize the behaviour but don’t try to end their careers.
·        Where possible, if you don’t like a particular behaviour, focus on the actions and not the person, unless the person’s full track record sums up their character to the point where the person can’t be ignored.
·         If a person's contrary opinion is out of pain, show compassion for their pain even if you are sticking to your guns. Conversely, try not to allow your own pain to colour your opinion of an entire group, unless it's overtly a hate group.
·        Note where someone you dislike or even hate does something right. It reinforces good behaviour and makes it seem like you’re looking at the person objectively and being true to your belief system rather than modifying it according to what the person does. In doing so, if someone claims you’re too partisan about them, you can offer counter-examples.
·        No matter how horrible a person on the other side is, don’t make fun of their appearance. It’s a cheap shot and if the person really is bad, there are more important things to worry about.
·        Don’t say or do something just to get a rise out of the other side. It’s pretty easy to do on both sides of the political spectrum, but the cost of that brief moment of satisfaction is the further widening the gulf between two sides.
·        Try not to get too pessimistic. If you give us trying to reach the other side because it seems too hopeless, it can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.
·        If you can source your arguments, that’s great. Do allow the other side to explain their issue with a particular source.
·        Recognize that both sides have their conspiracy theories. Even if you believe one of them, stick to what can be easily verified and try to avoid areas that are open to interpretation.

I hope that some of the above resonates with people. When writing that, I tried to consider what both sides of the political spectrum do that hurt their causes. Feel free to comment on these points and what does and does not make sense to you. Also feel free to offer suggestions for additions. If I feel a point is fair, I’ll add it to an update.

Saturday, November 10, 2018

10 Comic Characters Who are Still Dead After 20 Plus Years Part 3


With so many characters returning from the dead in comics I thought it would be interesting to look at who has remained dead over the last couple of decades. This is the first in a series off such posts.

Rules I’m playing by in this post and any time I revisit this post:

A death still counts if:
·        They returned briefly but returned to the grave in such a way that their original cause of death applies, even if they died again in their return;
·        A character time travels to the present from a time period before their death, as long as this does not interfere with their death;
·        A character appears because they were actually visited in the afterlife;
·        In the case of DC’s changing timeline, their status in the current timeline is unconfirmed.
·        A clone is distinct from the original.

A death does not count if:
·        A character’s adventures take place in the future (and therefore are alive/not yet born in the present);
·        A character continues to have an active or semi-active present due to being a vampire, ghost, zombie, or other member of the undead, or due to being “one with the universe”;
·        In the case of DC’s changing timeline, a new version of the character who is more or less the modern continuity version of the deceased character has appeared.
·        A clone is likely to have the soul of the original.

Finally, in the event that a dead character is revealed to be an imposter, the death still counts for the imposter (barring other circumstances) but not the original.

For now I’m skipping characters who died in their first appearance, even major ones such as Ben Parker, though I may cover such characters in later posts.

1.      Captain America (Jeff Mace; patriotic hero originally fighting criminals as the Patriot; after the second Captain America’s death he took over before retiring shortly after World War II; died of cancer). First appearance: Human Torch #4 Spring 1941. Death: Captain America #285 September 1983.
2.      Changeling (shape-shifting evil mutant; reforming after being diagnosed with cancer, he posed as Professor X and was killed by Grotesk; briefly revived as zombie but returned to grave). First appearance: X-Men #35 August 1967. Death: X-Men #42 March 1968. X-Men #65 February 1970 revealed that it was he and not Professor X who died in the fight with Grotesk.
3.      Doctor Midnight (Elizabeth Chapel; blind heroine who could see in the dark, successor to the original Doctor Mid-Nite; joined a gathering of heroes to fight Eclipso but was killed by him). First appearance: Infinity Inc. #19 October 1985. Death: Eclipso #13 November 1993.
4.      Nuke (Albert Gaines, hero with radioactive powers; went mad when he learned his own radiation was killing his parents; Doctor Spectrum encased him in a bubble to contain him, but he burnt up all the oxygen). First appearance: Defenders #112 October 1982. Death: Squadron Supreme #3 November 1985.
5.      Sheriff Root (Hugo Root; alcoholic racist police officer; after forced to maim himself by Jesse Custer, he had his son Arseface retrieve his gun belt and then committed suicide). First appearance: Preacher #1 April 1995. Death: Preacher #4 July 1995.
6.      Rorschach (Walter Kovacs; crime fighter driven mad after a particularly nasty case; killed to prevent him from exposing a secret that would bring the world closer to World War III).First appearance: Watchmen #1 September 1986. Death: Watchmen #12 October 1987.
7.      Steeplejack (Melvin Plumm, criminal successor to an earlier version; attended a meeting at the Bar with No Name to deal with the Scourge of the Underworld, only for the Scourge to kill everyone present). First appearance: Ms. Marvel #14 February 1978. Death: Captain America #320 August 1986.
8.      TNT (Thomas N. Thomas; high school chemistry teacher who with student Dan Dunbar is involved in an accident involving radioactive salts, giving them both powers, with Dan becoming Dyna-Mite; though he lived longer in the Pre-Crisis continuity, Post-Crisis he was killed in 1942 by Nazi saboteurs). First appearance: Star-Spangled Comics #7 April 1942. Death: Young All-Stars #1 June 1987.
9.      Wing (Wing How; sidekick to the Crimson Avenger; sacrificed his life to stop the Nebula Man). First appearance: Detective Comics #20 October 1938. Death: Justice League of America #100 August 1972 (as mystery deceased hero; identity revealed in Justice League of America #102 October 1972).
10.   Writer (Grant Morrison; claimed that Animal-Man was a comic character that he was writing; had the ability to literally rewrite reality; as a member of the Suicide Squad, he had writer’s block and ending up getting killed by a Beastiamorph during the War of the Gods). First appearance: Animal Man #25 July 1990. Death: Suicide Squad #58 October 1991.

Friday, November 9, 2018

10 More Comic Characters Who are Still Dead After 20 Plus Years

With so many characters returning from the dead in comics I thought it would be interesting to look at who has remained dead over the last couple of decades. This is the first in a series off such posts.

Rules I’m playing by in this post and any time I revisit this post:

A death still counts if:
·        They returned briefly but returned to the grave in such a way that their original cause of death applies, even if they died again in their return;
·        A character time travels to the present from a time period before their death, as long as this does not interfere with their death;
·        A character appears because they were actually visited in the afterlife;
·        In the case of DC’s changing timeline, their status in the current timeline is unconfirmed.
·        A clone is distinct from the original.

A death does not count if:
·        A character’s adventures take place in the future (and therefore are alive/not yet born in the present);
·        A character continues to have an active or semi-active present due to being a vampire, ghost, zombie, or other member of the undead, or due to being “one with the universe”;
·        In the case of DC’s changing timeline, a new version of the character who is more or less the modern continuity version of the deceased character has appeared.
·        A clone is likely to have the soul of the original.

Finally, in the event that a dead character is revealed to be an imposter, the death still counts for the imposter (barring other circumstances) but not the original.

For now I’m skipping characters who died in their first appearance, even major ones such as Ben Parker, though I may cover such characters in later posts. 

1.      Blue Beetle (Dan Garrett; archaeologist with mystical scarab; seemingly killed fighting Jarvis Kord and encouraging Jarvis’ nephew Ted to take over as the Beetle, he was revived by the scarab; half-mad, he died for real after the scarab shattered in battle with the Ted Kord Blue Beetle). First appearance: Blue Beetle #1 June 1964. Death: Blue Beetle #18 November 1987.
2.      Blue Eagle (James Dore Jr., aka American Eagle and Cap’n Hawk; inherited pair of wings from father that gave him flight; during the battle between his team, the Squadron Supreme and the Redeemers, Lamprey drained the power from his wings; he tried landing on Pinball to break his fall, but only ended up killing them both). First appearance: Avengers #85 February 1971. Death: Squadron Supreme #12 August 1986.
3.      Alex DeWitt (girlfriend of Green Lantern (Kyle Rayner); strangled by Major Force and stuffed in a fridge; this led to the term “fridging” being coined to refer to cases where a female character is killed to advance a male hero’s story). First appearance: Green Lantern #48 January 1994. Death:  Green Lantern #54 August 1994.
4.      Fritz the Cat (anthropomorphic cat who has sex and drugs adventures; killed by ice pick; death was creator Robert Crumb’s protest of the movie). First appareance: Help! #22 January 1965. Death: The People’s Comics 1972.
5.      Lady Liberty (member of a shady government group called the Force of July; killed battling Kobra). First appearance: Batman and the Outsiders Annual #1 1994. Death: Suicide Squad #30 Late June 1989.
6.      Melter (Bruno Horgan; Iron Man foe with a melting device; shot to death by the Scourge of the Underworld, who was disguised as his assistant). First appearance: Tales of Suspense #47 November 1963. Death: Avengers #263 January 1986.
7.      Nite Owl (Hollis Mason; policeman active as a costumed crime fighter during World War II; killed by thugs erroneously believing he had come out of retirement) First appearance: Watchmen #1 September 1986. Death: Watchmen #9 May 1987.
8.      Dorothy Parker (head of the criminal Parker Girls, who forced Katchoo, one of the lead characters of Strangers in Paradise, to work for them; shot in the face by her agent Tambi, who felt Parker was becoming too erratic; Tambi made the death look like a suicide). First appearance: Strangers in Paradise #1 September 1994. Death:  Strangers in Paradise #12 January 1998.
9.      Scourge of the Underworld (original; one of a number of people hired by Thomas Holloway to murder super-villains; this version killed the most of any, starting with the Enforcer and cumulating with a massacre at the Bar with No Name; after being captured by Captain America, he was killed by another Scourge). First appearance: Iron Man #194 May 1985. Death: Captain America #320 August 1986.
10.   Gwen Stacy (Peter Parker’s girlfriend; Green Goblin tossed her off a bridge, the Spider-Man shot a web-line to break her fall, but that apparently broke her neck). First appearance: Amazing Spider-Man #31 December 1965. Death:  Amazing Spider-Man #144 May 1975.