Regina Cannot Explain It All
I'm Regina Small. I'm a writer and editor in NYC. I have a lot of opinions.
Interests include: sci-fi/fantasy, literature, summertime daydrinking, trying to be a better person, fancy manicures, philosophy, pictures for sad children, and the role of irony in the modern world. And fandom, of course.
I have another blog dedicated exclusively to science fiction/fantasy. Read it here.
Yet another brief note about Tumblr fights:
I think we should all recognize that even as dumb as these disagreements may seem, they are approx 5000% less hostile than they would’ve been on Usenet in the mid-90s because I can remember hearing about an A.S.G. (that is alt.showbiz.gossip, the sister newsgroup of alt.gossip.celebrities, which was gentler but populated by a lot of the same folks) meet-up that eventually led to the sustained online and real-life harassment of one woman, whose #1 Google result STILL as of right this second is a forum post about what a loser she is. And I’m fairly certain at least one person was fired because of phone calls made by some very angry online acquaintances. Like, if you want to talk about very serious, involved, years-long flamewars…
As bad as it gets, none of us have ever really, genuinely tried to fuck up each other’s shit so let’s be grateful for that now that it’s holidaytimes.
1. Don’t talk about philosophy. Hard truth: no one cares about philosophy. Don’t talk about having an interest in philosophy or a degree in philosophy. Don’t even say the word philosophy. People think people with degrees in philosophy are assholes who get high all the time and talk about things…
My love for PhiLOLZophy is well-documented, both on this blog and in my Gchat logs. But…advice like ” Hard truth: no one cares about philosophy. Don’t talk about having an interest in philosophy or a degree in philosophy. Don’t even say the word philosophy” and “When in doubt, use a fallacy. Sorry philosophers, but like I said, no one cares about logic” doesn’t really argue in favor of using philosophy to get a raise. Rhetoric, maybe. Manipulation via tactics that philosophy, as a discipline, generally condemns, sure. But I don’t think this really qualifies as “using” philosophy as much as it is appropriating a few non-discursive maneuvers while thumbing its nose at philosophy (which is acceptable but let’s call it what it is).
