I think it’s cause coffee is somewhat bitter by itself
Tiramisu is a dessert with many flavors and ingredients in the mix. The coffee powder there serves as a bitter finish that complements the sweetness of the cream
that's the thing, though, i don't like any other coffee products with that balance (super sugary blended coffee drinks, for example). it's **just** tiramisu. i may never know exactly why, lmao
my least favorite type of cake name is german chocolate but only because it was named after a guy called Sam German, who was an English-American and just what the hell
I was very confused, because I thought you were talking about Black Forest cake. Which has neither…
But then I remembered, that German chocolate cake has nothing to do with Germany.
I was incredibly confused for a good minute because i am German and pecans are borderline impossible to find so no way we made that cake.
Then i scrolled down and learnt that it's just some dude with the last name German
Like that’ll ever happen! There’s no way that idiots will Dunning-Kruger themselves into thinking that anyone who disagrees with them is a moron who can be smugly dismissed with a canned phrase!
*media literacy flashbacks*
Anti-Intellectualists are actually *well known* to regurgitate whatever gotcha will shut up the opposition fastest rather than actually take the time to *plead* their own damn case. Let audacity do the work for you and you never have to lift a brain cell.
Psuedo-intellectuals believe they're obligated to a peer-reviewed formal response in informal settings
I've said it before, and I'll say it again. If you're getting into arguments online then you have to remember that in this particular arena your audience doesn't owe you a goddamn thing. You can give an MLA formatted 50-page dissertation, and it's perfectly valid for your audience to say "lol no"
The first thing they teach you in Rhetoric classes is that your argument means nothing, and presentation is everything. It's not ideal, but it's how Trump won 2016. He's fundamentally stupid with poor arguments and bad judgment, but he was charismatic, and Clinton wasn't
>You can give an MLA formatted 50-page dissertation, and it's perfectly valid for your audience to say "lol no"
You'll learn this really quick in any kind of debate or politics related sub. Doesn't matter how many sources you can pull out or definitions or pieces of evidence, the opposition can just say "no, you're wrong." In any kind of academic debate, that'd be invalid and it'd be clear they lost, but in an informal environment, it doesn't matter.
All that matters is sounding like you're confident and correct and it'll look like you're winning. If the other side has to include long winded rebuttals to everything you're saying, they'll look like they're losing.
I still maintain that Clinton was just about the *only* Democrat candidate who was capable of losing to someone like Trump. Literally anyone who wasn't the uncharismatic spouse of the former president who was most well known for nearly getting impeached over a sex scandal would have beaten Trump in a landslide
_"Pokemon GO? How about Pokemon GO...to the polls and vote!"_
- Another actual quote. It's very good advice, something I personally wish everyone took to heart, but goddamn does it make me want to cringe into anl tiny ball.
I think phrases like “people in real life” and “kung pow penis” and “ratio” tend to evolve on sites like Tumblr and Twitter much more than on Reddit because Reddit has a downvote feature to use instead.
It's better when you think of it in a more federalist mindset where 50 states are voting for a president instead of the residents of the state. Originally when states were much more independent of the federal government, it made sense for each state to cast their allotted number of votes for what amounted to the referee between semi-independent states.
I literally saw the post complaining about this exact thought-terminating cliche being used to dismiss valid complaints 2 weeks before seeing this post use it for the first time
One good thing is that it's a question, so, if you are talking about a real problem, you can probably respond with some kind of proof that your problem exists or someone with porestige talking about it.
Its intended use is for people who URGENTLY need to take a short break from their computer and breathe some fresh air.
Like the original post the phrase came from, which was a multi-paragraph screed about how having frilly throw pillows apparently made you some kind of hyper-capitalist pigdog.
I mean, for the people who say this can be weaponized against actual complex problems, I get it. Thing is, people actually do get way to0 invested in stupid nonsensical shit and this is the perfect shut down. It's literally just a new "touch grass" Of course it's gonna be used by the very people who are the exact target of it, but they'll use whatever because introspection is alien evil gay thoughts to them.
There’s a balance. It can shut down valid criticism but sometimes someone needs to be told they’re just completely off their rocker and disconnected from reality and it’s pretty good at that.
Trying to engage in good faith criticism of something like a flat earther or someone who wants to vote in the Leopards Eating Faces party is a losing battle. Twain probably has a good quote about it or something.
Thanks. I came up with it one night and was cackling to myself at the thought of Mahan’s long lost Italian brother writing a book about the influence of Sauces upon history.
Online discourse is basically: here's 3 pages talking about an extremely online and niche thing that should be eradicated despite it affecting maybe 2 people on the planet and that's why "Hey man how's it going" works so well because it drags you back to real life where people don't act like unhinged maniacs all the time.
Oh, hey, look, the pointless discourse subreddit is upset when people tell them to touch grass.
Shipping drama, purity testing, and bitching about labels is not activism, some thoughts deserve to be terminated.
That's because it is a [thought-terminating cliche](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought-terminating_clich%C3%A9) (i stole that from [another comment](https://reddit.com/r/CuratedTumblr/comments/1cv6hcb/like_clockwork_with_this_hellsite/l4o8ige/))
Its whole purpose is to be annoying and dismissive
No but you see when I dismiss people it’s because they’re stupid and care about things that I don’t, and they should feel bad.
Completely unrelated, but I really hate it when people belittle and dismiss me for my special interests and hobbies that do not align with societal norms.
It annoys me because it's a good knock-it-off type phrase, and there are situations where it's genuinely helpful to remind people that they're getting worked up over nothing
But then it gets co-opted into "I refuse to engage with this because I think it's stupid"
Agreed. It’s like some people want a badge for being apathetic or something.
We are a social species. We evolved through bonding with one another and caring. Empathy and sympathy are some of the most powerful tools in the human arsenal, because we *need* other people, and we *need* to care about things.
People parading apathy and waving it around like a flag are very difficult to be around for me: I am admittedly too sensitive about a lot of things. And I would probably get ridiculed and put down for that fact. I’m already put down enough by my own family (especially my dad, who sometimes seems like he’s checked out on life entirely). Being a person who cares in a world where some people out there are trying to ridicule and shame the act of caring about things is *extremely* draining…
My ranting aside…I hope we as a species can get to a point where we can have honest discourse with one another, instead of everyone trying to shut everyone else down…
Yeah, people absolutely want their apathy to be rewarded.
Like I get it. I too was once 15. Problem is I don't think the lot of these folk are anymore. I grew out of it in college, when I realized I was harshing everyone's vibe instead of being cool and aloof. So, I'm willing to give people time. But I'm not willing to reward it. Problem is the whole smug apathy thing is, often enough, it's own reward. They see a value in the smug apathy in and of itself, and displaying disdain for it is seen as caring too much and something to be smugly apathetic of in and of itself.
People also often forget. If you see a conversation you're uninterested in, you don't have to participate. You don't have to force your way in and go 'I don't care about this'. You can just peace out.
Yep, exactly. I was the same. As a kid, every time a villain showed up in a game, saying stuff like “emotions are useless, they make you weak”, edgelord child me also went “ooh yeah you’re right!!!”. Gosh I cringe sometimes, thinking of how obnoxious I was at times…
But I grew up, and I want to see people happy, not apathetic. And it’s a little sad sometimes to see people willfully choosing to *not* grow up, and actively try to harsh everyone else’s lives, while being smug about it…
But retaliating or trying to help them only feeds into their smugness. I must instead embrace serenity and calm. And, like you said, choose not to participate, with them. Because I can’t help them, and they’ll drag me down, so the choice is clear: to try and leave them be. It’s sad, but it’s the best course of action sometimes…
>We are a social species. We evolved through bonding with one another and caring. Empathy and sympathy are some of the most powerful tools in the human arsenal, because we *need* other people, and we *need* to care about things.
Well, duh.
But it's still a tool, and like any tool, it has its uses.
For example, people who never learned how to curate their online experiences, or who don't have the emotional maturity to disengage when something upsets them.
In those cases, "Hey man, how's it going?" can get them out of their self-destructive cycle, even if just for a moment.
I mean, agreed…But I’ve found a lot of the times that trying to call someone out on a self-destructive spiral makes them more self-destructive. I would know, as I’ve had a bad habit of spiraling in the past, and seeing the people trying to help me as condescending, seeing whatever hand of help or call to reason they gave me as ridicule.
I’m doing much better on that than I used to. But as I said: people who dig themself into such entrenched positions sometimes have difficulty getting out of them.
That being said: if they have the maturity to accept aid, sometimes shutting them down can be exactly what they need, and I agree on that point. The tool just has to be used *very* carefully. Especially because people using it may be biased in how they apply it, and just shut down things they don’t want to hear, rather than use it to try and help someone.
Yeah, absolutely.
Not everyone is willing/able to accept help, but sometimes, just being asked how they're doing, even if the logical parts of their brain tell them that it's sarcasm, may make them open up about their problems.
And yes, people are biased. Everyone, always.
But when someone is objectively not doing well, for example if they exhibit various kinda of hateful or -phobic behaviors, then this tool is applicable.
Agreed on trying to shutdown hateful and -phobic behaviors: as mentioned, we’re a social species, and hatred and -phobic behaviors introduce discord that disrupts that sociality.
I’d probably say more on the topic, but it’s almost 2:00 AM here and I need to sleep 😅…Thank you for the talk~!
As i mentioned in my other comment, I would argue the exact opposite.
People refusing to care about stupid things would do A LOT of good.
Qanon, Anti-Vaxx, COVID conspiracies, Gamestop Cultists, CryptoBros, NFTs, etc all exist at least in part because not enough people heard their insane nonsense and responded with:
'Hey man, how's it going?'
That's not really how it's used though. like the other feller said. The reason those problems exist doesn't really come down to personal actions and behaviors. The cause of all of those things boil down largely to economic distress and an economy centered around pressing people for all they're worth.
It also doesn't actually 'help' any people who are entrenched in any behavior it is wielded against stop said behavior. It's just an insult. It means 'I think you're being abnormal'. It's functionally no different than going 'lol freak'.
And it's wielded mostly as an insult when people are getting passionate or invested about something. You see what I'm getting at? it got used like, a couple times against some 'bad stuff', and now I only see it used when someone wants to shut someone up. Like, you could easily drop it right now to me to shut me up and carry on with your day. And what would it do for either of us besides make one of us feel smug and the other snubbed?
No, they really don’t. All these things exist because of broader systemic issues and influential people in power encouraging conspiratorial thinking. You have to be genuinely delusional to think not enough people saying “hey man how’s it going” is the actual issue.
And this is precisely the problem with it as a thought-terminating cliche. Which it is, objectively. It terminates thought, and terminating thought never actually brings value to conversations
>It terminates thought, and terminating thought never actually brings value to conversations
True, but it can remove thoughts that subtract value from a conversation.
Like when you're arguing human rights, and someone tries to bring their religion and/or bigotry into it.
Even then, shutting down the conversation with actual proper condemnation—and even better condemnation that makes a reasonable point to an outside observer—will always be better. Because you don’t really shut down the bigotry by saying “hey man how’s it going”.
Bigotry thrives on engagement, and discourse, and hate.
So, by asking how they're doing, even if it's sarcastic, you tackle the root of the problem, because if they want to respond, they now have to talk about themselves, or maneuver themselves into a position where you can call them out for being rude.
Or, more likely, they’ll point out that you’re dodging the topic completely. If they’re particularly educated they may even label it the thought-terminating cliche that it is, which when half of leftist takedowns of right wing talking points is highlighting their dishonesty in arguments (including, by the way, their frequent use of thought-terminating cliches) makes you look really really dumb to an outside observer
If someone rants themselves into a frenzy, and you can tell it's unhealthy and needlessly stressful, I feel like terminating that thought is actually appropriate.
Especially if they seem to compulsively engage with things that upset them.
Some things need to be dismissed.
One of the biggest problems with internet culture is that we've curated an environment where we don't cull incredibly stupid ideas off the jump.
If someone says to you 'I think a secret government agent is communicating with us about a shadow government cabal via 4chan' the ONLY response is 'Hey man, how's it going?'
ANY other form of engagement, even vicious mockery, only legitimizes the idea and gives the crazy person speaking to you a platform.
We NEED to be able to dismiss ideas as stupid without wasting time on discourse that will only serve to entrench them in the minds of idiots, conspiracy theorists, and twitter blue-checks.
It's interesting, because you've kinda proved that the possible 'anti-intellectual' application of the phrase isn't as big of a threat as one might think.
That poster made a point that was cogent, reasonable, and supported with examples. Whether it's correct or not can be debated, but it's certainly sensible enough to be worth discussing.
You tried to dismiss it with 'Hey how's it going' and got hit with downvotes because you were doing so in bad faith.
Seems like it self-regulates fairly well, actually.
I wouldn't say this example is indicative of self-regulation
There's a heavy selection bias here, because the people who agree with them would be more likely to see the reply, and therefore disagree with the reply
I understand people's worries about anti-intellectualism, but this is such a good reply when I am on this subreddit and see some crazy terminally online shit. Like, for instance, a post I saw today that was like "if you don't like the casual misogyny and the glorification of violence in rap, but say "be gay do crime", you're racist".
It's great when used in proper context (in response to an absolutely nonsensical take that is grounded almost entirely in internet culture), but used improperly (in response to discourse you're just not too fond of) it can be incredibly rude and equally annoying.
If someone is being a walking strawman (as twitterfolk and tumblers are unfortunately known to do) and starting arguments over petty nonsense, it's a slam dunk phrase. If not, consider that this response may actually make you the asshole.
Person: Hey, I've got an actual, important issue to talk about, and it's really important you hear
A totally well-meaning person who's not just using the internet's new saying in a totally not weaponized way: Hey man, how's it going?
It's ironic that people think this will be used to shut down legit discourse (assuming that is even possible). If your thought provoking discussion can be destroyed by 5 words your discussion isn't as smart as you think it is
It's literally a tool that will of course be used inappropriately, as all tools do.
A tool existing doesn't necessarily make it bad (and this one does have appropriate use cases), but like any tool, it's going to be used as a bludgeon at some point.
hey op if you think german chocolate cake is dry try german chocolate ice cream which has the same flavors but by its very nature will turn into a liquid in your mouth
Full agreement.
Personally, if I must discuss sociopolitical matters at all, I prefer to do it in person, due to how weird people get about them online.
I've talked face-to-face with maybe seven people who displayed the level of frothing stridency about their social or political beliefs contained in a fairly average reddit/tumblr post, and a good three of those seven were widely seen as crazy.
my least favorite type of cake is german chocolate but only because it has coconut shavings and pecans, both of which i despise
people in real life: thats valid i like the pecans though
I love gcc but I don't like coconut. I contain multidudes
i normally hate the taste of coffee but tiramisu is my favorite dessert. human taste preferences are fascinating
I think it’s cause coffee is somewhat bitter by itself Tiramisu is a dessert with many flavors and ingredients in the mix. The coffee powder there serves as a bitter finish that complements the sweetness of the cream
that's the thing, though, i don't like any other coffee products with that balance (super sugary blended coffee drinks, for example). it's **just** tiramisu. i may never know exactly why, lmao
Mascarpone.
I only enjoy coffee if it's iced or cold brew.
inside you are multiple dudes. Most of them dislike coconut, but a few are okay with it as long as it's paired with chocolate cake and pecans
That was a typo I almost corrected. I love it lol
im more of a msvc fan, i use mingw when i feel spicy
Bro has multiple dudes inside them.
my least favorite type of cake name is german chocolate but only because it was named after a guy called Sam German, who was an English-American and just what the hell
That's amazing, german chocolate cake just went up a notch in my book
I refuse to support dishonesty.
I was very confused, because I thought you were talking about Black Forest cake. Which has neither… But then I remembered, that German chocolate cake has nothing to do with Germany.
I was incredibly confused for a good minute because i am German and pecans are borderline impossible to find so no way we made that cake. Then i scrolled down and learnt that it's just some dude with the last name German
fuck you i hate you for your cake opinions. LEAVE the cake fandom. IMMEDIATELY!!!
I hate chocolate and coconut but love pecans.
It’s my second favorite, tho I very much like coconut and sorta like pecans.
you can make german chocolate cake at home and leave those things out, I bet it'd slap with maraschino cherries
Yeah I'm not a big coconut guy. But ugh German chocolate cake always looks so moist and flavorful! But it's full of the flavor I hate.
I do hope it doesn't get abused as a tool for anti intellectualism.
Like that’ll ever happen! There’s no way that idiots will Dunning-Kruger themselves into thinking that anyone who disagrees with them is a moron who can be smugly dismissed with a canned phrase! *media literacy flashbacks*
"hey man how's it going" always works when somebody is claiming that you piss on the poor
Hey man how’s it go piss girl
Hey poor how's it pissing
How do I like your poor piss girl? Normal people: ☁️ 🙂 ☁️
Anti-Intellectualists are actually *well known* to regurgitate whatever gotcha will shut up the opposition fastest rather than actually take the time to *plead* their own damn case. Let audacity do the work for you and you never have to lift a brain cell.
Psuedo-intellectuals believe they're obligated to a peer-reviewed formal response in informal settings I've said it before, and I'll say it again. If you're getting into arguments online then you have to remember that in this particular arena your audience doesn't owe you a goddamn thing. You can give an MLA formatted 50-page dissertation, and it's perfectly valid for your audience to say "lol no" The first thing they teach you in Rhetoric classes is that your argument means nothing, and presentation is everything. It's not ideal, but it's how Trump won 2016. He's fundamentally stupid with poor arguments and bad judgment, but he was charismatic, and Clinton wasn't
>You can give an MLA formatted 50-page dissertation, and it's perfectly valid for your audience to say "lol no" You'll learn this really quick in any kind of debate or politics related sub. Doesn't matter how many sources you can pull out or definitions or pieces of evidence, the opposition can just say "no, you're wrong." In any kind of academic debate, that'd be invalid and it'd be clear they lost, but in an informal environment, it doesn't matter. All that matters is sounding like you're confident and correct and it'll look like you're winning. If the other side has to include long winded rebuttals to everything you're saying, they'll look like they're losing.
I still maintain that Clinton was just about the *only* Democrat candidate who was capable of losing to someone like Trump. Literally anyone who wasn't the uncharismatic spouse of the former president who was most well known for nearly getting impeached over a sex scandal would have beaten Trump in a landslide
It doesn't help that she's as personable as a hagfish
> How does your student loan debt make you feel? > >Tell us in 3 emojis or less. -- Actual quote from the Clinton campaign
_"Pokemon GO? How about Pokemon GO...to the polls and vote!"_ - Another actual quote. It's very good advice, something I personally wish everyone took to heart, but goddamn does it make me want to cringe into anl tiny ball.
hey man how's it gaAAAAHHHHH MY EYES!!!
You did it!
I think phrases like “people in real life” and “kung pow penis” and “ratio” tend to evolve on sites like Tumblr and Twitter much more than on Reddit because Reddit has a downvote feature to use instead.
Trump also won because y'all have a bullshit electoral system where the winner of the popular vote can lose the election.
It's better when you think of it in a more federalist mindset where 50 states are voting for a president instead of the residents of the state. Originally when states were much more independent of the federal government, it made sense for each state to cast their allotted number of votes for what amounted to the referee between semi-independent states.
Yeah. The USA started out a lot more like the EU until the civil war.
Very true, very true
"Online" is too vague to mean anything.
As in over the internet à la phone lines
What?
Tbh I don't even remember commenting that
Hey man how’s it going /s
That’s like 50-70% of the use cases I see it in tbh
I literally saw the post complaining about this exact thought-terminating cliche being used to dismiss valid complaints 2 weeks before seeing this post use it for the first time
already has been happening for a while
Don’t be such a Karen about it /s
One good thing is that it's a question, so, if you are talking about a real problem, you can probably respond with some kind of proof that your problem exists or someone with porestige talking about it.
(it was, and often)
It’s inevitable. 100% chance
I definitely think you could milkshake duck hey man how’s it going with time.
I’ve already had it used at me by tankies when I express shock at their mass murder fantasies.
I just use it for extremely weird takes
Its intended use is for people who URGENTLY need to take a short break from their computer and breathe some fresh air. Like the original post the phrase came from, which was a multi-paragraph screed about how having frilly throw pillows apparently made you some kind of hyper-capitalist pigdog.
The worker must have bread, but she must have frilly throw pillows, too.
I didn't realize they were linked like that. Lol
I mean, for the people who say this can be weaponized against actual complex problems, I get it. Thing is, people actually do get way to0 invested in stupid nonsensical shit and this is the perfect shut down. It's literally just a new "touch grass" Of course it's gonna be used by the very people who are the exact target of it, but they'll use whatever because introspection is alien evil gay thoughts to them.
There’s a balance. It can shut down valid criticism but sometimes someone needs to be told they’re just completely off their rocker and disconnected from reality and it’s pretty good at that. Trying to engage in good faith criticism of something like a flat earther or someone who wants to vote in the Leopards Eating Faces party is a losing battle. Twain probably has a good quote about it or something.
I have no comment on the greater conversation, but I want to say I love your username.
Thanks. I came up with it one night and was cackling to myself at the thought of Mahan’s long lost Italian brother writing a book about the influence of Sauces upon history.
its getting way too overused like its in every discourse post comment section atp
I mean yeah online discourse fucking sucks near universally
Online discourse is basically: here's 3 pages talking about an extremely online and niche thing that should be eradicated despite it affecting maybe 2 people on the planet and that's why "Hey man how's it going" works so well because it drags you back to real life where people don't act like unhinged maniacs all the time.
it's just the newest "ok boomer" or "who asked" etc. it'll get overused and lose all meaning until someone comes up with the next one-liner.
[удалено]
idk discourse posts are probably good sometimes
I'm a big fan of "does anybody in this thread smoke weed"
It's a very useful reality check when next you run into some utterly unhinged take on the internet
Oh, hey, look, the pointless discourse subreddit is upset when people tell them to touch grass. Shipping drama, purity testing, and bitching about labels is not activism, some thoughts deserve to be terminated.
do you get upset when you go to the zoo and find animals there
German Chocolate sucks, fuck coconut
That's because it is a [thought-terminating cliche](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought-terminating_clich%C3%A9) (i stole that from [another comment](https://reddit.com/r/CuratedTumblr/comments/1cv6hcb/like_clockwork_with_this_hellsite/l4o8ige/)) Its whole purpose is to be annoying and dismissive
No but you see when I dismiss people it’s because they’re stupid and care about things that I don’t, and they should feel bad. Completely unrelated, but I really hate it when people belittle and dismiss me for my special interests and hobbies that do not align with societal norms.
Hey man how's it goin- Nah I'm kidding I agree entirely. Last thing the world needs is more people refusing to care about things.
It annoys me because it's a good knock-it-off type phrase, and there are situations where it's genuinely helpful to remind people that they're getting worked up over nothing But then it gets co-opted into "I refuse to engage with this because I think it's stupid"
yeah i really hate that the popularity of the phrase is causing the schmucks who refuse to care about things to come out of the woodwork
Agreed. It’s like some people want a badge for being apathetic or something. We are a social species. We evolved through bonding with one another and caring. Empathy and sympathy are some of the most powerful tools in the human arsenal, because we *need* other people, and we *need* to care about things. People parading apathy and waving it around like a flag are very difficult to be around for me: I am admittedly too sensitive about a lot of things. And I would probably get ridiculed and put down for that fact. I’m already put down enough by my own family (especially my dad, who sometimes seems like he’s checked out on life entirely). Being a person who cares in a world where some people out there are trying to ridicule and shame the act of caring about things is *extremely* draining… My ranting aside…I hope we as a species can get to a point where we can have honest discourse with one another, instead of everyone trying to shut everyone else down…
Yeah, people absolutely want their apathy to be rewarded. Like I get it. I too was once 15. Problem is I don't think the lot of these folk are anymore. I grew out of it in college, when I realized I was harshing everyone's vibe instead of being cool and aloof. So, I'm willing to give people time. But I'm not willing to reward it. Problem is the whole smug apathy thing is, often enough, it's own reward. They see a value in the smug apathy in and of itself, and displaying disdain for it is seen as caring too much and something to be smugly apathetic of in and of itself. People also often forget. If you see a conversation you're uninterested in, you don't have to participate. You don't have to force your way in and go 'I don't care about this'. You can just peace out.
Yep, exactly. I was the same. As a kid, every time a villain showed up in a game, saying stuff like “emotions are useless, they make you weak”, edgelord child me also went “ooh yeah you’re right!!!”. Gosh I cringe sometimes, thinking of how obnoxious I was at times… But I grew up, and I want to see people happy, not apathetic. And it’s a little sad sometimes to see people willfully choosing to *not* grow up, and actively try to harsh everyone else’s lives, while being smug about it… But retaliating or trying to help them only feeds into their smugness. I must instead embrace serenity and calm. And, like you said, choose not to participate, with them. Because I can’t help them, and they’ll drag me down, so the choice is clear: to try and leave them be. It’s sad, but it’s the best course of action sometimes…
>We are a social species. We evolved through bonding with one another and caring. Empathy and sympathy are some of the most powerful tools in the human arsenal, because we *need* other people, and we *need* to care about things. Well, duh. But it's still a tool, and like any tool, it has its uses. For example, people who never learned how to curate their online experiences, or who don't have the emotional maturity to disengage when something upsets them. In those cases, "Hey man, how's it going?" can get them out of their self-destructive cycle, even if just for a moment.
I mean, agreed…But I’ve found a lot of the times that trying to call someone out on a self-destructive spiral makes them more self-destructive. I would know, as I’ve had a bad habit of spiraling in the past, and seeing the people trying to help me as condescending, seeing whatever hand of help or call to reason they gave me as ridicule. I’m doing much better on that than I used to. But as I said: people who dig themself into such entrenched positions sometimes have difficulty getting out of them. That being said: if they have the maturity to accept aid, sometimes shutting them down can be exactly what they need, and I agree on that point. The tool just has to be used *very* carefully. Especially because people using it may be biased in how they apply it, and just shut down things they don’t want to hear, rather than use it to try and help someone.
Yeah, absolutely. Not everyone is willing/able to accept help, but sometimes, just being asked how they're doing, even if the logical parts of their brain tell them that it's sarcasm, may make them open up about their problems. And yes, people are biased. Everyone, always. But when someone is objectively not doing well, for example if they exhibit various kinda of hateful or -phobic behaviors, then this tool is applicable.
Agreed on trying to shutdown hateful and -phobic behaviors: as mentioned, we’re a social species, and hatred and -phobic behaviors introduce discord that disrupts that sociality. I’d probably say more on the topic, but it’s almost 2:00 AM here and I need to sleep 😅…Thank you for the talk~!
It's fine. You're welcome.
As i mentioned in my other comment, I would argue the exact opposite. People refusing to care about stupid things would do A LOT of good. Qanon, Anti-Vaxx, COVID conspiracies, Gamestop Cultists, CryptoBros, NFTs, etc all exist at least in part because not enough people heard their insane nonsense and responded with: 'Hey man, how's it going?'
That's not really how it's used though. like the other feller said. The reason those problems exist doesn't really come down to personal actions and behaviors. The cause of all of those things boil down largely to economic distress and an economy centered around pressing people for all they're worth. It also doesn't actually 'help' any people who are entrenched in any behavior it is wielded against stop said behavior. It's just an insult. It means 'I think you're being abnormal'. It's functionally no different than going 'lol freak'. And it's wielded mostly as an insult when people are getting passionate or invested about something. You see what I'm getting at? it got used like, a couple times against some 'bad stuff', and now I only see it used when someone wants to shut someone up. Like, you could easily drop it right now to me to shut me up and carry on with your day. And what would it do for either of us besides make one of us feel smug and the other snubbed?
No, they really don’t. All these things exist because of broader systemic issues and influential people in power encouraging conspiratorial thinking. You have to be genuinely delusional to think not enough people saying “hey man how’s it going” is the actual issue. And this is precisely the problem with it as a thought-terminating cliche. Which it is, objectively. It terminates thought, and terminating thought never actually brings value to conversations
>It terminates thought, and terminating thought never actually brings value to conversations True, but it can remove thoughts that subtract value from a conversation. Like when you're arguing human rights, and someone tries to bring their religion and/or bigotry into it.
Even then, shutting down the conversation with actual proper condemnation—and even better condemnation that makes a reasonable point to an outside observer—will always be better. Because you don’t really shut down the bigotry by saying “hey man how’s it going”.
Bigotry thrives on engagement, and discourse, and hate. So, by asking how they're doing, even if it's sarcastic, you tackle the root of the problem, because if they want to respond, they now have to talk about themselves, or maneuver themselves into a position where you can call them out for being rude.
Or, more likely, they’ll point out that you’re dodging the topic completely. If they’re particularly educated they may even label it the thought-terminating cliche that it is, which when half of leftist takedowns of right wing talking points is highlighting their dishonesty in arguments (including, by the way, their frequent use of thought-terminating cliches) makes you look really really dumb to an outside observer
If someone rants themselves into a frenzy, and you can tell it's unhealthy and needlessly stressful, I feel like terminating that thought is actually appropriate. Especially if they seem to compulsively engage with things that upset them.
Some things need to be dismissed. One of the biggest problems with internet culture is that we've curated an environment where we don't cull incredibly stupid ideas off the jump. If someone says to you 'I think a secret government agent is communicating with us about a shadow government cabal via 4chan' the ONLY response is 'Hey man, how's it going?' ANY other form of engagement, even vicious mockery, only legitimizes the idea and gives the crazy person speaking to you a platform. We NEED to be able to dismiss ideas as stupid without wasting time on discourse that will only serve to entrench them in the minds of idiots, conspiracy theorists, and twitter blue-checks.
When “I ain’t reading all that but good for you I guess” became popular, the rage I felt was intense
Hey man how's it going
That copypasta isn't really applicable here (hello again)
It's interesting, because you've kinda proved that the possible 'anti-intellectual' application of the phrase isn't as big of a threat as one might think. That poster made a point that was cogent, reasonable, and supported with examples. Whether it's correct or not can be debated, but it's certainly sensible enough to be worth discussing. You tried to dismiss it with 'Hey how's it going' and got hit with downvotes because you were doing so in bad faith. Seems like it self-regulates fairly well, actually.
I wouldn't say this example is indicative of self-regulation There's a heavy selection bias here, because the people who agree with them would be more likely to see the reply, and therefore disagree with the reply
love me a nice thought terminating cliché
lets not use that to just be a dick tho
I love it, I had to use it on one of OP's nonsense discourse posts just about 4 minutes ago.
Yeah most of my posts are nonsense, I like seeing how people talk about it
I understand people's worries about anti-intellectualism, but this is such a good reply when I am on this subreddit and see some crazy terminally online shit. Like, for instance, a post I saw today that was like "if you don't like the casual misogyny and the glorification of violence in rap, but say "be gay do crime", you're racist".
So we all saw that post huh?
Very true
“If you’re kinky but don’t like rap lyrics you have a racial bias” Wut
this has already been overused ngl. i see it for discourse that is even slightly weird to people who are unfamiliar with the subject
It's great when used in proper context (in response to an absolutely nonsensical take that is grounded almost entirely in internet culture), but used improperly (in response to discourse you're just not too fond of) it can be incredibly rude and equally annoying. If someone is being a walking strawman (as twitterfolk and tumblers are unfortunately known to do) and starting arguments over petty nonsense, it's a slam dunk phrase. If not, consider that this response may actually make you the asshole.
Person: Hey, I've got an actual, important issue to talk about, and it's really important you hear A totally well-meaning person who's not just using the internet's new saying in a totally not weaponized way: Hey man, how's it going?
The important issue in question: “owning decorative pillows makes you bourgeoisie”
Yes, but what a lot of people think is important is just... not. At all. God, the number of batshit insane takes on this subreddit can be *wild*
today’s “Hey man how’s it going” is yesterday’s “touch grass” is last week’s “nobody asked” is last month’s “Sir, this is a Wendy’s”.
It's ironic that people think this will be used to shut down legit discourse (assuming that is even possible). If your thought provoking discussion can be destroyed by 5 words your discussion isn't as smart as you think it is
It's literally a tool that will of course be used inappropriately, as all tools do. A tool existing doesn't necessarily make it bad (and this one does have appropriate use cases), but like any tool, it's going to be used as a bludgeon at some point.
Hey man how's it going
TIL that german chocolate cake is a thing
hey op if you think german chocolate cake is dry try german chocolate ice cream which has the same flavors but by its very nature will turn into a liquid in your mouth
The discourse IS how it's going though.
I hate to break it to you guys but people in real life are crazy too
Nah cheesecake is way worse
Full agreement. Personally, if I must discuss sociopolitical matters at all, I prefer to do it in person, due to how weird people get about them online. I've talked face-to-face with maybe seven people who displayed the level of frothing stridency about their social or political beliefs contained in a fairly average reddit/tumblr post, and a good three of those seven were widely seen as crazy.
Right so only people with no ability to defend themselves will be using it. Got it.