the Guy and I had a talk about WoW last night. He said the same thing you did. I made the distinction that, while yes, I am picking my battles, WoW is a world where you are killing things that are not even remotely real. I do not see void walkers and undead rogues in my day to day meandering. My traveling buddies also do not have the option of ressing me from the dead, and I can not use my manna to drain the soul out of buccaneers. In this instance, I really am dealing in a fantasy world, one that is not not mirroring society, as the developers and marketers of GTA are.

I am glad that my lower educated brain (not a snark, a fact) can cause you to see things in a different light, or that my words can change the way you would react. I totally enjoy your presence here.

I will try to find something worthy to write so you may rant then too, though, in my defense, I will have some wee distractions in house for the next week *SQUEEEE*, so you will understand if i don’t deliver.

FWIW, Da Guai sent me a comment at Facebook telling me that he was trying to make a point that you did, but that you said it better.

Most humor is based on inequalities and preconceptions, i.e. differences and stereotypes. Some I find dizzyingly hilarious, especially jokes about geeks, gamers, goths, hillbillies, rednecks, whites, college students, mathematicians and scientists. I’ve been all of those things and know which stereotypes are correct, which are false, and why the differences can be amusing. Some humor I find offensive to the point of violence. Jokes about sensitive subjects like rape, child abuse, hate crimes, etc.

I tend to overestimate the intelligence of the ‘average person’, because I’m an elitist. Average people read my rants and will miss the point if I make the rhetoric too thick or the chain of logic less that explicit. And if I get too hot under the collar people read the words but not the message. The more I read Ouyand Dan’s words the less inclided I am to make a snarky retort and the more likely I am to think about why she is writing them.

For me it almost always comes down to an issue of education. In cultures without certain types of disparity specific jokes cannot be translated, because it’s no longer a joke, its a sad story without a punchline. Sexism drives a number of jokes in English in the States that don’t work in Hindi in the Punjab province, because the culture and area lack some of the same stereotypes. Americans are not being taught how to think for themselves, and to be respectful and tolerant of the differences between individuals and peoples. Part of that is failure is the fault of parents, part of schools, and part of society for turning a blind eye to how people are treated vs. how all people should be treated, regardless of differences.

Next week on CraigsRants, sex offenders and the justice department. Stay Tuned to Random Babble.