The Hierarchy of Disagreement. Learn it. Use it. Live it.

During the past year or so, upon returning from the hallowed halls of the Judicial System to the Wild West of Otakudom, I have been subjected to many arguments from people who think calling someone “GAY” is equivalent to scoring some sort of metaphysical point. Coming from a line of work where precision of argument is of the utmost importance, I would like to disabuse these people of their delusions.

Look at the scary Maslow-like diagram above. Don’t worry, it won’t bite. It is the Hierarchy of Arguments by Paul Graham. It is arranged from the least valid objections at the bottom to the most valid ones on top. The bottom 4 tiers contribute very little to the actual discourse. The top 3 are better, but don’t guarantee that a refutation is valid, they simply increase the probability that a counter-argument is sound.

Since the whole thing is a bit abstract at this point, let me illustrate using real-world examples.

1. Name-Calling. We all know what this is like. We don’t need to spend too much time on this one. Example: You’re a dirty old man pedophile fag slut. *highfives gang*

2. Ad Hominem. This appears to be another favorite. This is a step up from Name-Calling because the accusation may be relevant, but doesn’t actually address the argument directly. Example: Of course he would side with her. He’s a White Knight. Another example: What does he know, he bought his costume instead of making it himself.

A very popular response to name-calling and ad hominem attacks. And just about as valid as they are.

3. Responding to Tone. Finally we see a response to the actual debate, but not to the content. After all, it’s better to be flippant and right than respectful and wrong. Example: You might be right, but you shouldn’t be so arrogant about it. (Btw, I get this a lot for some reason. )

4. Contradiction. This is the lowest form of actual response to argument, where you state the opposite case without little or no supporting evidence, often combined with Responding to Tone statements. Example: I can’t believe you’re so snarky about cosplayers who don’t make their own costumes. Cosplayers who don’t make their own costumes are cosplayers too.

With the next 3 tiers we finally get arguments that address the actual issues.

5. Counterargument. This is the first form of convincing disagreement. This is contradiction plus evidence. Unfortunately sometimes counterarguments aim at a different point than the original argument, either unintentionally or through intellectual dishonesty. It’s common for two people to fire off counterarguments at each other when they actually agree on the central point, or for one person to use counterargument to perpetuate a disagreement that is already resolved. Example: You make a good point about her popularity as a community figure, but she’s a terrible role model for the young because she’s glorifying the objectification of the female form.

6. Refutation. This is the most convincing form of argument, where you find the mistake in the argument and then, often using quotes, directly show why the original speaker is mistaken. Example: You said that the Endless Eight episodes were filler episodes by KyoAni done as an attempt to save money for the movie. But if that was the case, they would have simply reused cels from previous episodes, and used the same recorded dialogue, instead of freshly animating and dubbing each new episode.

7. Refuting the Central Point. The strength of a refutation depends on which point you refute. Many people prefer to refute peripheral arguments of their opponent instead of honing in on the very thesis of their argument, the very point he or she is trying to make, and then demolishing it with evidence and quotation. Example: You explicitly said at a public forum that “people who wear costumes for pay are not cosplayers, but models,” speaking on behalf of real cosplayers. But didn’t you also receive remuneration for wearing your very finely self-crafted costume that one time? Your status as a cosplayer is beyond doubt, of course, but doesn’t that leave your original statement in shambles?

Is that much clearer now, children? However, like I said above, just because your argument is higher up on the pyramid is no guarantee that that argument is correct. We do not deal in certainties. What it does do, however, is indicate a higher probability that the argument is valid.

So feel free to ignore arguments from the bottom 4 from now on, okay?

Hey, here’s something fun you can all try: Let’s look at debates involving our favorite fandom, and try to find out from which tier each speaker is coming from. It’ll shed a lot of light on how they think. So… where should we begin? Any suggestions?

[The above image is from CreateDebate, an awesome site you should check out if you're at all interested in being a more effective debater. Read the original essay by Paul Graham here.]

(If you haven’t already done so, please lend a hand either by volunteering at your nearest relief centers or by donating to any of the organizations on the list in my previous entry. There are still people who need help, so let’s do everything we can.)

It’s easy to ignore someone else’s plight, or to inflict cruelty on someone, once you learn to dehumanize them.

First thing that comes to mind of course is how some people have behaved during this ongoing crisis from Typhoon Ondoy. It’s easy to laugh at people’s suffering if you see them as ‘sinners’ or ‘masses’ or ‘dumb celebrities’.

But this extends to all areas of our lives. How often have we tagged people with a label to hide their human faces? I sound like a broken record at this point, I know, but it’s only a cliche because it’s true. Jologs vs. Konyos. Barok vs. Nosebleed. Otaku vs. Normals. Muslims vs. Christians. The Majority vs. The Minority. INC vs. Ang Dating Daan. We pick the worst individuals of an entire group and then we generalize their behavior based on that one exemplar.

For every blind zealot, there is someone open to dialogue, someone willing to meet you halfway.

We have to learn to shut up, listen, and pay attention.

They might need our help. Or we might need theirs. Let’s not let pride get in the way of understanding. Or charity.

Our heroes, our true heroes, not our government-sanctioned ones, see faces, not groups. They see fellow human beings. They see that to lay down your life to save another person is greater than to let the ‘faceless mob’ starve so we can feast.

They see the value of service is greater than the value of being served.

So in whose hands would you rather leave your fate? The self-glorifying, or the self-sacrificing? People who treat us like faceless statistics, or people who see us as people worth dying for?

Lelouch Vi Britannia commands it!

I’ve had an exciting couple of days, haven’t I? First my Otaku Taiki comments page bursts into flames, and then I get accused of stirring up trouble.

All because I had the poor judgment to ask questions.

There’s an order to things, here, see? People who ask too many questions get in trouble. Keep your head down. Don’t ask any questions. Accept things the way they are.

But I asked too many questions.

I came back to the community a blank slate, with few preconceptions about how things work, which groups were active, what was considered proper decorum and what wasn’t. I met with as many people as I could, with an open and inquisitive mind. I noted the differing opinions of people on the hobby, started to develop an opinion of my own.

All I had was my love of the hobby itself and my fervent hope that someday I would cosplay at a con without it looking like I just pulled a few clothes out of my closet and hoped for the best. I still feel that way. But the hope keeps getting dimmer and dimmer.

What is it about cosplay that makes people want to crucify you for not taking sides? Oh right, I asked too many questions.

I’ve kept my head above the controversy, without rushing to take sides. I sincerely hope that people aren’t saying I should control my readers’ opinions, moderate out the more vocal comments. I’ve invited free speech on my blog to the point of having to weather personal insults without sinking to the level of my detractors or censoring them. But does it follow that I share the opinions of everyone who posts in my blog?

Why are people so quick to assume I’m causing trouble, or taking sides? Why put words in my mouth?

Oh right.

I asked too many questions.

If I hear the word costripper one more time you know where I'm putting this leek.

I’m talking to the cosplayers in the crowd, the so-called ‘costrippers’, the ones who dress up because they enjoy it, not because of the contests or attention-seeking.

They lied to you.

And by they I’m talking about the smug, snarky hosts who aren’t even in costume, the organizers of these media events who have stolen your precious word away from you — COSPLAY — and have replaced it with the word COSTRIP, that you have to explain to everyone that what you do has nothing to do with taking your clothes off.

You are cosplayers. End of story.

Everywhere else in the world, cosplay refers to people who are playing. In costume. In short, people who are having fun just being in costume. Here you are relegated to “Costrip” because everyone knows what cosplaying is and it should refer to the competition-ready cosplayers only.

Heck, not even the competition cosplayers think of you as “just costrippers”, just all cosplayers. It’s a media-invented phrase, insinuating that you’re not playing, trip no lang mag-cosplay. Wala lang.

And then this monstrous phrase from Metro Comic Con 2009 — “Registered Costrippers”. Kamina help us! Now you have to register just to stand around in costume, in case you win an award! Well they can take their awards and stick it!

Take it back! Take the word back for yourselves!

Refuse to be called this abomination called ‘costripper’ any more!

You are all cosplayers!

Now go out and play!

EDIT: Magnetic Rose has a lucid and informative discussion on the etymology of the word ‘costrip’ on her blog! Check it out!

Everybody has an opinion. This is mine.

Let me tell you a story.

Several years ago, I was part of a local alliance of gamers, who aimed to evangelize the glories of tabletop role-playing games to as many people as possible. Debates raged about bringing RPGs into the mainstream, what events to hold to reach a wider audience.

I did not agree with any of these initiatives. And I still don’t today. Because tabletop RPGs are a niche hobby, and they always will be.

The current conventions, whether they’re ostensibly comic or cosplay or anime or toy conventions, are all fine for what they really are — platforms for mainstream marketing. That’s right. They aren’t for the otaku, the hardcore fans of whatever genre we specialize in. Cosplay contests are for the non-otakus, who invariably vote for the flashiest costume or the ones they recognize from whatever movie-remake-of-an-80s-cartoon-they-never-actually-watched-religiously just came out. Comic cons focus on superheroes that have Hollywood blockbusters under their belt. Anime conventions focus on whatever is on network TV. And why not? The sponsors all want to market to as many people as possible, and the organizers want to sell as many tickets as they can. Well-known scene celebrities become shills for commercial purposes, and the disgruntled hardcore fans usually do nothing but sputter furiously from the dark moldy corners.

I repeat: Local conventions aren’t for Otaku.

Think about Akiba itself for a moment. Every Sunday, they close off the main street and people who want to show up in costume simply do so. No contests, no shows for the pointing-and-laughing public, just people who like dressing up hanging out with other people who like dressing up.

The indie comic creators were marginalized at the Metro Comic Con 2009 because it wasn’t for them. It was for the general public. They, bless their otaku hearts, are people passionate enough to create something they want to share with other people — and they want to share with people who care about the craft as much as they do. Real fanatics. Real otaku. These people want a Comiket, not a marketing platform for cellphones and bland remakes.

Someday we’ll be brave enough to have really focused cons, like a Star Trek Con for real Trekkies, or a Firefly Con for real Browncoats, or even a Cosplay Con where people who aren’t in costume aren’t allowed to come in and make fun of the real cosplay otaku. Real conventions where people who aren’t ‘with it’ simply have no place. Someday we won’t pander to the monoculture, hoping that one day drawing comics for a living or dressing up as anime characters or rolling polyhedrons will be as socially acceptable as knowing which celebrity is pregnant with so-and-so baby. You know, stuff that matters to the mainstream, to the people who worry about ‘common sense’ and ‘appealing to a broader audience’. To the NOT US.

But until then, we’ll be like gourmets who have nowhere to eat except fast food joints. We’ll be at conventions that bear the names of our hobbies but have no place for us, that don’t want us there. We’ll be coming to events that are supposed to foster the sense of community with people who share our interests, and wonder why we don’t know anyone there.

So. What are we going to do about it?

Most people who aren’t pirate fans themselves tend to be confused at the enthusiasm and gusto with which pirate otaku throw themselves into the part. (For the sake of clarity, I am referring to the “Yo ho hoist the colors” type of pirate, not the “Burn fake DVDs with torrents off the Internet and sell in bazaars” kind.)

For starters, pirates tend to have bad teeth and bad breath. Jack Sparrow could knock out a man by breathing on him. It’s true!

Pirates also tend to be extremely unreliable as allies. “Keep to the Code” from the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy simply meant “Every man for himself,” which is why the crew left Jack Sparrow behind, after he fell behind — and as everyone who’s seen the movie knows, he fell behind because Will Turner, pirate-in-the-making, double-crossed him by knocking him out with an oar. Mostly because Jack was going to double-cross him by turning him over to Barbossa. Ah, pirates.

A man walks down the street in that hat, people know he's not afraid of anything.

Another treacherous pirate, this one from a spaceship, is Jayne Cobb from Firefly, which is essentially the space cowboy pirate show. (This also explains why I love it so much.) When Malcolm Reynolds, captain of the Firefly-class transport (and space pirate ship) Serenity first asked him why he didn’t turn them all over to the Feds to claim the reward, Jayne replied, “The pay wasn’t good enough.” When Mal asked, “What happens when it is?” Jayne simply replied, “Well… that’ll be an interesting day.” And it sure was.

Then there’s the matter of being wanted by the authorities. Sometimes for questioning, other times to be hung, keelhauled, drawn and quartered, shot, thrown to the sharks, or whatever punishment imposed by the law for disrupting the lawful commerce of goods, such as sugar, cotton, tobacco, and slaves. And we can’t have the slave trade disrupted now, can we? Wouldn’t be civilized!

Then, of course, there’s the perils of the sea (or of space) itself. The hull could be breached and everyone could drown (or suffocate, whichever is applicable). The ship could be becalmed (or run out of gas). Nasty sea monsters (or space monsters) look at your ship and decide it’s snacktime. And there are always other pirates out there greedily rubbing their mitts at your ship and your booty.

So why do it at all? Freedom.

There is a scene in the first Pirates movie where Captain Jack Sparrow and Miss Swann are stranded on a desert island, drunk on rum. After a round of pirate drinking songs (“And really bad eggs…”) they collapse on the sand, and the Captain explains to Miss Swann what a ship is.

"And really bad eggs..."

“Wherever we want to go, we’ll go. That’s what a ship is, you know. It’s not just a keel and a hull and a deck, and sails, that’s what a ship needs. But what a ship is, what the Black Pearl really is…is freedom.”

Perhaps being inebriated in the movie theater had something to do with it, but what Captain Jack Sparrow said at that moment really resonated with me. It was probably the booze since I was taking advice from a fictional pirate, come to think of it.

But this isn’t just some vague idea of “the pirate’s life.” Historically, pirate ships were run as democracies, more free and egalitarian than many of the land-based societies of the time, most of which afforded no upward mobility beyond the station or class which you were born into. Pirate captains were elected by majority vote, and were overthrown and marooned by majority vote, too. And everyone got a share of the booty.

Sure, a pirate’s life was hard, often “poor, nasty, brutish and short,” as the philosopher Hobbes stated about life in the state of nature. (As opposed to the tiger Hobbes, who said “I don’t know which is worse: that everyone has his price, or that the price is so low.“)

Well, guilty. But at least they were free lives.

Big Damn Heroes.

So what does space pirate Malcolm Reynolds have to say about the subject of freedom? Let’s give the captain the last word:

“I tell you, Zoe, we get a mechanic, get her up and running again, hire a good pilot, maybe a cook…live like real people. A small crew – them’s as feel a need to be free. Take jobs as they come. Ain’t never have to be under the heel of nobody never again. No matter how long the arm of the Alliance might get, we’ll just get ourselves a little further.”

“…Get her running again?”

“Yeah.”

“So, not running now?”

“Not so much.”

I was reading through my RSS feeds this morning when I found a spectacularly awesome (read: insane and scary) website  called godhatesgoths.com. (Thank you MakeUseOf!)

According to the Rev. R.G. Green, “Goths are more dangerous to children than pedophiles.” Considering the fact that I have quite a few goth and loligoth friends, I needed to check out this very important and very timely warning. (And by ‘very important and very timely’, what I really mean is, ‘very dumb and very irresponsible’.)

The site goes on to say that “While all sub-cultures are inherently bad [!!!], goth is the worst of these sub-cultures.” Oh crap. I’m a member of so many sub-cultures! Am I inherently bad multiplied by the number of sub-cultures I belong to? I must be… Superbad!

Frightened by the state of my immortal soul, I checked his handy-dandy list of WHO might belong to this evil sub-culture:

(more…)