OR:
I'm Going To Start a MyChem Tribute Band.
It's Called "A Bad Chemical Overreaction."

A few days ago, I was on YouTube and saw a video from a v-logger I follow by the name of The Archfiend. Archy is a rather vindictive, reactionary, and at times downright spiteful bastard, but that's what I like about him (not to mention I think it's ramped up a little for the camera). He's like what would happen if a conscience took on a human form and then took coaching lessons from a drill sergeant. Sure, he's persnickety and cantankerous, and I don't agree with every single thing he says, but I know he means well.

This most recent video was a response to an apology video from another user by the name of Thatsojack. The story goes that Thatsojack, a 15-year old YouTube partner, had not taken very kindly to news of a few videos made of him by other v-loggers that criticized his style of video. Thatsojack's plan of action was to enlist the help of his subscribers to visit the respective pages of these videos en masse and flag them for "bullying" or "promoting hatred or violence" in an effort to the videos being removed and/or the channels being suspended.

In response to this, a user by the name of CammehYaBams, made this video (NSFW, if you're reading this at work) [link]

This exercise in maturity brings me to to roughly two days ago. I went through my DevWatch and scrolled down to the bottom of the screen to see some new uploads, wherein I find a screenshot of Yoda from the Star Wars: Clone Wars television series. I mouse-over to see the title "Yoda Smiling" and start to wonder if it's actually a screenshot or not (it was sort of fuzzy, like an effects filter or maybe even a genuine paint program). So, next obvious step, I click on it and go to its page, where it's confirmed to be a screenshot (a very low-res one, hence the fuzziness) with the phrase "Star Wars belongs to Lucasfilm" which is not too far removed from "I OWN NOTHING!" and works about as well as a defense. Normally, I'd post an if/then comment pointing out this flaw (If it's not your own work, then don't post it), but someone already beat me to it, and even added a pair of FAQs about screenshots and crediting, all wrapped up with a remark about, "not doing yourself any favors" by posting other people's work and making excuses for why it's all right (in your mind) to post it there. It wasn't exactly a pick-me-up, but at least it didn't resort to name-calling.

We'll refer to the person who wrote this comment as Sage, because telling someone to do their own work seems like rather sage advice regardless of how harshly that advice is given. In other words, it wasn't just chastising someone, it was giving them a reason why. Brutal honesty is still honesty, and I've never subscribed to "Well, if it hadn't been so heavy-handed..." as an excuse for not doing the right thing or even taking something into consideration. Sometimes it's more important to look at what's being said than how it's being said. Anyway, after Sage's words hit the comment thread,

A White Knight appeared,

White Knight used "Don't be an @$$ (sic)" attack.

Sage counterattacked with "How is telling someone to do more original work being an ass?"

It's Super Effective.

Yes, I'm making Pokemon jokes. It's all I've got left, that's how repetitive this sort of exchange gets, not just this exchange with the White Knight, but what follows with the screenshot poster. I left that dialogue where it was, not feeling the need to jump in and look like a White Knight myself, and went looking in the poster's gallery, as Sage had actually mentioned liking one of her photographs. The gallery itself was fair, a few clever photos and some MSPaint scribbles, nothing special, but nothing to point and laugh at, either. The first upload, however, drew a little more attention not just because it was official artwork from Halo, and not just because it was used as a DevID, but because it had the "Print" icon below it.

Normally, seeing that throws me into a blind rage, and I give up on being civil. This time, however, I left this comment: "You realize you've enabled the "print sale" option, right? If it's not your work, then at the very least you shouldn't enable an option that allows you to make money off of it. An honest mistake, I'm sure, but it's the sort that can attract unwanted attention."

Today, I check back on the gallery, and I find it like this

To make things a little worse, I did some digging and found that she'd replied to my comment [link] (the deactivation removed it from my DevWatch, so I had to look in my Recent Activity to find the thread, funny how that works): "Thank you for the advice. i appreciate it" She also replied to Sage: "Sheesh i'm new here and i didn't know about how iangry it would make you guys just try and be nice ok? I'll take it off ok? Just leave me alone..."

This is a pattern I see so often in so many places that I'm left wondering if there's something wrong with me, or something wrong with the world. The best answer I seem to get is, "A little bit of both."

Off the top of my head and including the aforementioned events, I can think of at least five instances of someone reacting with significant immaturity and childishness to criticism. In these particular five instances, the person in question is between the ages of 14 and 16. I'm literally double the distance from birth that these kids are, which means my perspective on things is a bit skewed compared to theirs, if not totally bent. Let's ignore the potentially-obvious facts I'm often prone to bringing up in reference to my age, namely that websites such as DeviantART, YouTube, Facebook, and Wikipedia did not exist until after I graduated in 2000; social media is just another path up the same mountain, and I'm no stranger to stirring up controversy in a social environment. The point is, I didn't need the internet to understand or relate to what these kids are "going through," though I do have to stop and ask myself, "Would I have been any different were I in their spot?" and think long and hard about the answer. The fact is, chances are, I wouldn't. Even in college, I've screamed my head off and called certain people uncultured morons for criticisms leveled at some of my short films. In my defense, this backlash wasn't universal or constant, and I can give several examples where I've taken certain critiques and observations not just into consideration, but acted on them. Still, I made a bigger production of the "less valid" points than I should have. High School wasn't that much better (where I did video production and drama), but I like to think I learned from it, and, most importantly, I don't expect sympathy or even respect for how I felt at the time. I didn't deserve it then, and I don't see why I should extend such pandering niceties to those with similar character flaws now. I acted like a jackass and got treated like a jackass, simple as that.

We all make mistakes. We all screw up. What separates us is what we do AFTER the botch job. What happened today will hopefully stand as a learning experience for !Shepard117Halo wherever she is, and I hope that's not just wishful thinking on my part. Otherwise, all that's left is a textbook example of "Wasted Talent."