reply to post by Mad_Hatter
. I feel like one's avatar should not be judged just as you would not walk up to a person on the street and start juding them for what they
wear or tell them to put another shirt on. It's simply an expression of individuality
I notice I've kind of routinely been responding to the avatars . . . uhhhh given my profession and bent and what the thread topic is, I guess.
IF folks prefer that I didn't, I hope they let me know before I get to theirs! LOL. I do scan the end of the thread before returning to respond to
the next post in sequence. But I might miss such a request. NO offense intended, please.
I have a comment about the above quote, though.
I don't know what to do with "should not be judged."
That's nonsensical to me.
Everything we do which others observe and are aware of is AUTOMATICALLY JUDGED. Everything.
That's what perceptions and sorting perceptions and weighing perceptions is all about. IF WE DIDN'T we'd be IMMOBILIZED by a hurricane flood of
data all treated equally important and equally valid and equally demanding of our attention. We could not function.
And, I think that it's kind of super nonsensical to put a lot of effort into selection and design of an avatar--at some level--putting it out there
for all and sundry to view and form opinions about, have feelings about--REACTIONS TO--and then to claim such "shouldn't be judged."
One can say that the live-long day. Won't hinder 100% of the viewers from judging it consciously and unconsciously. It's human. It's automatic.
Now what they SAY/WRITE about their feelings, perceptions, judgments of the avatar is a whole 'nother ball of wax.
However, I think if one wanted to avoid all judgments about one's avatar, one would avoid having an avatar, at all. Or, one would choose a super
neutral inoffensive, benign image--realizing that even that would be offensive to some folks.
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The issue of walking up to folks on the street and judging and communicating those judgments immediately about their clothing is . . . a huge stretch
from viewing avatars on an anonymous NON-FACE TO FACE medium where on the whole avatars are DESIGNED to elicit judgments and strong responses.
Otherwise, folks wouldn't bother choosing, designing and posting them.
I don't know of anyone who spends hours, if not days designing and choosing an avatar, spends the points and then sits back and says . . .
"THERE. I hope NO ONE notices my avatar, at all."
That wouldn't be sensible, at all.
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I don't know quite what to do with "It's simply an expression of individuality."
In our INDIVIDUAL GLORIFYING culture . . . there's little simple about expxressions of individuality.
And, here, on ATS, individuality seems to have been taken to a new low for anarchy far too often. Individuality seems to be most glorified hereon when
it's poking long pointy sticks in other members' eyes, hearts, sensibilities because the other members aren't PERCEIVED BY THE WRITER to be as
bright, scientific, clever at ferreting out hoaxers, hip, gothic, . . . whatever the current 'in' adjectives might be.
The above phrase SEEMS like it's designed to say:
ALL EXPRESSIONS OF INDIVIDUALITY ARE WONDERFUL AND MUST NOT INVOLVE ANY ASSESSMENT by others or ACCOUNTABILITY to others AT ALL.
Welllllllllllllllllll, excuse me. If an axe murderer is rushing toward my family swinging wildly and screaming about his wonderful expression of
individuality--I'll quickly and forcefully beg to differ.
Society CANNOT FUNCTION without accountability.
The NWO folks have been shredding it quite successfully on that score for decades--by their design.
On the whole, I'm a great fan of individuality. I'm probably one of the more unique birds of rare plumage that most people who know me have ever
met. I don't have a lot of choice about it. It's my genetics plus environment plus choices and conditionings along the way. It's my existential
thrownness.
On the other hand, individuality that is not meaningly and effectively communicated to other individuals in mutually satisfying ways can quickly
become a very stifling, deadly, dull, rut of a prison of one.
imho, My 2 cents, of course.
I do much appreciate your post and the trigger i provided for the above pontification. No offense intended toward you as a person, at all.