@Em0nM4stodon word.

@Em0nM4stodon I think it's different if it's something about your physical appearance that you chose vs not chose.

@Em0nM4stodon I miss the days when mocking someone's appearance and speech could loose you an election:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chr%C3%A9tien_attack_ad

@Em0nM4stodon
(Whisper: the fat statues of Trump were really dumb.)

@Em0nM4stodon ok but like collectively a lot of the evil people in this world are for some reason bald or look super ugly which is a symptom of being evil.

@Em0nM4stodon to quote my mother: no one really objects to his actual policies, no one can be bothered reading them, they just hate the way he looks.

@Em0nM4stodon
When you find yourself in organizing circles and left friend groups that tends to disolve. At least in my experience 🫶

@Em0nM4stodon There was a painting from the 1800s, "la monstra," or in English, "The Monster."
It's a bit of a misnomer. The subject of the painting is a young woman of whom the worst I could say is that she has a slightly odd face and is overweight.
But to the Spanish nobility that commisioned the artwork? Endlessly horrified by her for some reason.

@Em0nM4stodon I mock people who wear suits and ties because they're tools of the system.

@Em0nM4stodon In theory I agree with you, Em. But in this era we are in, you have a rightwing movement/cult who place a huge emphasis on appearance. The way they kit themselves out (incl plastic surgery) is an essential part of their messaging. They offer it to us as a communication and for comment.
Noticing the "maralago face" which is an affectation, and done on purpose, is not the same as Trump mocking a disabled journalist.

@Em0nM4stodon

I agree for many reasons. Among them is it's a signing-to-the-choir type of venting. It's not persuading anyone. To those who don't already despise the subject of mockery, it comes across as petty and implies there's nothing more substantial to criticize.

Thought experiment: imagine someone you admire who happens to lack conventional good looks. Then imagine someone else mocking their physical appearance. Petty, right?

@Em0nM4stodon

People will never stop doing this, and I've put this into my large bin of "people in our society will never be better than this, so why bother." See e.g. Trump is fat, Trump is gay with Putin, etc.

@Em0nM4stodon

That's just something ugly people say.

/s
Ok seriously, I absolutely agree!!!!

@Em0nM4stodon
Agreed 💯 with one asterisk: when they alter their appearance to hide relevant truths (makeup on Trump’s hands) or threaten others (wearing hate symbols) or exude hypocrisy (like demanding traditional gender roles from us while breaking the rules for themselves)

That stuff is fair game I think. A choice was made and must be mocked….

@Em0nM4stodon That's been my stance for a long time, but...

Someone recently said they will relentlessly make fun of the fascists destroying the US right now because they don't care if you make fun of what they say or what they do or what they believe, but they might be bothered by making fun of their appearance.

I don't know if that's true, so I'm torn... because I'm in favor of anything that tears those bastards down.

@Em0nM4stodon

Not even when they wear orange "makeup" and the world's most deranged combover, and walk around with bruised hands, but say everything is fine?

I think it depends on the utility to which someone uses their looks, not just that they have them.

@Em0nM4stodon
Your expecting people to show moral maturity with critical thinking

@Em0nM4stodon
And don't call people Karen, or stereotype red-haired AKA ginger/carrot as fiery / short tempered.
Or Irish as more inclined to fight and be drunk.

@Em0nM4stodon Better to mock Maga, and they are so dumb they cannot talk back anyway :)

@Em0nM4stodon I haven't seen that behavior for while now. Thankfully. Doing so is looked down upon in my work environment and friend circles. People will look at you with disgust and distance themselves. It's not the cool thing to do.

@Em0nM4stodon While I agree completely, I find it notably hatd to live up to that ideal. And judging from the world around me, I'm not the only one.

I suspect it's hard wired in our monkey brain to measure every person (every creature, in fact) for how different we perceive them from ourselves, and deduct that difference from the value we assign to them, accordingly. Overcoming this takes conscious effort and constant vigilance against ones own impulses.

@Em0nM4stodon Been saying this for years. Drives me nuts.

@Em0nM4stodon Well said, Em!