Pimpcron: Warhammer Can Counter Politics
Pimpcron does NOT discuss actual politics in this article; you’re safe.
Welcome to another edition of Pimpcron’s Philosophy Corner. Today, we are going to tackle how wargaming can show you the true self of your wargaming buddies.
I Have Two Friends
Well, I actually have way more than that, I’m like a totally rad dude. You are all my friends, right? Sure you are, and I have at least, at least twelve readers. That’s why I have so many kids, because making new friends is harder than making new kids. And even if they find me insufferable, they still have to love me. OR ELSE!
I have two friends that are literal polar opposites politically. Unfortunately I am “friends” with both of them on that cesspool of politics known as Facebook. I scroll down and find pro-this or pro-that nonsense from the one, and then a couple flicks of the finger reveal anti-this and anti-that from the other. If a bystander looked at both of their posts, they’d say “Gee, I don’t think they get along.” And he’d say that because my theoretical bystander is kind of a master of understatement. And I’d look at him blankly, incredulous that he’d even think that was worth saying, and reply, “… yeah.”
[Photo hilariously unrelated.]
God help them if they ever got into a political argument, they would probably call each other every name in the book, and really hate each other. They’d look at each other as stupid, or fascist, or a “sheeple” or any other assortment of names to paint each other in negative light for not agreeing with their point of view. I’ve seen both of them post some non-facts about the other party, and both of them are guilty of posting totally dyed-in-the-wool political talking points.
But Here’s The Catch
These two guys are super, super nice guys. They both have families and love their children, they both are good to their spouses, and they are both the first people to drop everything and help you if you need a hand. Literally two of the first people to offer help with my convention Shorehammer last year were these two. If you post a picture of a model you just painted, they are quick to give a good comment and a like. Never a bad word or negative comment comes from them, and they are always supportive of their friends’ personal events like baby videos, graduations, etc.
So I stand here and look at these two talk to each other calmly over lists they’ve built, or new releases they’re excited for, I can’t help but laugh. Because if they were talking politics, they would hate each other and call each other names as they trigger each other with talking points.
“So then I said, ‘No, you’re the stupid’. And then he saw my side of things.”
So which is it? Are they terrible, brain-washed, narrow-minded sheeple for their respective political dogmas? Or are they loving husbands and fathers who are always willing to help a friend?
The Truth Is …
Despite what they may claim or post of Facebook, I judge people on their actions instead of words. (That’s why I hate the Kool-Aid Man) And from what I’ve seen is that both of them are great people. Sure, they may not see eye to eye on social topics or policies, but when they are at the Warhammer table, they are just people with a shared hobby.
So if they are both great people, then this must all be a misunderstanding. I can’t possibly see these two people as nice people on the outside, but horribly evil people on the inside. Here’s what I think the truth is: they both want what is best for humanity, the budget, and each other. But they have different ideas of what is “best” and different ideas on how to achieve it. If we all took a minute to look at our radical fellow wargamers and saw just how cool they are, we could start fixing things for the better.
It has been said that there is no true evil in the world, only shellfishness and ignorance. Which seems kind of unfair to shellfish, because how can they change what they are? Oops. Ya know, on second thought it seems more fitting to use the word selfishness. Oohhhhh! Selfishness. Now that sentence makes a lot more sense to me after all these years. In all honesty I was planning on just glossing over the first part and focusing on the ignorance.
Man, I hate when a bad word pun gets in the way of philosophy.
Any-who, we have to start understanding that there is more than one side to a person. I’ve discussed before that our stereotyping is a tool that our brain uses to understand and classify our world (even if it is poorly used and hurts people). But sometime we have to sit back and say to ourselves, “well, he is total rube online, but gee in person he’s a sweetheart.” Then chuckle that we called our big burly friend a sweetheart.
So come on guys, we may see different views on what is “best” and may have different preferred paths. But until we realize that the other one isn’t just simply an evil sheeple, we will continue to get what we’ve gotten. Off the top of my head: war, bad things, Serenity cancelled, nasty stuff, poverty, and Lil’ Wayne. You don’t want your children to grow up with more Lil’ Waynes, do you? I didn’t think so.
Wargaming can help show up that we are mostly good people, if we take the time to look.
Well, most of us except Tau players.
Tell me how terrible Tau players are in the comments, and how they don’t deserve your respect or friendship!
Countdown until someone is accused of being a Nazi in 3 … 2 …
