Of Crayons And Creation
When two perceived authorities stand on opposite sides of an issue
We are all angry at everything right now, and the gaming and streaming world is at the tip of the spear for many issues. The current justified outrage around SayNoToRage, BSK, Orange Justice, and other horrible people has opened everyone up to just being hurt and angry about everything.
So this brings us to memes. Specifically, in the Destiny 2 community the never-ending joke that Titans eat crayons. (Which we do. They taste wonderful.) Suddenly, that meme has negatively connected itself to to the autism spectrum because someone said it hurt their feelings
Suddenly in our rush to help people feel better, we jump to fix even the smallest of bruised feelings with sweeping statements and judgements and calls for everyone to just do better.
We hear these calls from those we have anointed as worthy of our respect because of how they make us feel. That’s where Isa Kole and Matt of Myelin Games enter the picture.
Opposing Authorities
Isa Kole is a wonderful human who brings light and laughter with her various Twitter accounts Shaxx Motivation and Bad Destiny Joke. She has inspired and supported many people in their growth process. Did I mention she has some of the Bungie devs on DMs? Not a bad thing, and often a very, very good thing because she can communicate important information to the right people.
She stands on the side of ending the crayon eater memes and jokes. It all started with THIS TwitLonger on June 22, 2020. The was followed up by Bungie stating they will not perpetuate this meme anymore in THIS tweet.
All good right? Doing good things, making life better, and moving forward.
Until Matt from Myelin Games decided to stand on the opposite side of this. Along with many others who felt like this was a major overreach, Matt expressed how no one he worked with saw the connection, and that somehow 20 people had become the directing voice for an entire community.
The Real Issue At Hand
I’m not here to adjudicate this issue with anyone. Instead, I see deeper into our need as people to cite authority to justify our positions, and on top of that, our need to be vile and disgusting to people with whom we disagree.
Isa Kole is seen as a major community member who often guides trends, originates memes, and inspires other with her content. Matt does as well. His Destiny 2 lore videos are amazingly produced. Each has their authority. Isa built hers through the love of a community and her awesome creativity. Matt has a PhD and has worked with autistic children on top of his work within the Destiny 2 community.
Who is right?
It doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t. This speaks directly to our need to ceede our opinions to a higher power, and when two authority figures disagree on something like this it throws us for a loop.
We need to belong somewhere with people who think like we do. It’s a base human need that won’t change, and now we are working through the cognitive dissonance of two of our perceived leaders having differing opinions.
More confusion on top of more confusion. We are reaching a breaking point with protests, not having our jobs, SNTR being an idiot for a long time and Bungie even knowing about it, BSK, Orange Justice, Contacting, and others. Can’t we just have something familiar? Or does our entire world have to burn down so others can feel better?
I’m not here to answer that for you. It’s your turn to do your own thinking.
I also see into the fact that we are at a very raw point as a community. We have let some people down in a very big way and the community is attempting to come back together around common joy and love for something. The crayon eater meme is one of those.
Does it hurt some people? Of course. There is nothing which makes everyone feel good 100% of the time.
Let’s Organize The House
Another issue revolves around the fact that we get mad at people who disagree with us. Often we do so to the point where we call each other names, and assign disgusting labels to them to the point it drives them away.
SO STOP BEING A GIANT ASSHAT WHEN YOU DISAGREE WITH SOMEONE. It’s entirely possible to state that you disagree, or better yet, not say anything and just disconnect. This is NOT an issue of huge societal importance that you must die on this hill.
My position: I will continue to use the crayon eater joke. It’s funny and brings a laugh to those I have on my fireteam and my stream. If it costs me my place in the Redjack Network, so be it. I can respectfully disagree with Isa Kole and not be a dick about it. Besides, her clan is her playground which means her rules prevail.
Share your thoughts, please. If you disagree, explain why without being a total moron about it. Does it offend you? Ok, great, but we can all still love this game, play together, and have the respect it takes to not be mean to each other.
Bill The Conquerer is an esports executive having worked with four start ups. He streams on Twitch and makes other useful content on his YouTube channel. Stop by and say hello.
