Avatar: The Last Airbender + Legend of Korra

If you could choose what kind of Bender you'd be. What element would you choose?

  • Waterbender

    Votes: 20 29.9%

  • Earthbender

    Votes: 13 19.4%

  • Firebender

    Votes: 22 32.8%

  • Airbender

    Votes: 10 14.9%

  • Non-Bender

    Votes: 2 3.0%
  • Total voters
    67
ernesth100 said:
I decided to be straight because I saw that girls were attractive.
Just like a gay man might decide he thinks men are attractive thus he is gay.
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No, you didn't choose to think girls are attractive: that is just how your brain works.

What makes people gay is their DNA mapping out in a way that resulted in them feeling attraction to members of the same sex instead of the opposite sex (or in addition to the opposite sex, for bisexuals; or, for asexuals, not feeling attraction and/or the inclination to breed with either sex). As with most behavioural stuff, there almost certainly isn't one single "gay gene", and human sexuality in general is a sliding scale, suggesting there's numerous genes and probably epigenetics at work determining how our brains are wired. But it's not a choice, and straight people don't become gay - any changes in orientation are either them discovering more about themselves, or natural changes in preference due to more complicated brain stuff that could still potentially be boiled down to science and nature.

Also, fun fact: homosexuality and bisexuality does occur in animals. For example, check out the Bonobos - the hippies of the ape world.

Genji said:
Ghost Jam said:
No, no, no, not hide or censor, didn't mean that. I'm not for the opposite extreme of shoving it in their face, which I find a lot of parents doing these days. Let'em figure the start out on their own, that half step past "I know my parents are married, but what does that actually mean", then step in and ask if they have questions.
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So I'm going to ask this just for the sake of clarification:

Since this debate was originally about Legend of Korra, do you feel that the show had content that shoved romance in people's faces? Because as it seems now, ernesth100 appears to be calling for exactly that censorship you just now distanced yourself from. Quoting his post and saying "I agree" is sending a mixed message.
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Just gonna say, I also agree with the "don't shove romance down kids' throat stance" in general, and I think that's what Ghost Jam was agreeing with as well, rather than with ernesth100 specifically using that argument as he hastily backpedalled from all the backlash he got over his homophobia. Ghost Jam's made it clear he's supportive of Korrasami, and so have I, since I think the benefits of them as a couple outweigh the benefits of not having the lead hook up with someone for a change (plus, I think they have a nice dynamic).

Anyway, as for kids stuff being oversexed, that's definitely a thing I've always had a pet peeve with. Like, name a classic Disney film that didn't end in the leads hooking up. And while it's not as prevalent, lots of shows have the leads ending up as a couple even though the first season or two was purely platonic, which always pisses me off so much. It reminds me of when I was in kindergarten, I even became convinced that I HAD to end up with my best dude friend, and tried to force myself to have a crush on him, but I couldn't, and wisely gave up after one anonymous love letter (which he thought was a funny joke anyway) and continued liking him as a friend.

But on the other hand, kids do get crushes, so banishing all romance from kids shows seems too extreme, and shows about teens and young adults would seem a bit unrealistic without at least romance plots in the mix. But I definitely could do without romance being in the forefront as much as it is in media aimed at kids: Aang's crush on Katara always felt forced, and the love triangle was definitely the weakest aspect of season 1 and 2 of Korra, but by 3 and 4, they found a good balance between romance plots and platonic stuff. Plus, the latter's about teens and 20-somethings, not kids, and is aimed at an older youth audience (and above), so w/e, as I said, I'm cool with how it ended.
 
Thanks for existing, Walkazo.

After he said that I temporarily devolved into a puddle of frustrated rage, and nothing I said would've been as calm or rational as what you just did.
 
Indeed, that was very rational of him. Okay, I will continue to be homophobic. But I will not bring it up anywhere anymore Internet or Real Life. I'll just keep it to myself.
 
Walkazo said:
Just gonna say, I also agree with the "don't shove romance down kids' throat stance" in general, and I think that's what Ghost Jam was agreeing with as well, rather than with ernesth100 specifically using that argument as he hastily backpedalled from all the backlash he got over his homophobia. Ghost Jam's made it clear he's supportive of Korrasami, and so have I, since I think the benefits of them as a couple outweigh the benefits of not having the lead hook up with someone for a change (plus, I think they have a nice dynamic).
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Yeah, I know. I was just asking for clarification to eliminate potential misconceptions. Like

ernesth100 said:
Holy crap someone agrees with me!
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I'm probably just paranoid, but sometimes these things can be read the wrong way and sway a debate into unpleasantness for the misunderstood. I know Ghost Jam has been supportive of the subject and didn't want him to get lumped together with anything else currently coming from ernesth100's direction.
 
ernesth100 said:
I feel so...mean.
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Good, you should!

You just told every non-heterosexual person on this forum that you don't view them as equals worthy as the same treatment as you (and most of the rest of the world) a heterosexual, receive.

ps walkazo is a grill
 
goddamn post conflicts - I'm not rewriting this one tho

ernesth100 said:
I feel so...mean.
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Well yeah, hating people for things they can't control about themselves is pretty mean. So...

ernesth100 said:
Indeed, that was very rational of him. Okay, I will continue to be homophobic. But I will not bring it up anywhere anymore Internet or Real Life. I'll just keep it to myself.
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Instead of just hiding the fact that you're a misguided bigot, why don't you instead work on not being a homophobe. If you can bring yourself to be accepting of homosexuality and is presence in the world, in the media, and in your life (if you're telling the truth about your aunt and your friend's brother), instead of thinking it as somehow wrong, then you won't have a reason to feel mean.

Also:
*her
 
Walkazo said:
goddang post conflicts - I'm not rewriting this one tho

ernesth100 said:
I feel so...mean.
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Well yeah, hating people for things they can't control about themselves is pretty mean. So...

ernesth100 said:
Indeed, that was very rational of him. Okay, I will continue to be homophobic. But I will not bring it up anywhere anymore Internet or Real Life. I'll just keep it to myself.
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Instead of just hiding the fact that you're a misguided bigot, why don't you instead work on not being a homophobe. If you can bring yourself to be accepting of homosexuality and is presence in the world, in the media, and in your life (if you're telling the truth about your aunt and your friend's brother), instead of thinking it as somehow wrong, then you won't have a reason to feel mean.

Also:
*her
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Eh, I'll try but to be honest I don't see improvement anytime in the near future.
 
ernesth100 said:
Eh, I'll try but to be honest I don't see improvement anytime in the near future.
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Because not treating people as sub-human is too hard, so eh, screw it.
 
Genji said:
Ghost Jam said:
No, no, no, not hide or censor, didn't mean that. I'm not for the opposite extreme of shoving it in their face, which I find a lot of parents doing these days. Let'em figure the start out on their own, that half step past "I know my parents are married, but what does that actually mean", then step in and ask if they have questions.
Click to expand...

So I'm going to ask this just for the sake of clarification:

Since this debate was originally about Legend of Korra, do you feel that the show had content that shoved romance in people's faces? Because as it seems now, ernesth100 appears to be calling for exactly that censorship you just now distanced yourself from. Quoting his post and saying "I agree" is sending a mixed message.
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The part I specifically quoted as sort of (and I used "sort of" as a qualifier, as I was sure he or others would take my statement of agreement as a blanket agreement with the rest of his position) agree with was just about kids not needing to worry about it yet, less about censorship. Honestly, Walkazo got what I was trying to say right on the nose.

As for the show itself, I don't think it was very forced in it's romance. Korrasami seems a bit tacked on in some ways (and the writers blog seems to support that), but nothing horribly overt.
 
Genji said:
ernesth100 said:
Eh, I'll try but to be honest I don't see improvement anytime in the near future.
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Because not treating people as sub-human is too hard, so eh, screw it.
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I treat gays like people in person. But I also try to mentally block out the fact that they're gay.
 
So let me get this straight: you are openly acknowledging that you are bigoted. You for a fact that any arguments you have for this are wrong, that you have an irrational fear and disgust for gay people- and you don't want to change anything about this? You're claiming you feel guilty, but you're also saying you don't want to do anything to change?
 
Well, I think a good start would be apologizing for treating me and quite a few others in this thread like we're unequal to you because we're not straight.

Try to understand that people are different: not everyone's going to be like you.

I mean, you're black- you should understand this concept very well. There are millions of people, with different combinations of personal beliefs, life experiences, racial backgrounds, physical appearances, romantic inclinations and sexual attractions.

You are but one of many. So are we.

We're people, too. Above all, just try to remember that about people that're unfamiliar, different or strange to you: they all live, feel, think and breathe, just the same as you.

LBTQA+ people are all, well, people. Just like you, they deserve to be treated with respect and dignity and to have certain rights.

Just think of the golden rule: treat others how you want to be treated. I highly doubt you want to be ostracized, bullied, isolated and legally stripped of your rights because of your sexuality.

So don't lump yourself in with that. You know, in Uganda, if you come out as gay, you can be executed. You can literally be killed for something you were never given any choice in the matter of, for something that doesn't negatively effect anyone else.

Homophobia means that people worldwide are discriminated against and killed for not being straight. It means not-straight teenagers are bullied and isolated and start harming themselves or commit suicide because their peers, families or both won't accept them for who they are.

Don't be a part of that. You don't have to go out and become a gay pride activist, but don't contribute to the mentality that some people are inherently made inferior.
 
In the words of our great savior, Uniju, "Its ok as long as you understand".

You were a bit of a dick, but as long as you accept that and work to improve it, you're cool in my book.

Human nature dictates that we have an inherent, instinctual fear of that which is different from us. It's why racism and homophobia exist. Fear of the unknown exists at the core of humanity, and it can be held at least partially responsible for almost every awful thing in human history.

Try to disregard that. It's a little tough to shake it off, but I believe in you. If you're capable of accepting when you've done something wrong, that means you're capable of improving yourself for the better.
 
ernesth100 said:
I started all of this over the ending to some cartoon.
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The fact that the ending of the show can spark these sorts of conversations and will hopefully result in a little less ignorance and intolerance in the world is actually a major win for the series and its writers. It means it's not just entertainment: it makes people think, and it changes things for the better. Pretty good legacy to leave behind.

Not to mention how feminist it is, and all the other heavy issues it tackled (take that, animation age ghetto). Plus, it was a good show in general; not perfect, mind you, but still way better than average, and definitely worth watching, discussing and remembering.

</on-topic post, lol>
 
Walkazo said:
ernesth100 said:
I started all of this over the ending to some cartoon.
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The fact that the ending of the show can spark these sorts of conversations and will hopefully result in a little less ignorance and intolerance in the world is actually a major win for the series and its writers. It means it's not just entertainment: it makes people think, and it changes things for the better. Pretty good legacy to leave behind.

Not to mention how feminist it is, and all the other heavy issues it tackled (take that, animation age ghetto). Plus, it was a good show in general; not perfect, mind you, but still way better than average, and definitely worth watching, discussing and remembering.

</on-topic post, lol>
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We're actually seeing more and more this these days. A lot of the cartoons you see people crow on and on about have some elements of this going on, even if it's indirect or more obviously just attempts to slip stuff under the radar of censors. Take for example Steven Universe. It's gotten away with a few things that I feel are highly suggestive and totally something I'd expect One Million Moms or similar to be on about (particularly a few specific bits in the last two new episodes....).
 
GalacticPetey said:
uRXweIk.jpg


aww yeah baby.
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This is for the last tie-in volume, right? When I was tracking them down a month ago, Wikipedia listed the last comic volume as being released this fall.
 
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