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Sealioning

en.wikipedia.org

1–10 of 28 posts

Re: Sealioning

#4
I don't doubt that this is an actual thing. It also sounds like a thought-terminating cliche, useful when the accused won't let you off the hook for saying something wrong, but it is too painful to admit it.

Re: Sealioning

#5
post #2

Here is the origin of the term: http://wondermark.com/c/2014-09-19-1062sea.png

I remember being very confused by the reaction to this when it first appeared. My initial reading was that the first line is meant to be analogical with racism, since the speaker holds an irrational prejudice against a particular biological category. When questioned on it, they refuse to explain or apologise! It took me a while to grasp the alternate reading in which the sea lion is more like a subculture, such as "gamers" or "Bernie bros" or whatever.

Re: Sealioning

#8
post #5
post #2

Here is the origin of the term: http://wondermark.com/c/2014-09-19-1062sea.png

I remember being very confused by the reaction to this when it first appeared. My initial reading was that the first line is meant to be analogical with racism, since the speaker holds an irrational prejudice against a particular biological category. When questioned on it, they refuse to explain or apologise! It took me a while to grasp the alternate reading in which the sea lion is more like a subculture, such as "g…

It's intellectual violence which consumes the time of people of good intent by insisting that they do significant labor to support elements and details of an argument that are generally held to be self evident and true. Things like racism are included - for example "the KKK is a terrible organisation that hurt many people"... "have you got personal experience of this?".."how many KKK attacks have there been in Suffolk England this year?".."what percentage of KKK members have participates in racial murders".."are you sure that the murders are all actually terrible - maybe there were reasons - afterall we weren't there"... and so on and so on and so on...

Re: Sealioning

#9

I highly recommend wondermark in general. The “Sick Elephant” running gag in 2019 was a stroke of genius: http://wondermark.com/c1414/ And “in which there is quite the selection” runs through my head every time i go to the nice packie and try to buy a beer http://wondermark.com/515/

Sick Elephant was one of those that was funny for a bit, then became unfunny, then became so surreally persistent that it was hard not to laugh at the sheer stubborn audacity of it.

But, yes, it's not too many relatively obscure webcomics that get to contribute a term to the popular discourse like that, and I think that the Wondermark archives will repay the examination.

Re: Sealioning

#10
post #6

How does this differ from robust lines of question in political reporting?

> How does this differ from robust lines of question in political reporting?

There is a difference between politicians, whose chosen place in the spotlight correctly subjects them to heightened scrutiny of their decisions and actions, and everyday people being questioned about their determination that, say, racism is wrong, even if they have not personally been subject to it that day. I think sealioning is meant to describe persistent questioning of everyday interlocutors, not of politicians.

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