He doesn't understand and doesn't realize this

[GFYS]

...This, combined with a bunch of media involving infallible heroes like Sonic and Mario, Chris gradually learned that he was the hero in life and that, while he might have downtimes sometimes, he'll ultimately win. And I think that once he got that into his head, nothing would permanently bother him, because when he overcomes something, he'll be closer to his galpal paradise.

I guess that's something that puzzles me. If he so wholeheartedly buys into cartoon tropes, why doesn't Chris act like the heroes? Why doesn't he work hard? Why isn't he brave? Why does his moral compass always point to his bent duck? Why does he almost always act like the villain? His favorite shows and games always show the villain losing, and being humiliated for their heinous acts against the hero. Yet, when presented with an obstacle, he almost always picks the more devious or crooked way around - eventually leading to a humiliating defeat. Shouldn't even the simplest of cartoon-raised minds see that the reason he keeps losing is because he's acting like the villain?

I sort of have several ideas why, largely due to Marvin and ABL's insight... A big part seems to be that he's only just accepted bitter defeat, after Bob died and he lost in court. Still, I have trouble believing - even with Chris' mental gymnastics and warped perception - he can't see even a hint of his villainy in his cartoon mind.

 

[YouDorks]

My mom is into all manner of New Age crap. She told me I was an "Indigo Child" or something like that, which fueled my belief that I had omnipotent psychic God powers like telekinesis, flying, controlling the weather, etc. like Mewtwo in Pokemon: The First Movie. I thought up an elaborate mythology on how I'd acquire control of these powers. I took something I heard on a history channel documentary about Stonehenge seriously... I used to think you could overturn Stonehenge and find some kind of artifact granting you omnipotent psychic God powers or something. I used to think genies were real too... that I could use omnipotent psychic god powers if I just found a magic lamp...

I believed some really dumb shit as a kid. When I was four, I thought donning a Buzz Lightyear halloween costume would give me flying abilities. This is how Chris thinks. He is mentally a child, with a child's understanding of the world, unable to discern between reality and fiction. To Chris, Axe body spray works exactly like it does in the (disgustingly sexist) commercials. To Chris, there are well-defined laws of attraction that will bend wimmenz to his every will. To Chris, God is literally a bearded old white guy in the clouds who grants his every wish.

I'll almost give Chris the benefit of the doubt here. I was slightly loveshy and believed near-death experiences and psychic powers were real until I discovered RationalWiki in my Freshman Year of high school.

 

[Anchuent Christory]

I think his "magic" is just the release of sheer frustration at not being able to actually do something about a situation that bothers him.

 

[DykesDykesChina]

...This, combined with a bunch of media involving infallible heroes like Sonic and Mario, Chris gradually learned that he was the hero in life and that, while he might have downtimes sometimes, he'll ultimately win. And I think that once he got that into his head, nothing would permanently bother him, because when he overcomes something, he'll be closer to his galpal paradise.

I guess that's something that puzzles me. If he so wholeheartedly buys into cartoon tropes, why doesn't Chris act like the heroes? Why doesn't he work hard? Why isn't he brave? Why does his moral compass always point to his bent duck? Why does he almost always act like the villain? His favorite shows and games always show the villain losing, and being humiliated for their heinous acts against the hero. Yet, when presented with an obstacle, he almost always picks the more devious or crooked way around - eventually leading to a humiliating defeat. Shouldn't even the simplest of cartoon-raised minds see that the reason he keeps losing is because he's acting like the villain?

I sort of have several ideas why, largely due to Marvin and ABL's insight... A big part seems to be that he's only just accepted bitter defeat, after Bob died and he lost in court. Still, I have trouble believing - even with Chris' mental gymnastics and warped perception - he can't see even a hint of his villainy in his cartoon mind.

"why doesn't he work hard"
Cartoon characters do not work hard. Have you ever seen Mario do any real plumbing?

"why isn't he brave"
Because real world adversaries are far less goofy and far more intimidating than Robotnik. Most of all, they are three-dimensional, large, powerful jerkops/college deans/game store managers/etc. and not flat small colorful images on a screen.

"why does he act like a villain"
Because he thinks that he is a good heroic kid and those who deny him stuff are absolutely evil. Chris has little moral qualms when he's convinced that his actions are the royal road to something pleasurable such as hey-hey fun.

Also, cartoons do not really influence (man-)children's IRL moral decisions and behavior, because they're too unrealistic and due to their simplistic nature can be consumed without much emotional or cognitive activity. Reading books actually influences one's morality because processing the text and plot and converting it into images needs to be done internally in the brain. Cartoons deliver premade images that can be swallowed effortlessly like some sort of candy, and therefore do not touch the soul.

 

[NobleGreyHorse]

Except multiple threads have discussed his belief that cartoons exist in a parallel universe in which Roger Rabbit hangs out with the Disney and Warner Brothers toons, and selected favorites from Western and Japanese animators get to cross paths with Sonichu. Also, not all cartoons are the American Rabbit or He-Man. The Iron Lady in "Princess Mononoke" is arguably screwing up the forest ecology, but she's far from a one-dimensional villain; her factory employs prostitutes, lepers, and other outcasts from normal society. The moral complexity of some of the Studio Ghibli stuff (leaving aside obvious kiddy fare like Ponyo) makes it particularly affecting for the adult viewer, and I suppose a hardcore anime fan could find similar examples. Also, I think you're going to have a hard time arguing that most viewers of "Watership Down" take it in like candy; one, it's a novel adaptation, and two, it is a surprisingly un-sanitized one. The kitty isn't a miraculous, biologically impossible convert to vegetarianism like the one in "Redwall."

 

[Jimmy Jazz]

People overstate the extent to which Chris is really committed to the belief that fictional things exist. When you deal with him about it, it's fairly obvious he doesn't believe that fictional things exist in any meaningful way. It's more of a totemic thing. Chris is emotionally invested in the things he liked and to see them "misused" threatens that investment for him and that's more what he's mad about.

EDIT: Really, it goes back to what I was saying before. It's more that Chris thinks language has an ontological power beyond its instrumental power. To say something, or otherwise represent something, in a way that runs counter to him is to disrupt whatever he was doing in a very real way.

 

[Alec Benson Leary]

^It's pretty much that his imagination is far more malleable than the average bear's. You can say things he doesn't like, like Billy Mays takes over cwcville or something, and that idea "infects" his imagination and he has to "right" it before all can be well again.

 

[Tubular Monkey]

^It's pretty much that his imagination is far more malleable than the average bear's. You can say things he doesn't like, like Billy Mays takes over cwcville or something, and that idea "infects" his imagination and he has to "right" it before all can be well again.

Would this be a bad time to mention that I peed in the CWCville water supply?

 

[Jimmy Jazz]

^It's pretty much that his imagination is far more malleable than the average bear's. You can say things he doesn't like, like Billy Mays takes over cwcville or something, and that idea "infects" his imagination and he has to "right" it before all can be well again.

Well, sort of. Most people in that situation would realize that you saying something doesn't HAVE to effect their imaginary world. I'm sticking to the notion that Chris, on a very intuitive and not an intellectual level, thinks that words have power on their own. Power outside of merely communicating things. A normal person would say, well... nothing about Billy Mays, but a normalish person would say "Well, no. Sorry, he's not." And move on. For Chris the words you say about CWCville really matter, they mean something in and of themselves.

 

[PolterBob]

It's a self-fulfilling prophecy: Chris was raised to believe that, regardless of help, he would never accomplish or understand anything in his life.

No. Chris has always viewed himself as a brilliant artist, intelligent person, and all-around awesome guy who will make a great father & husband. He thinks it's because of the machinations of the trolls, lead by that Joo at the Game Place, that his destiny was thwarted.

 

[Stratochu]

^It's pretty much that his imagination is far more malleable than the average bear's. You can say things he doesn't like, like Billy Mays takes over cwcville or something, and that idea "infects" his imagination and he has to "right" it before all can be well again.

Would this be a bad time to mention that I peed in the CWCville water supply?

Meh, I put noxious medical waste from AIDS and gangrene patients into the CWCville water supply.

 

[DykesDykesChina]

Except multiple threads have discussed his belief that cartoons exist in a parallel universe in which Roger Rabbit hangs out with the Disney and Warner Brothers toons, and selected favorites from Western and Japanese animators get to cross paths with Sonichu. Also, not all cartoons are the American Rabbit or He-Man. The Iron Lady in "Princess Mononoke" is arguably screwing up the forest ecology, but she's far from a one-dimensional villain; her factory employs prostitutes, lepers, and other outcasts from normal society. The moral complexity of some of the Studio Ghibli stuff (leaving aside obvious kiddy fare like Ponyo) makes it particularly affecting for the adult viewer, and I suppose a hardcore anime fan could find similar examples. Also, I think you're going to have a hard time arguing that most viewers of "Watership Down" take it in like candy; one, it's a novel adaptation, and two, it is a surprisingly un-sanitized one. The kitty isn't a miraculous, biologically impossible convert to vegetarianism like the one in "Redwall."

Well, I wasn't talking about adult-level/intelligent cartoons. "La Triplette de Belleville" and "Fritz the Cat" are among my favorite movies. In my post though I was rather referring to the stuff da Chris'tard might watch (kiddie shows).

 

[Thepicklesuit]

Chris doesn't fully accept reality because of Borb never made him my guess is they would tell him that hes smart and an amazing artist and handsome. It seems like everytime Chris did something abnormal and someone questioned his behavior his parents acted as if he was normal and the people questioning him were just bullies. There again Chris thinks hes wonderful and I'm sure they use his autism as an excuse all the time its probably why Chris never really worked he wont even accept that he is a tranny. He thinks there's a such thing as a tomgirl and its normal because there's tomboys who don't get accused of being gay. Off topic but I think barb might suffer from autism to she does abnormal things herself.

 

[Anchuent Christory]

Except multiple threads have discussed his belief that cartoons exist in a parallel universe in which Roger Rabbit hangs out with the Disney and Warner Brothers toons, and selected favorites from Western and Japanese animators get to cross paths with Sonichu. Also, not all cartoons are the American Rabbit or He-Man. The Iron Lady in "Princess Mononoke" is arguably screwing up the forest ecology, but she's far from a one-dimensional villain; her factory employs prostitutes, lepers, and other outcasts from normal society. The moral complexity of some of the Studio Ghibli stuff (leaving aside obvious kiddy fare like Ponyo) makes it particularly affecting for the adult viewer, and I suppose a hardcore anime fan could find similar examples. Also, I think you're going to have a hard time arguing that most viewers of "Watership Down" take it in like candy; one, it's a novel adaptation, and two, it is a surprisingly un-sanitized one. The kitty isn't a miraculous, biologically impossible convert to vegetarianism like the one in "Redwall."

Well, I wasn't talking about adult-level/intelligent cartoons. "La Triplette de Belleville" and "Fritz the Cat" are among my favorite movies. In my post though I was rather referring to the stuff da Chris'tard might watch (kiddie shows).

Yeah, just because something's animated,it doesn't make it a cartoon. (at least not in the traditional sense) There's as much chance of Chris comprehending "Watership down" as there is him comprehending a live action drama. Although he may well be drawn to it purely because it's animated.

 

[PolterBob]

^It's pretty much that his imagination is far more malleable than the average bear's. You can say things he doesn't like, like Billy Mays takes over cwcville or something, and that idea "infects" his imagination and he has to "right" it before all can be well again.

Would this be a bad time to mention that I peed in the CWCville water supply?

Meh, I put noxious medical waste from AIDS and gangrene patients into the CWCville water supply.

Mayor Christian still doesn't know about the mafia burial ground located just outside of town.

 

[NobleGreyHorse]

Mayor Christian still doesn't know about the mafia burial ground located just outside of town.

Shush, for GodBearJesus's sake! If you go blabbing about THAT, he'll find out that got-dang asexual Mypoe has been lurking there to hunt down wild Sonichus for their tails!

 

[DykesDykesChina]

Except multiple threads have discussed his belief that cartoons exist in a parallel universe in which Roger Rabbit hangs out with the Disney and Warner Brothers toons, and selected favorites from Western and Japanese animators get to cross paths with Sonichu. Also, not all cartoons are the American Rabbit or He-Man. The Iron Lady in "Princess Mononoke" is arguably screwing up the forest ecology, but she's far from a one-dimensional villain; her factory employs prostitutes, lepers, and other outcasts from normal society. The moral complexity of some of the Studio Ghibli stuff (leaving aside obvious kiddy fare like Ponyo) makes it particularly affecting for the adult viewer, and I suppose a hardcore anime fan could find similar examples. Also, I think you're going to have a hard time arguing that most viewers of "Watership Down" take it in like candy; one, it's a novel adaptation, and two, it is a surprisingly un-sanitized one. The kitty isn't a miraculous, biologically impossible convert to vegetarianism like the one in "Redwall."

Well, I wasn't talking about adult-level/intelligent cartoons. "La Triplette de Belleville" and "Fritz the Cat" are among my favorite movies. In my post though I was rather referring to the stuff da Chris'tard might watch (kiddie shows).

Yeah, just because something's animated,it doesn't make it a cartoon. (at least not in the traditional sense) There's as much chance of Chris comprehending "Watership down" as there is him comprehending a live action drama. Although he may well be drawn to it purely because it's animated.

Chris did watch End of Evangelion, IIRC some trollette recommended it to him. He liked the Misato/Kaji hankypanky scene and Rei's boobs.

 

[Kosher Dill]

Would this be a bad time to mention that I peed in the CWCville water supply?

The joke's on you, no one drinks water in CWCville. Just CWC Cola.

 

[Alec Benson Leary]

No. Chris has always viewed himself as a brilliant artist, intelligent person, and all-around awesome guy who will make a great father & husband.

Well, I think Borb made it pretty evident for his entire upbringing that he deserved to have life's obstacles moved out of his way for him by others before he got there. He does consider himself brilliant and super-capable, but only under the ridiculous condition that life is "supposed" to lay down and get out of his way. He doesn't get that when a normal person is described as strong or capable, it's specifically because they are capable of defeating life's trials, not the opposite.

 

[Marvin]

No. Chris has always viewed himself as a brilliant artist, intelligent person, and all-around awesome guy who will make a great father & husband.

Well, I think Borb made it pretty evident for his entire upbringing that he deserved to have life's obstacles moved out of his way for him by others before he got there. He does consider himself brilliant and super-capable, but only under the ridiculous condition that life is "supposed" to lay down and get out of his way. He doesn't get that when a normal person is described as strong or capable, it's specifically because they are capable of defeating life's trials, not the opposite.

But as you said:

Well, I think Borb made it pretty evident for his entire upbringing that he deserved to have life's obstacles moved out of his way for him by others before he got there. He does consider himself brilliant and super-capable, but only under the ridiculous condition that life is "supposed" to lay down and get out of his way. He doesn't get that when a normal person is described as strong or capable, it's specifically because they are capable of defeating life's trials, not the opposite.