I think it’s important in times of discord, dishonesty, and strife in this and any honest community - like right now - to remember that YOU are not the “people” that others may be referring to, EVEN when they generalize about the whole community. When talking about unethical behavior, or bad actors in any community or group, the internet and world today generalizes, and a great many people take it personally when they shouldn’t.
Being part of our Pokemon TCG community during these times does not make YOU part of the negativity that surrounds it, even if others try to point the finger at you or all of us. I don’t think we should feel and negativity about our community, even tho there are clear problems in it. Gaslighters gonna gaslight. Yet we should have confidence in ourselves to be able to both continue as a positive actor in this or any community, and at the same time to reflect on ourselves honestly and without guilt, asking whether we truly are acting in a positive way.
I was gonna put this on the unpopular opinions thread, but I DON’T think this is an unpop op.
I also don’t want to pontificate, any more, if I am at all.
It’s very tiring, not only avoiding pokemon content filled with negativity but also making the attempt to remain positive, it feels futile. Every time I decide to open youtube, instagram, or reddit, all I see is pointless arguments that rarely have anything to do with pokemon. The general theme I’m seeing is this “us vs them” mentality everywhere, modern/vintage, grading companies, languages, prices… etc. Dude none of that f’ng matters but for many, this is all they focus on and it’s unfortunately the majority of the noise. I think a break is due for me perhaps
I just try to stick to the general morals I made in elementary school, makes things easier I just try to surround myself by people with similar morals and avoid others who I heavily disagree with, I like to believe that things will even out after a few years and the bubble will pop and things will start to get better.
My Personally opinion is that as more “money” gets into a hobby it eventually stops being a hobby for fund and starts to feel like more of an investment, for instance my collection is probably worth double what I paid for it but its irreverent to me since I didnt get into the hobby to make money. I would also not care if the market crashed and they became worthless and i lose all my investment either.
@jameskray Money has always been involved, but we never really cared as collectors. Now that people care, there’s MORE money… Not always true, but in this case, Mo’ money, Mo’ problems.
@rtas@Dyl@RabidSquirtle
“Us vs them” “Zero sum game” “Death of nuance”
I do feel like if we can tune out and just stay in our little niche of collecting, it helps a lot. It also insulates us from the onslaught of blame when we engage in popular or expensive parts of the hobby. But this is why I steer clear of modern.
I came here recently because I was tired of all the other pokemon spaces being… Just depressing?
Either only talking about value or posting cringe videos of people fighting over cards I just want to talk about my favorite pokemon and cute cards I find.
As I’ve said before, I don’t consider myself a part of any of the so-called Pokemon communities. I’m not going to claim that it somehow just cancels any sense of disappointment, perhaps the one thing humans are infinitely capable of causing. But, as a pragmatist, logic does have a soothing effect.
You’re only as good as your last post, people make a point of emphasizing how they’re not friends with each other (except with the people they are, which is utilized more for the sake of exclusion than camaraderie,) there’s a gag order on anything that pertains to the human condition and there’s always 20 to 50 people, most of whom you’ve never interacted with before, ready to jump on you like a pack of feral dogs if you dare to say anything that’s actually unpopular or goes against certain agendas. And as a cherry on top, it’s all at the whims of whoever is in charge.
Of course, none of this should belay the fact that there are dozens of great people in practically any of these “communities,” people who seem immune to the sociopathological effects of the internet and will gladly engage you in festive bus bench conversations, and perhaps an effort should be made to celebrate that more. Though, as I outlined in the previous paragraph, why would they be?
Sorry what i meant by money involved is not me saying there wasn’t money before but i will give you a for instance when i first started collecting i work minimum wage in a cafe and could if i saved afford basically any card in the hobby now thats impossible and most cards are out of reach for that lower end kind of person so its scene as an investment now for a lot of people rather than just the fun of collecting. Course you can still collect like I and many others do but there are now lots and lots of cards that simply unobtainable. I will give you en example a PSA 10 1st edition charizard was a few 1000 dollars now its 250k and if you worked in a cafe that is simply impossible. its sad in a way.
They would be Because there are a great many people of good conscious who also want to celebrate and foster positivity. It is almost always easier to tear down good nature, because in logical terms, trust is broken with a single infraction - a logically exclusive sentiment.
While it is human nature to be disappointed, I think (and this is not based in logic, but in sentiment) it is human nature to desire to be able to trust. So I trust that we can celebrate positivity and productive interaction, while allowing destructive attempts to merely glance-off.
Money has always been involved, but we never really cared as collectors. Now that people care, there’s MORE money… Not always true, but in this case, Mo’ money, Mo’ problems.
I just want to talk about my favorite pokemon and cute cards I find.
