"The eating her ice cream" thing would be difficult for a supreme Alpha to pull off, and even then only once it's obvious she's digging him - she may find it spontaneous and funny. But here, even reading about it screams gamma behavior.
While it certainly stings, the “not prominent enough” note sounds like something that might have been sent over threateningly by his paid crisis consultants.
A strong implication that running with accusations would result in a claim of slander, and that he isn’t prominent enough to cause any sort of public interest exception to kick in.
Of course the media is too happy to play along, but it helps to sportingly force their hands and give them a plausible excuse (if pressure builds, “we just said what the lawyers told us to”).
Part of the reason I find Gammas so utterly unbearable is their utter Cowardice on every level. They behave like predators because they will only "attack" (try their creepy sexual stuff) on those who they think will be too scared, weak or unable to defend themselves from their creepy advances. They are emotional as well as physical cowards in every respect.
An Omega by comparison is simply a completely clueless character, and nowhere near as offensive, even if he may have no concept of hygiene, basic social cues and so on. He's more akin to a pet that has never been house-trained. A gamma is more akin to a ferret in a chicken coop.
There was a famous scandal in Australian rules football where an alpha player was sleeping with the wife of his delta captain.
The alpha got fired and the delta tried to patch things up with his wife for the kids which obviously didn't work out.
I remember fans being more angry that they'd lost their best player and that if the captain could be cucked then maybe he wasn't cut out for leadership.
There was a guy in grade school who would pick his nose and stick it in your jello with whipped cream, and then ask if you wanted that jello? The third time he tried that I stuck my fork into his hand so hard that when I let go it stayed stuck.* If you have a fork, stab away!
It's funny that the Gaiman books I thought I liked were actually Clive Barker books. The only Gaiman book I can recall reading was American Gods, and all I remember of that is it had one good concept, about obsolete gods, and a whole lot of weird quasi-sexual interactions.
And frankly, I've always liked Ramsey Campbell's work more than either of those guys'.
Ensign Dilligaf - Yes, Clive Barker makes you feel like you are in the real world with real people exposed to those otherworldly horrors, so they could totally happen to you.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go and check on a noise coming from my attic where I keep my spare mattress...
To add to this,, I have known there was something off and dishonest about Gaiman ever since his commencement speech in 2012 when admitted he lied about writing for magazines when he had not in order to get work and basically said to fake everything because that's what he did. That being said, I never looked into it closely to put a finger on it.
"the first problem of any kind of even limited success is the unshakable conviction that you're getting away with something and that any moment now they will discover you, it's impostor syndrome something my wife Amanda christened the fraud police. In my case I was convinced there would be a knock on the door and a man with a clipboard, I don't know why he had a clipboard but in my head he always had a clipboard, would be there to tell me it was all over and they'd caught up with me and now I would have to go and get a real job"
The Birthday Story's heartbreaking, but how did his mother allow it to come for that? Any normal parent should have been aware of her son's social difficulty, and either helped him confirm the invites, or not have blown up the party so that the failure bit all the harder. I get a sense that she deliberately sabotaged him so that he'd come to her for sympathy when it was all done. And on some level he participated, choosing the safe condolences of mother over the risky endeavour of friendship. I've noticed this desperation for, but hatred of, women in Gammas I've known before.
True. Happened to me. Not on my birthday but Christmas & New Years Eve. Vox is right. Parents can break but not build. Especially single mothers. An consummate pediatrician told me that single mothers of boys get insane. From (my) experience is true.
"Gaiman is alleged to have felt comfortable behaving in such a bizarre and childish way in what was a professional situation"
I have a suspicion that Gammas can be utterly shameless when it comes to getting their own way. In essence a Gamma will care more about general public sentiment towards him than he will about the feelings and opinions of the people he regularly interacts with.
Be suspicious no longer. I've seen exactly that many times.
You remember that South Park episode where Cartman does everything he can to avoid fighting Wendy, while playing up how she's actually scared of him? I saw it live throughout middle school.
I personally prefer the midget who claims Cartman hasn't gotten under his skin. Even loses a fight with Cartman, cheap shots him after, and claims victory while Cartman laughs his ass off.
Agreed. almost brings the faintest whisper of a temptation to pity the little gamma, then you remember gammas and their behavior, and how that child would've turned on you and raged at you if you even tried to reach out for one tender moment of sympathy. better if you just leave them the heck alone and move on.
Pass the parcel was a common party game when I was little. Mostly at little kid or girls' only parties. It was kind of lame but it got everyone to sit still for a bit.
It's still being done here in nz. The joy of having small kids is sitting through these things. Though these days the mums want to make it "fair" so everyone gets a turn and there is a small prize on each unwrap.
"I was sad that nobody had come to my party, but happy that I had a Batman figure, and there was a birthday present waiting to be read, a boxed set of the Narnia books, which I took upstairs. I lay on the bed and lost myself in the stories."
Imagine if you will, another child who had this happen, this is after all, not as special or unique as many a gamma likes to think his childhood problems were, one child might utterly withdraw, curl in pain and living in pain, becoming an omega who sleeps away the perceived agony of the world.
One might become a sigma, successful or unsuccessful in life, it is they who might be missing on their future birthday parties, perhaps climbing a mountain or dead at the foot of one.
Many of course would still be gammas, but unlike Tubcuddle, most would not become the Wolf.
If your siblings don't want to celebrate your birthday, something has gone wrong with you and your parents.
A pity that the little boy read those lovely Narina books, but learned nothing.
We all know how it would go if that little boy was before the white witch, and his sister elsewhere.
That's what happens when you read Christian tales like Narnia and the Lord of the Rings and don't see the spiritual power that formed and pulses through them. Great stories like that and the hundreds that were written in times past were not merely for entertainment, and treating them as such is an insult to them.
"The principle that the behavioral pattern that is cemented in a man’s formative years cannot be altered much by subsequent situational status."
This resonates and can also be seen with some of the PUAs/Red Pill types. They claim success with women but often have a resentment for them indicative of a lower status male. After all, genuine alphas, bravos and sigmas don't need to consult that kind of content, their successes and behavior come naturally.
"The eating her ice cream" thing would be difficult for a supreme Alpha to pull off, and even then only once it's obvious she's digging him - she may find it spontaneous and funny. But here, even reading about it screams gamma behavior.
No one came to his seventh birthday. Certainly ingrained behavior is set very early.
I hear this from my kids as well, from who are the weird kids not to hang around with.
It seems that the SSH level is nearly impossible to change, but for the Grace of God.
While it certainly stings, the “not prominent enough” note sounds like something that might have been sent over threateningly by his paid crisis consultants.
A strong implication that running with accusations would result in a claim of slander, and that he isn’t prominent enough to cause any sort of public interest exception to kick in.
Of course the media is too happy to play along, but it helps to sportingly force their hands and give them a plausible excuse (if pressure builds, “we just said what the lawyers told us to”).
"he reached over with his spoon and just started eating her ice cream while looking her right in the face"
Good grief!
Part of the reason I find Gammas so utterly unbearable is their utter Cowardice on every level. They behave like predators because they will only "attack" (try their creepy sexual stuff) on those who they think will be too scared, weak or unable to defend themselves from their creepy advances. They are emotional as well as physical cowards in every respect.
An Omega by comparison is simply a completely clueless character, and nowhere near as offensive, even if he may have no concept of hygiene, basic social cues and so on. He's more akin to a pet that has never been house-trained. A gamma is more akin to a ferret in a chicken coop.
There was a famous scandal in Australian rules football where an alpha player was sleeping with the wife of his delta captain.
The alpha got fired and the delta tried to patch things up with his wife for the kids which obviously didn't work out.
I remember fans being more angry that they'd lost their best player and that if the captain could be cucked then maybe he wasn't cut out for leadership.
Also known as “The King”
There was a guy in grade school who would pick his nose and stick it in your jello with whipped cream, and then ask if you wanted that jello? The third time he tried that I stuck my fork into his hand so hard that when I let go it stayed stuck.* If you have a fork, stab away!
* Yes, I am responsible for sporks
Excellent work Trumpeter! "People" like that are literal filth!
It's funny that the Gaiman books I thought I liked were actually Clive Barker books. The only Gaiman book I can recall reading was American Gods, and all I remember of that is it had one good concept, about obsolete gods, and a whole lot of weird quasi-sexual interactions.
And frankly, I've always liked Ramsey Campbell's work more than either of those guys'.
And that one concept you liked was ripped off from Terry Pratchett's Small Gods.
Ensign Dilligaf - Yes, Clive Barker makes you feel like you are in the real world with real people exposed to those otherworldly horrors, so they could totally happen to you.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go and check on a noise coming from my attic where I keep my spare mattress...
And he mostly stole the idea of discarded gods from Pratchetts book small gods (and likely many other people).
I liked American Gods better when it was called The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul.
Yes, that was far less creepy.
To add to this,, I have known there was something off and dishonest about Gaiman ever since his commencement speech in 2012 when admitted he lied about writing for magazines when he had not in order to get work and basically said to fake everything because that's what he did. That being said, I never looked into it closely to put a finger on it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OwRUyZMKwI
That speech is a Gaymine.
"the first problem of any kind of even limited success is the unshakable conviction that you're getting away with something and that any moment now they will discover you, it's impostor syndrome something my wife Amanda christened the fraud police. In my case I was convinced there would be a knock on the door and a man with a clipboard, I don't know why he had a clipboard but in my head he always had a clipboard, would be there to tell me it was all over and they'd caught up with me and now I would have to go and get a real job"
Q.: Who worries about the fraud police?
A.: Frauds.
Who worries about clipboards, presumably with lists on them?
Sex offenders.
The level of annoyance like the the level of creepiness is over 9000.
Let the memes flow!
The Birthday Story's heartbreaking, but how did his mother allow it to come for that? Any normal parent should have been aware of her son's social difficulty, and either helped him confirm the invites, or not have blown up the party so that the failure bit all the harder. I get a sense that she deliberately sabotaged him so that he'd come to her for sympathy when it was all done. And on some level he participated, choosing the safe condolences of mother over the risky endeavour of friendship. I've noticed this desperation for, but hatred of, women in Gammas I've known before.
True. Happened to me. Not on my birthday but Christmas & New Years Eve. Vox is right. Parents can break but not build. Especially single mothers. An consummate pediatrician told me that single mothers of boys get insane. From (my) experience is true.
A commenter farther down made a good point: the other moms likely didn't want to be around his mother.
"Gaiman is alleged to have felt comfortable behaving in such a bizarre and childish way in what was a professional situation"
I have a suspicion that Gammas can be utterly shameless when it comes to getting their own way. In essence a Gamma will care more about general public sentiment towards him than he will about the feelings and opinions of the people he regularly interacts with.
Be suspicious no longer. I've seen exactly that many times.
You remember that South Park episode where Cartman does everything he can to avoid fighting Wendy, while playing up how she's actually scared of him? I saw it live throughout middle school.
I personally prefer the midget who claims Cartman hasn't gotten under his skin. Even loses a fight with Cartman, cheap shots him after, and claims victory while Cartman laughs his ass off.
But yeah, I member.
He's very much a victim of inconsistent writing.
You know, if I had a story as sad and pathetic as that birthday party story, I'd keep my mouth shut about it.
Agreed. almost brings the faintest whisper of a temptation to pity the little gamma, then you remember gammas and their behavior, and how that child would've turned on you and raged at you if you even tried to reach out for one tender moment of sympathy. better if you just leave them the heck alone and move on.
Or worse decided you and him should hang out every day.
It almost makes you feel sorry for him, which might be why he told it.
The only way that story becomes in any way inspiring is if it serves as a catalyst for change. It doesn't appear as if it did in this case.
Who's ever heard of pass the parcel? Moms's got some splaining to do.
Pass the parcel was a common party game when I was little. Mostly at little kid or girls' only parties. It was kind of lame but it got everyone to sit still for a bit.
It's at least an Australian thing. There's an episode of Bluey centered on it.
Wowser Bluey! Lucky Grills. Those were the days!
English I think. Kiwis did it too.
Can't say if they still do.
Old Billy Connolly joke about the worst birthday idea ever; pass the parcel in an Irish pub.
It's still being done here in nz. The joy of having small kids is sitting through these things. Though these days the mums want to make it "fair" so everyone gets a turn and there is a small prize on each unwrap.
Even if it isn't true, the last line still reveals the Gamma Secret King: "I liked that. Books were safer than other people anyway."
"I was sad that nobody had come to my party, but happy that I had a Batman figure, and there was a birthday present waiting to be read, a boxed set of the Narnia books, which I took upstairs. I lay on the bed and lost myself in the stories."
Imagine if you will, another child who had this happen, this is after all, not as special or unique as many a gamma likes to think his childhood problems were, one child might utterly withdraw, curl in pain and living in pain, becoming an omega who sleeps away the perceived agony of the world.
One might become a sigma, successful or unsuccessful in life, it is they who might be missing on their future birthday parties, perhaps climbing a mountain or dead at the foot of one.
Many of course would still be gammas, but unlike Tubcuddle, most would not become the Wolf.
If your siblings don't want to celebrate your birthday, something has gone wrong with you and your parents.
A pity that the little boy read those lovely Narina books, but learned nothing.
We all know how it would go if that little boy was before the white witch, and his sister elsewhere.
That's what happens when you read Christian tales like Narnia and the Lord of the Rings and don't see the spiritual power that formed and pulses through them. Great stories like that and the hundreds that were written in times past were not merely for entertainment, and treating them as such is an insult to them.
"The principle that the behavioral pattern that is cemented in a man’s formative years cannot be altered much by subsequent situational status."
This resonates and can also be seen with some of the PUAs/Red Pill types. They claim success with women but often have a resentment for them indicative of a lower status male. After all, genuine alphas, bravos and sigmas don't need to consult that kind of content, their successes and behavior come naturally.
It's mostly genetic folks.
"Neil Gaiman isn't prominent enough." They've reported on some random shaman's sexual assault allegations two days ago.
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/14/us/california-shaman-sex-assault-charges-riverside.html
Ricardo Flores is a bigger name than Neil Gaiman?
I was amazed by the nyt comment as well. Protecting Gaiman by saying he is not famous enough to “ me too”!
Based on this, what SSH rank likely dominates the New York Times editorial offices?
Man of the Atom - Chaiman's cousins https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._G._Sulzberger
Yeah, very familiar with the gentleman and his politics.