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I think the topic of cringe is a interesting one that the internet really amplifies but I can't for the life of me figure out what he's trying to say in this po

I think the topic of cringe is a interesting one that the internet really amplifies but I can't for the life of me figure out what he's trying to say in this post

rgoulter 7y ago
I take it as: People dunk on other people on the internet for doing/saying dumb stuff. But everyone pretty much seems to follow a pattern most of the time, anyway. (And you don't feel all that 'special' if all you do/say could be reliably reproduced by a simple flowchart). You dunk on others to feel better about yourself; although really you could just as well be dunked on for what you do/say, too.
larnmar 7y ago
I think what he’s saying is that cringe humour appeals mostly to those who know that they are pretty cringeworthy themselves. While everyone can enjoy an occasional piece of cringe humour, the sort of person who spends a lot of time on /r/cringe is the sort of person that others would find embarrassing, working hard to reassure themselves that others are worse off than they. Kinda like how /r/fatpeoplehate was mostly filled with secretly fat people laughing at the really fat people.
- justanotherjoe 7y ago
  that's it? How did this get upvoted so high in HN?
- DagAgren 7y ago
  I think that's the wrong angle to take. People who obsess over cringe are people who desperately need to find someone to feel better about. It's a symptom of low self esteem and self-loathing, amplified by internet-powered vicious cycles. That MAY mean that that person is also "cringey" by someone's reckoning, but that framing traps you in the same framework of self-loathing. This is an extremely toxic mindset, and it is something that you should always work hard to break yourself out of.
  - AstralStorm 7y ago
    Did you know that judging is the other way to achieve the same end, feeling better about yourself while reducing other's stature? It's really hard to examine such blind spots in oneself. I fail at it often as well. Human nature of you will.
have_faith 7y ago
The whole article could be cringe copypasta

I think the topic of cringe is a interesting one that the internet really amplifies but I can't for the life of me figure out what he's trying to say in this post

rgoulter 7y ago

I take it as: People dunk on other people on the internet for doing/saying dumb stuff. But everyone pretty much seems to follow a pattern most of the time, anyway. (And you don't feel all that 'special' if all you do/say could be reliably reproduced by a simple flowchart). You dunk on others to feel better about yourself; although really you could just as well be dunked on for what you do/say, too.

larnmar 7y ago

I think what he’s saying is that cringe humour appeals mostly to those who know that they are pretty cringeworthy themselves. While everyone can enjoy an occasional piece of cringe humour, the sort of person who spends a lot of time on /r/cringe is the sort of person that others would find embarrassing, working hard to reassure themselves that others are worse off than they. Kinda like how /r/fatpeoplehate was mostly filled with secretly fat people laughing at the really fat people.

justanotherjoe 7y ago
that's it? How did this get upvoted so high in HN?
DagAgren 7y ago
I think that's the wrong angle to take. People who obsess over cringe are people who desperately need to find someone to feel better about. It's a symptom of low self esteem and self-loathing, amplified by internet-powered vicious cycles. That MAY mean that that person is also "cringey" by someone's reckoning, but that framing traps you in the same framework of self-loathing. This is an extremely toxic mindset, and it is something that you should always work hard to break yourself out of.
- AstralStorm 7y ago
  Did you know that judging is the other way to achieve the same end, feeling better about yourself while reducing other's stature? It's really hard to examine such blind spots in oneself. I fail at it often as well. Human nature of you will.

have_faith 7y ago

The whole article could be cringe copypasta