Golems and the Problem with Them

[Java Man]

Considering a few angles on this, implications and whatnots, and waiting to see who calls Paizo out for their mascot first.

[VoodistMonk]

Java Man wrote:

Considering a few angles on this, implications and whatnots, and waiting to see who calls Paizo out for their mascot first.

Wait, the mascot is a golem?!?!

I always thought it looked like Kevin Smith as Silent Bob...

[DeathlessOne]

Java Man wrote:

Considering a few angles on this, implications and whatnots, and waiting to see who calls Paizo out for their mascot first.

Ha!

I never noticed that before! It does look like a construct of some sort. Nice.

[Mark Hoover 330]

I've never had anyone at my tables be offended by the term golem, or really any monster or villain I've thrown out there. I have however had people get offended by scenes I've narrated. In every instance, the appropriate response in my opinion was the one my Ma taught me:

I'm sorry.

Something a therapist taught me as a kid is that my experiences are real, they matter, and no one should try to trivialize or negate them. Years later I took that to heart with my own kids. They would throw a tantrum about half an hours' worth of spelling and math homework and my first instinct would be to roll my eyes after an 11 hour day in the office, but then I would realize that the stress, and worry, and fear and MEANING of my job was exactly the same level of frustration my girls were feeling.

Their experiences matter, regardless of how that relates to me. Someone's offense at a word, or phrase, or scene, regardless of my actions, is more a reflection of THEM and their life and experience. My scoffing at that or any effort to trivialize or negate it means that I'm putting my own experience, my own life as somehow more valuable than theirs.

Be nice. Be kind. Think of others. Consider that their fears, anxieties, and stressors are different from yours, but no less real, no less vital to them as yours are to you.

Remember the Golden rule, and I apologize there if my overt religious sentimentality offends.

Anyway, hopefully all the folks offended by this thread are doing ok and not to p'd off by what I'm suggesting. If so, sorry about that, and if there's something I can do to be better, please let me know.

[VoodistMonk]

You'd be surprised how far a simple "sorry" will go. Common courtesy goes a long ways, and people are often surprised by an unsolicited mea culpa. One can defuse a lot of situations with "sorry"...

[Sara Marie]

Closed.