From: aa716@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Scott Fields)
Newsgroups: alt.tv.simpsons
Subject: Re: YOU PEOPLE ARE INSANE! YOU CAN FIND A REFERENCE IN ANYTHING!
Date: 11 Nov 1992 17:50:01 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: aa716@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Scott Fields)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


In a previous article, rbrbrn@picard.cs.wisc.edu (Robert Holmes) says:


>I remember about six months ago I posted something similar to this and 
>I got flamed to no end.

>So I'll say it again.  Watch the cartoon, enjoy it, take it for what it's
>worth and move on.  It's only a fucking cartoon! Get a life! Maybe the 
>Simpsons are a reference to all the weenies of the world who spend more 
>time at a computer than with people.  A bunch of nobodys.

There's obviously something pushing your buttons here that's eliminating 
the possibility of rational thought, so maybe I can explain it to you so 
it makes more sense.

We -do- watch the show, we -do- enjoy it, and we -do- take it for what it's
worth.  As for "moving on," we will eventually, but there's an interim step
you're not acknowledging.  It's the step where we come here (alt.tv.simp-
sons) after each show to share our feelings and observations with other 
fans-- fans whom we would normally have no chance of meeting.  In this
forum (a forum EXPRESSLY designed for the discussion of The Simpsons), the
rule is that *anything goes* as long as it deals with the show in some way.

Given that this medium (telecomputing) is more tailored to cursory examin-
ations of things than long, in-depth essays, it's only natural that a large
part of a Simpson's newsgroup would be occupied with the business of
excavating popular-culture references. For one thing it's fun, for another
it's somewhat competitive (people like being the first to discover one).

Of course, with a group this large there are bound to be over-eager people
who try hard to make a square peg fit into a round hole (I'm trying to be
polite here).  Their ability to take something extremely general and find a
reference in it says a lot more about *themselves* than it does about the
Simpsons.  And yet, it's completely acceptable within the guidelines for
this group.

So now the question becomes: why does it bother you so much?

In your post you say:

"Maybe the Simpsons are a reference to all the weenies of the world that
spend more time at a computer than with people."

I don't think you have to be a psych major to recognize projection.  It's
clear that you're struggling with the amount of time YOU spend at the
computer eschewing human relationships, otherwise why bother to say it? 
The fact is, this is a group DEVOTED to talking about the Simpsons and
you're complaining about people TALKING ABOUT THE SIMPSONS!  Since I'm
giving you the benefit of the doubt by assuming there's no way you could
believe every post in a newsgroup this large has to be 1, of interest to 
you, and 2, intelligent, the only alternative is that you take exception 
to the whole notion of a Simpson's newsgroup.

And if that's the case then I feel sorry for you. 

Fortunately, though, Usenet is large enough that it even has room for
people like you-- people who go into alt.flame and complain about
insults...people who go into comp.sys.mac and yell Amiga Rules!...people
who go into alt.tv.simpsons and take issue with the way other people
express their affection for the show...

One other thing-- I think you'd like to believe that your post concerning
Marge's pubic hair bothered people a lot more than it actually did.  My
guess is that people immediately recognized your attempt to "blasphemize"
and chose to ignore it.  This is not to say that it didn't have as much
right to be here as any other post.  Had I read it I'd have commented that
unless Marge dyes her hair, her pubes ARE blue.  And Homer has two pubic
hairs, and Lisa and Bart's (when they get them) will be sharp.

-Scott
Newsgroups: alt.tv.simpsons