Yuki The Snowman

“Billy Dee…you’re too old to that claim you’re “gender fluid’”.

Like any sensible person, I was confused and dumbfounded  when the “news” broke out that famed actor Billy Dee Williams “came  out” as genderfluid.  It’s not that I would have anything against him for being LGBTQ, but something about this “news” didn’t sit right with me.  If he was gender fluid, gay, bi, whatever, we would have known it by now (since Hollywood insiders love talking about and exposing people’s personal lives and matters).  Additionally, I can’t imagine a man who’s near 90 being aware of a Millennial/Zoomer term such as “genderfluid”.  Older people can learn new things, sure, but something was just bothering me about it.

Fast forward to this past Wednesday, December 4, 2019.

“What the hell is ‘gender fluid?”
“Welp.  I bet everyone who thought he was coming out, praised him for doing so, and told me I was in the wrong got egg on their face.” I said to myself as I celebrated my amazing and superior logic once again. The article from The Undefeated described how media outlets twisted  Billy Dee Williams’s comments on his views his feminine and masculine emotion; he was comfortable with showing his softer, emotional side.  They didn’t catch that Williams was referring to Carl G. Jung’s theories of the conscious/unconscious mind as it relates to the anima and animus (female and male self). Clearing the air, Williams finally stated that he isn’t gay (he simply made the mistake of “using” fluidity as sexual orientation).

Was this simply an honest mistake by  media outlets?  Well, given  how mainstream media operates, especially during the Holidays (the Holidays/end of the year historically is always been slow, lacking and unexciting for major news), in my opinion, nah.  The world unwitty assumed that Billy Dee Williams was coming out of the closet. You can’t really fault the  internet for this one. Even if one were to fact check the story to debunk the media’s “claims” of Williams’s sexuality, every news source would state the same story: Billy Dee Williams came out of the closet.

Of course now, we know that’s not true.  The beloved actor is a straight man who is aware of his emotional side (and is knowledgeable on the shadow self of human nature).

However, it a great lesson on how quickly misterpreted information can spread across the internet.  In this era of the information age, incorrect material and information can reach millions in a matter of seconds. By the time anyone can correct the mistakes; people would have already believed it to be true and shared it with others globally.  Not even ten minutes could have past, and people are having intense and in-depth dialogue over information that may not be completely factual. People can read the misinformation and have their viewpoints completely changed – unaware that they have received incorrect knowledge and info.

Remember: if everyone thinks it’s true, then, it must be, right?

***

It’s amazing how we live in this era where we’re blessed to have knowledge, wisdom, and information at our fingertips. As the singer of the gambling anime Kakegurui xx’s second theme song singer JUNNA puts it, “There’s too much knowledge to be able to dream in this age”. She’s right: with all this knowledge out there in the world for us to search and hunt for, we can no longer dream about things of the “what if”, of the “who was”, of the “when is”, of the “where is”,  or the “how to”. Yet, what’s good is that all knowledge if there’s a chance it’s misinformation throw into the mix?

As we experienced with the Billy Dee Williams interview a few days ago, misinformation can spread quickly online.  This isn’t limited to superficial celeb news either. The ease of internet access for all has given rise to fake news and false information.  All it takes is one person or one entity to generate a news report or story lacking facts or truth, post it online, and have the masses  spread and share it with others.  Within minutes, the false information and fake news is out onto the world.

It’s why I hate it when people go “Well Google it then!” when dealing with a complex subject that many may not have an understand (due to their own ignorance or public schooling).   What if I do google something and find information on the subject matter?  I bring the misinformation to you, wholeheartedly believing that I have the correct information, only to have you go into an emotional fit because it was wrong all along? It’s frustrating! All because you didn’t want you back up your claims with trusted sources. I have every right to be angry at you for sending me on a wild goose chase because you wanted to please your own insignificant ego and were afraid to be proven wrong.

We are living our lives abound with so much (mis)information.

Until next time.

-Yuki The SnowMan

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The Swarthy Nerd Podcast
A Black nerd empowerment podcast where Black nerds (well, all nerds, but Black first and foremost) can get together and talk freely about nerd culture while also acknowledging systematic white supremacy and racism in the nerd and Eastern otaku fandoms. Every Tuesday join @superlostfan108 and @weebtrashyuki the founders of http://www.swarthynerd.com for there very informative podcast talking about all things nerdy. No desperate boot licking self hating negus who were never accepted by Black norimes for being too weird for  their love of anime and comic books by the Black community allowed. Go drink bleach.

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