Thread by @tkatsumi06j

Appreciate this Mr. @malki . Did not expect to get a response from the original author of the comic work. You're correct in assuming that this was a 'good-faith effort' to describe the #sealioning expression in retrospect from an objective & historical point of view. 🧵1/10

https://twitter.com/malki/status/1576421773381234688

Translators like me are in nature 'investigative' and we tend to explore the intent of the author and its context to understand the real meaning behind a certain expression or a term. To me #Sealioning was such new term. So as you said, I tried to do a 'deep-dive' into it. 2/10

In Japan, the context and historical background of #Sealioning is not fully understand, while there are many versions of translations of your original work. @annaPHd9pj 's was one of them I happened to come across first, and I personally thought it was well-translated. 3/10

Though the original term was coined (& 'settled' if I am not mistaken) back in Jan 2015 by your own "Errata," the context of this official explanation itself is not well known here in Japan. So I did a paragraph-by-paragraph dissection of it. 4/10

https://twitter.com/tkatsumi06j/status/1574408945627975682?s=20&t=3hJwWAmQB6lRuQGRjYImEg

Through this I (think) I was able to understand the original intent of this still-controversial term, and did not take your explanation as pure satire but a well-thought-out clarification with a hint of cynicism against the many curious questions. 5/10

https://twitter.com/scottdodds/status/1576656499782270976?s=20&t=3hJwWAmQB6lRuQGRjYImEg

The purpose of my exploration was to understand how the original meme came to have a 'life of its own' as a new internet slang that is causing so many controversies over the years in various domains. The #GamerGate was one such domain. 6/10

https://twitter.com/tkatsumi06j/status/1574433802730246144?s=20&t=3hJwWAmQB6lRuQGRjYImEg

Through this exercise I found out the term, the now live expression #sealioning has become a sort of a 'double-edged sword' that can be used in both ways; to end an unproductive conversation and to offensively shut justifiable conversation down for self-protection. 7/10

Either way, #sealioning can be used to avoid unproductive/unwanted conversations and it can be correctly used or abused.

A particular concern was raised from @cractyo an #antiracist group as representing the other-end-of-the-spectrum interpretation. 8/10

https://twitter.com/cractyo/status/1519152548082372608?s=20&t=3hJwWAmQB6lRuQGRjYImEg

The same concern was raised just very recently too, and you rightly referred to your 'clarification' that I also used to explain. Their genuine concern is that #sealioning 'could' be used to silence justifiable claims (i.e., from a victim). 9/10

https://twitter.com/StochasticOoze/status/1576427705251221504?s=20&t=3hJwWAmQB6lRuQGRjYImEg

After this exploration I found that yes, that 'could' be the case. However, my conclusion is that you, the original author, did not intend that in the first place and the meme, the expression, the term got a 'life of its own' that can be interpreted in both ways. 10/10

Lastly, since I got this rare opportunity to have a conversation with the original author of this great, controversial, social term, I'd like to express my gratitude for your brilliant work and appreciation to all your other works that I also intend to enjoy exploring. Thanks!

P.S. Here's a reference to your work on a blog written 2 years ago on the subject of whether your work was created in a "liberal context" by
@C4Dbeginner . It may be of your interest in knowing what ticks the Japanese though it may not mean much to you.
note.com/774notes/n/n24…