It’s irony. It’s English irony. And you’re reading it in American That’s the whole point of the story. That it isn’t a gladiatorial combat. That it isn’t alpha male posturing because no one involved is an alpha male and everyone knows it It’s essentially a comedy of manners.
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Replying to @greywacke911 @ExcelPope
The JOKE is that he's DESCRIBING it as such but obviously it isn't, yes ("Gladiators had to do it in the sun, more exhausting")
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The reason I brought up the "alpha male flex" is that this is what Arthur assumes the other man is doing He can't conceive of any reason someone would just take something that belongs to him right in front of him, with no indication of any hostility beforehand
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He specifies that the man looks like an ordinary respectable businessman and "not the kind of fellow who would just take one's biscuits" The reason he has so much pent-up moral indignation is he assumes the other man is fucking with him just to be an asshole
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That's the point of the example Arthur thinks he's standing up to an asshole who is fucking with him for no reason, because he, inadvertently, *actually is* an asshole fucking with someone for no reason
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Replying to @arthur_affect @ExcelPope
It’s drawing in a whole history of small man comedy from Pooter to Thinks-I-to-myself which ... Has nothing to do with alpha maleness at all and everything to do with constriction by society. It’s not about masculinity. It’s about doilies
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Replying to @greywacke911 @ExcelPope
No, the joke is absolutely about masculinity, that's why he's telling it in the context he is (he's ironically pretending this is a "war story" he's telling to a girl to impress her and she's playing along)
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It was always an option to just let the other guy take the biscuits and just get up and walk away and he says he specifically refuses to do this, even though that would immediately remove any social awkwardness from the situation
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Yeah, that was what I was trying to say. He may see it as being patient, but it really isn't. Disengagement would've been the kindest action.
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The take that masculinity and dominance has nothing to do with this and it's only about the "comedy of manners" is weird, isn't They're saying there's only two options in this story, to do what Arthur did or to stand up and go "Hey fuck you buddy" and start a fight
3 replies 1 retweet 15 likes
But that's not really the joke The joke that Arthur, or at least pre-aliens-destroying-Earth Arthur, would never do the latter because he's "too English" is half the joke
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Replying to @arthur_affect @Gerkuman and
The OTHER half of the joke is that he could just as easily go "Okay this guy's a weirdo and I'm getting away from him" and just stand up and leave Or ignore him completely and let him have all the biscuits But he treats this as absolutely unacceptable as a matter of "principle"
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Replying to @arthur_affect @Gerkuman and
That's the joke, the "aggressive" side of "passive-aggressive", that he really feels compelled to not let the other guy "win", he feels he'd be losing something if he did, he thinks he's some kind of hero for not backing down Again: Twitter
1 reply 1 retweet 11 likes - Show replies
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