It’s Iimi! Ancient Geek Warfare

People fight viciously over various fandoms. (What’s the best way to start a fight among Tolkien fans? Say “The Eagles should have flown Frodo to Mordor.”) Because these things are about fiction, it might seem like we could just dismiss it as unimportant. But the thing to remember is, we can sin against charity in fighting over fiction just as much as we can fighting over real life. That’s the danger of… Ancient Geek Warfare

Preliminary Notes:

This is a comic about Catholic moral obligations in avoiding rash judgment Iimi herself had no interest in is not taking sides in the lore fights, and is simply asking, “is that really true?” in the face of blanket accusations about the motives. Making a universal claim can be contradicted by showing even one example of something that goes against it. 

If you want to see my personal opinions about Rings of Power, see the post-comic notes. 

Post-Comic notes: One of the tricky parts in doing this comic was avoiding bogging it down with debates about different fandoms. That’s both irrelevant to a Catholic themed comic and going to be boring to people who don’t care about that particular fandom. For example, I don’t care about Doctor Who or Game of Thrones. I wouldn’t care to read a comic debating it. So, I mentioned a few of the most famous ones and tried to make the arguments apply to real life moral obligations.

 

The Society for the Study of Modern Visual Culture is a reference to the manga series Genshiken.

If you’re really curious about my thoughts on the parts of Rings of Power I could force myself to watch (it’s irrelevant to the Catholic moral discussion), I’d say this:

I don’t think the creators get it. Even if you set aside questions about whether the racial makeup of the cast fit in with the lore (something I stopped thinking about almost immediately), the characters were either entirely uninteresting or entirely unlikeable. Also, it had the problems with bad story, and boring pacing It probably could have completely dropped the Harfoot plot, and completely revamped or removed the character of Galadriel.

The problem is, they tried to create an original story in Tolkien’s universe without the talent of Tolkien. None of us have that, of course. But this didn’t feel like Middle Earth. So, we got something I thought was boring where the only thing of note is the background (which was impressive).

I think the problem in general is: many people no longer trust Hollywood to tell a story without an agenda. Regardless of whether that fear is justified or not, if they see a race, sexuality, or gender swap, these people suspect something is being pushed.

And, as Iimi pointed out, that can be rash judgment too.

It’s Iimi! “Because X. Therefore, You’re Scum!”

We've reached a state where we've become so polarized that we believe anyone who reaches a conclusion that is different from ours must be done from willful malice. Sometimes, that can be

true. But not always. We can't forget that some can be mistaken about the facts. Some can have a different but valid view that goes against ours.

 

If we would avoid rash judgment or calumny, we need to ask whether our views are true before we say that our opponents are guilty of knowingly siding with evil. Otherwise, we are to blame for the mutual hatred that divides us. Above all, we must reject the bulverism that claims one holds their position BECAUSE X. THEREFORE, YOU’RE SCUM.

It’s Iimi! Misfire

After laying low for a week, Helen Otios and Vera Machen are ready to launch a presentation that will “refute” Iimi and the Church. But the speaker seems to think that the argument of a “bigot” shouldn’t be dignified by a response. Given that the lecturer was defeated by Iimi once before, will this turn into a bullying session? Or will this attempt to target her turn out to be a MISFIRE?

It’s Iimi! Storm Brewing?

All Iimi and Krysta wanted to do was meet up with the others and hang out after school. All Krysta wanted to do first was to drop out of the Social Justice club, which she had strong moral reservations over. Unfortunately, Mrs. Otios saw the resignation as based in intolerance. Iimi reluctantly led the challenge to her assumptions: If imposing beliefs on another is wrong because values are relative (think about that for a moment), then doesn’t that make imposing values on Christians wrong? And if objective right and wrong exist, then what makes the attacks on Christian teachings right?

Lesson One: Knowing That We Don’t Know

Iimi and Kismetta’s hanging out together is interrupted by Kismetta’s twin brothers and Chela squabbling over playing fair. Kismetta is surprised that Iimi didn’t assume that the twins’ grade school antics were caused by their religion. Iimi points out that she doesn’t know enough about the religion and culture that the Dhumzir family was raised under to make that call.

She goes on to explain that recognizing the possibility of being ignorant and the obligation to learn what the other really believes before judging the beliefs—rather than assume guilt—are vital in behaving justly to others.

“Lesson One” as I present it is an development of Dr. Peter Kreeft’s teaching on explaining Socrates’ “knowing that you don’t know.” My development focuses on the Catholic obligation to avoid false witnesses and, as such, is an offshoot of Dr. Kreeft’s superior Socratic Dialogue series, which I highly recommend.

For those who like the “behind the scenes” details of the comics, this involved making more complicated gestures for sitting characters. The base program has limited seated action, mostly aimed at students sitting at desks. This involved two figures  for each sitting character: a sitting lower half and a standing upper half, allowing more gestures. It isn’t ideal of course. The visible hand can’t fall below the waist or it will “disappear.” But it’s a price I pay to make comics without drawing ability.

It’s Iimi! Why I Keep Fighting

Last week, Iimi-tan faced a 4-1 battle on the false accusations that Pope Francis was changing Church teaching. Now, with the context given  most of the secular media have conceded that they were wrong. But the anti-Francis Catholics continue their fight, and so must Iimi.

It’s Iimi! Standing Alone Against the Hordes

With each challenger having their own concerns and agenda, Iimi faces a four on one battle about the myth that Pope Francis “changed Church teaching.” 

[ADDENDUM 11/2/20] Iimi (and this blog) was vindicated.

The follow up comic can be found HERE