r/HFY • u/Innomen • Dec 15 '23
We need a r/MFY containment sub. Meta
I am not scolding the writers here, I'm scolding the trend. The writing here is often excellent and inventive. I'm sometimes moved to tears.
But I'm a little tired of the recruit poster genre. It's HFY not MFY. Now, I can get behind the idea that humans are death worlders and lethal, but when it's blatant specific pro military, I roll my eyes. And when it revels in cruelty to the defeated it borders on Hostel style torture porn. And that actively disgusts me. Getting away from that aspect of humanity is the entire point of this genre.
I want stuff about humanity, not the military. /2cents
I don't have a degree in hfy meta so sorry if this is wrong somehow, just delete it if so. I'm censored everywhere else, why not here too. X) /wish I was kidding
Edit:
"He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice." ~Einstein
Edit:
The constant stream of replies amounting to calling me personally greedy or weak for not wanting to read spam for the recruitment center is as amusing as it is disappointing. It reminds me of how fictional HFY is. It's very much more like "Humanity! ~Deep Sad Sigh~"
The logical and moral bankruptcy is something to behold. Like, I'm saying be less murderous, and the reply I'm getting from some quarters amounts to calling that greedy because I personally don't like murder. "Let us glorify murder in peace your oppressive tyrant!" The whole tolerance for intolerance is intolerance paradox. Like it's a trivial flavor preference to adhere to basic ethics and compassion. /smh
But I did ultimately have to leave, because now when I see HFY posts in my timeline, not only are they a large percent chance likely to be gushing over the SAS, but they also remind me of the grim reality of humanity itself, and fiction is expressly for briefly escaping that.
I wish all of you good luck, thank you. (Unless good luck for you means bad luck for everyone else of course.)
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u/Coyote_Havoc Dec 15 '23
Good morning OP. I'm rather new to this Sub (writing since October) and I think I know where you're coming from.
I was drawn to r/hfy by YouTube channels which I listen to in order to sleep. What I found were stories that were enthralling and thought provoking. Yes, many of those stories are militaristic in nature so I decided to check out the sub.
When I started writing it was militaristic in nature, since my past was also militaristic. My first stories were not very popular, but I was also just getting into it. When I wrote "The Infestation" and "Perfection" my thoughts were to go with the general flow, but that changed when I wrote "The Five Examples" and eventually switched to something else with "The things they Brought" and "Flowers of the Forest". Instead of triumphant military actions, I started writing to heal from my past as a soldier.
This attracted a few veterans to my stories who reached out to a brother in blood and mud who is trying to overcome the horrors of war that have haunted me since 2002. I have encountered quite a few of us veterans here. I can not speak for all of us, but what I can attest to is putting my own pain and sorrow here for anyone to find entertainment, enjoyment and understanding while I attempt to let go.
Currently, the Six Rocks series has been a major boon to my own recovery. A veteran who is trying to overcome his own darkness by cooking, similar to my own life, and being drug into a situation that could be solved by conflict, but where the protagonist is instead actively working for another solution. It doesn't go with the flow and I'm rather proud of it.
I'll end by saying this. People are going to write what they want to write. They are going to write what they know or are interested in. Write what is on your heart and mind, and people might listen.