I've played this game nonstop since grade school. I’m currently a 32-year-old man living in a liberal coastal city, and when, out of sheer reflex, I gently tap a friend on the arm and say “blue punch bug, no punch back,” the response I often get back is moral outrage.

... [cut out the part where people explain to him why they think this is fucked up] ...

And sure, one response might be to dismiss that as a symptom of over-the-top coastal liberalism and just chalk it up to social justice culture, or whatever.

But the thing is, those three-or-four-out-of-ten people are smart. More than that, they’re good.

Ah yes, this feels like 'my kids went no contact with me suddenly and they refuse to tell me why!' (for people not in the know, they kids have told their parents why over and over again, and they refuse to accept the reasons, there are entire forums filled with people like this).

From his own description:

Duncan Sabien is a writer, teacher, and maker of things. He loves parkour, LEGOs, and MTG, and is easily manipulated by people quoting Ender’s Game.

Ender's Game... ow god. (I could go into a rant why that is a pretty dangerous book for badly socialized nerds but I will not, there prob are articles out there which explain the way this book manipulates the reader into thinking sociopathy is fine and vastly overreacting is fine and shouldn't be blamed on the sociopath). (It does fit, him being a fan of Enders game and not getting why non-consensually involving people around you in a punching game as an adult is fucked up).

And another edit: Ow my god. "What's it like to have sex with Duncan?"

Huh. That post doesn't appear in the archives, as far as I can tell.