murdocisasexymofo:

REMEMBER

Murdoc’s “death” is NOT your fault.

It was always going to happen, no matter the response you gave.

It was part of a preprogrammed bot.

PLEASE DO NOT BLAME YOURSELF FOR MURDOC’S DEATH.

Also….

If your friend is feeling anxious or upset because of this, comfort them. The chat feature makes this experience feel real and for anyone who suffers from disassociation, it might cause them to feel genuine guilt – even if it is fake/fictional..

I’m making this post because so many Gorillaz fans are blaming themselves for what happened. I have an anxiety disorder and I know that shit like this can be very triggering.

Edit:

First of all, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has shared this post. The notes are insane and you are all amazing people.

However, I feel like the message behind this post is a little lost on some people.

It’s not necessarily about Murdoc’s death being a problem. It was the way that it was portrayed. The chatbot platform makes it very realistic and the interaction makes it feel like you are actually talking to Murdoc.

Yes, for most users, it is easy to detach yourself from the experience.

However for people with disassociation issues or issues with perceiving reality, it can be incredibly distressing. These people might feel genuine guilt for what happened to Murdoc and feel like it is their fault because of the way the bot was designed and programmed to kill him no matter what the response. These emotions, with certain mental conditions such as schizophrenia, are very real and can be very damaging.

That is the issue I am tackling.

This isn’t about comforting distraught fans who “just can’t even” with this situation.

This is about people with genuine mental health issues who might be suffering episodes of paranoia due to the immersive experience being too realistic for them.