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Culture War Roundup for the week of September 5, 2022

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Well, but this is the very question I'm asking. What's the appropriate approach, when the truth itself is a memetic superweapon? "Taboo your words" is supposed to be a way to increase clarity--to say, "alright, that word is clearly a sticking point, what if we describe it another way?" If dropping the word "groomer" would get us closer to putting an end to grooming behaviors, I'd be on board with that. But it doesn't seem like dropping "groomer" would win a single step forward in that battle. Rather, it seems like the attempt to tar "groomer" as conspiratorial thinking is an attack on some people's ability to express the problem clearly.

The word "groomer" literally someone engaging in behavior meant to prepare child for rape or molestation. Whatever one thinks of drag child pageants, we would need much, much more evidence that this is indeed their intent to declare the use of this accusation as "the truth itself".

I'm not sure this is right; there's an (older?) sense of the word in which an older person develops a (non-sexual) relationship with a younger (too young to consent) person, and then scoops them up for a sexual relationship once they turn 18. (or whatever)

So the drag-queen thing can be viewed in a similar way; get children who are too young for sexual purposes inculcated into your personal fetish, which will increase the supply of adults for you (and yours) to sexually exploit down the road; "stochastic grooming," if you will.

Well, the current most prominent media usage I can remember is references to the British (Pakistani) grooming scandal, which specifically included adult men grooming girls for molestation right here and now.

But even beyond that, it's still something where even you are saying "can be viewed"; one could indeed concot a scenario where that happens, or theoretize that this is the end goal, but that's still not enough to pronounce it as "the truth itself" without a lot more evidence of that actually happening.

What is the end goal of DQSH/Fabulous Drag Kids then?

Their stated end goal is increasing LGBTQ+ positivity. Considering that polls have shown that at least the acceptance of basic trans identity claims has gone down in recent years, it's questionable how well it is succeeding, but that doesn't change the fact that it's not enough to pronounce - once again - the "truth itself" that actual end goal is grooming them for sex.

Interesting that the LGB part of things doesn't seem to have much to do with the drag aspect -- yes drag is a gay subculture, but in today's context it seems to be mostly about increasing 'T' positivity. "Grooming kids to accept trans people as potential sexual partners" is not the farthest thing from "increasing trans-positivity".

If LGB positivity is part of the goal, why aren't story hours with ordinary gay people? (as such)

I'm not personally hung up on the 'groomer' label, but can see where people are coming from with it; I also don't think 'trans-positivity' is a very positive thing for kids to be learning.

Look, my specific point is about the phrasing "the truth itself", the confident claim that grooming is the motivation. Can one make such a confident claim here, without further evidence?

Of course one can also take the stance that it doesn't matter if it completely matches the usual meaning as long as it is "something like it", but one should then not be surprised when others are similarly cavalier with meanings of words like "Nazi" or "racist", for instance.

Wait, are you claiming the cavalier usage of "groomer", came before the cavaliet usage of "Nazi" and "racist"?

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