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Goodguy  4d ago (text post)   Edited 4d ago   10167 thread views

Midterms Megathread

Cause otherwise midterms discussion will be scattered around a bunch of separate Culture War thread posts. And it's nice to have more off-the-cuff rapid reactions in a dedicated megathread.

The first thing I've noticed so far: if the exit polls are correct, Americans are very pessimistic about AI.

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I feel like the nature of the Woke Panopticon is that since even moderate defection on a singular issue (Rowling/Trans the Ur-example) leads to you getting immediately treated like Turbohitler that a lot of Public Figures that defect on one thing then go relatively extreme conservative since it's not really worth toeing the line on anything else that you're on the borderline about

Rowling isn't remotely "moderate" on trans people. She's about as far right as you can get short of calling for their extermination. For an actual moderate, look at Jesse Singal.

I mean this is the issue in question on the Trans thing.

You've got 4 possible positions in the court of Trans Radicals.

  • Constant cloying approval of everything. 'Decent human being'
  • Complete silence. 'Highly suspicious but we'll let it roll'
  • Arguing that they shouldn't be allowed into women's spaces and are distinct from biological women 'Turbohitler'
  • Arguing that the Quran says they should be thrown off buildings 'Misguided but wholesome allyship'

Arguing that they shouldn't be allowed into women's spaces and are distinct from biological women

Philosophical arguments about whether trans women are "really" women are largely separate from the question of how they should be treated, though of course there is a strong correlation between people's views on these two questions.

A "moderate" position could be that trans women aren't "really" women, but that they should be treated as if they were. A slightly less "moderate" position could be that trans women shouldn't be allowed in "women's spaces", but we should still use their preferred pronouns. And so forth. Rowling doesn't even support using people's preferred pronouns. She believes trans women should be treated exactly like men; that they should not be given any recognition whatsoever. How is this "moderate"? What would be a less "moderate" stance that still comes short of advocating trans people's extermination? Advocating their imprisonment instead, I guess?

Arguing that the Quran says they should be thrown off buildings 'Misguided but wholesome allyship'

Is there actually anything in the Quran directed at trans people specifically? Iran is fairly progressive on trans rights. I don't think that would be possible if the Quran said trans people should be thrown off buildings.

Philosophical arguments about whether trans women are "really" women are largely separate from the question of how they should be treated, though of course there is a strong correlation between people's views on these two questions.

They could theoretically be, but they're not. "Trans women are women" was used as the argument for putting trans people on opposite-sex sports, prisons, and all sorts of spaces.

Rowling doesn't even support using people's preferred pronouns. She believes trans women should be treated exactly like men; that they should not be given any recognition whatsoever. How is this "moderate"?

Because it allows them to live their life however they wish as long as they don't impose their beliefs on others. Compelling the use of preferred pronouns is as moderate as Muslims forcing infidels to pray to Allah 5 times per day, instead of also compelling the to participate in Ramandan fasts.

Because it allows them to live their life however they wish as long as they don't impose their beliefs on others.

Sharing a public toilet does not entail the imposition of philosophical or any other beliefs. Communists, liberals and fascists; monarchists and republicans; Christians, Muslims, Hindus and atheists share toilets every day with no difficulty.

Compelling the use of preferred pronouns

You could object to cancellation, etc., on free speech grounds, etc., but the personal decision to use or not use people's preferred pronouns has nothing to do with "compelling".

I repeat: What would be a less "moderate" stance that still comes short of advocating trans people's extermination? Advocating their imprisonment instead, I guess?

Sharing a public toilet does not entail the imposition of philosophical or any other beliefs.

We were talking about pronouns, no? Sex segregation in intimate places like toilets have to do with safety and comfort, stemming from psychological differences between men and women.

You could object to cancellation, etc., on free speech grounds, etc., but the personal decision to use or not use people's preferred pronouns has nothing to do with "compelling".

I don't see where Rowling said people *shouldn't * use preferred pronouns, you're the one saying that they should, and that this belief is somehow moderate.

I repeat: What would be a less "moderate" stance that still comes short of advocating trans people's extermination? Advocating their imprisonment instead, I guess?

There's a law being debated in the UK right now that would penalize parents and therapists for questioning children's transitions. The overwhelming majority of he trans memeplex is much more extreme than anything Rowling has advocated.

There's a law being debated in the UK right now that would penalize parents and therapists for questioning children's transitions. The overwhelming majority of he trans memeplex is much more extreme than anything Rowling has advocated.

I'm sorry, but to me this seems like a non sequitur. I'm not talking about the left end of the spectrum. I'm asking, on the centre-to-right side of the spectrum, what position is there between that held by Rowling and advocating imprisonment or execution for being trans (which you will surely agree is the very far-right end of the spectrum)?

Sorry, I actually have to make a correction, and say it appears the proposed UK law is not that bad. I can probably find ones that are from other countries that are. Anyway, it seems you don't care either way:

EDIT: Actually I take that back, the UK bill claims to limit itself to abusive behavior, but defines it as, among other things:

(c) controlling or coercive words or behaviour;
(d) use of economic pressure;
(e) use of psychological or emotional pressure.

So it does seem pretty bad.

I'm sorry, but to me this seems like a non sequitur. I'm not talking about the left end of the spectrum. I'm asking, on the centre-to-right side of the spectrum, what position is there between that held by Rowling and advocating imprisonment or execution for being trans (which you will surely agree is the very far-right end of the spectrum)?

By analogy, bans on gender affirming care would be a good example. You can also split them by who they apply to, like bans on GAC for children (I think that's the majority of the passed laws) are more moderate than blanket bans.

Or even with the pronouns example we started from: creating social pressure for everyone to use pronouns based off biological sex, rather than just letting people use whatever they want (some TERFs actually do this) is less moderate than JK Rowling's position.

I really don't understand this selective lack of imagination on your part.

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