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naraburns  nihil supernum  1yr ago (text post)   16082 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of December 19, 2022

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Anyway, as someone who has identified as a liberal for most of my life, actually hardcore leftist, anti-authoritarian socialist, etc, I'm curious how many other folks are in the same boat. Essentially on board with the project of the left, until the last 5-10 years when trans ideology and pronouns took over the movement. Perhaps there are others who have realized that this is one specific issue they just can't accept for the greater good of the leftist cause.

I think I'm in a similar spot and the way I explain it to myself is that it's a divergence between the ends, with which I am in agreement with the left, and the means, which I find myself disagreeing with more and more.

Particularly, I strongly disagree with a growing authoritarian and collectivist strain of leftist thinking and the popular uptake of it. (This doesn't actually seem like anything new, but it feels like it has been gaining strength during my lifetime. ) To go with your example of pronouns, I have really have nothing against a person asking me to refer to them using a non-default pronoun, but I despise that pronouns are being forced on me from above (eg. DEI training, Chief Diversity Officer, etc.) with an implicit threat of violence (conform or be fired), all of it broaching absolutely no discussion, all of it couched in insultingly primitive corp-speak produced by the bottom of the barrel of "generic bachelor degree holders."

That said, compared to you, my reaction isn't limited to trans ideology and pronouns; rather I see it as a small part of a growing respect for authoritarian means.

That said, compared to you, my reaction isn't limited to trans ideology and pronouns; rather I see it as a small part of a growing respect for authoritarian means.

Why should we expect otherwise? The left made promises to a wide variety of consituencies, and those promises have, in the main, not born fruit. If you tell people you can solve their problems, and then you don't solve their problems, why should they not turn to other methods for solving problems than the ones you prefer?

Which promises were not held, economic equality? I guess the left has over promised for a while now…..

Equality between the sexes, between the races, lower crime, better education, improved outcomes for a variety of groups, the conquering of prejudice, all the myriad fruits of prosperity, available freely to all, etc, etc. The war on poverty, on crime, on drugs. For specifics, refer to any democratic presidential stump speech in living memory.

This is an excellent point! This idea of ends vs. means hits on a big theme I’ve been missing. Ironic since I just finished a trilogy that was all about that concept.

With trans for instance, I am perfectly fine with the ends. I do think we should have freedom to be gender fluid. (Especially with powerful tech) But the means are frustrating me to no end. Thanks for helping shed some light on the dark corners of my brain.

If your apparently-acceptable ends can only be accomplished by unacceptable means, it's probably worth taking another look at those ends.

I don’t necessarily think that’s true. I just think it takes time, and that technology/material wealth changes the picture.

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