Excuse me? I kind of feel like I wrote something completely different, because I'm getting the response I'd expect if I'd written a much angrier post. I recognize that I am not perfect - look back a few pages, when I wrote a hasty, angry rebuttal of Billy that was also very wrong. I admitted that I was wrong and fixed it. But I don't think I'm that much "holier-than-thou." I haven't discussed how awful I am in this thread, because it's irrelevant, but I have actual self-esteem problem. Fsuuuure, I'm "holier-than-thou."
Is saying "tolerance is better than intolerance, tolerance ought to be, intolerance ought to be done away with" giving off a "holier-than-thou" tone? Because yeah, I think I'm right. I wouldn't be arguing that intolerance was bad if I thought I was wrong. But if that's the case, any sort of disputed statement is "holier-than-thou."
I don't find Racists and Sexists etc. to be evil, I find the racism itself to be awful and deserving of eradication. Is that feasible? Hell no. Ought it happen? If it could, yes.
Also, "our brains are hardwired" is a really good way of saying "this is bad, but we shouldn't fix it."
The whole "parade" thing was a reference to
I probably meant protest, parade does evoke gay pride parades. Brainfart.
@LoveTheSinnerHateTheSin: Lucky you, you've tended to hear it said by nonhaters. Maybe that's the most prevalent use, but I've only heard it used to mean "everything I'm doing is because I love you! You evil dirty fag."
My apologies, perhaps I wasn't clear; I don't think you are being 'holier-than-thou'. I think you were displaying some elements of self-righteousness, which is on the road there. But it is entirely possible to have self-esteem problems and still feel that way. It's quite similar to what many child bullies do. And no, I'm not saying you bully people, I'm saying it's an example of how it's possible. (progressives can bully just as hard as conservatives can when they try; girl getting pushed to brink of suicide for not drawing her fanart in a progressive enough way, for example).
And while you might not, many people do think of them as Evil and the enemy. "Well once all the old white men finally die off we'll finally be rid of this!"
And yes, people tend to think that when I say 'this is an intrinsic part of our nature' that I'm saying 'we shouldn't bother trying'. That is not the case whatsoever. What I'm saying is 'this is really goddamned hard to fix, you're going about it wrong, and it'll just turn into something else if we aren't prepared for that'. The reason we can have an overall peaceful society isn't just because 'we're more intelligent and cultured and we understand that war is bad'. It's because we have sports. The Romans had gladiatorial games, we have football. Or Mixed Martial Arts championships. Or Grand Theft Auto. Or politics.
There's a primal need for war. We've ritualized it, diverted it into things we see as productive. Politics serves to allow ideologies to clash with words and money instead of swords and money (there is always money). Sports games are battles made less lethal and more palatable. Violent video games allow catharsis without injury to real people. Availability of porn has been found to reduce sexual assault rates on average. You can't just flail at the problem in the name of doing
something.
People are tribal, and people will stereotype, and people will discriminate. We don't have the brainspace/power to function effectively without doing so, and tribalism is inescapable, though again, sports teams and friendly rivalries tend to be the way to bleed off that urge productively. As much as I wish it weren't true, for most people, they have a need to
other something. It helps form one's own identity, for one thing, at least if you subscribe to the social identity approach.
It's not an easy thing to solve, as much as we'd like it to be, and it takes more work than you'd think.
I think this is more the point:
People pass bathroom bills cause they're afraid transgender people will rape....
Then practically nothing is done when actual rape occurs....
People were ... PISSED ... about that transgender bathroom thing, but when this dude does that to an unconscious girl.... That's some grade A BS right there. I can't pee in a public bathroom, but this over-privileged swimmer can pull that? Wow.
Because I promise you, it has nothing to do with actually being afraid people will rape. Both are awful, but the first is essentially the collateral damage of wanting to 'stick it to the man' by doing something anti-progressive after the Supreme Court rules that gay marriage is legal, period. The second one is privilege and class at work. :/
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Topic: Gender/sexuality etc. - What Even Is A Gender Anyway (Read 142915 times)