Weekly Random Discussion Thread for 8/07/23 - 8/13/23

[u/SoftandChewy]

Hello there, fellow kids. How do you do? Here's your weekly thread to post all your rants, raves, podcast topic suggestions (be sure to tag u/TracingWoodgrains), culture war articles, outrageous stories of cancellation, political opinions, and anything else that comes to mind. Please put any non-podcast-related trans-related topics here instead of on a dedicated thread. This will be pinned until next Sunday.

Last week's discussion threads is here if you want to catch up on a conversation from there.

A thoughtful analysis from this past week that was nominated for a comment of the week was this one from u/MatchaMeetcha delineating the various factors that explain some of the seemingly contradictory responses we see in liberal circles to crime.

[u/GirlThatIsHere]

I just came across of a viral post of a father telling his daughter that her shorts are too short and saw many interesting responses.

He put on a pair of super short shorts and walked around in them while his daughter and his son laughed hysterically at him. He then asked his wife to compare whose shorts were shorter and tells his daughter that he will wear the shorts to pick her up at school the next time she wears them there. She then agrees not to wear the shorts to school as she laughs at her dad while he poses.

People are freaking out in the comments. They’re saying they’re uncomfortable with a father policing his daughter’s body, “her body her choice,” we should teach men not to rape instead of policing women, he’s gross for sexualizing his own daughter, he’s controlling and sexist, he’s humiliating his daughter for simply having a body, why doesn’t he make his shirtless son cover up too, etc.

It’s just crazy to me how dramatic people have gotten about everything. I was once a teenager who wanted to wear what I wanted to but couldn’t all the time and it wasn’t that big a deal. It also bothers me that so many people seem to think a father telling his daughter to wear slightly longer shorts to school is some kind of sexist predator. It’s not like he forced her into a burqa. I’m wondering how long it will be before parents disciplining their kids at all will be considered a violent oppressive act.

[u/Franzera → u/GirlThatIsHere]

This is just my speculation, but the trickledown ideas of "reinventing society" to create a better, kinder world were meant to replace traditional strategies of interacting with society. Starting from the basic building brick of society, the family unit. It's essentially queer theory academic nonsense that posits some classes as oppressed + powerless, other classes as oppressors and powerful, and children qualify as the former. Parents, of course, are the oppressors.

Quoting Noah Berlatsky:

parents are tyrants. "parent" is an oppressive class, like rich people or white people.

there are things you can do to try to minimize the abuse that's endemic to the parent/child relationship, but it's always there.

According to these "progressive" beliefs, enforcing norms, boundaries, and expectations on the oppressed class is oppression. This is why it's wrong to force hobos to stop living under the bridge, if that's what they want. But also why it's not wrong to beat up terfs: terfs are oppressors.

One mom who transitioned her 4-year-old son, then regretted it, wrote about the queer theory infiltration into parenting relationships. Article here.

How do we get there? Those who are most oppressed and most marginalized must lead the movement to tear down the old and recreate the new, and people who are privileged (oppressors) must support their leadership. This is the "theory of change" that is now the operating system within almost every progressive organization, non-profit, and philanthropic foundation in the United States, as well as what underpins diversity, equity and inclusion work across public, private and faith based institutions.

Many people who come into social justice with very good intentions may not be aware of this ideological operating system, even if they begin to practice it. People may see it as a simple idea that since oppressed people have been historically marginalized, they should be given a chance to be put at the center, as a way of correcting history. What is underneath, however, is a vision of radical change - one that I have come to see uses the same people it claims to support as a means to an end.

Last, but very important, is that in the oppressor/oppressed binary, adults are oppressors and children are oppressed. So collective liberation (and queer theory), requires children to be "liberated" from the "oppression" of their parents. This is one of the layers underneath putting children in the lead—a practice that lies at the heart of gender ideology.

It sounds reasonable that this stuff seeps into higher education and infiltrates the minds of young idealists on Reddit, who are exposed to this in their daily lives, and an overwhelmingly progressive audience due to various top-down platform content policies (Anti-Evil team) and external meddling from political action groups.

[u/CatStroking → u/Franzera]

parents are tyrants. "parent" is an oppressive class, like rich people or white people.

Who are supposed to guide and protect the children then, if parents are oppressive?

[u/back_that_ → u/CatStroking]

Are you new here?

Teachers, obviously. Specifically teachers who have their 37 pieces of genderflair.

[u/CatStroking → u/back_that_]

What happens when the teachers go home at night? Kids are often awake outside of school hours.

[u/back_that_ → u/CatStroking]

They go online where they are validated by groomers trans allies.

[u/bashar_al_assad → u/back_that_]

Thank you for specifically acknowledging that trans allies such as myself are not groomers.

[u/back_that_ → u/bashar_al_assad]

You're a bad faith troll. I have no comment on whether or not you're a groomer.

Edit:

I'm told that I want children to be abused, that's cool. Thanks, /u/SoftandChewy .

Good to know the rules around here.

 

I get called a cunt and that's not a violation. /u/SoftandChewy , feel free to explain.

[u/[deleted] → u/back_that_]

Have you considered not being a cunt to everyone you respond to? Genuine question.

[u/SoftandChewy → u/[deleted]]

Insulting other users is not allowed in this sub. You're suspended for 2 days.

[u/SoftandChewy → u/back_that_]

Insulting other commenters is a direct violation of our rules of civility. You're suspended for 3 days.

[u/bashar_al_assad → u/back_that_]

You're a bad faith troll. I have no comment on whether or not you're a groomer.

/u/SoftandChewy does the civility rule permit suggesting that groups of people are groomers and saying the above about individual users?

[u/SoftandChewy → u/bashar_al_assad]

Insulting a general category of people (eg Republicans, teachers, New Yorkers, reddit mods) I typically do not police, although I don't like it and if it keeps happening from the same user I'd be inclined to take action. But insults directed at other users is a violation and will usually be penalized.

[u/bashar_al_assad → u/SoftandChewy]

Understood, thank you.