Again, you seem to be assuming things that aren't there but that's fine, in the interests of not getting too badly side tracked I'll accept that you feel I'm being defensive of whatever privilege I may have.
No, I do not see simply asking the question as trivialising anybody. One can...
Thread drift is a-okay with me but I'm happy to talk it about it elsewhere as well.
But in the interests of responding in kind - I have and I do read plenty of feminist literate and opinion pieces. Simply because it is in my interests for the society I live in to have and to promote gender...
At no point did I mention state interference, nor indeed did I mention "freedom of speech" in that context. I can see how you might infer that, but that seems to be your own baggage so I'll leave it at that.
You provide a pretty good example here of what I mean when I observe what progressive...
Terrific post, Red. Thanks for taking the time.
I'm going to snip some of the quotes for the sake of length on the page, but assume I'm responding to the whole section.
I'm going to be honest and say that it's been a long time since I've thought along these lines, not since my teens actually...
No, I'm with you here. But this really comes down to needing to be aware of this and being willing to not only question ideas but also the motives of the those advocating them.
Hah! Actually, to the chagrin of my parents ("You could do ANYTHING YOU WANT with your life! You're wasting your...
I'm just going to go ahead and address this bit separately since I'm mostly happy to go along with the rest of your post.
If I seem extra snarky on this point it's because this in particular is what caused me to start questioning whether I've really been on the right side of things recently and...
Okay, so here's something that's been bothering me for a while. I'd like to hear some other opinions. Maybe it's just me getting grumpy as the big Three-Oh (otherwise known as GAY DEATH) approaches at a terrifying rate and I won't any longer be able to claim youth as an excuse for whatever...
It's tough because people are having horrific atrocities committed against them by what are essentially pre-medieval barbarians with assault rifles. It's hard to sit back and watch that and not want to use our various allied nations' power to do something about it.
But that being said, nothing...
If a person voluntarily ventures into public dressed in a way that they are aware their cultural norms indicate is titillating (and thus likely to elicit titillation in observers) then - whilst I don't know if "accountability" is really appropriate - this person is implicitly agreeing to at the...
It's probably possible to develop yourself a fetish for the opposite sex even if you are not naturally inclined that way. The same way that you could probably develop yourself a fetish for whips and chains or household appliances or something.
You could even probably do this consciously if you...
Not all mythology is created equal, insofar as it affects human reality.
As well, one needn't have literal beliefs in the supernatural to enjoy and be enriched by myth. Nor to take comfort from acting on harmless superstition or be grounded and find meaning in personal ritual practice.
Mostly struck me as a deliberately vague bit of woo to make things seem mysterious and interesting.
Probably helped keep all the peasants who couldn't make sense of it in awe of the priests who seemed to understand and have some special knowledge. The fact that it became a central tenet of the...
It seems to me that most religion and spirituality is like a viral meme that co-opts a natural human tendency toward pattern seeking/recognition and assumption of agency. It can change thinking and behaviour depending on which one you "catch".
So in that respect, we kind of are predisposed to...
Of course but in this context it seems to imply he thinks it's expected and "okay".
Hah! Some might see that as damning with faint praise.
I get the impression that he is perhaps more liberal than the church expected him to be and they are now flailing about desperately trying to keep him on...
I totally agree which is why it sprung to mind so easily actually.
I remember those days with some fondness but it's hard for me to believe now how SERIOUSLY we all took it back then. Complete with cartoons being submitted to magazines with Mario ripping Sonics spine out via his head and such...
I strongly identified with the idea that Nintendo was better than Sega in the 90s.
If my friend showed up wearing a Sonic the Hedgehog t-shirt and told me that not only was his Mega Drive better than my Super NES but that Mario was a wanker... Would if be okay if I sucker punched him, do you think?
All ideas are and should be open to criticism without the threat of violence or, indeed, thinly veiled victim blaming should an unreasonable and violent reaction occur.
One might say that only "bad" ideas should be criticised or insulted but given that what is "bad" will be different from one...