I'm a liberal democrat. I'm just going to be up front about that. I think the left has made some real tactical errors in their policy, and it's upsetting people. Most people just want to live their lives and are fine with others living theirs.
On the trans topic, I obviously think trans folks should be able to live their lives, and I think the nonsense about bathrooms is ridiculous. The solution is obviously just not segregating bathrooms by sex.
Most of the hostility here has to do with sport. Where I think the left has fumbled this is not taking the argument for trans folks seriously enough. Gender is a social construct, sex is not... but we don't segregate our sports because of gender differences (that it's somehow icky to have boys touching girls), we segregate our sports because sex differences means biologically female folks are at a natural disadvantage. If we on the left actually took this argument seriously, we should be arguing for trans women competing in (biologically) male sport, because the point of gender being a social construct means we shouldn't see this as a problem. Same for trans men competing in (biologically) female sport.
That we conflate them is an unforced error and honestly undermines the entire argument that trans solidarity is based on (an argument that I generally support).
The conflations continue when we are discussing "immigrants." I've long held that I have no idea why the American left seems totally fine with ignoring the fact that people are overstaying their visas. I'm pretty close to an open borders guy, so I very obviously hate our immigration policy. However, that doesn't mean we should just ignore laws we don't like. We fight to change them. If we're allowed to just ignore perfectly reasonable laws like visa limitations, then there's no reason the right can't start ignoring background checks for gun purchases, or prosecutions for civil rights violations of, say, trans folks. Ignoring laws we don't like breaks the "faithfully execute" oath that executives generally take... it's also wildly undemocratic.
Overstaying a visa is not something we should be exercising civil disobedience over. It has nothing to do with asylum seekers or refugees. It's just people ignoring the perfectly legitimate -- if onerous -- rules for visiting. If I want to live in France, it would be ridiculous to suggest that I should just go their on vacation and then stay.
Again, we elected a fascist, I'm not denying that, but the main complaints I've heard from the right that have led here aren't fascist arguments. They all seem like legitimate complaints about the left, complains I generally disagree with or are low priorities for me, but legitimate. When I start hearing actual fascist desires from the electorate, like eliminating opposition parties, then I'll start freaking out. That's not to say it's not bad, it is, my point is only that the previous three cycles look much more like repudiation results -- because the US is facing financial headwinds and an awkwardly divided electorate -- and the coalitions are shifting.
there's more nuance to sport than that. pre-puberty is not the same as college athletics. I'm not going to deep dive all the flawed logic around removing trans people from sport. internet search is there for you.
as to immigration... we're about to see what happens to the US food supply when you remove migrant workers from the equation. why do they never go after the employers, just the employees? (we both know the answer)
"first they came for..." resonates for a reason... this is the first line of a longer poem playing out.
>"I'm not going to deep dive all the flawed logic around removing trans people from sport. internet search is there for you."
I gave you paragraphs of my time. I'm trying to be open and honest about things that I honestly find difficult to discuss.
Again I completely understand and support the argument that gender is a social construct. Intersex and pre-puberty trans folks are deserving of dignity and respect. They are an absolutely minuscule part of society, and will always be a special case. When the vast, vast, vast, vast majority of trans athletes are trans women, I can understand when parents think it's not fair. Again, I think it's pretty clear that our sport segregation is about sex differences, not gender differences. There just aren't many Chris Mosier's out there.
>as to immigration... we're about to see what happens to the US food supply when you remove migrant workers from the equation. why do they never go after the employers, just the employees? (we both know the answer)
I fully agree, it's going to suck. If it helps us get to a sensible immigration system, it'll be a silver lining, but I'm not optimistic.
it starts small and snowballs. these executive orders are using the same demonizing language and actions as the early anti-Jewish laws of 1930s Germany and we know how that turned out.
What I said was merely an expression. In more literal terms, "Why work hard when hard work yields little to no results?" Basically, learned helplessness in a nutshell.
At face value, I think I could potentially accomplish meaningful things. I am not trying to change to the world, but I could be better at my craft, a better employee, be healthier, etc.. Sadly, the only thing truly stopping me is myself.
Believe me, I've been trying to change myself my entire life, and nothing has ever worked. Of course, many would say that I should just accept myself. However, it has always been difficult when others do not accept me.
"This country is not built on a specific racial, ethnic, or religious identity like many, many old-world Eurasian nations."
I know there's an ideal of what America should be, but don't muddle the reality. America was built on whiteness (whose definition shifted over time) and class identity.
Wait you're telling me that people don't care about their jobs as their realize how much their companies don't care about them? Service industry corporations making scheduling systems that make their employees lives unnecessarily hard and also providing no or limited benefits. Companies that could be remote forcing employees to RTO as a power play. CEOs proudly announcing that AI will let them stop hiring.
The social contract is entirely broken in the US. The law does not apply equally. The rigging is being exposed.
The voters are for the most part uninformed, bordering on flat out ignorant. I feel safe in saying the experts who solve problems like this do know better than voters.
Maybe mention that head on accidents sometimes happen because a driver target fixates on oncoming headlights. I can't imagine that high beams help with that.
which has historically been used to discriminate again black voters. that's why there's pushback against it even tho it may be a valid idea. in states that do have voter id, they generally make it hard to impossible to get one for marginalized people who may not have the necessary documents yet could prove they are a citizen and have a legitimate address.
To elaborate, around 21 million eligible voters in the US do not have an ID that would be acceptable under current and proposed voter ID laws.
In some states the necessary ID is free, but "free" just means that there is no fee for the ID or to apply for it. It does not mean that getting copies of the necessary documents that must be submitted with the application are free. Those can sometimes run to over $100.
Here's a collection of links I've saved over the years on this:
6% of Americans don't have bank accounts. That rises to 23% of people who make less than $25k/year. See [1].
For cashing checks without an ID one way you could do it is via a third-party endorsement. Write on the back "Pay to the order of <trusted friend who does have ID>" and that trusted friend cashes it for for them and gives them the money.
My guess for getting a job is that (1) many of those without ID don't have jobs (e.g., members of a single income household who are not the income earner) or (2) have jobs that pay in cash and aren't on the record.
There might also be people who had ID but no longer do. I'm old enough that next year I start on Medicare, and next year or the year after I'll start collecting Social Security. Suppose in a few years I'm no longer able to drive and let my driver's license expire.
It's actually been a long time since I needed to show anyone my driver's license.
I do all my banking online. I do all my check cashing online (my bank has an excellent "deposit check by taking a photo" in their app). I could also deposit checks at the ATM. I expect I'll do all my interaction with the Social Security system and the Medicare system online. I expect to get a Medicare Advantage plan with Kaiser (my current health provider), which if they handle people on their Medicare Advantage plans the same way they handle people on their non-Medicare plans just requires that I have my Kaiser card. (Actually, they don't seem to actually even require the card--just that the patient knows their account number).
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