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Dammit.

It got so bad we have MAGA freaks north of the border now. Can I mail them back to you, please?

this wins the internet

Yeah I came back and searched his name on here after watching the same thing. Looks like we were one of the sites he tried to make it look like the video existed before it actually did. Creep.

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As a child, I believed that Canadians had no culture; presumably, I saw "culture" as the ways in which people from different countries acted differently, and since we all acted "normally", we therefore had no culture.


Gender identity seems...complicated.  Generalization based on abstraction is the basis of how humans think and communicate, so we like to put things in neat categories.  Naturally we want to put ourselves, and even other people into neat categories, even when this is nonsensical, or harmful.

I try to think in terms of continua, rather than binary classifications.  Cisexual/transexual isn't a thing; it's a range of things.

Please don't get triggered by my particular choice of nouns below; I don't think they match the standard lexicon, but they're what I've got to work with.  This general model has been lurking in my head for a while; if it's entirely wrong, and I am to be excoriated, then this forum is as good a place for it as any.
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1. Sex: < Male (0) ... Intersex(5) ... Female (10) >
This is the "physiological / biological" axis; essentially, are your chromosomes XX or XY, and how your plumbing is configured.  It's what you're born with.  It can be tweaked to an extent with hormones, and surgery can have an effect, but without the technology to completely rewrite a person's DNA, you're kinda stuck with this.

Arnold Schwarzenegger might score around 0.  I only have to shave 2 times a week, so I might be about a 2.  Consider that Schwarzenegger's use of steroids may have contributed to his score.

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2. Gender: < Masculine (0) ... Neutral (5) ... Feminine (10) >
This is the "psychological / cultural" axis;  i.e., a person's gender identity within society.  People who are on opposite ends of the sex and gender axes often identify as trans.  A tomboy might be classified as "female / masculine".  Keep in mind this is a continuum, and knowing someone identifies as cis-female doesn't tell you whether they're a princess who would like to go pony riding, but is terrified she might break a nail (10), or a butch field entomologist who drinks whisky while watching sportsball (2).

I was mistaken for a girl periodically as a child; if you saw a picture, you'd understand why.  It still happens to me occasionally.  I wear my hair in a braid, and (during the winter) wear a long coat, both which are feminine markers around these parts.  Being only 5'7" doesn't help.  The mistake typically happens when a store clerk approaches me from behind.  It's partly annoying, partly amusing.

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3.  Orientation: < Straight(0) ... Bi (5) ... Gay (10) >
This should be self explanatory.  One of my pet theories is that there are more people close to the middle of this axis than identify as such; "closeted bisexuals".
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...no wait, I forgot about asexuality.  Let's add another axis to cover that.

And isn't axis 3 an oversimplification of orientation?  What if someone is sex-straight, but gender-bi?  What if I'd rather date the butch field entomologist?

Isn't making masculine / feminine a single axis terribly reductive? There are dozens of factors involved in gender within society, and a simple label doesn't begin to cover it.  How do we take into account gender roles that are reversed across different cultures?

Is that a skirt, or is it a kilt?

Wouldn't it be great if we could just let people be who they want, and dispense with labels altogether?  I'll have a side-order of World Peace, while you're at it.

Gender identity seems...complicated.

Yes, growing up in an a very average town in Canada, watching primarily American television (except in rare circumstances) and no noticeable ethnic traditions of my own family, I became obsessed with the USA because it seemed like "real life" - which I realize is counterintuitive.

Also, I also personally identify is No No Always, but rarely bring it up because decades ago I defaulted to an almost aggressively male "look" and am too lazy to change at this point. Me inside is very different from what I generally present outwards.

Great topic.

Is the book club still meeting on Wednesdays? I'm usually busy but would love to check it out if i'm ever not.

We've been living under what amounts to Pentabarf-Law up here for the better part of 5 years now. I hardly notice it anymore. But, thanks a lot Trudeau!

Is it the prevailing view on the board that there is no valid arguments against the statue destructions?

It doesn't seem simple to me.

Hmm... Perhaps it would be more effective to erect statues of these historical figures showcasing their flaws.  The opposition could rail against the ideas conveyed, but they would not have the righteous indignation that is lent by witnessing the destruction of historical public property.

If the flaws are actually depicted in some manner (not sure how that would work in every case), I can see there being benefit. But if it's just a plaque under a regular statue, I would argue it's still glorifying the subject of the statue.

I haven't taken a poll around the board, but I will go on record as stating that I don't believe there is a decent argument against the statue destruction.

WOW.

DAMN.

Oh my fucking god

This is very interesting. I will read up more on this tonight.

Bianca is not on there.

I will say this much, my dad turned 81 in May, and lives 2 hours away from me. I don't own a car. He has always been pretty difficult to buy for. One of his favorite musicians is on there for $60. I hired her to speak to him for a couple minutes and he cried because he loved it so much. So, it has its uses.

I always think it's valuable to understand the other tunnels out there.

I have libertarian friends, and used to argue them a lot.. but frankly I used to have a badly skewed notion of what they actually care about.

I took the time to really figure out what their position was and why they feel that way. I still disagree with them, but at least I'm not blasting them with strawman arguments anymore. And I admit, there's some stuff in that tunnel that I can't disagree with.

Same with cops -- my childhood best friend is a cop, and I always use our conversations as an opportunity to learn how that reality tunnel works. It takes conscious effort to disengage my mental judgment engine and just be receptive.

It definitely helped me understand their worldview and I am more sympathetic to the libertarian worldview, though I believe it helped that a large chunk of my introduction was through Penn Jillette, who I consider to be a very good person with good intentions. He showed a side of libertarianism which made it seem like the compassionate choice. It took Nigel and ECH pointing out to me that the goal is decent, but could never work without everything collapsing and being rebuilt which is unlikely to happen any time soon. Eutopias and all that.

It's worth noting that Penn has been showing major misgivings about libertarianism recently.

Good thread Cram.

I would also add to be careful about what reality tunnels you choose to enter. As an experiment I decided to take on the worldview of the libertarian, and once I was deeply in it was difficult to get back out. I credit Nigel, ECH, and LMNO with assisting me out of that mindset. Of course, other people are very likely savvier than I am, or I am more committed to the bit... but be careful.

It must be nice to be perfect

As we all know, I shit down the throat of all noobs, due to my perfection.