iNow

Did he tell you that’s why he left, or is this another unfounded assumption you’re presenting as fact? Maybe he took a new job that disallowed him from online forums, or had kids, or got sick and died. There are thousands of possible reasons as to why he is no longer an active poster here. What evidence do you have confirming it was due to the site culture? Darn. Whatever will we do without your thoughtful, informative, reasonable posting style where you’re always so quick to supply evidence when asked?

I’m supportive of this in parallel, but not in place of, improving our concept of normal. In terms of this thread, one way we might celebrate trans kids is by letting them compete in sports and not making it against the law (I know you’re already onboard with that, am just reinforcing it more generally).

P1: We have a serious problem with gun violence in this country. More children die from guns than from car accidents. P2: Hmm. Have you tired solving it by selling more guns to more people, and ensuring the people closest to those kids also have guns? P1: Hot damn, you’re right! Why didn’t I think if that!?!

Every 13 minutes, someone is killed with a gun… just in Oklahoma, one of our 49 states who had their own mass shooting in the last day.

You're always so steady and inviting of reasonable rational dialog without needless vitriol or attack. Thank you for so consistently leading by example and setting the proper tone that leaves personal barbs and aggro provocations at the door. It's truly a sight to behold!

This is completely fair and valid. The distinction, however, seems to suggest your position is that those expectations of themselves are innate and not themselves also being learned/transferred/enforced by the culture into which they happen to be born. The same idea applies with religion. If you're born into a Muslim family, you'll have X expectations about yourself. If you're born into a Hindu family, you'll have Y expectations about yourself. If you're born into a Buddhist family, you'll have Z expectations about yourself. None of those expectations were with you upon exiting the womb. All of them were learned and taught. Same applies to acceptance and cultural understanding of ones own non-binary sexual identity. This seems profound on it's own, but unsure how one would EVER separate the two. Feels more like a distinction without a difference. If we as a society stopped trying to force kids into one or the other binary buckets for sex, I bet a lot of these damaging "not who you wish to be" perspectives pretty well vanish as a direct result. At that point, they're just being who they are without a constant and daily onslaught of people they love, trust, and respect telling them they're unnatural or wrong just for authentically being who they are.

The flag which identifies whether or not you've read a post (or a post has been marked as read) applies at the user profile level and is not browser specific.

If men are being abused and ignored, then yes. That should change. We should support people being abused, help them into healthier situations, and follow the evidence instead of our own biases whenever we can. Traditional sex and gender roles are rapidly shifting and even crumbling. This issue of abuse is no different, nor should it be. We should attempt to protect people as a whole, not limit focus on specific sexual or gender identities as if they exist within a vacuum. And I can justifiably state all of this without accusing Koti of being some PC woke social justice warrior for even beginning the discussion here. Amazing!

Parents and much of society, too. They’re fine with who they are. The people with whom they interact each day too often are not.

I'm sure trans kids are the same. Confused about some other things whilst growing up, but not about their gender/sexuality. Why would your experience and my experience lack such confusion, but theirs have confusion? You are making an unfounded assumption here. If you weren't confused, why assume they're confused?

Correct on both fronts. Sadly, by focusing on tribal signaling, identity politics, and sociocultural issues like trans kids in sports, their voters turn out to support them in far greater number and with far higher intensity. Then, to follow Peters actual point, why do you believe trans kids are confused?

I likely would have by now had I been autonomous myself as the sole decider for the family.

Too often overruled by statewide legislation.

If I’m going to advocate and try bringing people to my side on this issue as I am doing, I need to seek guidance from people like y’all who are smarter than me to highlight my current blind spots and partner with me to identify potentially better approaches.

Is it possible you’ve misunderstood the meaning / usage of “unilateral disarmament?”

From Axios this morning… we’re only 5 months into the year, and already more than 300 ant-trans bills have been introduced. “More than 300 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have reportedly already been intro'd this year, with many targeting trans youth specifically. That means 2022 could be the worst year for anti-trans legislation, ever. Some measures would prevent gender-affirming care or bar trans athletes from school sports, while others would restrict bathroom access.” This ISN’T about protecting girls sports / female athletes, even though that’s the hook which seems to snag so many people who are mostly just watching this issue from the sidelines.

Unilateral disarmament is unlikely to achieve the outcome you desire, Dim. Personal choice is great, but this problem is systemic and needs a regulatory change to address, IMO.

Thank you for the response. I’m clear on the modular nature of the AR-15 as a platform allowing customization depending on preferred usage, but its utility and effectiveness are part of the reason it’s become the go-to for shooters in nearly all mass murder events. We agree that a handgun or shotgun are better for self-defense, which is why I asked.

Governments are made up of people. Some people agree with us that government should butt out. Others feel their autocratic tendencies and lust for power are best served by stoking fears and hatreds of “others” in the outgroup. Apparently it’s easy to make people angry toward and afraid of trans kids, so the latter group appeals to larger numbers of voters by excluding trans kids. That latter group is the modern day Republican Party, the GOP, the one where Donald Trump remains to this day the leader at the top and who continues to be their most powerful figure (him and Tucker Carlson, followed by Ron DeSantis). It is GOP legislators and GOP governors in GOP states, the same ones who are banning books, making it illegal for schools to mandate masks during pandemics, pushing to arrest teachers for teaching about slavery or mentioning the word gay, and ensuring that AR-15s can now be used to hunt Bambi… it is them who are passing these laws about transgendered restrooms and transgendered kids in sports. It’s not “our government” doing it. It’s focused in the portions of the US that are totally controlled by republicans, and they’re doing it because that’s what their voters have been convinced they want. Their voters are the ones who’ve been told to be scared of trans kids in sports, and their voters show up in greater number when they have been told who to hate and what to be afraid of.

I can agree with you about this, but Alex surely would not. So instead I asked him a question to see where HE may be able to agree on a compromise. He shared his position and shared why he felt that way. His starting point was different, thus so was mine.

Or pass laws making their participation illegal like my governor did last week.

And does this require an AR-15, or would a handgun suffice?

Thank you. Since that is the question this thread intends to pursue, I assume you will stop contributing now.

Do you think it helps your argument to conflate self defense with gun ownership? They’re quite obviously different things, so suggesting otherwise taints what could otherwise be considered to be a legitimate stance, IMO.