Chat Thread

[Vos]

I'm a girl Vosaiu. Just making that clear if it wasn't already. LOL

 

Yes, thank you for clearing that up.

[Guest Anonymous]

I know it was so ambiguous!

[Luminesce]

I just always assume that I have no idea what gender a person is on the forums, regardless of what their avatar/name looks like

 

Back in the day, I used to automatically assume everyone on the interwebs was male until proven otherwise. And it was usually true too, I've met plenty of females but many more guys pretending to be female.

 

Now I don't assume crap, because transgender and headmate fronting has become so commonplace nothing is for sure even if it is. I kind of just stopped caring about gender identity altogether.

 

It was for the best.

[Sock]

I largely try to avoid getting too entangled in gender-based issues, even the most seemingly noble. This is because of how complicated things can get, how erratic things regarding that stuff can be, and how simply nasty people can get about it.

 

This was something I took note of a while ago, as I often found myself confused and disoriented about the various theories and mutations of genders over the years. Not to mention, that so many who reported about such things as changing around gender identities just seemed really, really depressed. My viewpoint is limited, of course, but the look I got made me want to stay back from it.

 

The above is in regards to the ball park of the transexual, but I try to avoid the "battle of the sexes" as well. That is, the two major gendered ideologies that have been clawing at each other throat in recent years. I try to avoid stating an opinion on either of them, because of how incredibly hateful, rage filled, and plain unpleasant things concerning either of them can get. Treating either as being the right party seems like folly to me.

 

Peace.

[jean-luc]

I wish my podcasts got this many comments.... maybe I should talk about gender on the 'casts.

[Guest Anonymous]

Or talk about Mistgod, talk about Mistgod-Melian a lot, especially in the first couple of podcasts and... oh wait.

[Sock]

In Chesterton’s The Secret of Father Brown, a beloved nobleman who murdered his good-for-nothing brother in a duel thirty years ago returns to his hometown wracked by guilt. All the townspeople want to forgive him immediately, and they mock the titular priest for only being willing to give a measured forgiveness conditional on penance and self-reflection. They lecture the priest on the virtues of charity and compassion.

 

Later, it comes out that the beloved nobleman did not in fact kill his good-for-nothing brother. The good-for-nothing brother killed the beloved nobleman (and stole his identity). Now the townspeople want to see him lynched or burned alive, and it is only the priest who – consistently – offers a measured forgiveness conditional on penance and self-reflection.

 

The priest tells them:

 

[ It seems to me that you only pardon the sins that you don’t really think sinful. You only forgive criminals when they commit what you don’t regard as crimes, but rather as conventions. You forgive a conventional duel just as you forgive a conventional divorce. You forgive because there isn’t anything to be forgiven.]

 

He further notes that this is why the townspeople can self-righteously consider themselves more compassionate and forgiving than he is. Actual forgiveness, the kind the priest needs to cultivate to forgive evildoers, is really really hard. The fake forgiveness the townspeople use to forgive the people they like is really easy, so they get to boast not only of their forgiving nature, but of how much nicer they are than those mean old priests who find forgiveness difficult and want penance along with it.

 

As soon as I went through this excerpt, I knew I was on to something nice. This article: 'I can tolerate anything except the outgroup' is a neat look at the way 'tolerance' has been being used in recent times, and brings up the idea that what many refer to as 'tolerance' isn't tolerance. That in truth, there's nothing to tolerate, as they find the 'tolerated' action acceptable. If they really ran in to behavior they found wrong, they would not tolerate it, they would rage against it.

 

This is something that I found useful as a tool of reflecting on some experiences I've had, and put in to perspective certain events I've witnessed recently. But, I would urge those who read the article to not use the ideas here to whack anyone with a judgment stick.

[Guest Anonymous]

Wait, I don't have a judgement stick! I want one though.

 

Thanks for the link to the article Sock. Don't get Mistgod and I started on runaway political correctness and progressive tolerance.

---

This is more about extending your compassion beyond your comfort zone than political correctness.

[Sock]

Just wanted to share some cool robot stuff here.

[jean-luc]

That whole video seemed like a load of BS. No actual concrete statements were made, it was all just "oh we're pushing the boundries whoopdydoo"