Unpopular Opinions You Hold

[The Horse's Mouth]

22 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

This is an interesting point, actually, because it does seem to be true.

 

What drives a person to go as conspirational as all that? I think I remember someone talking about it all when QAnon were all the rage in the aftermath of the January 6th coup attempt, and there was something along the lines of it feeding a narrative of personal importance, making someone believe that a person who might not have much else that they really do mean something.

I'd say it's a combination of personality and the environment. I mean on the latter point, just taking it aside and thinking of our government. The amount of scandals, dodgy back deal dealings, the cleanest government in my lifetime was probably the coalition which still had a lot of dirt on it. And trust in people of power has transcended the political divide. 

 

With the Jan 6 coup, I think it was believable that the election could've been taken from them. (I don't subscribe to that theory btw) , then you combine that with personalities that feel marginalised by current society. And with the Iraq war,paedo rings, the bankers crash .etc. it's gotten to a point where weve had scandals which can cover all bases and be like "well if x was true why can't y be"

 

And not to go onto too much of tangent, but is it a case of these people too exposed to information(including false)as well? You can probably pick any story by example and see 8 different accounts swayed to a different way. If you're consuming this on such a high rate every day because it's so easily accessible then does that lead you further into the rabbithole?

 

[leicsmac]

21 minutes ago, The Horse's Mouth said:

I'd say it's a combination of personality and the environment. I mean on the latter point, just taking it aside and thinking of our government. The amount of scandals, dodgy back deal dealings, the cleanest government in my lifetime was probably the coalition which still had a lot of dirt on it. And trust in people of power has transcended the political divide. 

 

With the Jan 6 coup, I think it was believable that the election could've been taken from them. (I don't subscribe to that theory btw) , then you combine that with personalities that feel marginalised by current society. And with the Iraq war,paedo rings, the bankers crash .etc. it's gotten to a point where weve had scandals which can cover all bases and be like "well if x was true why can't y be"

 

And not to go onto too much of tangent, but is it a case of these people too exposed to information(including false)as well? You can probably pick any story by example and see 8 different accounts swayed to a different way. If you're consuming this on such a high rate every day because it's so easily accessible then does that lead you further into the rabbithole?

 

I'm with you on all of this and I wanted to comment on the bolded.

 

As a science communicator who is rather heavily invested in the future, that sentence is seemingly true and terrifies me.

[The Horse's Mouth]

5 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

I'm with you on all of this and I wanted to comment on the bolded.

 

As a science communicator who is rather heavily invested in the future, that sentence is seemingly true and terrifies me.

The thing that terrifies me is I can't see a solution, you'd think some form of regulation, but then you have the query of whoever's regulating it would have complete control of a narrative, the absolute perfect person/AI doesn't exist for this. I know the tech giants have been doing it, but it's almost the worst way because they're clearly regulating with their narrative in mind. It's just a minefield. 

[leicsmac]

8 minutes ago, The Horse's Mouth said:

The thing that terrifies me is I can't see a solution, you'd think some form of regulation, but then you have the query of whoever's regulating it would have complete control of a narrative, the absolute perfect person/AI doesn't exist for this. I know the tech giants have been doing it, but it's almost the worst way because they're clearly regulating with their narrative in mind. It's just a minefield. 

That's part of the reason it scares me, too.

 

But at the same time the genie is out of the bottle now and, additionally, having global communications in this style might end up having critical utility at some point.

 

It's certainly a conundrum.

[ozleicester]

i find it amazing that Letissier is ripped apart....yet Boris  is still your leader

[LiberalFox]

Since Linehan and Rowling were mentioned and I'm very into trans issues at the moment I thought I'd share my opinions on them. 

 

Linehan acts like a typical narcissist. As far as I know his interest in trans people only started when he used a caricatured trans person in an episode of the "IT Crowd". He got some push back and bore a grudge against trans people ever since. For some reason he installed himself as some kind of "trans expert" despite no basis for having any authority on the matter. His behaviour started to go off the rails when he started to lose his monopoly to people like Rowling. Hopefully he'll go back to actually doing something productive with his talents, he's a good comedy writer. It would be nice also if society didn't just accept a random cishet white dude who writes comedy as a self-appointed expert on a minority group. 

 

As for Rowling I think she is likely trans herself. She's spoken about how she questioned her gender identity growing up. She likes to write under the name "Robert Galbraith" - she said that Robert is just a name she likes. Feminism offers women a way to challenge cisnormative society so it attracts a lot of gender non-conforming women. I've been reading a lot of the latest literature on trans issues and one of the recent trends is a massive increase in adolescent girls seeking trans healthcare. I wonder if this is a reflection of the difficulties young girls who aren't cisnormative face. Forced gender roles are much worse for girls to deal with. Unfortunately people like Rowling have been conditioned to see transness as inherently bad. Something to be grown out of, that birth sex is immutable. 

 

The reality is that gender is a spectrum. In a way we are all on it. There is no "correct" amount of masculinity or femininity but the majority of the population fit around a norm. The majority of detransitioners seem to be women by birth. I do wonder if many girls are turning to seeking transition in order to validate their own identity rather than because of it. 

 

 

[HighPeakFox]

15 minutes ago, LiberalFox said:

Since Linehan and Rowling were mentioned and I'm very into trans issues at the moment I thought I'd share my opinions on them. 

 

Linehan acts like a typical narcissist. As far as I know his interest in trans people only started when he used a caricatured trans person in an episode of the "IT Crowd". He got some push back and bore a grudge against trans people ever since. For some reason he installed himself as some kind of "trans expert" despite no basis for having any authority on the matter. His behaviour started to go off the rails when he started to lose his monopoly to people like Rowling. Hopefully he'll go back to actually doing something productive with his talents, he's a good comedy writer. It would be nice also if society didn't just accept a random cishet white dude who writes comedy as a self-appointed expert on a minority group. 

 

As for Rowling I think she is likely trans herself. She's spoken about how she questioned her gender identity growing up. She likes to write under the name "Robert Galbraith" - she said that Robert is just a name she likes. Feminism offers women a way to challenge cisnormative society so it attracts a lot of gender non-conforming women. I've been reading a lot of the latest literature on trans issues and one of the recent trends is a massive increase in adolescent girls seeking trans healthcare. I wonder if this is a reflection of the difficulties young girls who aren't cisnormative face. Forced gender roles are much worse for girls to deal with. Unfortunately people like Rowling have been conditioned to see transness as inherently bad. Something to be grown out of, that birth sex is immutable. 

 

The reality is that gender is a spectrum. In a way we are all on it. There is no "correct" amount of masculinity or femininity but the majority of the population fit around a norm. The majority of detransitioners seem to be women by birth. I do wonder if many girls are turning to seeking transition in order to validate their own identity rather than because of it. 

Really? It sounds like you're really reaching here.

[frakenfox]

You couldn't make it up.... unless you were JK Rowling.

[leicsmac]

Interestingly enough, the name Robert Galbraith is also shared by an American psychologist who was a key exponent of gay conversion therapy. It's also not a particularly common name, all things considered.

 

Is it possible that Ms Rowling didn't know about this person before taking on that particular pen-name and as such it's purely coincidental?

[FoxesDeb]

1 hour ago, ozleicester said:

i find it amazing that Letissier is ripped apart....yet Boris  is still your leader

I find it interesting that you take every opportunity possible to criticise the UK government, despite not living there, and also while having a very questionable government yourself 

[ozleicester]

19 minutes ago, FoxesDeb said:

I find it interesting that you take every opportunity possible to criticise the UK government, despite not living there, and also while having a very questionable government yourself 

I think the UK government is worthy of criticism, boris is a complete scumbag who is exploiting the working class and laughing at them, but hey if you like him/them thats cool for you.

It is a uk forum, so yes i do mention the uk government..im quite happy to discuss my thoughts on others, like....um...brasil as well, but i figure thats of limited relevance here

The oz government is even worse than your mates, they locked up refugees for 9 years and just started releasing them as an election is close, they are the most corrupt and incompetent government i have ever known....my only hope is that we are about 1 month away from change.

But im glad you are interested
 

[FoxesDeb]

2 minutes ago, ozleicester said:

I think the UK government is worthy of criticism, boris is a complete scumbag who is exploiting the working class and laughing at them, but hey if you like him/them thats cool for you.

It is a uk forum, so yes i do mention the uk government..im quite happy to discuss my thoughts on others, like....um...brasil as well, but i figure thats of limited relevance here

The oz government is even worse than your mates, they locked up refugees for 9 years and just started releasing them as an election is close, they are the most corrupt and incompetent government i have ever known....my only hope is that we are about 1 month away from change.

But im glad you are interested
 

They're not my mates, I don't live there, I just find it a bit strange that you take every opportunity to mention 'Boris is still your leader' when things aren't great your side of the world either 

[LiberalFox]

3 hours ago, HighPeakFox said:

Really? It sounds like you're really reaching here.

Maybe, it's only an opinion. But also it's mostly based on stuff she's said herself. I don't think she'd want to transition, just don't think she's totally cis. It's totally up to her how she identifies of course. 

 

We're kind of on the topic of conspiracy theories so thought I'd share something along those lines I actually think might be true 

Edited 8 April 2022 by LiberalFox

[LiberalFox]

3 hours ago, leicsmac said:

Interestingly enough, the name Robert Galbraith is also shared by an American psychologist who was a key exponent of gay conversion therapy. It's also not a particularly common name, all things considered.

 

Is it possible that Ms Rowling didn't know about this person before taking on that particular pen-name and as such it's purely coincidental?

Yeah I'm aware of that! But I do think it's quite possible to be coincidence because Robert certainly isn't uncommon and she wanted a Scottish sounding surname. 

 

There's a whole bunch of stuff people are trying to read into the Potter books like views on slavery and anti-semitism which seem a bit far fetched.

Edited 8 April 2022 by LiberalFox

[The Bear]

3 hours ago, leicsmac said:

Interestingly enough, the name Robert Galbraith is also shared by an American psychologist who was a key exponent of gay conversion therapy. It's also not a particularly common name, all things considered.

 

Is it possible that Ms Rowling didn't know about this person before taking on that particular pen-name and as such it's purely coincidental?

I doubt that she wouldn't have Googled the name if it was one she was going to be writing under and represented by. 

[worthosoriginals]

God. 

Why didnt he turn up to help 6 million jews?  Or more recently to help out in ukraine. Is he indifferent or could it just be because he doesn't exist? 

But his followers were told he does, at school etc (they were told) . Or if you were born in a different part of the world you'd believe in a different god, pure coincidence? 

 

 

[leicsmac]

10 hours ago, The Bear said:

I doubt that she wouldn't have Googled the name if it was one she was going to be writing under and represented by. 

I doubt this too - every writer, especially one as prestigious as Ms Rowling, knows the importance of such research.

 

That's why I personally don't believe it is coincidental.

[Silebyfox_89]

Not a fan of the big mac, it's underwhelming.

[The Horse's Mouth]

16 hours ago, LiberalFox said:

Maybe, it's only an opinion. But also it's mostly based on stuff she's said herself. I don't think she'd want to transition, just don't think she's totally cis. It's totally up to her how she identifies of course. 

 

We're kind of on the topic of conspiracy theories so thought I'd share something along those lines I actually think might be true 

Bit gutted that was your intention now, I thought it was a great bit of irony we're going on about people going down rabbitholes and you come out saying jk Rowling's trans

[frakenfox]

17 hours ago, LiberalFox said:

Maybe, it's only an opinion. But also it's mostly based on stuff she's said herself. I don't think she'd want to transition, just don't think she's totally cis. It's totally up to her how she identifies of course. 

What does that actually mean?

 

I'm not having a go at anyone, it's a genuine question. What is to be totally cis? Is there a checklist or something?

 

Rowling talks (in her essay) of coming to terms, in her youth, with the person she was, with the women she was...

 

Quote

Fortunately for me, I found my own sense of otherness, and my ambivalence about being a woman, reflected in the work of female writers and musicians who reassured me that, in spite of everything a sexist world tries to throw at the female-bodied, it’s fine not to feel pink, frilly and compliant inside your own head; it’s OK to feel confused, dark, both sexual and non-sexual, unsure of what or who you are.

 

I don't doubt for a moment the very real thoughts inside the head of someone transgender, the notion of being born in the 'wrong body' and all that goes along with that, I just wonder about the definition of what it is to be a women (or a man) that is being applied. 

[LiberalFox]

3 hours ago, frakenfox said:

What does that actually mean?

 

I'm not having a go at anyone, it's a genuine question. What is to be totally cis? Is there a checklist or something?

 

Rowling talks (in her essay) of coming to terms, in her youth, with the person she was, with the women she was...

 

 

I don't doubt for a moment the very real thoughts inside the head of someone transgender, the notion of being born in the 'wrong body' and all that goes along with that, I just wonder about the definition of what it is to be a women (or a man) that is being applied. 

You can be non-binary too. There's no such thing as "totally cis" really but I didn't want to explain non-binary trans identity, totally cis to me would be someone who never felt the need to question their gender much. Cis merely means "not trans". I think if you are "ambivalent" to your birth sex/gender and it occupies so much of your thought that you seek external guidance then it is likely you aren't cis. It feels a bit rude of me to speculate on someone's gender identity but then she shares her essay openly, it is on her website. I was reading it again to remind myself of common anti-trans talking points and it struck me. Non binary identities weren't really available to her when she was growing up. Non binary people intensely dislike having to conform to binary gender stereotypes. It's also true that the same person could choose to describe themselves as non-binary, gender non-conforming or simply to be an equally valid member of their birth sex. All that really matters is that last bit : "it’s fine not to feel pink, frilly and compliant inside your own head; it’s OK to feel confused, dark, both sexual and non-sexual, unsure of what or who you are." The parts in bold are affirmative. Establishing a positive internal narrative like this is what is important. It's why conversion therapies where people are convinced that the way they feel is fundamentally wrong are so damaging.  

 

I think Rowling may well lie somewhere on that spectrum between ciswoman and transman and she is concerned that were she a young woman today that she would choose hormone therapy that she would regret in later life. The problem is that while her concern is understandable, she doesn't have any real understanding of trans identities. Her method of research has served her well in her work as a writer of fantasies, but what she has done is create a fantasy version of trans people and that causes harm to real people. She can't comprehend binary trans people. She's fallen into an anti-trans rabbit hole and will only listen to people who agree with her. I wonder what she really feels about being on the same side of a debate as Putin and the far-right.

 

From feel, I would say there is a divide around millennial and younger vs Gen X and older. A lot of the feminists who write for mainstream papers are still older than millennial who generally don't understand trans people. Most of us prefer to think of ourselves as tolerant and we generally treat anyone with a basic level of respect but our views on "conscience" issues seem to be very dependent on our generation. 

 

 

[Tim'llFixIt]

23 hours ago, worthosoriginals said:

God. 

Why didnt he turn up to help 6 million jews?  Or more recently to help out in ukraine. Is he indifferent or could it just be because he doesn't exist? 

But his followers were told he does, at school etc (they were told) . Or if you were born in a different part of the world you'd believe in a different god, pure coincidence? 

 

 

I agree, if he is knocking about anywhere he's one of the biggest cvunts going

[The Horse's Mouth]

3 minutes ago, pmcla26 said:

Quarter pounder with cheese is loads better, but standards have dropped on them since the double quarter pounder has come out. 

Yeah agreed quarter pounder is the go to, or a big tasty if it's on offer. Tbh though I can only stomach a maccies on a hangover these days 

[Tim'llFixIt]

Any sport that requires an animal is a joke in this day and age.

[MPH]

2 hours ago, Tim'llFixIt said:

Any sport that requires an animal is a joke in this day and age.

 

premier league uses a non leather ball so we’re safe!