Comment by climb_stealth

3 years ago

Where do you pick up political undertones? I'm genuinely curious. I read the whole landing page and it is all lighthearted and friendly, and I pick up on nothing that makes me think otherwise.

32 comments

climb_stealth

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bobsmooth  3 years ago

The example profile includes pronouns.

  • bobbylarrybobby  3 years ago

    What is political about an additional axis along which some people choose to make known how they'd like to be referred to? I'm genuinely asking. I don't believe things become political when they happen to be split down party lines in <current country> -- if that were the case then climate change is political now, but climate change is as debatable as, say, the existence of subatomic particles. IMO something is political when it actually relates to what politicians do, i.e., it's something you can vote for. You can't vote for... a ban on using pronouns that don't match birth sex? A ban on sharing pronouns at all?

  • patates  3 years ago

    I'm so tired of the constant battle to make very simple, innocent ideas political.

    Sooo f*ing tired.

    • gnarbarian  3 years ago

      like it or not but things like pronouns, rainbow themes, gender neutral avatars, even masks are used as political symbols to signify allegiance. It's opt-in (like wearing an arm band) and allows people who partake to identify political allies and adversaries.

      Even pointing this out objectively will get somebody steamrolled.

      11 replies →

    • throw-7462637  3 years ago

      > I'm so tired of the constant battle to make very simple, innocent ideas political.

      You may be tired, and I may get downvoted, but this is oversimplifying the problem so much that the message itself seems political. First, identifying pronouns is not really opt-in. There is significant peer pressure, and once you're the lone holdout, it's very hard to keep yourself pronoun-less without becoming a social outcast and targeted as a bigot.

      I am 100% behind equal rights for trans people, and will call anyone by their preferred pronoun (he or she, on the fence on they, and would probably not go into the neo-pronouns). That said, my wish is that the default mode to address someone is based on observed external sex characteristics, and where people whose external sex characteristics match their traditional pronouns do not communicate their pronouns. My reasons are that at a young age, kids are extremely easy to influence, and I have a strong feeling that many kids identify as another sex to mask other underlying issues. For similar contrarian perspective see the book Irreversible Damage and also Blair White's youtube channel.

  • rsynnott  3 years ago

    Probably also has birthday and an option for an avatar and various other personal attributes; what of it?

    (I mean, yes, in the last few years this has been politicised, primarily in the US, by a right wing desperate for a new wedge issue, but you'd have to be fairly gullible to fall for that...)

  • gnarbarian  3 years ago

    It's more than that, it's the entire theme. It screams "you're not welcome here."

    It's the left wing equivalent of putting up a bunch of burning crosses and pretending they don't mean anything.

    I know exactly how fairly I would be treated in that community and it looks like this: (the flagged and dead comment below this)

    https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34271510