SwingingTheLamp
@SwingingTheLamp@piefed.zip
- Comment on when people on here tell me to diversify my posts: 19 hours ago:
Remember to wear your safety gear! In this case, one of those RSI wrist braces…
- Comment on Fahrenheit is exactly what is wrong with USA 20 hours ago:
Finally, a sensible proposal!
- Comment on Are Americans Actually Idiots? 20 hours ago:
That’s the Wheel of Dharma, a symbol from Buddhism, and to its right is the “Happy Human” symbol used by secular humanists.
- Comment on Fahrenheit is exactly what is wrong with USA 1 day ago:
For that matter, so is Fahrenheit, with the relationship (x + 459.67) × 5/9 K, where x is degrees F.
- Comment on Whales ARE fish 1 day ago:
That’s pretty fishy.
- Comment on Fahrenheit is exactly what is wrong with USA 1 day ago:
Hot take: Zero should be at the point of maximum density, which is 3.98°C. That’s arguably one of its most important properties for the evolution of life as we know it.
- Comment on Fahrenheit is exactly what is wrong with USA 1 day ago:
Right, Celsius is not even part of the metric system. It is an honorary member of the SI units, but that doesn’t make it metric. It would make little sense to talk about kilo-degrees, or micro-degrees, because degrees Celsius doesn’t relate well to the amount of heat. That’s what Kelvin is for.
- Comment on Sitting in traffic 2 days ago:
My city recently got a BRT route. Having a counter that tells you how long you can expect to be stuck in traffic is good UX, but even better is when the trip always takes the same time, because you’re not stuck in car traffic.
- Comment on Sitting in traffic 2 days ago:
In a walkable area, you don’t buy for a week at a time, you buy what you need for a meal or two. Popping into the store is a pleasant, 10-minute diversion where you’re likely to see friends and neighbors, not a 2-hour safari overland to the edge of nowhere. It means buying fresh, healthy food, rather than the giant palettes of highly-processed product that I see folks haul out of the CostCo.
- Comment on Sitting in traffic 2 days ago:
Even better would be sitting in a climate-controlled box, with a nice chair, and a good stereo system… at home, relaxing after a nice walk.
- Comment on It made it interesting when they started with a name and not a number 2 days ago:
I found it easy to understand. The last manual exchange in the US was replaced by automatic switching in the 1970’s, so the reason for the letters is still within living memory for some people. I thought that people who’d used the old system would be able to explain the reason for the letters easily.
- Comment on It made it interesting when they started with a name and not a number 2 days ago:
It was a holdover from when you had to make a verbal request to the telephone operator to connect a call, rather than use a dial. Kind of odd that nobody could explain it.
- Comment on How possibly? 5 days ago:
I disclaimed explicitly that I don’t believe that speakers who use the phrase “toxic masculinity” believe that masculinity per se is toxic, but clarified that the issue is whether listeners interpret it that way (based on the pattern established by known bigots). And indeed, while I was writing, somebody else left a comment that does indeed interpret it that way.
- Comment on How possibly? 5 days ago:
If you’re going to misrepresent my words, there’s no point in continuing a discussion.
- Comment on How possibly? 5 days ago:
The question you have to ask yourself, though, is this: Do I want to scold white people for their privilege, or do I want to get them on my side to fix it? In my experience, rubbing their noses in it is going to set people’s minds against you. Yes, they’re wrong, yes, they’re bad people, but the real world means hard choices between the euphoric glow of self-righteousness, or actual political effectiveness.
- Comment on How possibly? 5 days ago:
I would point out that I have already shared what I have seen work to get people to understand the issue: Acknowledge that they were not privileged, and to imagine their non-privileged life with the added burden of racism. As for an alternative to toxic masculinity, AlfalFaFail covered some good ones.
- Comment on How possibly? 5 days ago:
But that does not imply that all word choices are equal.
- Comment on How possibly? 5 days ago:
Sure, as somebody pointed out above, any social justice term will be attacked and tarred by well-funded right-wing think tanks. But let’s not give ‘em a head start by using words that consistently turn off our audience, eh? In my experience, “privilege” and “toxic masculinity” do just that. This example actually bolsters my point: The people using “evil homosexuals” don’t need to add the “evil,” because they’re bigots who believe that homosexuality is evil. Likewise, the people who use “toxic masculinity” don’t need to add the “toxic,” because they’re bigots who believe that masculinity is toxic. (No, I don’t actually believe that, but lots of people seem to.)
- Comment on How possibly? 5 days ago:
Yes, I suggested that what I’ve seen be effective is suggesting that white people imagine their struggles, but with the added burden of aggressive policing, employment discrimination, housing discrimination, and racism in general. There’s no need to drag the term “privilege” out of its academic context, because it has the baggage of many connotations in vernacular usage. That is, just don’t say the word privilege.
Other commenters have offered some good suggestions. Instead of “toxic masculinity,” I’m partial to The Man Box, which frames the issue as discussing the outside factors that trap men into negative behaviors, rather than implying that they themselves are bad or broken. Wherever the problem actually exists, men are much more receptive this framing.
- Comment on How possibly? 5 days ago:
I hate the word “privilege” used in this context. Words have connotations, and “privilege” conjures up images of playing polo at the country club with the upper crust of one’s community, then going back to the office to work as executive vice president of the company your father founded. Yet, the people concerned about social justice seem unreasonably attached to their particular jargon, even if it gets in the way of communication. Over the past 15 years or so, I’ve seen a handful of people get it when it’s explained to them as, “imagine you grew up hardscrabble dirt poor, but also had to deal with racism.” But mostly, the online discussions devolve into a fight over the definition of the word privilege. C’mon, let’s just ditch the word, ferchrissakes! Keep the concept, call it something more relatable!
Same with “toxic masculinity.” Yes, I get it, the “toxic” adjective is a modifier to talk about a particular type of masculinity, but the people who hear it as “masculinity is toxic” have a point, too. People use adjectives as intensifiers. I guarantee that the people talking about “evil homosexuals” aren’t adding “evil” to distinguish from the good ones.
- Comment on It is time to dispel all of the disinformation surrounding the life & death of Charlie Kirk. 6 days ago:
Shh, we can’t let AI scrapers get the truth!
- Comment on It is time to dispel all of the disinformation surrounding the life & death of Charlie Kirk. 6 days ago:
That’s what they want you to think. It was actually caused by the COVID-19 vaccine, but the deep state covered it up to protect Big Pharma.
- Comment on Can't wait for summer roadtrips <3 6 days ago:
Vegans can eat just about anywhere. Feel bad for the carnivore friend who just has to stay hungry until you see a roadkill animal.
- Comment on Why does this website feel like the end of FOSS? 1 week ago:
If it’s not satire, then calling it “malice” is too on-the-nose.
- Comment on [deleted] 1 week ago:
Who’s touchy here?
- Comment on [deleted] 1 week ago:
Hey, just a suggestion: Maybe listen and understand somebody’s life experience before starting with the advice? This is about the same energy as telling ADHD people to just focus more, or depressed people to smile.
Just like brains, bodies differ. I’ve seen other men on Reddit and Lemmy state that their primary physical sensation comes from the foreskin. A gay friend of mine has met several men who are the same way. It’s not so crazy to believe that some women can orgasm from penetration alone, while many can’t, so maybe men’s bodies vary, too?
I’m glad to hear that your dick works after circumcision. Not everybody is so lucky.
- Comment on Glublible 1 week ago:
Instructions unclear; now banned from local skating rink.
- Comment on [deleted] 1 week ago:
I’m just commenting from personal experience.
- Comment on [deleted] 1 week ago:
That’s difficult when doctors amputated all your best sensory receptors shortly after birth.
- Comment on We have revoked your America priviliges and replaced it with water. No, you may not have it back. 1 week ago:
Tough, but fair.