We are all Slave now.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

This word has to be banished from all dictionaries.

It makes no fucking sense at all and is only used to describe low level sexual battery. The word is beyond creepy.

It needs to go. Immediately.

[Adder]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

You're looney tunes, dude. Totally fucking looney tunes. My existence is the cause of others' disadvantages? Look, I get the concept, but that statement? That's exactly the kind of thing that can only said on a campus. You can't say shit like that in reality, in a room filled with rational, pragmatic people. People would whisper under their breath, "Who's your crazy friend?"

Your identity - as a cis, straight white man - prevents others from living their lives the way they want to live them. Your presence, and the advantages you enjoy, causes others around you to have to adjust their behavior. Whether that's a person of color who knows they need to treat you with deference or a woman who does not know whether you will do her harm or a gay couple who does not know whether their existence will cause anger and violence from you. Because your (our) station in life means that we can and do act without fear of consequences others face, our existents prevents other from "liv[ing] as [they] feel like living."

And that's not even getting into structural advantages and disadvantages.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Two things strike me about this guy's testimony:

(1) How the hell will Republicans continue to justify supporting him? What insanity can we expect to explain this?

(2) Is there any possibility this guy is going to drag this out to the mid-terms? Every hour of this has to help Dems in the Senate elections.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

Two things strike me about this guy's testimony:

(1) How the hell will Republicans continue to justify supporting him? What insanity can we expect to explain this?

(2) Is there any possibility this guy is going to drag this out to the mid-terms? Every hour of this has to help Dems in the Senate elections.

A new Cruz / O'Rourke poll that came out today has O'Rourke up by 2. Still margin of error, but this is not the best timing in the world for an R on the judiciary committee.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

What's important to you about words like "white privilege" "cis male" and "rape culture" is how they make you feel. Or how they make people to whom they apply feel. That's seriously fucked up.

I don't have feelings on this stuff. I don't take offense. I don't like dumb McWords. They annoy me. I hate corporate lingo, and I hate this sort of lingo. It suggests a failing in literacy.

Oh, right, you've no obligation to think about how they affect people to whom they don't apply (or apply differently), because that would be empathy, which is a thing that only crazy people do.

Empathy is trying to feel how others feel. There's no duty to do that. I understand how others are harmed, how others are unfairly told how to live. Intolerance is the greatest social harm out there, IMO.

Just don't demand I emotionally grasp what everyone's feeling. That's obnoxious. You don't have any obligation to feel what it's like to be in my shoes, nor I yours.

Strangely, you can grasp the criminal justice system generating unfair outcomes, but you also bristle at "racism" involving anything other than outright, expressed animus. Why do you have empathy for the unjustly imprisoned, but not for the unjustly withheld from opportunity? Is it first hand experience with the system, thus giving you a proximity you don't have on other issues. Or is it just the obvious involvement of the state (which is harder to see in other contexts)?

I totally think the system is rigged to fuck over minorities. I think it's wrong and I think we should do something about it. I don't need to "feel" what it's like to be a victim to know when someone's being victimized and see a need to remedy it. Think of me this way... I'd be the first person to argue for absolute tolerance, and for our predatory system to stop preying on the poor and minorities. But I don't need to or desire to emotionally empathize with any of these victims. I don't need or desire to empathize with anyone, frankly. I think it's an overrated idea. The better course is to have a pure rational view of right and wrong and follow that north star. Leave the emotions for the emotional.

Regarding the state, that comes from first hand knowledge. The state is the scariest villain out there, and it doesn't care about justice. Not a fucking bit. It cares about wins. And it goes for the easy win against the poor person every time. It's a national disgrace. I'd sooner dig ditches than work as a prosecutor. I find it appalling we elect so many of them to political office.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by Replaced_Texan

A new Cruz / O'Rourke poll that came out today has O'Rourke up by 2. Still margin of error, but this is not the best timing in the world for an R on the judiciary committee.

I want to see an ad focused on where Ted Cruz cedes his time to Mitchell.

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally Posted by Adder

Your identity - as a cis, straight white man - prevents others from living their lives the way they want to live them. Your presence, and the advantages you enjoy, causes others around you to have to adjust their behavior. Whether that's a person of color who knows they need to treat you with deference or a woman who does not know whether you will do her harm or a gay couple who does not know whether their existence will cause anger and violence from you. Because your (our) station in life means that we can and do act without fear of consequences others face, our existents prevents other from "liv[ing] as [they] feel like living."

And that's not even getting into structural advantages and disadvantages.

This is cask strength crazy.

Let's unpack this:

Your identity - as a cis, straight white man - prevents others from living their lives the way they want to live them.

I am an individual. I am not the entirety of white males. And I am not responsible for the behavior of anybody but myself. I do not care what anybody does, at all. Above all other virtues, I adhere most to live and let live. Judge no one for anything, lest ye be judged. And I fucking hate being judged, so I follow this rule absolutely.

Your presence, and the advantages you enjoy, causes others around you to have to adjust their behavior.

Yes, I've noticed all minorities part the room open for me when I enter. They all stand down. And the ladies all bow their heads.

Whether that's a person of color who knows they need to treat you with deference or a woman who does not know whether you will do her harm or a gay couple who does not know whether their existence will cause anger and violence from you.

Anyone silly enough to fear me because I'm a white male is wrongfully stereotyping me. I'm me. I'm not my skin color or sex. I'm not defined as part of a group. I'm nothing more than exactly the man sitting here, typing this. A person who is actually polite to a fault and respectful and tolerant of everyone he sees. If you fear me (this causes significant chuckling), that's on you, not me.

Anyone thinking that is as wrongheaded as a person fearing black kids walking behind him on the street simply because they are black. That person has the problem.

Because your (our) station in life means that we can and do act without fear of consequences others face, our existents prevents other from "liv[ing] as [they] feel like living."

That's half true. I don't worry about being pulled over as a black person is compelled to worry. That's a structural prejudice. But I derive no benefit from that. What is occurring there is a black person is being preyed upon by law enforcement. That has nothing to do with me, and everything to do with law enforcement acting in a predatory fashion. You're seeing a zero sum game, where I get advantage at cost to minorities. That is not the case.

[Pretty Little Flower]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

Empathy is trying to feel how others feel. There's no duty to do that.

You know, there is a word for those who lack empathy. "Sociopath."

[Not Bob]

Originally Posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy

Two things strike me about this guy's testimony:

(1) How the hell will Republicans continue to justify supporting him? What insanity can we expect to explain this?

(2) Is there any possibility this guy is going to drag this out to the mid-terms? Every hour of this has to help Dems in the Senate elections.

Yup, a mean drunk. He's definitely like several of my red-faced loudmouth cousins from the well-to-do side of the family. As I said when he was nominated, he sounds like the guy who passes out Canadian Club (NTTAWT) to a select few when he hosts Thanksgiving, while he drinks some overpriced overrated overly peat-y single malt swill.

Jesus. As someone on Twitter put it, K seemed like he was *this close* to pulling out a shillelagh and waving it around.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Replaced_Texan

A new Cruz / O'Rourke poll that came out today has O'Rourke up by 2. Still margin of error, but this is not the best timing in the world for an R on the judiciary committee.

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/ep...urke-6310.html where?

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally Posted by Pretty Little Flower

You know, there is a word for those who lack empathy. "Sociopath."

That word is too broad, and doesn't mean much to anyone. If you want to actually convey some thought say the words, all of them, instead of trying to squeeze things into twitter-size.

[Replaced_Texan]

Originally Posted by Hank Chinaski

That word is too broad, and doesn't mean much to anyone. If you want to actually convey some thought say the words, all of them, instead of trying to squeeze things into twitter-size.

https://www.msnbc.com/hardball/watch...35609?v=railb&
Thought it was from today. From last week.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally Posted by Not Bob

Yup, a mean drunk. He's definitely like several of my red-faced loudmouth cousins from the well-to-do side of the family. As I said when he was nominated, he sounds like the guy who passes out Canadian Club (NTTAWT) to a select few when he hosts Thanksgiving, while he drinks some overpriced overrated overly peat-y single malt swill.

Jesus. As someone on Twitter put it, K seemed like he was *this close* to pulling out a shillelagh and waving it around.

Dad was an alcoholic. That whole "I've never blacked out I just fell asleep line" is what he did every night for about 20 years before getting his shit half way together. I heard that line soooo much, often as an excuse for his inability to function at a point when it was expected (say, a high school graduation he "slept" through).

And with this post, I add myself to the roughly 100 million Americans triggered in some way by this BS.

[Adder]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

I don't have feelings on this stuff. I don't take offense. I don't like dumb McWords. They annoy me. I hate corporate lingo, and I hate this sort of lingo. It suggests a failing in literacy.

When it upsets you that new ideas get new names, it becomes difficult to buy that you're upset by the name and not the concept.

Empathy is trying to feel how others feel.

Empathy is understanding how others feel.

I understand how others are harmed, how others are unfairly told how to live.

You cannot understand how others are harmed, or understand how they experience the world, without some attempt to understand how others feel.

And you do, to some degree, which is why there are injustices you recognize. You can identify with the harms they cause (look out, some might call that empathy), especially if you have first hand knowledge of the issue. It's that you insist on not going another inch without being dragged, kicking and screaming or until it gets close enough to you.

My political science degree having wife would tell you that this is the fundamental difference between a conservative and a liberal.

[Adder]

Originally Posted by sebastian_dangerfield

Yes, I've noticed all minorities part the room open for me when I enter. They all stand down. And the ladies all bow their heads.

You really need to listen to people about how they experience the world.

Anyone silly enough to fear me because I'm a white male is wrongfully stereotyping me.

Poor you.

I don't worry about being pulled over as a black person is compelled to worry. That's a structural prejudice. But I derive no benefit from that.

Yes you do. You don't have to worry about it. You don't have to spend any time or energy thinking about it. You get to go blissfully on with your day without thinking about what's around you. You get the absence of burden.