@kilroy70 saidI don't think gender should be assigned by anybody. You're the one who started talking about assigning gender.
Why does gender have to be "assigned" by anyone? Is gender really something that can be assigned, or determined by a flip of the coin, or be a decision you or someone else makes?
This reminds me of one of those how many people does it take to screw in a light bulb jokes.
So, how many people does it take to pressure someone into abandoning commen sense and reason?
And ...[text shortened]... hat power and tyranny are made possible through the use of words and how they are mediated."[/quote]
@earl-of-trumps saidIt.was better back then because you were too young to understand that there were bad things back then too?
I was too young to understand it that way. everything was pretty peaceful for me.
I have to tiptoe here so as to not allow too much information out. There are racists in here.
1 edit
I found it. Poison's "Look what the cat dragged in" album cover. Seriously, when I first saw this I thought it was a girl band, but nope, these were what male heart throbs looked like way back when. Sold 4 million copies.
https://twitter.com/ThisDayInMETAL/status/1393799475022471169
1 edit
I lived in a town which hosted a refugee camp. These were people from places like Poland and Hungary who'd been displaced by Nazis. The children wore strange clothes, like short-sleeved sweaters over long-sleeved thin singlets, or shorts which came down to their knees. We called them Balts and kept our distance in the school playground. Teachers made no attempt to integrate the two groups.
These days we'd have been properly introduced, they'd have been encouraged to tell us their stories and we'd all have ended up in the same school football teams. But some kids who just didn't get inclusivity as a concept would still try to bully those who weren't the same as them.
Different, certainly. For most of us, an improvement. For the dinosaurs, a " bully" label is appropriate. Then, we were all bullies because we didn't know any better.
@athousandyoung saidIt's not just a matter of should or shouldn't.
I don't think gender should be assigned by anybody.
The word "assign" has a specific meaning that has nothing to do with determining someone's gender.
as·sign
/əˈsīn/
verb
1.
allocate (a job or duty).
"his leader assigned him this mission"
Similar:
allocate
allot
give
set
charge with
entrust with
2.
designate or set (something) aside for a specific purpose.
"managers happily assign large sums of money to travel budgets"
@athousandyoung saidYes, as an example of how things have changed over the years.
You're the one who started talking about assigning gender.
I received a cold call from someone asking me to answer some survey questions, and I agreed. Nothing out of the ordinary until he asked what my gender is. I said male. The next question was, "What gender were you assigned at birth."
If this doesn't strike you as being utterly absurd then there's no reason for me to continue with this.
@earl-of-trumps saidI asked you and not JJ only because I know JJ is an open racist and I am sure he loved racial segregation. I'd ask anybody that lived back then and talked about how great the 50s were.
I was too young to understand it that way. everything was pretty peaceful for me.
I have to tiptoe here so as to not allow too much information out. There are racists in here.
@kilroy70 said
Same here, I grew up as a kid in the 50's too. One of the advantages for people of our generation is we have first hand knowledge of how things have changed. And the same can be said for our parent's generation and their personal experiences. Learning from history is useful but let's face it, there's no substitute for being there.
Life in the 50's and 60's wasn't perfect by ...[text shortened]... termined) would probably need to have their head examined and prescribed the appropriate medication.
And anyone who genuinely thought gender was assigned (rather than determined) would probably need to have their head examined and prescribed the appropriate medication.
OK I see we're on the same page here. I misunderstood your point.
1 edit
@kilroy70 saidAren't you concerned about segregation back then?
Same here, I grew up as a kid in the 50's too. One of the advantages for people of our generation is we have first hand knowledge of how things have changed. And the same can be said for our parent's generation and their personal experiences. Learning from history is useful but let's face it, there's no substitute for being there.
Life in the 50's and 60's wasn't perfect by ...[text shortened]... termined) would probably need to have their head examined and prescribed the appropriate medication.
I get the feeling that people back then were obsessed with having the government classify people.
@athousandyoung saidNo, I'm not concerned about segregation back then.
Aren't you concerned about segregation back then?
But if segregation existed today then yes, I would be concerned about it.
@wildgrass saidWell written!
If you have been paying any attention over your 80 years on this earth, you would know that the latter half of your post are just regurgitation of political right wing talking points. Right?
If you grew up in the 1950's then you remember that that was the first decade in which mandatory sex testing for athletes was instituted. Why? Because it was a big problem back then, ...[text shortened]... lture? comes and goes and ebbs and flows and anyone with a healthy perspective would recognize this.
@earl-of-trumps said“I have to tiptoe here so as to not allow too much information out. There are racists in here.”
I was too young to understand it that way. everything was pretty peaceful for me.
I have to tiptoe here so as to not allow too much information out. There are racists in here.
Ha posting with schizophrenia, that can’t be easy.
The 50s was one the more perverse decades in US history, I’m glad that as a child you didn’t understand the racism / sexism and homophobia, we all deserve a childhood.
4 edits
@kilroy70 saidI grew up in TX in the 1950s. I remember signs in restaurants which read "we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone" which meant "no Blacks allowed here." I remember segregated public toilets. I remember we got a dog for me to play with because, although I was born in TX, the neighbour kids were not allowed to play with me because my parents were northerners. What a crappy state. Texas, at any rate, hasn't gotten any better since I left.
Same here, I grew up as a kid in the 50's too. One of the advantages for people of our generation is we have first hand knowledge of how things have changed. And the same can be said for our parent's generation and their personal experiences. Learning from history is useful but let's face it, there's no substitute for being there.
Life in the 50's and 60's wasn't perfect by ...[text shortened]... termined) would probably need to have their head examined and prescribed the appropriate medication.
I remember that when we drove cross-country with a certain other family we were friends with, we had to avoid certain states because miscegenation was a crime in some states back in the 1950s. People nowadays don't even know what "miscegenation" means -- look it up. Hard to believe it was once criminal in the USA, but there it is. There has been a little progress, but it's been very patchy and some people would reverse it if they got into power.
I remember Senator McCarthy's rants on tv. What a crappy time. America hasn't gotten any less polarised and deluded by demagogues' false narratives since then.
1 edit
@moonbus saidSo your point is what? That nothing has changed since the 50's?
I grew up in TX in the 1950s. I remember signs in restaurants which read "we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone" which meant "no Blacks allowed here." I remember segregated public toilets. I remember we got a dog for me to play with because, although I was born in TX, the neighbour kids were not allowed to play with me because my parents were northerners. What a cr ...[text shortened]... me. America hasn't gotten any less polarised and deluded by demagogues' false narratives since then.
Where do you see segregation being practiced today, and where is miscegenation still a crime? Like it or not it takes time for attitudes to change, and for some people to catch up to what has changed. Constantly harping over injustices in the past is counter productive, and does nothing to help in bringing everyone up to speed.