Basman

Just because a social construct is in essence arbitrary doesn't mean that they aren't functional and serve an important purpose (like money). Man and woman are highly functional social constructs that have stood the test of time for 1000s of years and work effectively for 95% of the population (if note more). Progressives go over board with deconstructing social constructs, throwing out the baby with the bath water while giving no room for debate without devolving it into a culture war. Especially in regards to practical issues like women's bathrooms, transwomen in women's sport, etc. The problem is that it comes of as frivolous and entitled to demand the rest of society to accommodate a highly niche cohort. The fact that the trans community comes of as highly inflexible and judgemental might have to do with the high positive correlation of being trans and being autistic (those are traits typical of autistic people). That said, there's nothing wrong with more fluidity in terms of gender for those who it applies to (and general tolerance for that) but its very entitled to act like all of society needs to change for their sake. Most people are happy being men and women. Why does that need to stop?

Honestly. It feels like since Trump won the election there's been a rise in low quality posts.

Raising boys and girls to be mature and successful men and women has been neglected the last couple of decades. I don't agree its a revolution, more like floundering due to frustration and grifters and marketers seizing on that frustration. Men don't live under abject oppression, they just need better role models so its not equivalent to the feminist revolution in the same way. This whole issue needs to be taken more seriously by society and not be turned into culture war brain rot. The majority of people are and want to be men and women and they should be taught how to.

You should account for circle of concern if you start talking about compassion, which is relative. We include historically disadvantaged people in our modern circle of concern, like homosexuals and women, but we don't include animals to the same extent (on a societal scale). In my opinion, talking about an ideal form of masculinity is inevitably influenced by your relative survival needs and has more to do with maturity rather than masculinity in essence. Are young men "unmasculine". I'd argue they are more likely just immature and lack experience that would round them out as people, like more feminine qualities for example. Masculinity in essence is simply a bunch of traits that make solving problems more effective if I where to give it a definition (whereas femininity would be the opposite, more about connecting and being more process oriented).

Healthy relative to what though? Conquest is what made their people. We wouldn't have first world countries without centuries of back and forth warring and conquest. I feel like this discussion has veered into idealism as opposed to understanding.

Would you say Genghis Khan was compassionate? Or Alexander the Great?

Slavery is just very practical from a survival perspective. I wonder if its at all possible to reduce it to 0% or if there will always be some decimal percentage of the population in a situation that is by definition slavery. Like for example Norway and Switzerland have 0.5% of the population in modern slavery according to them. I suspect most of those people are immigrants stuck with little education and opportunities.

You don't make this recovery center sound like a very competent place, especially with the therapist suggesting prayer (?). Was it privately run?

They weren't in a war, fighting for their lives. Its an extreme example admittedly. Point is, masculinity looks different based on the environment. There is no "right way" to be masculine in a monolithic sense.

Typically its the women who initiate a break up. They have already been thinking of it, checking out of the relationship, and when they do break up it is when they are finally emotionally ready for it. The dumper has a head start. They also tend to have friends and potential lovers waiting for them so its much easier for them to transition whereas guys get less emotional support.

You have to consider the environment that they might be surviving. Progressive men tend to be educated and work white collar jobs in air conditioned offices. Being "soft" and cooperative is a prerequisite for a life of bureaucracy and dependence on others to get things done. On the other hand conservative men generally tend to be blue collar, live out on the country side where they have to be independent to a certain degree and make themselves work hard. Being "soft" could get you in trouble. For example soldiers tend to be conservative, which is no mistake. Being empathetic could get you killed. There's a logic behind the tendency of dehumanizing your enemies in war, calling Russians "orcs" in the Ukraine War or Houthis "Tusken Raiders". Its ugly and you might not agree but there's a reason that its not simply "male insecurity". Consider that a conservative world view instills certain positive values that allow for survival in a tough environment, like work ethic and bravery which a cushy progressive first world kind of life doesn't need to same extent and therefor discards. That's anyone who's ideologically attached when you question their worldview. Try going into a feminist forum and challenge their views. You'll be torn down even if you are a healthy debater, factual and objective and all that. That's also kind of the problem with being a "debater". Its essentially verbal fighting and that tends to turn one into an angry bitter person.

I feel like this is kind of an America issue where you can't deal with people having different views than you. It seems to me like America has kind of a bigoted culture in general, both on the left and right side of politics. Bigoted as in attached to ones ideas and prejudiced against people on the basis of perceived affiliation to certain groups. You really have to deal with it in my opinion. There will always be people who think differently to you. That doesn't mean that the relationship can't be a good one. Its when you start judging someone that friction sets in, both you and the person your relating to. There have been raised a lot of good points already for why you shouldn't let politics determine the quality of your relationships. Its really kind of silly if you think about. Practice kindness and tolerance. If someone has views you disagree with, you can challenge them lightly at first to see how open they are to new ideas. Always frame rebuttals as questions. Then you are inviting your counterpart to think about the issue instead of preaching at them. If someone doesn't doesn't want their views challenged then that is their right. Doesn't mean you have to tolerate being in a relationship with them but only if they are actually an asshole. I personally enjoy the discussion for its own sake so I don't care if I'm right or not.

But it kind of is. A summary should reflect the quality of the book. Its like a taste test. First impressions count.

Define "fascism". You'll be more or less right depending on your definition of the word. A definition from Wikipedia: Is genocide or slavery inherently fascist? Those people are not civilians of the state so does the definition of fascism apply? What is "fascist style propaganda"? Is fascism just a call sign for far-right politics? I could try and guess what you think and react of that but I can't read your mind so I'll inevitably end up talking over you. Hard to take a posts like these serious without making what you mean explicit.

Pink huh... To be honest, I think its a hard sell unless you are going for a silly, unserious look. You could make it work by wearing a matching shirt or accessories. Pink sunglasses for example. Wear rolled up jeans then you'll really get that casual summer vibe.

The democrats losing this election to me is simply SD Stage Green running its course and failing to actualize on its idealism politically, fundamentally due to not understanding human nature and antagonizing the lower stages. There seems to be a general consensus that democrats need to self-evaluate. Hopefully it'll lead to more Yellow. That is a silver lining.

I practice art and I have a similar experience looking my feed. A lot of very talented artists and amazing art. It makes me feel jealous and insecure but then I look at a non-curated feed (like Deviantart) and most of its garbage, no offense. Social media promotes the cream of the crop due how engagement shape the digital landscape, so the most amazing, beautiful, sexiest, funniest type shit floats to the top. 80% of the content on social media is not worth looking at. Popular posters tend to curate what they post based on what gets them engagement which leads to their content to becoming manufactured to a certain degree in order to cater to their audience. Its a feedback loop, meaning its often not 100% authentic. Its literally for show. There are some people who live amazing lives but then again you only see the highlights. They 100% guaranteed have their own issues in between photo shoots. That Instagram model is a glorified prostitute for rich Saudi-Arabian men. The simple solution is to consume less social media. Its bad for you mental health any way, as much as I hate that word.

Abortion does "kill" a gestating life objectively. The word "murder" however is quiet strong. I don't think everyone will feel that aborting/killing a fetus is equivalent to killing an adult human. Though "murder" tends to refer to a civil context. Killing combatants during war is not considered murder colloquially for example. We don't consider killing someone in self-defense murder either unless we think it was unjustified. "Murder" implies that the act was unjustified, malicious or callous which is probably why pro-lifers like to call abortion murder. They want to frame it as unjustified and employ charged language to that end. I can agree that abortion is form of killing but I think calling it murder is a gross exaggeration. If you consider abortion murder, what about eating meat? A mature pig is more of a life than a tiny fetus. Or what about microbes? Don't they have equal right to protection as living organisms? Pro-lifers tend to be selective with their definitions and examples to argue for an inherently ideological/emotional position.

Don't panic and keep it pushing.

You should go to uni if it helps you accomplish your goals. Career goals are the best justification in my opinion, especially if it costs money to go. If you don't need the degree strictly speaking, then consider alternatives first. Most info is already available for free with the internet.

I've heard that some girls get turned on by rape fantasies after having been raped in real life. My impression is that in that context they are trying to make the unwanted wanted psychologically. A kind of cope, but it could be multiple things at once, like the surrender thing, etc. I also heard some girls deliberately go out to bait men into raping them. This seems to me a kind of self-harm and again, a fantasy/desire born from an actual rape experience. I don't know how real that it is but it wouldn't surprise me if there are some women like that.

It doesn't matter so much if they are in a bad faith position. If you want a high quality discussion you take responsibility to argue in a way that is intellectually honest. Your not going to convince people who are set in their ways but you can set the record straight. But right now I don't see them being overly indignant. OP did correct himself quickly. But its clear you don't actually care about any of that and you just want to argue in circles till you get blue in the face. Enjoy your drama.

Just say bigotry then. I would advise that you be open minded to the criticism however in a good faith sort of way. You just end up talking over people and not actually engaging with the subject if you have a bad faith attitude from the start. Its essentially just deflection of the discussion as a whole at that point.

This is a reductive point. You can reduce anything to simply being about identity. Why not commit suicide? your just surviving your identity anyway...