#woke authoritarianism

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Yes, let's talk about "your" pronouns for a moment, because I have some thoughts on the matter...

What's that? Oh, silly me. By "let's talk about," what you actually mean is "unquestioningly comply with my demands."

Be that as it may, "we" - which is to say, "I" - am going to talk about it regardless.

Let's analyze this for a moment.

She gives the game away right up front: blue heart is for boys, pink heart is for girls. This ideology is based on stereotypes. If you still doubt this, I don't know what else to show you to convince you.

Secondly, her "gender" isn't a profound knowledge of personal identity, because it changes faster than the weather. I'm not even sure it's her personality, because anyone whose personality changes that rapidly and that wildly has some kind of severe disorder. What she's calling "gender" seems to be nothing but her mood.

Thirdly, and I keep having to repeat this, if your "gender" requires others to participate, then it's not a "deeply personal sense of self." Just like your faith cannot be "a personal relationship with Jesus" if everybody else has to pray or refrain from pointing out the flaws in the bible. "Gender is a social construct" means that your "gender" only "exists" to the extent people play along. People are sick of being bullied into pretending for narcissists.

More importantly, you don't get to make others participate and then deny them any say or input. You can't give people an obligation with no authority, because if you think you can, then others can give you an obligation with no authority.

And you don't get to make others responsible for your mental wellbeing, to carry the burden you cannot or will not, and then get angry when they don't meet your standards or decline the obligation at all. You are responsible for you. Trying to make other people responsible for your emotions or mental state is psychotic. Xians insist that humans - and particularly children - are responsible for keeping their god happy, evidently because he cannot do it himself. You're just as much of an immature psychopath. We are not responsible for keeping you from bursting like a fragile soap bubble.

You can have a personal, unquestionable conviction, or you can have a matter of public interest and discussion. As soon as you insist others participate, you forfeit the right to cordon your beliefs off from scrutiny. If you want your beliefs to go unmolested, then keep them to yourself.

If it's nobody else's business, don't make it other people's business. You can't claim your "gender" is nobody else's business, nobody else gets a say, and then insist it is their business to comply with these demands and prop the whole delusion up.

Private concern or public interest. Choose one.

Fourthly, anyone who comes up with rules like this is a sociopath who is trying to control, manipulate and trap others. Since third-person pronouns are used primarily when someone is not present, when referring to an individual when talking to others, this is a form of authoritarian thought-control. You do not get to dictate how others must see you or think of you. They get to decide for themselves what they think of you, regardless of whether or not you like it, and it's none of your business. And if your sense of self is so flimsy that you must coerce them to conform their view of you to your own view of yourself, then you have bigger problems than "your" pronouns.

When she walks into room, people stiffen because they have to talk like idiots around her - and that's part of the appeal. She wants to be "misgendered," because who is she if she's not a marginalized victim and the center of attention? That's the trick: either you comply, and she wins, or you refuse, and she gets to pretend to be a victim and she wins. Nobody's obliged to pay attention to these insane, imaginary rules, much less play along. When she's already gamed it to win no matter what, the only way for you to win is to retain your integrity and self-respect and tell the truth.

And finally, you do not have pronouns. The pronouns belong to the language, in this case, English. The English language has pronouns for you. You don't have your own pronouns any more than you have your own conjugations or your own adjectives. Other languages, such as German, French, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Chinese and Japanese, have their own structures, and they're not for you to "fix" with your stupid activism.

And yes, languages change. They evolve through common usage and common acceptance, not through narcissists performing blunt-force creationism enforced with emotional manipulation and vilification.

She's an average, unremarkable girl who's found a socially acceptable way to control other people and pretend to be interesting.

My adjectives are amazing/brilliant/impressive.

Misadjectiving is hate. #BeKind

P.S. I miss the days when pink, green or blue dyed hair was a sign of rebellion and uniqueness, rather than a predictable trope and red flag that warns the world about all your views and opinions before you ever open your mouth. #MakeDyedHairCoolAgain

[undergroundusa]

"When juxtaposing the scorecard on political violence, the evidence is overwhelming that activists, anarchists, special interests, and Deep State operatives from the far-Left are much more likely to engage in violence than any group from the Right…"

ORIGINAL CONTENT: https://www.undergroundusa.com/p/the-far-left-hitler-narrative-is

[blackswaneuroparedux]

Censorship is telling a man he can't have a steak just because a baby can't chew it.

- Mark Twain

[jensorensen]

I can't believe I'm still drawing cartoons about the word "woke," but its idiotic usage just won't go away. 

George Orwell's 1984 gets invoked a lot these days, but what happened to the word "woke" is exactly what was intended with Newspeak. Per Wikipedia, "Orwell explains that Newspeak follows most rules of English grammar, yet is a language characterised by a continually diminishing vocabulary; complete thoughts are reduced to simple terms of simplistic meaning." With "woke" we see the entire project of humanism reduced to a stupid insult. Shamefully, many political commentators not on the authoritarian right still use this lazy shorthand to belittle activists or anything vaguely socially conscious, invoking the right's pejorative framing.

Help keep this work sustainable by joining the Sorensen Subscription Service! Also on Patreon.

[half-life-crisis]

We are less than a #week before the #most #crucial #Presidential #election of our #lifetimes. I #wish it was #hyperbole. #Believe it or not, many are still #unaware of it.

https://halflifecrisis.com/hlc-articles/t-minus-6-to-november-5th-are-we-ready…

#Vote #wisely by truly understanding #Trump's and #Kamala's #policies thoroughly.

[globalzombie]

Ed West writes on our hip contemporary ruling class & its feel-good progressive ideology. 6 April 2023.

[old1ddude]

As usual, Glenn has the correct take on this.  I’ll just add a little quote:

Once a government is committed to the principle of silencing the voice of opposition, it has only one way to go, and that is down the path of increasingly repressive measures, until it becomes a source of terror to all its citizens and creates a country where everyone lives in fear.

Harry S. Truman

[penguinlover27]

I predict that DeSantis’ authoritarian ways are going to backfire on him and the GOP spectacularly. This may serve the short-term interests of getting MAGA behind his campaign for POTUS, but these antics are not going to win him a lot of support nationally and outside of that narrow base.

DeSantis and his enablers in FL are also running the risk of a serious brain-drain, with college professors choosing to work for institutions elsewhere without such an authoritarian grip. The threat to the status of tenured professors is definitely going to cause a stir.

Add to that the decimation of AP courses for high school students in the name of ideological purity. These moves are hardly based on the needs of students and are instead purely the product of authoritarian, right wing ideology. 

DeSantis likes to say that Florida is “where woke goes to die”, but I think that the push for greater inclusion and diversity in our society is not going to end there or anywhere else just by fiat.

The rage against “woke” by conservatives is nothing more than the ravings of the white-supremacist movement in its death throes. They define “woke” as being anything that threatens their hold on power over our politics and our culture, rather than the definition that those who initiated the term used.

In a sense, the anti-woke reaction can potentially be killed in the crib by destroying it in Florida before other GOP governors attempt to follow DeSantis’ playbook. Just as by stopping Putin in Ukraine we can prevent further Russian invasions of other European nations, we can stop DeSantis and his regressive agenda in Florida before it spreads. Frankly, the importance of stopping both men cannot be overstated.

[isawthismeme]

Authoritarian regimes take guns away.

If that’s what you want, vote Cheeto.

[spockeye-fierce]

Take a chill pill? I'll take two!

Reminding my moots and followers to take your meds and hydrate

[themistressofdolls]

Was watching this video the other day and its a good one please see it

Got me thinking about in groups and we've seen a massive cottege industry of "Anti woke" videos around films, tv, games and more and I've been thinking.

Say you met these people half way, had a sit down and asked "What is that you want? What would make you happy? Why do the stories you see right now bother you? What would you do differently? If minorities in roles feel forced or its the writing you don't like then what is the right way to write them in your eyes? The right way to do representation?"

Not to appease people and I feel those channels are grifters anyway but also I feel not alienating the in group would be one of many steps to try and stop democratic backsliding along with hyperpolarization, lets not kid ourselves we have a huge crisis of loneliness, alienation and being condasending or smug to people isn't going to make that better.

I think we still need to have stories that don't make the in group feel they are being pushed out "In their mind" while still trying to increase represention for members of out groups.

Of course other steps are regulating social media, dealing with wealth inequality and building of more social spaces and third places etc.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Boy, 12, is referred to counter-extremist Prevent officers by his own school after declaring there 'are only two genders' and 'I'm gay not queer'

By: Alex Ward

Published: Jun 29, 2024

Boy also made a video in which he stated 'there's no such thing as non-binary'

School made referral to Prevent amid fears he could be radicalised by far-Right 

He was accused of unhealthy interest in weapons as he owns a toy crossbow

A 12-year-old schoolboy has been investigated by counter-extremism officers after he declared there 'are only two genders'.

The child made a video, posted online, in which he also stated: 'There's no such thing as non-binary'.

And in response to school bullies who mistakenly believed he supported transgender ideology, he said: '[I'm] gay not queer.'

Originally a homophobic slur, trans activists claim the word 'queer' now describes people who don't adhere to ideas of sex or gender.

But the school told the boy's mother they would refer him to Prevent, the Home Office programme that attempts to stop people becoming terrorists, amid fears he could be at risk of being radicalised by the far-right.

The Mail is aware of the boy's identity but has agreed not to disclose it, and has also viewed the social media posts.

The boy's mother was visited by Prevent and Northumbria Police officers this week, in a meeting she described as 'an interrogation'.

Officers listed a string of allegations to illustrate the boy was at risk of radicalisation.

The boy's mother said: 'We think that he was targeted as the children believe gay people agree with trans ideology.

'He made a video which I uploaded to YouTube where he said there 'are only two genders' and 'I'm gay not queer'.

'The school phoned up and were incensed by it. They said that they would refer him to Prevent for that video.

'They said that he was at risk of radicalisation - not that he had been, but was a risk when he gets to 13 and is entitled to his own social media accounts.

'There was a risk he would fall in with Far Right groups.'

She said counter terror officers - who visited the family home - raised concerns over the fact that her son, who is Jewish, harboured extremist views on account of his response when asked if there were any groups that shouldn't exist. 

She said her son responded that 'Hamas (the Gaza-based terror group) should be wiped out'.

Further fears were raised over comments he made to school bullies, stating he wanted to 'exterminate' them. 

He is said to have made the remark in relation to appalling racist slurs from classmates.

In a letter to the school in South Tyneside - seen by the Mail - his mother detailed how he was subjected to vile verbal abuse and Nazi salutes.

Prevent officers also suggested the boy had an unhealthy interest in weapons on account of another online video - again uploaded by his mother - which showed him demonstrating a toy crossbow bought from English Heritage, she said.

English Heritage describes the 'best seller' item as 'completely harmless but lots of fun'.

The mother said the school and Prevent officers were guilty of double standards, claiming anti-Semitic incidents at the school were not dealt with in the same way.

She said: 'We sat down with the Prevent officers and there was an interrogation - they had an attitude of 'we'll ask the questions'.

'We were asked if we monitored his social media and what songs he listens to.

'They said there was a whole series of things he had been accused of.'

The police response was criticised by free speech campaigners who rebuked officers for 'wilfully missing the target'.

Harry Miller, chief exec of Fair Cop, said: 'His views on gender are as far away from terrorism that it's possible to be. 

'They are views that are held by the majority of people in Britain and don't even get into the foothills of terrorism.

'You couldn't call it criminality, let alone terrorism. There is a difference between bad behaviour and terrorism.

'This is another instance of the police wilfully missing the target because hunting down school children is easier than confronting actual terrorists.

'Fair Cop will continue to stand between these idiots and the public until they stop behaving like the woke, cowardly Stasi they have become.

'The Home Office needs to get a grip. Sack every complicit Chief Constable.'

Kate Barker, chief exec of LGB Alliance, said: 'If it's a sign of radicalisation to say you don't like being called 'queer' then according to our research, 94 per cent of LGB people can expect a knock on the door from counter-terrorism officers.

'We applaud this young boy for standing up for his beliefs, and we condemn the teachers and police who think it's wrong to abhor this horrible slur.'

The Prevent strategy was introduced by the Government in 2011 as part of a bid to tackle terrorism through early intervention.

According to the latest Home Office data there were 6,817 referrals to Prevent in the year ending 31 March, 2023 - the figure was up 6.4 per cent on the previous year.

A joint statement from Northumbria Police and Counter Terrorism Policing North East read: 'We are unable to discuss individual cases, or identify anyone who may or may not be the subject of a Prevent referral.

'All referrals are treated in the strictest confidence and will always prioritise the safety and welfare of those concerned.

'Prevent is a multi-agency approach to safeguarding and supporting those most at risk of radicalisation through early intervention. 

'It seeks to protect young and vulnerable people against all forms of extremist activity, regardless of ideology.'

South Tyneside Council declined to comment.

==

Apparently, there's so few burglaries and murders that police have nothing better to do than harass children expressing completely true, mainstream and reasonable positions, and treat them as extremists deserving of counter-terrorism intervention.

Nineteen Eighty-Four was not supposed to be an instruction manual.

[calvincell]

This week, lawyers for Trump went into the Supreme Court & argued in order to protect their client, that a president explicitly could assassinate a political opponent & in turn any dissenting or opposed senators, judges or even average citizens and be immune from prosecution and in the face of that lunacy multiple conservative justices (who once again make up the majority) on the SC signaled their open support of that argument without any hesitation or doubt & with zero reference to actual case law. Multiple supposed icons in the practice of law in this country openly signaled their support for a rewinding of our country back to monarchical rule with collective straight faces.

This is what we have to look forward to if Trump is allowed into office again. Justice Jackson, one of the few competent & progressive justices was as usual also one of the few rational actors in this farce & pointed out explicitly that all the granting of presidential immunity would do is make the presidency a desired office for out & out criminality. Whether conservatives want to acknowledge it or not by supporting Trump’s claim, there is nothing stopping a president from not just being a dictator who jails & slaughters all opposition but could also just become a drug lord, using the apparatuses & authority granted by our country to make the US a golden state of the drug trade. There is nothing stopping a president from trading away government & military intel to every last one of our enemies dooming soldiers we’ve sent abroad & leaking prime targets for attacks that would kill citizens & cripple infrastructure. Conservatives claiming to be outraged about the acts of scumbag predators like Epstein have done nothing through their support for Trump’s argument than assure that if you are an abuser & an outright predator who explicitly targets children, there is no better protection than becoming president where you can openly assault anyone of any age & be immune from prosecution. Said president could literally hunt for their prey amongst the children of White House tourists or those amongst the staff in their administration & by declaring the acts a “duty of office” victims & their families would have ZERO recourse for justice.

Like I wish this were exaggeration or hyperbole but it’s explicitly the type of country that conservatives want to usher in for the explicit & soul purpose of granting their messiah Donald Trump the chance to avoid accountability for his actions. People embedded in political & legal scholarship are clear about the realities:

Like I’ve said before, I wish this was all a big joke but we are only at this point because of how deeply & willingly the right has embraced not just Trump but fascist, inhumane & anti-citizen/anti-democratic ideals over the past decade. The response to this though is not cowardice or apathy but action. If you can register to vote, then vote. If someone you know needs help to register and/or to get to their polling place in November & you have the ability to help them, then help. Nothing is gained by watching these travesties of government & justice and despairing & sitting on your hands saying that nothing will change. If people were able to win their freedoms & rights generations ago, then we can do it again today. Fascism, bigotry, cruelty & hate only succeed when good people do nothing in response. If you’re breathing, you’re still alive & you have a voice & you can fight & make change. If there was a time when giving up was on the table it is absolutely NOT NOW

[ladygrinninghole]

obsessed with star trek repeatedly writing themselves into a corner by creating alien races that are supposed to be The Bad Guys when that explicitly conflicts with their previously established notion that no group of people is inherently good or evil.

first it was the klingons—they’re originally supposed to be this cruel, bloodthirsty, war-obsessed people—and then tng comes along and it’s like wait no maybe war and violence is a part of their culture and actually ties back to ancient traditions and philosophies so we have to be woke about it.

hey these are the ferengi and they’re supposed to represent everything we hate about capitalist society; they’re greedy, scheming, profit-obsessed, and they look like ugly little trolls to emphasize how much we fucking HATE capitalism. oh wait fuck here comes deep space nine and we have to recognize that they’re PEOPLE. okok what if the pursuit of profit is actually part of their culture and ties back to ancient traditions and philosophies. so we have to be woke about it.

this is the borg, they’re a hivemind race of cyborgs who have no sense of individuality and their only motivation is assimilating people into their society. they want to assimilate humanity and we are completely defenseless against them because their technology is eons ahead of our own and they’re incapable of being reasoned with. oh sweet we have a borg prisoner this is the perfect opportunity to commit genocide against them. fuck actually we can’t commit genocide we’re woke and communists and in space.

hey these are the cardassians, they’re part of a cruel and vicious empire which is supposed to be a representation of fascism and authoritarian regimes, they’re a cold, bloodthirsty people with no sense of empathy or compassion, their society literally references 1984 on multiple occasions, and they’re known for the insanely cruel and inhumane methods of torture they use against their prisoners of war. we hate the cardassians…….. except, here’s a cardassian kid who grew up on bajor, and……. fuck. he’s a person. now we actually have to consider his humanity. and being racist is actually……. bad.

this is the jem’hadar, they’re genetically engineered soldiers who have no sense of individuality and only live to defend the state. they’re all born addicted to a synthetic drug that’s manufactured by the state and administered by their masters—this is how they’re kept subservient. they’re ruthless and powerful and they’re incapable of being reasoned with because their only motivation is violence and killing. so we should kill them all, right? FUCK….. what if they’re actually people. goddamnit. now we have to consider their humanity.

hey these are the romulans. hey these are the founders. the list goes on. i just find it really interesting

[ivygorgon]

When we have major employers pulling development and events out of the state in response to DeSantis’ embrace of right-wing authoritarianism, that hurts all of us (my own fraternity, Alpha Phi Alpha, dropped its national convention in Orlando due to this administration's “harmful, racist and insensitive” policies). To cite just a few examples, DeSantis signed his latest “Don’t Say Gay” expansion bills into law on International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, which aims to increase awareness of violence, discrimination and repression against LGBTQ communities. Last year, DeSantis championed the (currently blocked) “Stop WOKE Act,” which would effectively ban any efforts to teach the truth about systemic racism and racial injustices in this country.

Dictator and political terrorist.

[half-life-crisis]

In the #USA, despite their many #brawls the #Right’s messengers are #united like an #ocean, while the #Left are like little #independent #puddles which tend to #evaporate.

https://halflifecrisis.com/hlc-articles/the-left-well-meaning-but-not-united…

Learn about self-#sabotage occurring when #people #ignore their own team's #wisdom.