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comment by b_b
b_b  ·  1287 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Republican senator says ‘democracy isn’t the objective’ of US system

Here is an actual, almost verbatim (as close as I can remember) conversation I had with a Trump-loving friend of mine. This friend served as an Army Ranger, and is currently enrolled as a medical student at a reputable institution.

Friend: I hate the government.

Me: Didn't you work for the government, and don't they pay for your med school?

Friend: I joined the army to protect the Constitution, not the government.

Me: Oh.

I should add that this friend is, in my opinion, a great person, a great father, and well-educated. In a way his Trumpism is understandable, because I know he is continually annoyed by having to attend seminars about pronouns, sensitivity, etc., as part of his medical training. I think his perspective is that the majority of people don't know what sacrifice is and wouldn't be so concerned with political correctness had they ever been exposed to the real underbelly of the world (in a way that a Ranger with war experience has been). So I'm not trying to ridicule him. Just pointing out that frustration with the state of affairs in the country can lead to massive blind spots that obscure one's ability to see clearly. To an extent, I think we're all guilty of that, insofar as we all have very divergent experiences that will color our version of the truth.

That's the long answer. The short answer is, "no."





coffeesp00ns  ·  1287 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  

    In a way his Trumpism is understandable, because I know he is continually annoyed by having to attend seminars about pronouns, sensitivity, etc., as part of his medical training. I think his perspective is that the majority of people don't know what sacrifice is and wouldn't be so concerned with political correctness had they ever been exposed to the real underbelly of the world (in a way that a Ranger with war experience has been).

This is, and has always been, the most bullshit excuse I've ever experienced.

Seminar presenter: "Maybe just don't treat people like shit?"

your bud: "Fuck that, these trans people who get disproportionately murdered and have often been completely disowned by the people who are supposed to care about them through thick and thin, are overrepresented in the military, and are disproportionately likely to experience homelessness, abuse, sex work, etc have never seen the real underbelly of the world like I have! They've never made any sacrifices ever! They can't possibly know what real life is like! They just need to toughen up!"

The inability for people like your friend to see past their own nose is astounding. My brother is a veteran with some pretty ugly PtSD, and he had been one of my biggest supporters, because he gets it. He doesn't want other people to feel the shitty things he's felt. He'd rather no one had to.

It costs your friend literally nothing to treat a trans person as a person, and treat them with respect. Instead he and his ego choose to create further suffering in a shitty world because he doesn't believe they've suffered enough to demand his pity.

kleinbl00  ·  1287 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Family signed up to pick weeds out of a local park. needed two weeks notice, an individual sign-up form, a medical release each and a parental release for the kid (despite the fact that we would be standing right next to her). First 5 minutes of "tearing ivy out of a greenbelt" was about safe spaces and inclusive language and pronouns.

I was initially annoyed, then realized 'you know what? I want my kid to appreciate that her minor inconvenience is a small price to pay for the comfort of others.' And she won't even see it as a minor inconvenience. She'll simply recognize it as prevailing social ritual.