Maple Engineer

Two months ago the lymph node under my left collar bone got very inflamed. I went to the doctor who ordered an ultrasound and chest x-ray. The ultrasound was, “worrying” so they ordered a CT. The CT suggested that my lymph nodes had gone bad. I spent the last two months afraid that I was going to leave my kids unsupported as one was finishing her first year of university and the other his first year of high school. A couple of days ago I got the best possible news under the circumstances that I have Hodgkins Lymphoma which is curable and I am expected to go on and live a long life.

That largely depends on who you talk to.

Christofascists think I’m bad. White supremacists, white nationalists, racists, anti-vaxers, neo-Nazis and Nazis, anti-choicers, anti-maskers, Covid deniers, vegan extremists, incels and incucks, Puritans, the US Taliban, magats and the anti-reality crowd, the convoyists, the Save-The-Children crowd and Queen Dildo and her ragtag band of morons, PETA, the rabid pro-gun I’m-terrified-of-everything-so-I-need-a-grenade-launcher-to-buy-donuts crowd, and others think I’m bad but so do the tankies, and trans extremists, the anti-gun crowd, and others who hate the first group. Just about everyone who lives in an echo bunker would think I’m bad.

I do things that many people think are bad but they tend to be the controlling-what-other-people-do mob but generally I think I’m a good person and the people around me seem to think so too no matter where they lie on the political, religious, or social spectrum.

My wife had my first when I was 39. I wish I had had kids sooner. I love going to minor hockey games and taking to my daughter about her crafts and school.

Sorry…I didn’t answer these parts of your comment.

One tactic that I like is asking them questions that lead them to point out the flaws in their own arguments. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socratic_method

They have a carefully rehearsed circular logical set of arguments that are self-confirming. I can explain and explain and explain but it doesn’t confirm their bias so they just keep going around in circles. I don’t expect to reach them but I may help someone who isn’t so closed minded to understand.

My daughter goes to pride festivals every year as a vendor in the market. Last year was hopping. This year was dead. My wife and I wondered if all the pushing to force biological males into the places that biological females fought for decades to get wasn’t turning a lot of people off. That would be extremely sad since the LGBTQ+ community has worked so hard to get to where it is now.

Would you be more or less likely to learn from someone that calls you an extremist?

I have Asperger’s so I don’t care what people call me (other than calling me a transphobe or antisemite with the new definitions written by the extremists.) If they’re making a cogent argument I will generally respond in kind.

I have a lot of experience and I am very LGBTQ+ friendly. I only label as extremists those who push beyond the bounds of, “Everyone has rights, gender is a social construct and you can identify as whatever you want” into denying that male and female are things or claiming that identifying as a woman somehow magically makes you female. The whole, “You can’t question what we believe or you’re a transphobe” is EXACTLY the same as, “You can’t question the actions of the state of Israel or you’re an antisemite.” It’s utter nonsense. Those are both examples of extremism.

I meant “female” in the context of biological sex as opposed to the social construct of gender as in, “woman” which may be a person who is either male or female. I am FAR from a transphobe and using the word and the reporting system on Lemmy as a bludgeon to try to silence anyone who doesn’t buy into the extremist group think utterly devalues anything else that the extremists say. One of my oldest friends is a trans woman. She would VERY much disagree that I am a transphobe. My lesbian daughter whose trans and non-binary friends I interact with every day would also very much disagree.

I would like to counter report this as a false report by an extremist pushing a political agenda and trying to silence anyone who has different ideas than them.

Trans women are women but they aren’t female. Gender is a social construct. Sex is not. You can choose to be a woman but that doesn’t make you female.

Female atheletes understandably feel that it is unfair to have male atheletes breaking female athletic records. I mean…that’s pretty obvious, isn’t it?

I’m trying to explain to you why a female athelete who chose to play a female sport to have a more level playing field and to play against other female atheletes might feel that is is unfair to be forced to play against a male athelete and why they might feel that it is unfair to have a male athelete break a female athletics record by such a margin that no female athelete could ever hope fo break it again.

This is not a difficult concept. Gender is a social construct but we’re not talking about gender. We’re talking about male and female. A male can decide to identify as a woman but she can never be female. A female can decide to identify as a man but he can never be male. You can be equally socially but you will always be different sexually. That’s just reality.

You want to live as a woman and be called a woman I’m totally on board with that. You just can’t force people to believe that you’ve magically changed sexes because you haven’t.

You can want against all want for it to be different but it isn’t and it never will be.

I am not transphobic. Not by the longest of shots and labelling anyone who doesn’t buy into the group think as a transphobe completely devalues anything else you might say. I absolutely believe in social equality but trans women and females will never be the same thing.

It’s only confusing to you because it doesn’t fit into your narrative and your carefuly rehearsed arguements don’t work.

Removed by mod

Go back and point to ANYWHERE that I said that it was unfair for trans women atheletes to play against female atheletes. I’ll wait…

No? I didn’t say that. You made that up. What I said was that female atheletes who choose to play female sports to have a more level playing field and to play against other female athelets feel that it’s unfrair to be forced to play against male atheletes playing female sports.

THAT is absolutely undeniably true.

Female atheletes understandably feel that it is unfair to have male atheletes breaking female atheletic records by such margins that no female athelete will ever be able to break them.

What’s not true? That trans women aren’t female? That’s undeniably true. That female atheletes who choose to play female sports to have a more even playing field and to play against other female atheletes find being forced to play against male atheletes unfair? That’s undeniably true as well. That female sports were intented for female atheletes? That’s undeniably true. That gender is a social construct? I mean…that’s a central pillar of the platform so we have to agree that that’s true.

Your beliefs don’t change reality and simply waving your hand in the air and declaring undeniable truths to be untrue does NOT make them untrue.

The issue isn’t gender. Gender is a social construct. The issue is sex. Female sports were always intended to be for female athletes. Female athletes who choose to play female sports to have a more level playing field and to play against other female athletes find it unfair to be forced to play against male athletes playing female sports. Trans women are women but they aren’t female.

Can I use my dick head?

“You want me to unlock my phone? I used the head of my erect penis. I’m not going to get it up myself. Knock yourself the fuck out.”

The other problem with biometrics is you can’t change them. With the OPM breach a few years ago they lost 5.6 million finger prints. Those finger prints are now useless since they are in the wild and can’t be changed. Not a problem for your average phone user but in my world that’s a really big deal. In my world biometrics are a convenience and convenience is bad for security.

As long as you’ve considered and accepted the risks you’re good.

You’ve done a threat and risk assessment and decided that the inconvenience of uninstalling or disabling the app is with accepting the risk of your device being competing and your data stolen or ransomed, your banking or other credentials being stolen, your friends, family, and other contacts being targeted, and your employer being put at risk if you use your device for work. That’s an acceptable way of handling the situation. You can always accept the risk.

That’s a threat and risk assessment. You’ve decided you’re willing to accept the risk of anyone being able to unlock your phone. For me, I’m not really worried about someone in the street strong arming me. I’m more worried about a state actor, border guard, police officer, etc demanding that I unlock my phone. They can physically compel you to unlock your phone by pointing it at your face or putting your finger on the pad but they cannot compel you to give them your password.

You’re exposing yourself to unpatched vulnerabilities for convenience instead of updating or deleting the app. If you lose half the functionality because of an update it’s time to find a new app in my books.

Something like that. Hardened personal devices in one and things like TVs and game consoles in the other.

Yup. Also having an agreement that an X from any family member means they are uncomfortable or in trouble and you should call them in one minute, tell them that there is an emergency, and you need to pick them up right now. Get them safe and don’t ask questions unless they want to talk.

That’s my expert opinion. Take it or leave it. It’s your device.