Ask Lemmy

I think that gender dysphoria is a mental illness, as it causes mental distress if not alleviated with transition, but that it's not shameful to have it any more than it's shameful to have autism, conversion therapy has been scientifically proven not to work, and just as people with diabetes manage their condition with insulin, transition is the best way to manage it so people with it can live happy lives.

I don't hate AI. It's fine. I don't love it either, but it's neat and often useful.

That Lemmy can be just as bigoted, hostile, and close-minded as the sites it set out to replace; it drives out views which aren't in line with the gestalt majority. This thread, then, mostly gets answers which are on the mildest end because those who actually hold opinions out of step with the majority know damn well not to speak up, or, well... be immediately othered.

Im a liberal who loves guns and offensive comedy.

I think violence should be the last resort, not the first, when speaking of revolution.

I believe privately owned cars and on-street parking should be banned in cities, except for very few regulated exceptions, and replaced with municipal car sharing.

I don't like neopronouns

I’m a Democrat who values the 2nd amendment and doesn’t think we should just ban guns in the U.S. Stronger regulations and safety measures? Sure, absolutely. But I do think people should have the right to own and use firearms for recreation, hunting, personal protection, etc.

Having children is borderline unethical given the capitalist hellscape they will be born into, the relatively high likelihood that they will not be able to live to old age due to risk of large parts of the planet becoming uninhabitable with climate change, and considering that reduced birth rates is the most ethical path to a lower population on the planet, which, though technically not a strict requirement of a greener future, certainly makes it a lot easier.

No shade for any kids living today or parents who choose to have them despite the above. I understand why people do it and I don't blame anyone for it. But it is worth pointing out that current birth rates in most countries are not sustainable, and the seemingly constant fearmongering about falling birthrates in places where it's low needs to go away. Yes, it's bad for the economy if the new generation is smaller than their parents. That's a problem with the system and its design (one of many), and not at all a rationale for having kids.

My anarchism.

Anarchism in general makes me the other when dealing with most people, but the specifics of my views on it also generally make me the other when dealing with most "anarchists." (I oppose any and all attempts to institute anarchism - I believe it will arise organically or not at all - and I similarly reject any and all stipulations regarding what sort of standards, norms or systems may, may not, must or must not be a part of an anarchistic society),

That having a better education is directly tied to income levels, so talking down to 'idiots' is actually some bougie bullshit.

In my personal case, especially among the people I hang with here, my positive attitude toward generative AI seems like one of the major ones. Many people really don't seem to like it when someone mentions enjoying using these tools.

"Pro-gun" - am left-of-center, anti-estsblishment, progressive US Democrat, people probably assume I'm far-right if I just say that no context

"反共" ("Anti-CCP") - Amongst Mainland Chinese, they'd probably look at me like the classroom "troublemaker", even my parents don't like me talking shit about CCP at home, we don't even live in China. Someone from a Chinese Lemmy instance probably assumed I was a white dude that hated China and Chinese people and asked why I "hated China". I had to use pinyin to type my response in Chinese, my native language, explaning I'm ethnic Chinese and born in mainland China and I only hate the party/government. Their response afterwards was quite "chill", very understanding. Amongst westerners, if I say I'm anti-CCP, they'd probably assume I'm a conservative lol, nah fam, fuck the rightwing radical lunatics and fuck tankies

Me prefering visual media over books - Lemmy seems to overwhelmingly like books better, for me, nah, partial aphantasia, hard to imagine things like someone elses thoughts, I can picture my memories quite well tho...

I hate being drunk as well as being around others who are drunk. So yeah, I'm real fun at parties.

I think trans athletes should be able to compete only in their assigned gender at birth category, if the sport is gender-segregated.

Men aren't the enemy of feminism and equality. It doesn't matter what any man has done to you, being a bigot doesn't fix it.

There are real problems in the world that benefit from attention. And most people prefer to waste their energy being mad at made up shit designed to make them hate their neighbors.

I'm a militant ethical vegan. I basically don't talk about it unless directly asked, because it's probably a fight otherwise.

Religion and spirituality, broadly considered, are not inherently evil. That organized religion can justify great evils is a function of human weakness, nothing more.

Then again, this is coupled with a 'there is no god but that we create ourselves/god has no material existence, but is no less powerful for that'' POV, which is admittedly a weird one that I've been pulling at for a bit. Nothing to do with the nature of our reality or first causes, everything to do with our relationship to reality.

1. Bigotry and prejudice is always bad, even if it's not against a "protected class". Hating on white people, straight people, cis people, men, or anyone else for the way they were born, what their ancestors did makes the world a worse place. Heck, "white" itself is a nebulous concept that changes over time and is different depending on which racist you're talking to. Just because someone resembles your oppressor does not make them your enemy.

2. Kind of related, but I don't broadly judge categories of things. I was at a party recently and someone asked me if I liked anime, and I responded that I like some anime. Most of it I don't like, but that's not specific to anime. In my experience, roughly 80-90% of all media is somewhere between "garbage" and "mediocre", and it's the 10-20% at the top that I look for. A lot of my favorite bands happen to be metal, but I'm not going to like every band that uses distorted guitars.

Perhaps another way of phrasing it is that I usually find that the parameters which define genre are often separate from the parameters that determine my personal enjoyment.

My theory is that most people are more concerned with the social groups around media than the media itself.

I keep getting downvoted because I advocate always voting left. Even if currently the democrats aren’t left wing, they are more left than Republicans. And if you keep voting for the most left candidate then over time they’ll keep shifting more and more left. Republicans will learn they’ll never win unless they start moving left so they’ll move left, then the Democrats will move more left.

Letting republicans win because the current democrat isn’t left enough is, IMHO, stupid.

In America its still not ok to be an atheist. Truly weird that it is ok to be part of several different mutually exclusive cults who all believe things that if they were not connected to a proper religion would get you laughed at but if you don't have a cult its not ok.

Believing in facts and reality over ideology and idealism.

And as an extension of that, focusing what people do, not what they say they do or want to do.

Well I guess it's that I have a difficult time understanding trans folk. My belief is that we should be working towards accepting and loving our bodies regardless of how they are formed, with all of their flaws intact. I feel complicated towards cosmetic surgery as a result of this belief.
Obligatory caveat: I still love trans people, you're ALL valid and I continue to learn from you.