darq avatar

darq

@darq@kbin.social
darq,
darq avatar

I mean both chess and pool have recently banned transgender women from competition.

So the push is not purely an evidence-driven one. In fact there is a very loud political faction trying to remove transgender women from all events, from the highest levels all the way down to park fun-runs.

darq,
darq avatar

Except they just don't. The idea that trans women are going to dominate women's sports simply has not played out in reality, despite the fact that trans women have been allowed to compete in women's divisions for many years before these bans.

I don't know how else to put that. The feared outcome just has not happened, despite regulations being more lax than they are now.

Further proof of this is found, ironically, in the examples brought up by people pushing this fear. It's the same small handful of trans competitors, most of which did not make any significant impact. If trans women were dominating women's sports, they would have more, and better, examples.

TERFs have been raging for months over a trans women finishing 6171st in a marathon. People still bring up a specific trans MMA fighter as if she was destroying the competition, when in reality she had a mediocre record, lost to a cis women with a mediocre record, and retired back in 2014. Trans women have been allowed to compete with women in the Olympics since 2004, with looser hormone regulations than those currently in place, yet we saw the first one compete only in 2020 where she didn't even medal.

The strongest example is one swimmer who was also very strong when she previously competed against men. And people ignore that she still lost to cis women in multiple events. They ignore that her times dropped dramatically after starting HRT.

The fears have not played out in reality.

darq,
darq avatar

That is the whole point of "trans women in sports" discussions. That's why conservatives selected this issue to push.

darq,
darq avatar

Simply because there is a huge difference, biologically, between a cisgender man and a transgender women who is on HRT.

You can argue that there is still residual advantages remaining after transition, that's fine. But to call them men is both plainly incorrect, and also offensive.

darq,
darq avatar

You live in a fantasy land then, because here in reality, it simply has not.

darq,
darq avatar

But biologically, there is a lot of difference between a cisgender man and a transgender women on HRT.

You can argue that residual advantages remain, that's reasonable. But to just talk about trans women as if they are basically just cis men is both inaccurate, and offensive.

darq,
darq avatar

To be clear, that wasn't the argument that I was making. In my comment I was only pushing back on the common tendency in these discussions to talk about transgender women as if they were simply cisgender men. People say, uncritically, things like "oh it's common sense to ban [transgender women] because we know that men on average are faster and stronger". But transgender women on HRT are significantly different, biologically, to cisgender men.

It's perfectly fine to talk about advantages remaining after HRT is started, and for how long they remain. But that isn't what is happening when people talk about transgender women as if they were cisgender men. That is completely ignoring the effects of HRT, making a proper discussion of the relevant facts impossible.

It's also worth pointing out that, transgender women make up 0.5-1% of all women. So it shouldn't surprise us if transgender women make up 0.5-1% of top female athletes. That's proportional.

In reality transgender women are under-represented at the highest levels. While even singular examples of transgender athletes performing well are treated as obvious proof of advantage. That's very lop-sided rhetoric.

The discussion around this topic is terrible, with a lot of people being quite confidently incorrect about basic empirical facts, while arguing theory.

It's simple. Don't fuck with them. Got it? (startrek.website)

Hey, please report any transphobia so I can take care of it or an admin if they see it in the queue first. That being said, if you can, also please shoot me a private message on this account with a link to the offending content. Or shoot me a message on Discord (I’m in the Lemmy.world discord channel) with a link to the...

darq,
darq avatar

This is same as homophobes "disagreeing" with gay people, or the gay "lifestyle". It was nonsense then, it is still nonsense now.

Former Japanese Nintendo employee says it’s ‘a haven for geniuses’ but ‘hell for an average person’ | VGC (www.videogameschronicle.com)

Koichi Miura is an artist who’s been working in the industry since 1999. He previously worked on Ridge Racer V, R: Racing Evolution and Time Crisis 5 for Bandai Namco, as well as Kingdom Hearts HD II.8 and Kingdom Hearts 3 for Square Enix....

darq,
darq avatar

Salaries in Japan are fairly low. Though that is offset by a comparatively low cost-of-living.

Additionally, depending on when the currency conversions were done, the yen tanked dramatically in the last few years, leading to salaries appearing even lower when converted to dollars.

South Africa Requests ICC to Issue Arrest Warrant for Israeli Prime Minister - BNN Breaking (bnn.network)

South Africa’s government, in an unprecedented move, has implored the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The deadline for this action is set for mid-December, signaling a bold stance from the African nation. The call was voiced by the Minister in the...

darq,
darq avatar

Firstly, SA never had the opportunity to arrest Putin. Secondly, it was Russia that would have considered the arrest a declaration of war.

darq,
darq avatar

Except mathematically, no, there are not other options. One of those two options are going to win, as much as none of us like it.

darq,
darq avatar

You don’t understand first past the post voting.

No, you don't understand FPTP voting.

Obviously the two parties can change. But you are already in a situation where the system has collapsed into two stable parties.

So voting for a third party is going to guarantee a victory for the party you like least, because of the spoiler effect.

And with how incumbent both the Democrats and the Republicans are, and given how the Democrats actually do have a stable core voter-base who would not follow leftists over to a progressive party, you aren't actually going to dislodge the Democrats within a reasonable amount of time. You would be guaranteeing that the Republicans win the next 3-4 cycles at least, with zero contest. And those losses would lead to the progressive party losing votes back to the larger Democratic party, extending the difficult transition period.

That's why third parties are basically impossible. It requires an electorate to be willing to militantly vote to lose to the fascistic party for over a decade before there is even the possibility of replacing the incumbent neoliberal party.

Your only hope is forcing voting reform. Which... I mean good luck.

darq,
darq avatar

You want to address the rest of my comment, genius? The giant elephant in the room that you would be voting to lose every election for at the very least the next decade to the Republicans, with zero contest? While trying to convince neoliberals to vote for progressives?

darq,
darq avatar

You are being very evasive. People are pointing out the obvious flaws in your plan, and so far you have offered nothing in response.

darq,
darq avatar

You are still avoiding the point.

I’m strictly talking about voting. i.e. what checkbox you choose at the ballot box. No other considerations right now.

What an absolutely stupid way to think about voting.

At the ballot box you have more then 2 choices.

I hate to break it to you sweetheart, but you live in a flawed democracy. Only two of those checkboxes actually matter in reality. One of those two is going to win. And the Republicans are going to turn out and vote for their guy.

So you can stamp your feet as much as you like. You can throw your little tantrum and hurl your petty accusations. It means NOTHING.

Address the criticisms of your view, or shut up.

darq,
darq avatar

You can't answer, can you? You are avoiding the point again and again. You have nothing but mindless accusations.

smallest risk-free personal decision

Conservatives want me dead. Tell me again how this is risk-free? Piss off, into the sea, you are beneath contempt.

darq,
darq avatar

You actually can't do anything except repeat your brain-dead accusations, huh?

It's actually kind of sad...

darq,
darq avatar

Problem is that I genuinely do struggle to think of an issue that I think the right-wing are correct on. It's not mere tribalism, it's not "other team bad". It is a fundamental difference in values, and worldview.

darq,
darq avatar

I don't need explanations. I've spoken to a lot of conservatives, about a lot of topics. It's not that I don't understand. It's that we value different things. That we see the world differently.

Very abstractly, conservatives tend (and individuals are different so may tend more or less) to believe that hierarchy is natural, and unavoidable. That hierarchy simply is the way the world is. Progressives on the other hand tend to be more egalitarian, all are created equal and hierarchies are usually unjust and should be dismantled.

It's why there is such a consistent division of beliefs. Why people, if they hold some conservative or progressive values, tend to also hold other beliefs of the same categorisation. Where when new issues come up, we can predict with good accuracy who is going to take what stance, by answering the question: Does this move power up, or down, the hierarchy? Does this reinforce the hierarchy, or does it weaken the hierarchy?

It also explains seemingly contradictory conservative beliefs. It explains why the right-wing, who at their fringes host white-supremacists and who are represented in government by people who talk about "Jewish space lasers", are now supporting Israel and accusing people of antisemitism. Because Israel is higher in the hierarchy than Palestine. Their claims to care about antisemitism are laughably flimsy in context, they are lies propped up in front of the real belief.

OC "A Billion Nazis at the Table" - The Fediverse model proves contextual moderation by real humans is both easy and affordable. The presence of Nazis on corporate social media implies at least a tacit acceptance. (www.staygrounded.online)

"If you’ve ever hosted a potluck and none of the guests were spouting antisemitic and/or authoritarian talking points, congratulations! You’ve achieved what some of the most valuable companies in the world claim is impossible."

darq,
darq avatar

And moderation is harder than it seems, because it requires you to read minds.

It doesn't really.

darq,
darq avatar

Yup, that's what happens whenever "civility" is the primary metric used for moderation.

Trolls post heinous nonsense, and respond to people in the most insufferable rage-bait-y manner. But if anyone so much as calls them an asshole, they get their comments removed for saying a no-no word.

Discussion on 'Missing women on Lemmy and decentralised networks'

I saw this post from !twoxchromosomes, and I wanted to share it here to get more discussion because it is important. I’m hoping that this post won’t crowd out any voices, and while I’ve tried to keep this post productive and inclusive, please call out any concerns and use the post if you prefer :)...

darq,
darq avatar

Steamdeck...
Steamdeck 2...
Steamde... Uh oh...

Trump campaign defends Nazi-era "vermin" threat with another incendiary threat (www.motherjones.com)

Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung pushed back on those condemning the former president’s choice of “vermin” to attack his opponents, telling the Washington Post that critics “who try to make that ridiculous assertion are clearly snowflakes grasping for anything because they are suffering from Trump Derangement...

darq,
darq avatar

This is a display of power, and dominance. It's a taunt.

To "clarify" by both denying the claim and doubling down on the claim at the same time. To state that people taking the words as a threat are snowflakes, while immediately threatening them again. And to do it twice over, reclarifying his original threat with another one.

He knows that makes no sense. But words don't have to make sense under fascists. Only power makes sense. He knows he can get away with it. That's the point.

The journalist should have drilled him on the spot.

darq,
darq avatar

Even without knowledge of the source of the image, there is no reasonable way a normal person interprets that message as a genuine threat of violence.

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