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Here's how I deal with users who steal

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Re: Here's how I deal with users who steal

#211
post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Feminists really aren't any better than religious people. As an atheist white man, I'm hated by both, but I'll sooner respect a christian than a feminist.

As an agnostic white man who is also a feminist, this comment makes me sad. So sad in fact that I created an account just to come say something about it. There are undoubtedly angry people, willing to lash out at anyone they think may have wronged them, and some of those people may identify as feminists. That doesn't mean that feminists hate men, white or otherwise, anymore than men hate women as a class of people. H…

>That doesn't mean that feminists hate men, white or otherwise, anymore than men hate women as a class of people.

That's a nice false equivalence you've got there.

>However, white men have a lot of cultural privilege

Oh goody, you're hiding behind the boogieman, aka "privilege". In modern, "western" culture there's really no cultural privilege for men. Unless we're going to count the privilege to be drafted, or murdered, or die on the job with nary a twitch of the feminist diaspora.

>Anyway, I hope you have some opportunities to grow and realize lack of respect for a group of people seeking to be respected is a failure of imagination on your part

That's rather nonsensical. Just because a group wants to be respected doesn't mean they deserve respect.

Re: Here's how I deal with users who steal

#212
post #181

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not trolling, it is a harmful business model that antagonizes their users. We will disagree, and that's fine.

You disagree with people creating value and selling it for money? Genuinely curious, what is immoral about that?

Not at all. I consider it wholly inappropriate for people to be restricted from copying and sharing data, and believe copyright should be abolished for human good. Of course I'm ok with some speech restrictions for, say, privacy reasons.

Nothing about creating value and selling it for money requires that I be prohibited in my rights about what I'm allowed to do with digital works, be they considered property or thought. Unfortunately copyright holds us back in this regard and builds an economic environment predicated on this offense.

Re: Here's how I deal with users who steal

#214
post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an agnostic white man who is also a feminist, this comment makes me sad. So sad in fact that I created an account just to come say something about it. There are undoubtedly angry people, willing to lash out at anyone they think may have wronged them, and some of those people may identify as feminists. That doesn't mean that feminists hate men, white or otherwise, anymore than men hate women as a class of people. H…

>That doesn't mean that feminists hate men, white or otherwise, anymore than men hate women as a class of people. That's a nice false equivalence you've got there. >However, white men have a lot of cultural privilege Oh goody, you're hiding behind the boogieman, aka "privilege". In modern, "western" culture there's really no cultural privilege for men. Unless we're going to count the privilege to be drafted, or murde…

If you believe that modern western cultures are not gender biased and this state of affairs is worth preserving, then you are a feminist! You can't deny it because you have just advocated for gender equality.

Feminism advocates for autonomy for everyone. Everyone should be able to make choices about how to live their life instead of having those choices made for them. Everyone should have control over their own body. Everyone should have control over their own self image.

You may not perceive it, but many people live in cultures in which they are strongly pushed toward ideal body types, lifestyles, and choices from many angles: family, community, media, friends. This affects both men and women. If people who live in traditionally patriarchal western cultures can now say honestly that they perceive no gender bias, then feminism has won. It may not have won the war, but it has at least won some battles, and it will continue fighting for equality for all.

Re: Here's how I deal with users who steal

#215
post #214
post #211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>That doesn't mean that feminists hate men, white or otherwise, anymore than men hate women as a class of people. That's a nice false equivalence you've got there. >However, white men have a lot of cultural privilege Oh goody, you're hiding behind the boogieman, aka "privilege". In modern, "western" culture there's really no cultural privilege for men. Unless we're going to count the privilege to be drafted, or murde…

If you believe that modern western cultures are not gender biased and this state of affairs is worth preserving, then you are a feminist! You can't deny it because you have just advocated for gender equality. Feminism advocates for autonomy for everyone. Everyone should be able to make choices about how to live their life instead of having those choices made for them. Everyone should have control over their own body.…

No, you really don't get to sling this kind of bullshit around.

> If you believe that modern western cultures are not gender biased and this state of affairs is worth preserving, then you are a feminist! You can't deny it because you have just advocated for gender equality.

No, if you're going to insist on naming it, it is "egalitarian". I also don't believe this state of affairs is worth preserving.

>Feminism advocates for autonomy for everyone.

No, no it doesn't. Feminism, by design and definition, advocates for the rights of women. Or rather, I should say, "womyn" since large, vocal factions of the feminist movement don't support the rights of trans-people. But I'm guessing you're one of those feminists that like to no true scotsman those feminists out of play, I guess their opinion don't count.

Also, fuck your patriarchy bullshit. It's a convenient scapegoat and surrogate evil upon which much of modern feminist dogma is based.

Re: Here's how I deal with users who steal

#216
post #215
post #214

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you believe that modern western cultures are not gender biased and this state of affairs is worth preserving, then you are a feminist! You can't deny it because you have just advocated for gender equality. Feminism advocates for autonomy for everyone. Everyone should be able to make choices about how to live their life instead of having those choices made for them. Everyone should have control over their own body.…

No, you really don't get to sling this kind of bullshit around. > If you believe that modern western cultures are not gender biased and this state of affairs is worth preserving, then you are a feminist! You can't deny it because you have just advocated for gender equality. No, if you're going to insist on naming it, it is "egalitarian". I also don't believe this state of affairs is worth preserving. >Feminism advoca…

Well if you don't desire equality for all under the law, if you prefer special privileges based on gender or another arbitrary aspect, then you certainly aren't a feminist. I won't argue that point, but I hope you understand my meaning of egalitarianism. I've often seen it confused with advocating weakness when it in fact means that everyone is treated fairly and given equal opportunity. I'm interested in what kind of position you do hold about how society should be structured. Perhaps you prefer a meritocracy, but that would require egalitarianism as a base state.

Feminists advocate for the rights of women but not exclusively so. We advocate equality and address inequalities. Feminists support men as well when they are victims of inequalities. Of course, feminism is a broad movement and not a dogmatic cult, and therefore you will find those who do not support the rights of trans people, but they are not representative of the majority of feminists.

Since its inception in the 19th century, feminism has expanded to address all aspects of gender in culture and identity. Many feminists like myself do not consider gender to be a binary position but a spectrum of cultural expressions. It is therefore impossible to advocate the rights of women without advocating the rights of men because no one is entirely "man" or "woman." No one fits neatly into static gender stereotypes. The rights of trans, intersexed, and genderqueer people are extremely important as we move forward.

In the long term, I feel it's especially important that we question traditional gender roles because we have an increasingly powerful ability to manipulate our biology. We will see increasing amounts of people with bodies and minds that do not conform to our expectations because they are fundamentally different, and we need to develop a cultural understanding for relating to people who do not conform to our preconceived notions of gender expression.

Re: Here's how I deal with users who steal

#217
post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It depends on the video game or the porn in question. A Bible is going to prime for social/moral thoughts and feelings in a very significant way. For a religious person I doubt there's anything that could make attitudes about morality more accessible, and accessibility is almost the whole story for behavior. I think if a video game loading screen told you "Piracy is WRONG!" it would be ineffective in GTA, neutral in…

"political feminist porn". That's a thing???

Oh yeah. I don't know what the market size is but it's definitely a thing. Pink and White Productions is a good example.

Re: Here's how I deal with users who steal

#219

Earlier quoted context omitted.

" Any concern about mass defection of paid users to unpaid is unlikely if the service is good and shows trying to take the high road. " In my experience, this works until a user hits a moment of hardship or "meh". Then they cancel and find it's easier to reallocate those consumption dollars to something new than reboot the subscription.

But if you're not providing an essential (Mazlow) for life, isn't this going to happen anyway?

True. Money and life are brutally efficient: but also stochastic processes. Value might exist, but it's utility waxes, wanes and sometimes waxes again. Hence the principle of letting go totally willingly... Having that much confidence in the value when it's needed again. ;)

Re: Here's how I deal with users who steal

#220
post #202

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Feminists really aren't any better than religious people. As an atheist white man, I'm hated by both, but I'll sooner respect a christian than a feminist.

I don't hate you — I'm a Christian, so I disagree with you about religion, but why would I hate you? I think most feminists don't really hate men, white or otherwise, either, though you and I might tend to have opinions that they disagree with. That is to say, don't mistake disagreement for hate.

I don't think that most feminists hate men. Most people who identify as feminists are pretty liberal, Hillary-Clinton-esque feminists, or "fun"-feminists of the "Pole dancing is empowering!" sort.

Of the feminists that do hate men, I think most of them do because they have experienced oppression at the hands of men in very direct ways, such as:

* Sexual harassment (probably all of the women you know have been sexually harassed)

* Sexual assault (one in four on average, higher than that for women in the global majority/women of color)

* Overt sexism (being derided as an "affirmative action" placement, told to make sandwiches/get off the Internet, etc.)

* Covert sexism (being assumed to be a subordinate in an office, being assumed to be an assistant/boyfriend at tech conferences, being singled out for "preferential" treatment in a Victorian expression of respect for fragility)

As a man, I think that there are a lot of reasons why women would hate men, and why people of color would hate whites. I think this is mostly justified. Men, and particularly white men, have and continue to do pretty absurdly horrible things, and more than that, refuse to even admit to it! The catcaller on a street doesn't think he's doing something wrong, much less the person who judges a woman more harshly for her efficacy at work (since she seems "cold" if she gets things done).

One of the best defenses of hate I've ever seen is from Butch Slaughter. You can see some of his work here: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=Butch%20Slaught...

Mr. Slaughter guest lectured at a class I took on domestic violence, and one of the things he said that will always stick with me is that "there are some things you're supposed to hate." Systemic inequality, and the oppression of the majority of humans, is definitely something you're supposed to hate. And I think it's impossible to wholly separate that from the people who are responsible, either by accident or by choice, in supporting such things.

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