Sports Should Unify, Not Divide Us

[Hans Blaster]

Agreed. Heck, even my laptop is better than the Cray 2, and uses way less power, so I do like our modern supercomputers way better.

Your laptop isn't a supercomputer and modern ones use way more power than the Cray 2.

 

[AlexB23]

Your laptop isn't a supercomputer and modern ones use way more power than the Cray 2.

That is true. My laptop is not a supercomputer, but if we brought it back in time to 1985, it would be faster than the Cray 2. The fastest supercomputer in 2024 is thousands of times faster than a laptop of today. But, slowly back to the topic.

Even the iPhone has more power compared to the Cray 2: Space Wars: 80s CRAY-2 Supercomputer vs. Modern-Day iPhone

 

[Hans Blaster]

That is true. My laptop is not a supercomputer, but if we brought it back in time to 1985, it would be faster than the Cray 2. The fastest supercomputer in 2024 is thousands of times faster than a laptop of today. But, slowly back to the topic.

Even the iPhone has more power compared to the Cray 2: Space Wars: 80s CRAY-2 Supercomputer vs. Modern-Day iPhone

At least one of those things is still useful to me for computations, and it ain't made by Apple. As for the topic of the thread, it is yet another pointless culture war article from an X-nat org to distract us from the real issues like the climate.

 

[Zaha Torte]

I was turning your comment around. You said: ”Because men shouldn't be cheating to take away accolades from women.”

My point was that “men cheating to take away accolades from women” has been going on for ages. Women have been paid less and undermined in all manner of ways in the workplace, but few on the right have ever supported progress on that front while many have openly opposed progress. I recall the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act being one of the first things (if not the very first) that Obama signed into law, and the right getting all up in arms about it.

But now that some trans people want to play women’s sports, all of a sudden, the right is concerned about fairness for women.

I don't think this really does what you think it does.

You believe that "employers" represent "men"?

 

[AlexB23]

At least one of those things is still useful to me for computations, and it ain't made by Apple. As for the topic of the thread, it is yet another pointless culture war article from an X-nat org to distract us from the real issues like the climate.

Agreed. I use a Samsung phone, and a Windows laptop (but will switch to Linux) in the future.

But yes, the culture war is to distract us from the real issues such as the climate, which we are now above +1.32°C above the 20th century average as of April 2024 (the last full month): April 2024 Global Climate Report | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

2023 exceeded the 1.5°C above the 1850-1900 pre-industrial average: World's first year-long breach of key 1.5C warming limit

 

[Pommer]

Even if you kept all of that under wraps and were white, just being a bit different (like being on the autism spectrum) was enough grounds for violent mob sanction.

The fact of the matter is that we are all alloted a certain amount of time on this earth, which starts at some point we have no influence over and then goes on for more or less time, which we do have some influence over. Generally, we imagine our early years or the time before our birth to be somehow "better" than the later years. This seems to be a feature of the human mindset that hasn't changed significantly over the centuries. We have writing of people in antiquity that complain about the "new stuff" in just the same way you have in this thread. The idea that the past was somehow better, more magical and dignified is also a common trope in media, from modern stuff like Lord of the Rings all the way to the Epic of Gilgamesh, the earliest piece of fiction that has survived the millenia. Even in the oldest epic we still have, people were writing about how the past was really awesome when compared to their present.

Sir Terry Pratchett had a running-gag throughout his Discworld series wherein characters would complain about “how things aren’t as good as in my day!”, which he even took to the absurdist level of mayflies (which have a very short adult “lifespan”.

 

[iluvatar5150]

I don't think this really does what you think it does.

You believe that "employers" represent "men"?

For a long time, employers were almost exclusively men. While the ratios have changed, upper management at most companies is still overwhelmingly male.

 

[Zaha Torte]

For a long time, employers were almost exclusively men. While the ratios have changed, upper management at most companies is still overwhelmingly male.

I understand that - but the fact that they were an employer makes this not a Man vs Woman scenario - since all employers since the very first has always wanted to pay less for more.

This is why I do not believe it is relevant to the topic and it is certainly not a comparable scenario.

 

[iluvatar5150]

I understand that - but the fact that they were an employer makes this not a Man vs Woman scenario - since all employers since the very first has always wanted to pay less for more.

This is why I do not believe it is relevant to the topic and it is certainly not a comparable scenario.

Your comment was about men cheating to steal credit from women.

Oppressing women in the workplace was long an example of men cheating to get ahead of women. The right didn’t give two hoots about it until they thought trans women were trying to get in on the game.

 

[Zaha Torte]

Your comment was about men cheating to steal credit from women.

Correct - not employers trying to steal from their employees. Not all employees are women.

Oppressing women in the workplace was long an example of men cheating to get ahead of women.

Employers had a history of cheating all their employees - not just women.

The right didn’t give two hoots about it until they thought trans women were trying to get in on the game.

Except when they helped pass the Equal Pay Act.

You are trying to equate two things that are not the same.

 

[durangodawood]

...But now that some trans people want to play women’s sports, all of a sudden, the right is concerned about fairness for women.

Generally the right leans on culture wars stuff to keep their base motivated, and distract from the rest of their policies which are one version of (inter)national crash and burn or another.

That said, as a former athlete of a sort, I'm a little concerned about fairness. And I do think theres a line to be drawn here that will inevitably make some trans people unhappy. I will defer to medical science for where that line gets drawn. But I expect it wont make right wing culture warriors happy either.

 

[iluvatar5150]

Generally the right leans on culture wars stuff to keep their base motivated, and distract from the rest of their policies which are one version of (inter)national crash and burn or another.

That said, as a former athlete of a sort, I'm a little concerned about fairness. And I do think theres a line to be drawn here that will inevitably make some trans people unhappy. I will defer to medical science for where that line gets drawn. But I expect it wont make right wing culture warriors happy either.

There’s certainly room for people to have good faith discussions about where to draw the line between what’s acceptable regarding trans athletes and competitiveness.

The amount of derision and dishonesty the right levies at trans people makes it clear they’re not having these discussions in good faith. It’s not about fairness; it’s about demonizing trans people.

 

[Niels]

One would think that trans people are the biggest threat to the modern world, with the amount of threads started about them.

If not for the sports issue, I doubt many would even think about trans people.

 

[iluvatar5150]

If not for the sports issue, I doubt many would even think about trans people.

The sports issue is the only thing the right has to provide cover and legitimize their hatred.

 

[Zaha Torte]

There’s certainly room for people to have good faith discussions about where to draw the line between what’s acceptable regarding trans athletes and competitiveness.

The amount of derision and dishonesty the right levies at trans people makes it clear they’re not having these discussions in good faith. It’s not about fairness; it’s about demonizing trans people.

What lies are being spread about transgender people?

 

[iluvatar5150]

What lies are being spread about transgender people?

Describing them as groomers and sexual deviants.

 

[Zaha Torte]

Describing them as groomers and sexual deviants.

Are you of the opinion that a transgender person cannot be a groomer or sexual deviant?

 

[iluvatar5150]

Are you of the opinion that a transgender person cannot be a groomer or sexual deviant?

That’s not what I said, is it?

 

[Zaha Torte]

That’s not what I said, is it?

You said that the claim that transgender people being described as groomers and sexual deviants was a lie.

Are transgender people capable of being groomers and sexual deviants?

 

[iluvatar5150]

You said that the claim that transgender people being described as groomers and sexual deviants was a lie.

Are transgender people capable of being groomers and sexual deviants?

People from every group are capable.