this post was submitted on 04 Nov 2024
568 points (75.3% liked)

Comic Strips

12739 readers
2829 users here now

Comic Strips is a community for those who love comic stories.

The rules are simple:

Web of links

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] ayyy@sh.itjust.works 83 points 2 weeks ago (5 children)

Why does everything have to be so us-vs.-them? We all share the same planet.

[–] JayDee@lemmy.ml 15 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

This is potentially gender construct and sexism getting directly in the way of advocacy against real issues. Women start a protest advocating against a very real issue they face, by women for women, and it is spun as a direct attack on men. Same thing happens for men's advocacy.

"...For the Master's tool will never dismantle the master's house. They may allow us temporarily to beat him at his own game, but they will never enable us to bring about genuine change. And this fact is only threatening to those women who still define the master's house as their only source of support..." - Audre Large, in "Master's Tools Will Never Take Down the Master's House"

I don't think most would blame many women for the practices they do in public to stay safe, despite the behavior explicitly being sexist. This is because we understand that in absence of these kinds of behaviors, women do actually get prayed upon, most often by men. It's the reality of a dangerous world. however, we get angry when the statements and phrases used to justify these behaviors are said aloud.

What we fail to acknowledge is that that same kind of victimization is possible to a guy. Most guys would find the idea of deliberately using the bathroom at the same time as their friend as weird, possibly even girly. Machismo stereotypes and trying to conform to manliness actively makes men more vulnerable .

We also downplay women being violent, yet again a gender stereotype which not only lets women get physical in public, but actually also makes women easier to dismiss when they're angry and yelling. This not only lets women get away with toxic behavior, but robs them of being taken seriously at other times.

These are both issues caused by gender, which is also actively defining how advocacy happens and creates an arbitrary divide.

[–] AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net 7 points 2 weeks ago

I liked this comment. You wrote with the nuance and balance that I strive for. Thanks for sharing

[–] WrenFeathers@lemmy.world 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Outrage is the new thing. Many people aren’t happy or able to feel like their life is affirmed without being angry with someone or at something and it’s vital to their ideology to impose their values on others.

Non compliance with their demands is non optional.

[–] AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net 3 points 2 weeks ago

Is outrage all that new? It strikes me as evergreen

[–] clark@midwest.social 5 points 2 weeks ago

Because humans like to make up categories which naturally cause inequality of some kind. I don't want this but it's the way it is and to pretend otherwise is ignorant and silly.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Sometimes certain subsets of the planet have problems particular to their region, culture, or cohort.

Telling a person wandering through the desert "I also get thirsty" maybe deflects from the issue at hand.

[–] hydrospanner@lemmy.world 2 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Telling a person wandering through the desert "I also get thirsty" maybe deflects from the issue at hand.

Or... That may be a show of support, in sharing of a common burden, a message of, "You are not alone in this struggle."

Rather than always seeing it as a negative, maybe allow for the possibility that it's coming from a different place.

Honestly, I feel like this whole sentiment of, "Don't attempt to bring any context into a conversation. Only stick strictly to what one person has decided to talk about." is not only counterproductive in that moment, but also in the medium and long term has a marked effect in shutting down future conversations about difficult and uncomfortable topics.

I mean, how many times does a person get into a conversation that starts with, "Can we talk about X?" or "Let's have an open, honest discussion about Y?"...only to add something to that conversation and be told, "No, you're wrong for bringing that up. We're only talking about X and why it's the worst thing ever."... before they get to the point where the next time someone says, "Can we talk about Z?" they just say, "No, sorry. Not interested."?

[–] ryathal@sh.itjust.works -4 points 2 weeks ago

Many of these problems while not strictly zero sum are pretty close to it.