What to call this thread?

Shiftless2 said:
#960
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Indeed.
Books have been written ...

Wouldn't surprise me if the notion of a straight pride flag was catalyzed by those dismissive or resentful, perhaps even hostile to the principle of equality.

I'm not opposed to a hetero flag, thought I might prefer one not designed by a gay guy with too much time to spare.

My mental reservation about it is the weak but recognizable impression of a greedy / jealous majority horning in on the prestige of exclusivity or attention some may perceive here.

I'm not an elected spokesperson for heteros, but I'm OK without self-identifying as "straight". I generally tend to avoid identifying with any group.

Hyphenated Americans are Americans, good enough for me. And to those that aren't, welcome. Enjoy a magnificent October.
 
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When the SS Atlantic wrecked off the coast of Nova Scotia in 1873, over 500 lives were lost in one of the deadliest maritime disasters of its time. Among the victims was a sailor known to his crewmates as “Bill,” a cheerful, rough-edged companion who drank grog, scrounged tobacco, and fit seamlessly into the masculine world of the ship’s crew.

Only after the tragedy did rescuers discover that “Bill” had been a woman in disguise, her true identity hidden beneath the uniform and camaraderie of shipboard life. She had earned genuine affection and respect from her fellow sailors, not through deception, but through grit and fellowship.

One shipmate, stunned by the revelation, offered a bittersweet tribute: "I didn't know Bill was a woman. He took his grog as regular as any of us, & was always begging or stealing tobacco. He was a good fellow, & I'm sorry he was a woman."

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The Advocate

Anti-trans campaign against Spanberger in Va. governor race is failing. Poll shows why: people don't care​

Erin Reed / Sat, October 4, 2025 at 12:00 PM EDT
The Virginia governor’s race is heating up, and one topic has been front and center in the political ad wars: transgender issues. The contest pits Democratic former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger against current Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears. While Spanberger has centered her campaign on the economic fallout of federal cuts and the rising cost of living for Virginia families, Earle-Sears has saturated the airwaves with millions of dollars in anti-trans ads. Now new polling shows Spanberger pulling ahead — while also revealing that transgender issues sit at the very bottom of voter concerns in the commonwealth.

A new Hill/Emerson College poll shows Spanberger leading Earle-Sears by 10 points overall, a significant margin. Among independent voters, the gap widens even further, with Spanberger up by 19 points. The poll also offers important insight into why Spanberger may be pulling ahead. When asked about the issues that have played an outsized role in this campaign, large majorities ranked the economy, education, and healthcare as top concerns, with between 80 and 90 percent saying these issues were important. By contrast, the majority of respondents said that transgender issues were unimportant — the only issue in the race to receive such a rating.
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When looking at the crosstabs, the dynamic becomes clearer: transgender issues are unlikely to drive the outcome in Virginia in the direction of Earle-Sears. While a majority of voters overall find the issue unimportant, those who do prioritize it are not necessarily aligned with Earle-Sears. Many of them likely consider it important because they support transgender rights. In fact, 56 percent of Democrats said transgender issues are important — a higher share than Republicans. Independents, meanwhile, overwhelmingly shrug off the issue, with 61 percent calling it unimportant. That lack of concern helps explain why independents are breaking so strongly for Spanberger, who has focused instead on core issues like the economy and health care.
This article originally appeared on Advocate: Anti-trans campaign against Spanberger in Va. governor race is failing. Poll shows why: people don't care
news.yahoo.com

Anti-trans campaign against Spanberger in Va. governor race is failing. Poll shows why: people don't care

A new poll released in the Virginia governor's race shows that the anti-trans attack ads led by Republican Earle-Sears are failing: Spanberger is up 10 points, and people don't care about trans issues.
news.yahoo.com news.yahoo.com
 
The Advocate

The sham of oral arguments on conversion therapy is meant to show SCOTUS is 'unbiased'​

John Casey / Tue, October 7, 2025 at 9:00 AM EDT
When the U.S. Supreme Court commences proceedings Tuesday to hear oral arguments over whether a Colorado therapist can offer “conversion therapy” to queer youth, the stakes are far greater than one state’s law.
Chiles v. Salazar, a challenge to Colorado’s ban on ‘conversion therapy for minors, is about whether the highest court in the land will once again choose bigotry over humanity and call it constitutional.
And it will likely do it based on a lie. The Alliance Defending Freedom, which is defending conversion therapy in the case, is accused of misquoting and misrepresenting a 2016 study by scholars Lisa Diamond and Clifford Rosky.
In light of all this, I’m not sure why the court is wasting its time listening to oral arguments when the result will be a foregone conclusion. This is all a dog and pony show, a sham, by the six conservative justices to somehow show that they can remain “unbiased,” which is a joke with tragic consequences.
Conversion therapy is not in any way therapy. It is psychological torture masquerading as religion, marketed as “healing,” and has historically been inflicted on queer people under the guise of saving their souls. It sure as hell doesn’t save them — it destroys them.
news.yahoo.com

The sham of oral arguments on conversion therapy is meant to show SCOTUS is 'unbiased'

Opinion: A narrow-minded and homophobic right-wing court is poised to legalize one of the worst forms of psychological abuse ever invented, writes John Casey.
news.yahoo.com news.yahoo.com

Related: Christian group defending LGBTQ+ conversion therapy at SCOTUS accused of using 'false evidence'


One complication of such legislation, regardless of how well-intentioned, it may jeopardize responsible therapists providing beneficial treatment. If such therapist enters a prohibited category of treatment, providing therapy becomes criminal.
 
Shiftless2 said:
And not only doesn't conversion therapy work but it's actually harmful. If in doubt google "Leelah Alcorn".
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Isn't the notion "conversion therapy" is based on, that "therapy" can change such thing? Ever see Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange?
To anyone that believes conversion therapy would work on someone else, I ask them: would it work on you?
If not you, why them?
 
Shiftless2 said:
"gay marriage ... I wouldn't want it on TV ..." 970
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If it being on TV had the influence you describe, wouldn't the disproportion of straight marriage counteract is?
And how many murders will your kids see on TV before they reach adulthood? One per week? That's over 800 murders between the ages of two and eighteen.

Yet you're silent about murder on TV, it's gay marriage you make issue of?
There's so much comedy on television. Does that cause comedy in the streets? Dick Cavett, mocking the TV-violence debate
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Shiftless2 said:

"Especially for someone like me, who grew up in a rural place." Dzurick #972​

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Do urban population concentration centers attract the unusual? Are dwarfs, persons with 3 nipples, or those missing an arm in higher per capita concentration in cities than they are in suburbia and rural America?
If so, why so?
To avoid stigma?
To find stronger fellowship?

In either case, how does that affect rural communities, whose populations would thus be modified? Less tolerant? And how would that affect their vote in U.S. political elections?
A coincidence that large U.S. cities tend to vote Democrat, while vast tracts of rural America tend to vote Republican?
Is this accurately explained, because our rural-dwelling countrymen don't develop the tolerance for diversity that our city dwellers do?
 

My friend Susan identifies as a man and changed his name yesterday. Susan B Anthony​

 
Shiftless2 said:
"Only one a week?" S2 #975
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Not sure if they have cable? ;)

In debate, correcting an opponent's error by exposing an attempt to exaggerate can score points.
By underestimating, a debater may lay a trap for an attempt to correct. Such attempt would demonstrate reality even worse than presented,
essentially resulting in the debate opponent corroborating / validating the severity.

Perhaps the Cavett quotation from #971 sums it up well enough:
There's so much comedy on television. Does that cause comedy in the streets? Dick Cavett, mocking the TV-violence debate
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