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Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: July 25th, 2023

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  • In the very strictest sense, not exactly. If you looked at resumes with all indicators of race and gender removed, then you would probably see that the people with the highest amount of merit were white men.

    …But that’s only half of the story.

    The issue is that, broadly speaking, white men will have had more advantages growing up that allowed them to have that merit. It’s no indicator of potential. If you get a head start on the race, then sure, you’re much more likely to end up winning, not because you’re inherently faster, but because you got an advantage. DEI is part of an attempt to find the people who have the potential to be the best, no just the people that are the best right now.




  • The problem is they don’t under leninism.

    Not all of leftists are Leninists though. Certainly some are, maybe most. But Leninism is only one form of leftist belief. I’m personally much closer to an anarchist than a Leninist. (…And I’m very, very aware that anarchists end up getting executed as soon as leftist coalitions take power.) I also recognize that a truly non-hierarchical society is functionally unworkable at anything larger than a tribal level, and that there’s a strong tendency for non-hierarchical socialist societies to devolve into authoritarianism at the slightest provocation.


  • I disagree. The defining characteristic of the left is the belief in owning the means of production. Authoritarian right still believes in privately owned corporations owning the means of production, while the authoritarian left believes in state ownership of the means of production. (Which, IMO, is slightly worse than corporate ownership, as you have no higher authority to whom you can appeal.) The anti-authoritarian left believes that the people themselves should directly control the means of production, without an intermediary like the state.







  • Neither of the people in those photos need glasses. Or, those glasses have plano lenses; there’s no distortion at the edges.

    Large frames like those require very hiugh index lenses, because otherwise your lenses get really thick at the edges. My prescription is fairly bad, and I need 1.67 index to avoid stupidly heavy lenses.

    Also, frames without nose pads don’t usually stay put on your face. I find them very uncomfortable, esp. since I have to wear glasses for everything.




  • I think that you might misunderstand. Transgender people are already a very, very small minority. The number of people that are in favor of authoritarian communism is also quite low (certainly in the US, at least). Even if you assume that, say, 50% of all trans people are supportive of authoritarian communism, that’s still an incredibly tiny number.

    I can’t say that I know a ton of transgender people, but the ones that I’ve personally known have trended well into anarchism, because they recognize the risk of allowing anyone to control their body other than themselves.


  • It seems unlikely that half of their users would be transgender, given that transgender people make up roughly .5% of the overall population; gay people (gay men + lesbians) make up roughly 4.5-5% of the overall population the last time I looked at demographics. All of the LGBTQ+ people together make up about 6% of the total population in the US.

    These numbers might have changed somewhat in the last year or two since I last check surveys, but it’s not likely that it’s changed enough to move the numbers sharply.

    I know that there was some investigative reporting in my state a few months ago trying to figure out how many minors would be affected by a state-level ban on insurance covering gender-affirming care for minors, and the number was in in the very low double digits. The same kind of numbers of athletes would be affected by bans on ‘biological males’ competing in womens’ sports.

    I’m just saying that it just doesn’t seem very likely that an instance with thousands of users would have that kind of demographics, esp. when you consider that Hexbear broadly has a monolithic political identity.



  • First: as someone with a strong evangelical Christian background, I can sympathize with discussions about sex–and specifically about your sex life–being deeply uncomfortable. Unfortunately, that’s something that you’re going to have to discuss with any potential romantic partner, and sooner rather than later. (Because let me tell you, significant differences in sex drive and desire will tank every and any relationship).

    Second: Drinks are not necessarily a commitment to anything more. I would prefer coffee (or tea) as a first date since it’s even lower pressure, but many people prefer alcohol because it’s a social lubricant. Your call there. My suggestion would be to start by getting to know the person. I’m autistic (seriously), and IMO the most honest approach is to be direct, despite how hard it is when you want to please people. Yes, being a people pleaser means that you’re going to want to tell her what you think she wants to hear, rather than what you really feel, and that will bite you in the ass, repeatedly. And yeah, anxiety and things like rejection sensitive dysphoria are going to make that exceptionally hard.

    Third: you said that she was a ride to a meeting; can you elaborate on what kind of meeting? I’m asking because if this is someone that you’re going to have to see in a professional setting, you do need to proceed very carefully. Workplace relationships–or relationship rejections–can be very fraught.

    Last: I’m not as immediately opposed to age gaps in relationships as some people. I do generally think that the (n/2)+7 rule is a decent rule of thumb, but it’s not an absolute. The reason that rule generally exists, IMO, is that people in different generations have different cultural markers, things that were significant in the formation of their personality and worldview, and large differences there can make relationships more challenging. E.g., if you remember 11 September '01 and the political fallout, while she grew up fully immersed in the prevailing political climate, then it might be hard to see eye to eye on some things. There can also be imbalances of maturity and power that can result from larger age differences, e.g., you might be much more set both professionally and financially, which could make the relationship less equal. So it’s something to be aware of and careful about.