I'm still confused. I know now that Joe Biden isn't a good person, and Beto O'Rourke is a racist

So I've been told by Amaris in this thread: http://wordforge.net/index.php?posts/3399047/

I mean, there's no real evidence, the original link she used came straight from a white supremacist trying to destroy CRT and any discussion of racism in American schools. But she says CRT tells us that O'Rourke is racist. And of course Joe Biden is not a good man. Per Amaris.

But am I allowed to think Biden and Beto have at least done something good when they opposed Gregg Abbot's attack against transgender kids? Is that OK?

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/texas-twisted-attack-trans-kids-just-got-worse-n1290792

You know, Gregg Abbot, the governor Beto O'Rourke is running against in the Texas gubernatorial election this year.

Does Beto O'Rourke's racism outweigh his belief transgender kids get to have proper medical care? And their parents not to be imprisoned? Or even lose custody of their kids, who will no doubt go to good Texan Christian homes? CRT is so confusing for us, the unenlightened.

Abbot has instructed his office to get anyone who seeks transgender care or counseling to be treated as if they are in violation of state statutes against child abuse. Even a member of Texas Health and Human Services who has a trans teenager has been investigated.

https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc...parents-aren-t-ones-abusing-children-n1289651

There were 9 investigations open on child abuse for the parents of trans kids trying to help them through legitimate medical services. A temporary injunction has been filed to stop it, but that's going to go to the Texas Supreme Court. And possibly SCOTUS itself.

https://www.statesman.com/story/new...der-affirming-therapy-child-abuse/6995409001/


I'm a little worried about the conservatives there saying that this is valid. I mean, CRT says liberalism isn't sufficient, and clearly the is no difference between either of the parties that support the instrument of white supremacism, the US government. But it keeps seeming like it's the conservatives attacking human rights.

So do I contribute to Beto or not? Third party, even though they have absolutely no chance to stop Abbot?

I have no formal education in CRT (though I seriously doubt anyone here has), so I get confused by these things. I mean, I don't even understand why a white supremacist lying about Beto backing his position on CRT makes Beto a racist.

Mods, these splits from thread tangents are getting confusing

I'm not questioning CRT here. This is about the TX gubernatorial.

I'm just asking because I'm told CRT tells us Beto O'Rourke is racist is it still OK to support him against a person actively trying to imprison transgender families and stop transgender kids from receiving treatment.

Totally different thing.

I think it should be yes. It sure seems right to try to stop Abbot from implementing these types of policies. Human rights matter.

But racist O'Rourke is the only one that legitimately has a chance to stop that now. It is a conundrum.

So I wanted to be sure.

Beto O'Rourke turned me into a newt!!!
...well, I got better.

Not just a racist. A white supremacist.

This isn't really helping.

Amaris is saying nothing different to the likes of MLK when they suggested that working within the system was a problem because it would exacerbate issues in the short term.

It's easy to suggest a small-steps approach when you aren't the one getting knocked back. You may have genuinely good intentions. But folk are suffering NOW.

"Change doesn't happen overnight". No. But would black rights be as far along as they are without acting outside the system?

That said, Amaris is too quick to condemn, because just kicking the system down doesn't work either.

Beto is the system. He has to walk the walk. And that doesn't mean he ISN'T an ally, but it means he can't say certain things and it also means he will get some things wrong. I've had a few incidents regarding trans students this year - a new one for me - one where a student told me X preferred male pronouns. OK, I will bear that in mind, but truth be told there are 80 students in the class and I don't know anyone's names let alone their preferred gender. Another where someone asked if there were gender-neutral toilets. I rarely teach in that building and I've never had to take a piss there myself, so sorry, no.

Wheels’s last name has two Ts: Abbott.

Yep. MLK was pointedly against Johnson - both about the Vietnam war and later on criticizing his stance on civil rights. Johnson stepped down and instead we got Nixon. Who himself got there by sabotaging the Paris peace talks and ensuring there was no withdrawal from Vietnam before the election, leading to hundreds of thousands more dead. Our soldiers, their soldiers, and civilians.

Sometimes MLK was wrong.

And the system moved ever on.

Sure. It is literally the human condition, and the best we can do is erect institutions to limit that suffering to the best of our ability. To do that we need to elect good representatives.

Oh, that I definitely agree. But then, that isn't the cruxt of Amaris' argument. That comes next. Hell, even for occasionally getting it wrong themselves I contributed to BLM and openly supported them, and the protests after Floyd were necessary.

There you go. Kicking the system down kills. Food, water, power, medicine. We've seen revolution, and rarely are they peaceful. Those that are instead change the system, they don't kick it down.

Beto is a better version of the system. Abbott (two Ts) is the worst. But the system is going to be there regardless of which of these individuals get elected. Unless we are actively in a civil war, and there is absolutely no doubt that is a worse outcome for the country. We've seen that before, too. Abbott is truly a racist, as expressed by his horrendous immigration policies. He's bigoted against LGBTQ. He's corrupt, and let the energy companies loot Texas while 7000 froze to death due to their greed. He'd fit right in with the 60s George Wallace or Lester Thormond.

I don't know what MLK would say about Beto. Even categiorizing Beto as a moderate now is questionable. For the 1960s he would be the farthest left candidate Texas had ever seen, more than they could even have imagined.

Do the best you can do. That's all any reasonable person can ask.

Granted, there is a lot of unreason these days.

Amaris condemns others with the masturbatory zeal of a teenager who's never set foot in the real world and will never have to deal with the consequences of the choices she demands of others. It's tiresome.

I condemn complacency in the face of inequity. How you accept it or reject that condemnation is on you. I am far gentler with people who don't know any better.

How do you define complacency? Not breaking shit?

I do tend to be short with people I care about. Sounds stupid, but it's true. I forget that my brain doesn't exactly work the same way as others. Did you know there are people who do not have an inner monologue? Blew my mind. Anyway, from my side, I'm Indiana Jones and Short Round, and some of the people I care about are Willie Scott, and Willie won't reach into the damn hole and pull the switch while the ceiling is coming down on top of me and Shorty, and for the love of god, Willie, pull the damn lever! That's what it feels like, worst movie of the original Indiana Jones trilogy aside, and if I'm short and ill-tempered sometimes, I'm sorry, it's just from my side I get to see first hand the end results of people taking too long.

Complacency is believing the system will eventually work things out in the end, while being aware that people are being oppressed/exploited now.

I did. Mine, OTOH, usually says shit like beat the living fuck out of the cunt who is making your life difficult. Granted, said cunt is usually just a jobsworth or an egotistical fuckwit, rather than trying to strip me of my rights. But I still feel beating them to death (or within an inch thereof) isn't actually going to help me. So I don't.

Mine's more of a working council rather than a voice telling me to push them off the steps and blame it on the cat. There is a "general consensus of viewpoints before a decision is reached" kind of thing. I've always been strident. I get that from my mom. It's annoying to the point where I will annoy myself with it, just as one looks in the mirror and says "why do you have to be like this?"

Some of it's the ADHD, which says I have to do something a certain way or it's wrong. Some of it's just being an asshole. I know I can be one. Sometimes I apologize for it, sometimes I believe it's warranted. I try to use it towards people who have power, like politicians and such, but I also get upset with people whom I believe have the capability to help bring about change, but maybe feel like it's either not as important as I think it is, or who don't recognize it at all. Like in the CRT thread, I believe that teaching people CRT in elementary, middle, and high schools, adjusted for development of course, could go a long way to mitigating the damage our system creates every day.

There are people, like you, whom I will talk with all day, just like this, people I like, people I consider very good hearted. Then there are people like @Demiurge for whom my patience is almost always low. Part of it is because when I talk to you, I feel like you know where I'm coming from and what I'm trying to do (whether I'm fumbling it or not), and so I try to respond in kind. There are people here who are new to the whole idea, and I try to be gentle with them, too. The truth is, I just don't have the patience I used to have when I was much younger. When mom died, I really started to feel that mortality, that sense of my own time being far, far shorter than I first thought. Now, it may just be the emotional fallout from that event, or maybe I really am on borrowed time. I'm a T1D, have heart issues, and not in the best of health because of the years I spent neglecting myself to take care of family, all of which I'm trying to remedy now, but at 42 (as of tomorrow), I kind of wonder whether or not that is too late. So there really *is* this sense of urgency behind what I'm trying to do. I won't make excuses, I fuck up. I do it all the time. I get dramatic, or angry, or short tempered with people I shouldn't, and I often don't know I'm doing it until it's done.

Well, I just wanted to share that, and I share it with you directly because I do appreciate your earlier post. That the rest of you folks see it is fine. I know some of you get what I'm trying to do, too. If I didn't care about you, I wouldn't be here. Anyway, I should probably go get some rest. I'm on an immune-suppressant at the moment, and they said "don't get stressed," as if that's something any of us can really prevent.

A fine bumper sticker slogan. Ignores the fact that scolding and wagging your finger at strangers accomplishes exactly as much as sitting complacently by yourself, but it sure feeeeeels righteous.

Oh, and you'd better be parting with everything you can spare before you go demanding resources from others in service of your "cause."

I was wondering how you felt.

I literally work every day to feed and clothe families via charity distributions, much of which comes from my own pocket, I write to politicians about advancing civil rights, I've taught a few workshops on basic medical first aid, and I help coordinate protests. I'm not sure what you would consider "sitting complacently," but if that's what you think it is, you must be a powerhouse of civic activity.

Me or someone else?

Al.

Ah, okay.

This from the reigning champ in the field.
Are you passing the belt to your successor?

They're basically two halves of one annoying self-righteous moderate split during a transporter accident.

Fine, if true.

Then back to wailing at other people to solve your problems and placate your feelings.

Oh, no. You'll never catch me making a display of shining up my halo.

Beto O'Rourke isn't a racist, but he did make a tactical error by giving the right-wing liars a soundbite that appeared to buy into their bullshit premises.

Say what you will, Amaris is not a liar and I will take exception to any hint that she is less than truthful about anything. I also believe you are honest in your public expressions of outrage. Whether you are honest with yourself is a different matter and one I won't speculate on.