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[–]hfxB0oyA 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (6 children)

Exactly. I'm a left leaner and have been all my life, but this faction (sect, more like) of the "left" that's taken hold over the last few years bears nothing in common with the ideals I came up with. What happened to "I Disapprove of What You Say, But I Will Defend to the Death Your Right to Say It"? People who hold to that ideal are the ones I will be proud to be counted with - left, right or centre.

[–]copenseethe 7 insightful - 1 fun7 insightful - 0 fun8 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

"Free speech" is being characterized as a right wing dog whistle. You will hear very little defense of the 1stA from the left.

[–]hetisachoice 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (4 children)

"Right-wing" is a scareword used to describe any ideas or concepts that threaten the power of oligarchs.

[–]copenseethe 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

It doesn't scare me. At this point I am ready to lean into it and wear the label with pride.

[–]hetisachoice 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

The more time I spent out of the closet as a gay man, the more conservative I became and the more I realized that we come last on the Perpetual Victim Totem Pole even though we are being targeted for imprisonment and genocide in other countries.

[–]copenseethe 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

What we used to view as conservative vs. liberal stances decades ago have switched places in recent years. I am curious as to what experiences you had after coming out that caused you to become more conservative.

[–]hetisachoice 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

—The unwillingness of neoliberals to go to bat for gays when the chips were down (DADT and DOMA signed into law at the hands of a philandering heterosexual).

—9/11 and the viciousness of the opposition to President Bush after it.

—The relentless attacks on Israel despite their being better than the rest of the Middle East on gays by default.

—The repeated insistence that you can tax your way to prosperity despite all the evidence to the contrary.

—Getting called racist for calling out race hustlers despite belonging to two minority groups.

—The refusal to speak out against TQ+ interlopers in LGB politics or to acknowledge the threat to women's rights and gay rights they present.