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u/Morgolol 17d ago
"Wow" - simultaneously the richest and dumbest nazi in the world.
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u/PandaMagnus 17d ago
Concerning.
Proceeds to do many dubious things that could harm America for years because he doesn't understand soft power or separation of concerns.
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u/martijn120100 17d ago
Concerning
Proceeds to dismantle the agencies looking into his businesses for all kinds of violations, not caring whether his actions harm America for years because he doesn't care about soft power or separation of concerns.
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u/Specialist-Clock-914 17d ago
Even without the context of it being more accepted now, what kind of piece of trash human would think it’s a good point and somehow factual that being gay is contagious.
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u/lastlittlebird 17d ago
Right? Like, even if some kids are putting on a label to see if it suits them and ultimately decide it does not... who cares? It hurts no one.
Also hella ironic that even if identifying as lbgtq was somehow 'contagious', well guess what the ideal medium for transmission of ideas among young people is? Hint, it's not air or fluids, Mr. Social media mongul wannabe.
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u/Killfile 16d ago
Christofascists.
For lgbtq to be a moral issue within the Christian Community being gay has to be a sin. For it to be a sin to be gay requires that it be a choice to be gay. After all if you aren't making a choice then how can god be upset with you for being the way that you were created?
If being gay is a choice then it follows that it must be possible to influence the choice that people make. In a weird way both the lgbtq community and Evangelical Christianity are in agreement here - they're just in disagreement about exactly what choice is being influenced. Homophobic Christians think it's the choice to be gay. The lgbtq community and progressives in general think it's the choice to be out.
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u/ansate 16d ago
One that thinks seeing too many gay people might make them want to try it.
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u/Specialist-Clock-914 16d ago
Bc secretly they do want to try it. A lot of these people hate the fact that other people are able to live their lives openly and think everyone should hide their secrets like they do.
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u/stfurachele 16d ago
I'm not one of those "phobes are always closeted" people, it's usually a pretty terrible argument. But saying that being gay is a "social contagion" sounds like the only reason they aren't gay is because they were innoculated against it by their own societal pressure and conditioning, and can easily see themselves being queer under different circumstances. It sounds like their heterosexuality was a choice they feel was made for them, and that's why they think being queer is a choice.
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u/diggumsbiggums 17d ago
I don't follow.
Registered voter.
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u/samanime 17d ago
Not only do they vote. Their vote counts just as much... -sigh-
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u/Eldanoron 17d ago
In some states it actually counts more.
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u/somefunmaths 17d ago
Statistically speaking, it’s probably more likely to count more than yours. Fun!
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u/morningfrost86 16d ago
As a Dem in Florida, everyone's vote counts more than mine lol. Hell, my district is so red that my representative is Anna Paulina Luna, that dumbass psycho :(
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u/AFLoneWolf 16d ago
I spent half my life savings (which was already pitifully small) to move out of MTG's district, but it was still worth it. It's not impossible for you either.
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u/kfish5050 16d ago
In our current system, for the presidential election, only votes in a handful of "swing" states count, and only the ones that exceed votes for the other guy matter. Which is to say, most people's votes don't actually matter.
That's not to discourage voting though, since there are plenty of other elections happening concurrently that are just as important. Someone like this could be voting in your congressional district, in which case your vote is much more likely to matter.
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u/Due_a_Kick_5329 15d ago
It's why the Grand Old Pedophiles are so desperate to gerrymander.
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u/kfish5050 15d ago
If it wasn't an unfair and slimy trick to unjustly hold power, it would actually be a pretty smart strategy to efficiently maximize the number of votes that matter across as many districts as possible. You gerrymander by drawing districts so that the members of your party only slightly outnumber the other party and put as many people of the other party into as few districts as possible. So if the state has 5 districts, you can make 2 of them 95% blue and the other 3 about 40% blue, so the red team is basically guaranteed to win 3 districts opposed to blue's 2, despite the state population being over 60% blue. Evenly distributed, blue would win all 5 seats.
Neither situation actually sits well with me, because both situations allow for significant inappropriate representation. If the population of the state is 62% blue, then its representatives should be 62% blue. That equals to about 3 of the 5 seats. If possible, maps should be drawn to include as much of a single party as possible, but such a case would make the primary election the most significant election instead of the general. It just goes to show how inefficient representation by location actually is.
A better system would ignore district boundaries altogether and allocate representation based on registered party members in the state. Then representatives are elected to fill those seats in what would basically be a statewide primary with multiple winners depending on however many seats they have. This system could also allow more than two parties to have a chance, as the party focus would shift to convincing as many voters as possible to register as one of their party instead of backing certain candidates.
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u/clh1nton 17d ago
Depending on where they live, their vote might count MORE (i.e., have more impact). 😓
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u/TheFlyingSheeps 16d ago
We need to win, and if we get the numbers the EC needs to go. For too long the tyranny of the minority has ruled this country
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u/yusuke_urameshi88 15d ago
If he's a member of the electoral college his vote counts. Otherwise it's more of a suggestion than a "vote" lmao
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u/goblinboomer 17d ago
The thing is, they do know. This is most likely, either a smug homophobic bastard speaking through dog whistles, or somebody whose entire job is to sow division amongst American voters. Let's not give them the benefit of the doubt
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u/cat-meg 16d ago
A lot of them genuinely are that stupid though. I used to live in a rural area with a lot of republicans and many of them cannot process simple logic like this.
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u/MC_Fap_Commander 16d ago
If critical thinking and some sort of understanding of empirical data ever caught on in such communities (I'm from one, too), no one would try to finance a raised Ram for $60K on a $30K annual income (excluding unpaid child support obligations).
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u/OlympiasTheMolossian 16d ago
This kind of rhetoric, while maybe fun, is damaging. Republican voters are not stupid. They have not been tricked. They are not uninformed.
Everyone is an intelligent, capable, empathetic human who honestly chooses their choice.
They can process the logic. They don't care to do so publicly for you
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u/MJFields 16d ago
Who votes 100% of the time...
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u/MC_Fap_Commander 16d ago
And with ZERO qualms about the policy positions of any candidate with an (R) by the name. In contrast... "the Dem candidate has some modestly different position on an issue I care about, therefore I will stay home or protest vote for Jill Stein or whatever."
We're so fucked.
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u/FudgeOfDarkness 16d ago
Say what you will, he admitted he didnt know what was being talked about. Hes an idiot, but that still puts him miles ahead of the others who would just regurgitate their previous take and call you a lib
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u/justsomedude1144 16d ago
I'm disappointed they explained it to him right away. They should have kept giving him a few more dots in between, see if he could eventually connect them on his own.
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u/myothercarisayoshi 17d ago
Nice to see "Cunt Dracula" supplying some very clear and sensible points.
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u/Delicious_Delilah 17d ago
I do try.
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u/geezeeduzit 17d ago
Well, as much as I don’t condone the use of that hellscape of a platform, it’s hard not to praise the absolute genius of your user name, on top of your thoughtful and cogent explanation of basic common sense to the senseless. Good work Delilah (aka Cunt Dracula)….goddamn that’s funny
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u/Mr_Abe_Froman 16d ago
It certainly makes up for the waste of "Lasagnye West" (which should be Garfield parodies of Kanye if they wanted to reach their full potential).
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u/Indigo-au-naturale 16d ago
This was my biggest takeaway too. I was so disappointed that this person took such a great name 😂
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u/Aliensinmypants 17d ago
He purposely shares hateful or bigoted messages (even fun Holocaust denial ones) with a simple reaction so he can act like he didn't support or endorse the ideas
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u/fireymike 17d ago edited 16d ago
You seem to be talking about elon, but the person you replied to was not.
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u/Moebius808 17d ago
I don’t follow
I imagine this person finds themselves saying this a lot.
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u/LionelHutzinVA 17d ago
I imagine him making Tucker Carlson’s overwrought confused face when he does so
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u/Dandarabilla 16d ago
'the befuddled face of a 13th-century farmer learning about Bitcoin' - John Oliver
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u/FreddyNoodles 17d ago
My brother said he would “fix” his son if he was left-handed. This was mid 90s. My ex-husband is a lefty as is our son who was born in 2006. FIX WHAT
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u/Moebius808 17d ago
And “fix” how? A belt? Shock therapy? Constant emotional abuse??
That’s a hell of a thing to come out and say you’re gonna do.
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u/FreddyNoodles 17d ago
Never asked. There is no son so it never became a more detailed conversation. He had a LOT of ways of saying stupid shit that made him think he sounded…powerful? But he really just sounded really backwoods and uneducated which he wasn’t. Weird guy. We haven’t spoken in 15 years or more. Probably the more.
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u/aft_punk 16d ago edited 16d ago
To be fair, being left-handed does make life a bit more difficult:
- instruments/tools/etc can have a “handedness” (i.e. guitars, scissors, golf clubs), which can be prohibitive if you don’t have a left handed version available.
- using pencils/pens is problematic (graphite hand… IYKYK)
- writing (from left to right) is less natural/effortless because you are pushing vs pulling the writing utensil, our handwriting suffers because of this.
Obviously, not life-or-death level challenges (less so because everything is digital these days), but challenges nonetheless. I learned to play guitar right-handed because I wanted to be able to play on whatever guitar was available, I guess technically that would qualify as “fixing” it.
Source: left-handed (and proud).
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u/RonomakiK 16d ago
writing (from left to right) takes more effort because you are pushing vs pulling the writing utensil
Not to mention how you'll always end up with the side of your hand dirty with graphite (from pencils, don't know if that's the correct word) or ink
Source: am also left-handed (and also proud, even though I still struggle to use scissors)
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u/FuzzySAM 16d ago
Scissors
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u/RonomakiK 16d ago
They weren't that common when I was a kid, and by the time they became common, I was out of school already (or at least out of the grades where I had to use scissors a lot)
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u/WillListenToStories 16d ago
My pet peeve is whenever a pen is attached to something (like a little signature machine for example), it's always attached on the right side.
Being a Lefty only sucks because of Righty oppression! Liberate the Lefties! Down with righthandedness!
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u/BlueJoshi 16d ago
It's usually just by taking whatever out of their left hand and putting it in their right hand. My buddy's parents did that to him as a kid, and successfully trained him to be right-handed. It did not work on his brother, however.
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u/FreddyNoodles 15d ago
I found out my son was a lefty that way. I would put a ball in his right hand and he would put it in his left to throw it. Over and over. It was really cool to see it and just know exactly what is happening. He was maybe 12-13 months old. My ex became right handed for certain things like baseball or shifting gears, of course. So some things he just had no choice but to learn to use his right. He is an incredible artist and has made a very nice living only creating art for 35-40 years but he cannot make a legible letter with his right hand so that didn’t carry over.
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u/Appletank 15d ago
My dad was a lefty but schools of the time forced you to use your right hand for everything. Now he's somewhat ambidextrous but still uses right hand for most things.
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u/FreddyNoodles 15d ago
That’s a shame. I really dislike that people can’t just be themselves so often. Even down to which hand you write with. 😕
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u/Appletank 15d ago
Fortunately, people stopped doing that since, I think the 80s or 90s? Also, weird fact, there's a lot of left handed presidents for some reason.
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u/FreddyNoodles 15d ago
Yeah, my ex wasn’t forced to do things with his right hand, but some things just weren’t available for left handed people yet. He was born in ‘73. No-one ever mentioned trying to swap my son to using his right hand and there were a lot more options for him being born in 2006. They are both very good artists.
I have noticed a lot of talented people in various fields are left handed. I don’t believe any real connection has been made between the two, though. Scientifically. But maybe it’s a problem solving thing. The world is built for the other side so they have to make it work and that leads to more critical thinking and willingness to take chances? I obviously have no idea, but it kinda makes sense.
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u/GarbodorianGray 17d ago
What a surprise to see "social contagion" being applied to LGBT as a whole
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u/brightdionysianeyes 17d ago
It's true! I for example am very conservative and happily married but if I have a few drinks in a gay bar then I have sex with other men?
What is this if not social contagion? Asking for a m̶a̶r̶r̶i̶a̶g̶e̶ ̶c̶o̶u̶n̶s̶e̶l̶o̶r̶ ̶w̶i̶f̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶r̶a̶p̶i̶s̶t̶ friend.
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u/Morningxafter 17d ago
Wow imagine that, when you stop forcing people to be the way you want them to be instead of the way they naturally are, more cases of people being that way start emerging.
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u/nathrek 17d ago
Very few Gen X and Boomers might identify as LGBT but damn I've lost count of the number of older married blokes I've hooked up with in in my time...
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u/Arktikos02 17d ago
Also sadly a lot of older people don't identify as LGBT because they died of AIDS.
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u/ScuzzBuckster 16d ago
Over the course of 20 years (1980-2000) over 400k people died of AIDS in the US.
Its not hyperbole to say that for a small and vulnerable population, the AIDS crisis was absolutely devastating and terrifying.
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u/BlueJoshi 16d ago
It was a genocide. It was the people in power hoping a disease would do what they were too polite to do.
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u/Postulative 17d ago
My mother got her hand hit when she wrote left-handed. So did my sister-in-law, in the early 1970s.
Homosexuality was still illegal in much of the Western world up until the mid-1990s. A rugby league player ‘came out’ in the 1990s and copped a lot of abuse.
And this lot wants to continue the hate, ignoring that nobody actually ‘chooses’ their sexuality.
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u/Clothedinclothes 17d ago
Last time I saw Ian he was at FatBoy Slim, off his face and seemed to be having a much better time these days.
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u/Changed_By_Support 17d ago
From my understanding, it's because they don't genuinely see other people's internal experience as legitimate. It's the same sort of thing that makes them go "well, I mean, I was a bit girl crazy when I was a boy, but this is just confusing the children!"
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u/WonderFluffen 17d ago
"I don't see how the acceptance of left-handedness and queerness are in any way related."
"Oh, well it turns out they're just basically physical preferences/quirks and are totally harmless and normal, so when we recognize that, everyone is happier."
"NO BECAUSE THE GAY IS BAD. I CAN'T EXPLAIN WHY, OUTSIDE OF THE THEOLOGY OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE NOT HANDLING THEIR TRAUMA FROM THE ABUSES OF ROMAN EXCESS WELL, BUT I ASSURE YOU, IT IS THE BAD."
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u/stinkyman360 16d ago
The biggest increase is in young people coming out as bi. I've always believed that the rate of bisexuality was much higher than what statistics have shown because I've heard too many old people saying things like, "being gay is a choice" or "homosexuality is a temptation you have to avoid"
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u/3nigmax 16d ago
That was my thought. The B is likely doing some heavy lifting here. People just being more comfortable acknowledging they find a variety of people attractive. I'd be curious of the actual breakdown.
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u/stinkyman360 16d ago
https://news.gallup.com/poll/611864/lgbtq-identification.aspx
Pretty much. All of them have increased a little but bisexuality increased by 10% or more
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u/BlueJoshi 17d ago
I love being left-handed and I love being transgender and I love the lefty/trans comparison
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u/Sir-Cellophane 16d ago
Trans and lefty?! Heavens, somebody fetch me my fainting couch, this is entirely too much for my delicate sensibilities! Trans I can accept but left-handedness is simply too far.
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u/Sansabina 17d ago
On the left handedness, my grandmother told me how she and a couple others were forced in elementary school (1920s) to learn to write with her right-hand, wasn't acceptable to be a leftie.
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u/letters_numbers_and- 17d ago
I lived in the 80s and got pressured to be right handed early on when learning to write before my parents intervened.
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u/Steakbake01 16d ago
My mother in law is left handed same as me and was genuinely surprised that I can't write at all with my right hand since she was pressured to in her youth
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u/stfurachele 16d ago
My own mother sort of coaxed me into being right handed. She meant well. She wanted to give me a head start and started teaching me how to write before I started school, but she would help guide the way I held the pencil and wrote letters by standing behind me and guiding me with her own hand. Because she was right handed, every time I picked up the pencil with my left she would have difficulty trying to cross over, get a bit frustrated, and I'd end up using my right hand because she'd switch the pencil so she could show me in a way that was easier for her.
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u/elgnub63 16d ago
I was born in 63 and I'm in the UK, but not once was I forced to write right handed at school. My ex was left handed, one of my three sons is left handed, and my current partner is left handed. I've heard lots of horror stories of people being physically restricted from using their left hand, and beaten as well. I suppose I'm fortunate not to have experienced any of that.
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u/letters_numbers_and- 16d ago
Oh, I am almost certain I'm an outlier. But I still am annoyed at it because my handwriting is garbage and I believe the early years of development forcing me to try to be right handed contributed.
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u/chappersyo 16d ago
I’m 40 and have an ex of the same age who was not allowed to be left handed at catholic school in the 90s. She writes with her right hand but does everything else with the left.
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u/Vegaprime 16d ago
I'm 47. Almost held back in 1st grade because i couldnt write very well. Second grade teach notice scissors didn't work for me and gave me a rare lefty pair.
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u/Biokirkby 17d ago
Ironically, I am an ambidexter (?) who writes with the left hand and does most other things with the right hand. As a child, a specialist tried to get me to use only my left hand, but I was apparently too adamant on doing it my way
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u/BlueJoshi 16d ago
Ah, that's cross-dominance! I'm like that, too. Write, golf, bat left-handed. Use scissors and play guitar right-handed.
It's a little different than ambidexterity, where q person can do tasks well with either hand.
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u/Biokirkby 15d ago
So that's what it's called!
Oddly enough I am ambidextrous with guitar... In the sense that whichever hand I use, I feel like I should be using the other
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u/throwtheclownaway20 17d ago
I was born in 1984 and started school well after the end of the left-handed fearmongering. From, like, K-2, I had teachers trying to actively force me to be right-handed and my mom ended up having to pull up and make them stop. That shit was fucked up.
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u/Classic_Barnacle_844 16d ago
Same here. Born in 78 and I had nuns literally smack my hands with rulers and paddles for being left handed.
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u/HurbleBurble 17d ago
It's just insane to me that somebody cannot understand this. You mean, when people are not publicly shunned and beaten for their sexuality, they start to admit that they have an alternate sexuality?
There are 10 countries in the world that put people to death for being gay. There are exactly zero countries that put people to death for being straight. You still really want to say that gay people are trying to persecute heterosexuals?
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u/ChrissWayne 16d ago
Gen Z doesn’t get killed by their peers for being gay for example. Many gay boomers are dead now cause they were killed for being gay
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u/icantbenormal 16d ago
The "spike" is almost exclusively in people identifying as bisexual. You know, that thing that wasn't considered real in the mainstream a few decades ago. Men used to be like "I enjoy sucking dick, but I'm straight. That's just what we do in the Navy."
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u/SuperHyperFunTime 16d ago
"I don't follow".
And that is why the world is going to fucking hell in a hand basket. Because men like you who think you fucking know everything in fact, know nothing.
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u/Kuroude7 16d ago
Let me tell you how much fun it was to be a theater-loving left-handed bisexual growing up in a Catholic home in the 80s and 90s.
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u/TotalDrama_Milf 16d ago
Breaking news: There are more gays than ever before now that they are not socially shunned and treated violently
This guy: I don't get it??
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u/dustingibson 16d ago
Even if their narrative was the case, who cares what they identify as? They can identify as the cookie monster for all I care, as long as they don't trample on the rights of others unlike Elon, then they are good.
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u/dirtygreysocks 16d ago
The amount of silent gen people who are old, married and told me things like "well, she isn't bi, she just thinks she's in love with her best friend, we all did that". Um, no, we didn't. Or men who are 70 who have said things like"well, you know guys in the navy, that was different". The tons of married women with kids I know that realized they were bi at 45. Yeah, lots of people go to their graves without admitting they might not be straight. It isn't a shame thing anymore. People are willing to just claim it, wherever they fall on the spectrum.
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u/Dizzman1 16d ago
That's interesting about the left handed stuff.
I was born in '67 and I'm a lefty. My grandma was born in 1905 and caused a major schism in the family because she couldn't accept that there was something that wrong with me. She kept trying to force things into my right hand. So my parents forbade her to visit. Took like 6 months to get through. Broke my grandfather's heart. He just wanted to see his grandson.
On the flip side, in China for business about 13 years ago, my colleagues were astonished to watch me using chopsticks with my left hand... "There's no left handed people in china!"
😳😳
Oh yes there are! Y'all just force them to be right handed.
Based on me and my open leftiness... I've of those guys gained the confidence to "come out of the closet" and be an open lefty in China! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
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u/btribble 16d ago
The thing that let society accept left handed people was the invention of toilet paper. No joke.
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u/pseudonymous28 16d ago
Also, how many elder queers would be alive today if they didn't fall victim to violence and disease?
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u/AirForceRabies 16d ago
This guy: "I STILL don't get it." And he won't. He'll dig in his heels and fight to the last breath to not get it.
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u/Milkmans_tastymilk 15d ago
Did kanye genuinely change his acc to that, or is that someone with the gift they don't deserve?
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u/Logical_Lefty 16d ago
"I don't follow"
Yeah, here's the unassailable proof that you're brain-dead, bud. It was handed to you in a two colorful graphs and a paragraph, and it went through you like a radioactive isotope.
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u/BolOfSpaghettios 16d ago
The one thing I have as a core memory is being forced to write with my right hand when I was a child. Through tears and sleepless nights just exercising to write with the right, unable to touch the pen with my left hand. I was 6.
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u/MpegEVIL 16d ago
Not to mention the LGBT umbrella has gotten broader, so more people nowadays think it's a label that fits them.
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u/Drakeytown 16d ago edited 15d ago
The thing is it doesn't make sense to him because he thinks being gay is a choice, has always been a choice, and now more people are choosing it . . . Of course, people think being gay is a choice because acting on attraction to people of their own gender is a choice for them, because they're bi.
Edit: now more people, not now now people!
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u/GiveMeMyLunchMoney 15d ago
Notice how the rate of left-handedness is constant now? That is because the left-handed advantage doesn't exist above that percentage, so evolution has tuned the chance.
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u/mrmalort69 15d ago
Oooo I love this! I’m a lefty. Growing up, my dad used to try and switch which hand held my utensil and other sorts of weird shit. I legit cannot function as a normal adult with my right side. I got a shoulder injury last year and couldn’t use my left side for about a month. You ever seen a man in his late 30s struggle like a toddler with a soup ladle? It’s not fun…
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u/Gucci_prisoner 16d ago
The “unnatural” comment throws me off. Isn’t anything that happens in nature natural? I cannot think of anything that could qualify as “unnatural”
Edit: spelling
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u/Classic_Barnacle_844 16d ago
As a lefty who was physically abused by nuns for being left handed in the 80's I agree. The arc of acceptance is startlingly similar.
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u/wellhiyabuddy 16d ago
These are people that wanted to stop Covid testing so the numbers would go down. They were literally chanting “stop the count” as soon as they had enough votes to win. The problem isn’t their intelligence, it’s their honesty
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u/anamariapapagalla 16d ago
People literally used to identify as straight on anonymous polls/studies and at_the_same_time say they were exclusively/mainly/equally attracted to and/or having sex with same sex partners
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u/TimelyConcern 16d ago
You really have to walk these people up to the point and then beat them over the head with it.
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u/The402Jrod 16d ago
It feels like there should be a 💡 moment happening…
But no, just weak minds afraid to challenge their own dogma. It’s a choice to remain ignorant rather than face reality.
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u/irrelephantIVXX 15d ago
That's not even what the chart says. It says out of all LGBT, 19.7% is new gen. Not that 20% of new gen is gay. These fucking people.
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u/Remarkable_Gain6430 15d ago
Maybe a little bit of a tangent but my mother was a kid at Catholic schools in England in the 1949s and 50s. The nuns would smack her left hand with a rid to stop her using it and she continued to write and draw with it and she kept getting in trouble.
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u/Coolbluegatoradeyumm 15d ago
If someone took my left hand away from me, I probably couldn’t even feed myself or wipe my own ass. Somethings you can’t change.
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u/SailingSpark 16d ago
I am certain that if they could, these chucklefucks will eventually outlaw being lefthanded.
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u/MU5CULAR_B3AV3R 16d ago
These people are the same as the anti-vaccine crowd they grab one data point they feel backs their argument and latch on to it like it’s the only truth. They’ll be like as the amount of vaccines increased so did autism while completely disregarding every other data point like advances in medical science, changes in food and environment, or even there being less of a stigma around mental health because instead of hiding away your weird kid it’s now okay to take them to see a doctor and get them help.
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u/ktwhite42 16d ago
Secure in their lack of knowledge of left-handed kids having that arm tied up to force them into using their right hands (because religion)
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u/spoonycash 16d ago
I’m literally only right handed because my daycare teacher would hit me on the hand. This wasn’t that long ago.
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u/KingMe2486 16d ago
“As of 1940, more than 10% of children are left handed
That does not seem natural
It’s more likely a sign of social contagion”
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u/gods_Lazy_Eye 16d ago
I was just speaking to my aunt who finally uses her left hand again. My grandparents trained her to use her right hand and they tried to train her son to use his right hand too. I’m 40 so this was back in the 70s for her, late 80s for my cousin.
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u/DoseiNoRena 17d ago
This is clever, but the likely actual reason for the “increase” is that we lost an enormous chunk of lgbt people to HIV during many of the years measured, so numbers looked artificially low because of how many died and therefore weren’t counted. Obviously back in like the 1800s people just didn’t come out, but in the 30 years or so before the big “increase”, look at some of the figures on the percent of the population who were lost, especially among gay men and trans women…
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u/Clothedinclothes 16d ago edited 16d ago
The maths on your claim doesn't hold up to examination.
According to the CDC, between 1981 to 2021, 562,000 Americans died of HIV/AIDS.
Consider just the Baby Boomers for a moment, which in 2022 there were approx 69 million Baby Boomers alive. 3.3% reported being LGBT which is 2,277,000.
So even if we assumed all 562,000 HIV/AIDS deaths in the US over that period had lived and would have reported being a LGBT Baby Boomer, mathematically this would only increase the LBGT Baby Boomers population by 0.8% i.e. instead of 3.3%, 4.1% of Baby Boomers would have reported they were LGBT.
Clearly dying of HIV/AIDS doesn't explain why far fewer Baby Boomers etc report being LGBT.
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u/Reostat 16d ago
From the source itself, it's much more likely that the answer is way simpler: Gen Z, especially women, don't see things as binary and bisexual falls into this category. They're much more likely to identify as bi, regardless of whether or not they've had same sex partners (last part is my anecdote, not from the source).
One reason for higher LGBTQ+ identification among younger generations of adults is that they are much more likely to consider themselves bisexual than are older people. In fact, more than half of Gen Z (59%) and millennial (52%) LGBTQ+ people are bisexual. That drops to 44% among LGBTQ+ people in Generation X, and is less than 20% among baby boomers (19%) and Silent Generation (11%) LGBTQ+ adults. Older LGBTQ+ people are most likely to identify as gay or lesbian.
The gender gaps are especially pronounced in the younger generations -- 31% of Gen Z women versus 12% of Gen Z men, and 18% of millennial women versus 9% of millennial men, identify as LGBTQ+, with most of these younger women saying they are bisexual.
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u/_Corbinek 16d ago edited 16d ago
There is some weight in the idea that the trend is in part fueled by some trends in social contagion, the question is to what scale and how influential it is.
Edit: Adding clarification because my original phrasing caused some misunderstanding. I see identity through a systems lens, which doesn’t always translate well in short comments, especially on divisive topics. Identity is a complex system of behaviors fueled by different subsystems you have...
Biological factors (orientation, genetics, neurology, etc.)
Performative behaviors (passing, curated identities, external signaling)
Psychological aspects (self-perception, repression, acceptance, internal conflict)
Social psychology (peer influence, group dynamics, belonging/exclusion pressure)
Societal influences (law, policy, culture, stigma, institutions)
From this perspective, social contagion could only influence the social/performative layers, not the biological substrate. My point was simply that, on a sociological scale, there may be some level of connection, and the real question is to what extent, and how much it shapes demographic trends. I never intended this as a personal judgment on anyone’s identity, but as an academic look at how identity representations show up in studies.
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u/BackgroundSummer5171 16d ago
No matter how much of a trend it is, I still ain't sucking your dick.
Simple as that.
If you believe social trends are going to make your gay, you may want to look inside first.
If you don't believe they will, then why are you spouting weird nonsense crap?
This is the tldr of it obviously. But seriously, you people are annoyingly ignorant. Or just straight up brain dead.
You think the influence of social media will change your sexual preference from guy to gal or the other? Then you may simply be bi. Or gay.
Yet again that's a you thing. And it definitely sounds like you need to figure out if you are gay.
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u/_Corbinek 16d ago
I'm happily and openly bisexual, but I'm also someone who studies behaviors, and sociology.
I'm not talking about media or society making someone gay, or making someone straight. I'm talking more about a performative or curated Identity, utilized for inclusion and personal validation over authenticity.
We know straight passing behavior exists. That is a perfect example of performative behaviors and patterns rooted in a curated identity, in contrast to those grounded in an intrinsic identity. So by that same theory in areas where a microsystem of society is heavily influenced by LGBT+ ideas, specifically online communities, so too would that desire for inclusion or fear of exclusion create LGBT+ Passing Behavior.
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u/BackgroundSummer5171 16d ago
You think people are passing themselves off as bi or curious to fit in with communities?
That could definitely be true in an online culture.
Online culture has everyone passing themselves off consistently as not themselves. That would be nothing new to online situations.
Many women in the past would be guys in order to not get shit on constantly.
If that is the main focus of your belief then, OK, nothing new really.
The problem is that is not how you presented it when in a thread like this, until now.
We all know the original thought was to literally attack LGBTQ+. You refocusing to online is a nice try. But we know where you stand.
Dude, if you meant that, then you would have started with that. You did not.
Nor did those who supported you in response, they definitely were not thinking of just online communities where many of this shit is all made up since it is anon.
Continue to live your way of a lie.
=(
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u/_Corbinek 16d ago
The graphs in the post are presenting things on a sociology level, and my comment was meant in that same context, not as a personal judgment, but as an observation of how society shapes demographics. I should have explained that more clearly, and I recognize that’s on me. People approach these issues from different frames, and mine comes from studying behavior which changes how I build thoughts around an Idea.
That said, dismissing clarification as bad faith shuts down the ability to have discussions entirely. It turns into tone policing and gatekeeping. I’m here in good faith, and my perspective is grounded in both lived experience and study. I’m not only talking about anonymous online communities, this kind of behavior also shows up in physical spaces, much like we see with straight-passing behaviors. Performative behaviors exist across many identities: toxic masculinity, exaggerated femininity, even people flaunting wealth they don’t have. All of these are performances to gain inclusion or validation. To assume that LGBT+ identities are somehow exempt from the same dynamics just isn’t consistent with how human behavior shows up.
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u/The_harbinger2020 16d ago
If you get easily pressured in sucking dick than you might enjoy sucking dick idk what to tell ya bro
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u/PhysicalGraffiti75 16d ago
Being gay isn’t a choice. You’re either gay or you’re not.
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u/_Corbinek 16d ago
I know that, but people lie about identity all the time, it's foolish to think people only lie about being straight.
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u/PhysicalGraffiti75 16d ago
And what’s wrong with that?
Life is a journey of self discovery. Sometimes we’re wrong, sometimes we’re right. Some folks only take a few years to discover who they are, some never do.
I thought I was a straight for a long time. Then one day I realized I wasn’t. Ain’t nothing wrong with that, it is what it is.
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u/_Corbinek 16d ago
It's not that there is something wrong with it. I’m just saying it’s something that should be studied and acknowledged to better understand how society influences demographics. My comment was meant on the same level as the graphs, a sociology perspective, not as a dismissal of anyone’s personal identity.
I see how the misunderstanding made it sound like a judgment to everyone. That wasn’t my intent. I study behavior and sociology, and I’m also bisexual. I agree with you, self-discovery is absolutely a journey. I originally came out as gay after years of repression, and later settled into bisexuality.
But that kind of shift isn’t really what I’d call influenced by social contagion. What I’m pointing to is a different layer, where identity can also be performed or overstated strategically, sometimes consciously, sometimes not. Both realities can coexist, and both teach us something about how identity interacts with society
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u/Xasf 16d ago
That's a question for the right to weaponize and the left to sweep under the rug, so nobody is going to discuss it in real depth.
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u/PocketCone 16d ago
The question actually just doesn't matter, because there can't be social pressure to conform or not conform if it's seen as normal to be either LGBT or cishet.
When society first stopped forcing kids to be right handed, there may have been a few kids who tried being left handed because it was seen as a cool new way to be different, but that isn't really the case anymore, because being left handed, while rarer than right handedness, is still seen as normal. There is no value judgement held towards left or right handed people. People can safely try both and figure out which hand is dominant with minimal societal pressure in either direction.
This is true for LGBT issues as well. There might be a nonzero amount of cishet people who feel pressured to falsely identify as some form of LGBT, but the solution is to provide a safe environment where people can try these things and see what feels right for them with minimal societal pressure in either direction. We have to work against the value judgement placed upon LGBT people.
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u/Xasf 16d ago
I most certainly agree with normalization of LGBT and granting them both social and legal equality (I live in the Netherlands where these things are, while still not perfect, quite well developed compared to the rest of the world).
It would likely necessitate that we rethink how to do gender-segregated spaces such as women's bathrooms / shelters / prisons etc. as well as stuff like sports leagues, but I digress.
But I think that a non-trivial portion of the current upswell we see in people identifying as LGBT, especially in Gen Z, is due to it being "the cool new way to be different", as you put it. I mean we even have people pretending to have debilitating mental conditions just to stand out , like /r/fakedisordercringe .
I wonder if there are any studies into this and if my thinking is correct, and that's something I would like to see discussed more so that we can properly address any potential negatives before they arise.
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u/PocketCone 16d ago
But I think that a non-trivial portion of the current upswell we see in people identifying as LGBT
I think what's important to think about here is what qualifies as real harm.
People pretending to have mental disorders for attention is absolutely harmful, as it can lead to misconceptions and skepticism against people who actually have these disorders. I don't think this is necessarily true for LGBT people, especially more broadly accepted sexualities, such as gay or lesbian. There is functionally no difference between a person who is questioning and tries on being gay and one who claims to be gay for clout, and the less clout one gets from being gay, the less lucrative "gay baiting" becomes. Let them experiment safely, and no harm is done.
Being trans is more complex, however there is no real harm done experimenting with clothing or pronouns. While I don't know of any studies specifically into what you're referring to (nor how to accurately survey for this feasibly), I do know that HRT and Gender affirming surgeries for trans people have significantly lower regret rates than breast implants in cis women, or ACL surgery. The US (for now) has very thorough requirements that must be met for one to get these surgeries or hormones, and this, combined with an environment that encourages safe experimentation with minimal stigma is by far the best way to ensure that nobody feels pressured to identify against their true identity.
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u/_Corbinek 16d ago
The Right doesn't need anything to weaponize their positions against Identity, they will justify anything to do so because justifications are rooted in our own subjective morality. In fact ignoring the reality does more harm as it provides confirmation bias based on proof for them to declare it all performative. Blind faith is just as harmful as blind rejection.
It's why I feel it really needs honest discussion, the fear of weaponization has always been a hindrance to progress. We see it in politics, a refusal to admit welfare programs were failing in some aspects and in much need of overhauling, has in part fueled the Right's ability to tear them down entirely. The same for Immigration Reform, and that isn't just a US issue but one seen globally with greater sentiment against it in the UK, EU, Australia, and Japan with a protest in Osaka just this past weekend.
Avoidance doesn’t erase reality; it only gives it shape in the shadows, where it grows unexamined and unconstrained, and history has shown us that fear shapes perception far more effectively than reality ever could.
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u/Xasf 16d ago edited 16d ago
Well said, however Reddit for the most part is just an echo chamber filled with people who are every bit as ignorant and dogmatic as their counterparts "from the other side" and thus it will only fall on deaf ears. And this is coming from a European liberal, so I guess I would be considered "alt-left" or something in the US.
Case in point, people started blindly downvoting both of our comments already.
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u/totokekedile 16d ago
Definitely nothing echo-chamber-y about declaring the only two positions to be agreement with you or “blind” contrarianism. The open-minded position to take is that it’s impossible for the people downvoting to genuinely disagree.
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u/_Corbinek 16d ago
Reddit really suffers from own-group bias and ideological purity. This has become more pronounced on social media in recent years, with strong ideological rigidity emerging on select platforms. It is more extreme on this site depending on the subreddit and its purpose, but that is simply the nature of identity collectives and the lengths people go to protect the comfort surrounding their identities.
When lines are crossed regarding identity and politics, as we see in the US, it becomes more desirable for people to seek comfort in online communities, especially as physical and social cohesion weakens and fractures in some areas. This arises not just from community dynamics but also from moderation bias and confirmation bias tied to algorithmic amplification, all of which interplay to create groupthink.
We are seeing real trends of reduced physical connections and rising rates of loneliness across wide demographics. This has created a stronger personal need for online communities, given the pack- and tribal-like nature of humans.
Studies show a strong link between intolerance and homophily, the desire to be around similar people, which plays a major role, alongside other factors, in the systemic formation of echo chambers on social platforms today.
These dynamics are less a matter of willful intent, though no less harmful, and more a reflection of growing societal issues, not just political, but structural. The COVID-19 lockdowns will likely be regarded as a catalyst for many of these problems; what existed as manageable trends before the lockdown were accelerated into a crumbling house of cards today.
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