"The really frightening thing about totalitarianism is not that it commits 'atrocities' but that it attacks the concept of objective truth; it claims to control the past as well as the future."
These things can't be mandatory, only voluntarily.
The correct reading of that sentence is: "don't use the word 'preferred' when discussing my pronouns, because they're mandatory to address me properly." I think you might have misread it -- or, at least, I'm entirely uncertain how you've spun the idea that proper pronoun use == slavery from what @sublimemarch
said there.
This policy of compelled speech is already adopted in Canada. For now it seem to cover only pronouns, but that's how it starts.
I'd be happy to have a discussion about Canada's legislation of intentional pronoun misuse as discrimination! Of course, that discussion is mega off-topic for this comment thread and is also entirely unrelated to the article here, because again, this is discussing not government laws or even this community's policies, but how to make attendees at engineering events feel comfortable. So let's keep our reactions confined to that and try to avoid hyperbole and slippery slope.
Vladimir stopped engaging with me after I invoked the Paradox of Tolerance and let him know that CoCs protect him too, so I'll be (relatively) brief because I don't want to engage people who don't engage me.
Please be mindful of bandying about terms like "slavery." There is actual slavery in the world, and historical slavery is one of the most egregious parts of human history. Equating a request to be respectful about pronouns to slavery is incredibly disrespectful to...well....pretty much everyone.
Also, I'd like to reiterate a point Josh made early on - you keep asserting your right to refuse to use pronouns and keep talking about free speech. No one is fighting you for this hill you're trying to die on. We all agree you have the right to refuse. And event organizers have the right to decide against giving space to people who refuse basic courtesy.
Imma pop out of this discussion now. I've said my piece, and given that you keep hammering home a point that no one is fighting you on, I've ceased to believe you're engaging in this discussion in good faith. I hope I'm wrong. Have a nice day.
"The really frightening thing about totalitarianism is not that it commits 'atrocities' but that it attacks the concept of objective truth; it claims to control the past as well as the future."
I think we had thoughtful and constructive discussion. Thank you, @veraticus .
The correct reading of that sentence is: "don't use the word 'preferred' when discussing my pronouns, because they're mandatory to address me properly." I think you might have misread it -- or, at least, I'm entirely uncertain how you've spun the idea that proper pronoun use == slavery from what @sublimemarch said there.
I'd be happy to have a discussion about Canada's legislation of intentional pronoun misuse as discrimination! Of course, that discussion is mega off-topic for this comment thread and is also entirely unrelated to the article here, because again, this is discussing not government laws or even this community's policies, but how to make attendees at engineering events feel comfortable. So let's keep our reactions confined to that and try to avoid hyperbole and slippery slope.
Vladimir stopped engaging with me after I invoked the Paradox of Tolerance and let him know that CoCs protect him too, so I'll be (relatively) brief because I don't want to engage people who don't engage me.
Please be mindful of bandying about terms like "slavery." There is actual slavery in the world, and historical slavery is one of the most egregious parts of human history. Equating a request to be respectful about pronouns to slavery is incredibly disrespectful to...well....pretty much everyone.
Also, I'd like to reiterate a point Josh made early on - you keep asserting your right to refuse to use pronouns and keep talking about free speech. No one is fighting you for this hill you're trying to die on. We all agree you have the right to refuse. And event organizers have the right to decide against giving space to people who refuse basic courtesy.
Imma pop out of this discussion now. I've said my piece, and given that you keep hammering home a point that no one is fighting you on, I've ceased to believe you're engaging in this discussion in good faith. I hope I'm wrong. Have a nice day.
I was sincere and tried to tell the truth as I see it.
Have a nice day.