It's Discourse Time Babey

Bakus side blog for Controversial Opinions(tm)

[delusion-of-negation]

"prevent mentally ill people from buying guns" is a bad policy. the shooters aren't necessarily mentally ill or known to be mentally ill, and the most vulnerable people (the most in need of a gun to protect themselves) are likely to be mentally ill. you do realise that abuse and stalking survivors are likely mentally ill as a result of that trauma, yet would need a gun to protect themselves from said abuser, who is very potentially not mentally ill (or not seeking help and thus totally not known to be so) and would be able to get a gun under your system. veterans are likely mentally ill, yet the most trained on how to actually use said gun. suicide prevention also shouldn't come at the expense of a person's rights and liberties - you shouldn't remove bodily autonomy or the right to self-defense just because a person isn't well.

I'm not american, but I've been shot at twice - once by an abuser attempting to kill me, and once by someone who didn't even know I was there (we drove by and suddenly people were shooting at each other, we just got caught in the crossfire for a moment). that abuser still wants to hurt me, and can still access illegal guns (we did successfully prosecute, but jail isn't forever, and I wouldn't want it to be even if it means I have to deal with knowing he's out there looking for me), but I can't legally buy a gun to defend myself - in fact, I have to stress that my axe is purely for cutting wood and I keep it by my bed in case I stumble across a stray log in the night, and I have zero intent to use it to defend myself, because if I say that I intend to use it as a weapon then it's illegal to do so. I know how to kill myself with an elastic band, or cleaning products, or a tall building, or a shoelace and a pencil, or a length of rope, or a needle full of heroin, or a pencil sharpener - I don't need a gun to do it, and having a gun wouldn't make me any more inclined to do it, and even if it would... that's my decision. the fact that you don't want me to is cause for you to improve the mental health system, not remove my rights.

most gun deaths are suicides iirc, but a massive portion of heroin overdoses are caused by relapsing after your tolerance has dropped as a result of quitting, so your body can't actually handle the dose you think is the dose you need. should we ban quitting heroin, or should we tackle the addiction issues and help more people quit? you don't end suicide by causing an endless cycle of banning whatever is a common method of doing it.

mass shootings are terrible and tragic. but gun buyback programs (ones that actually pay enough to pay back the huge costs of guns and the training to use them and stuff, and more just to be safe) would help people who need money and may commit violence to get it, as would things like ubi and social safety nets. then improvements to the mental health system, anonymous access for kids who don't want their parents/peers to know that they're seeking mental health help, free mental health help, community centers and programs that have trained professionals teens can speak to, free/cheap gun safes and community gun storage facilities so parents can keep their guns away from the kids when not at the range, free/cheap training at gun ranges (especially for young people) that include gun safety education, better education in general, helping young people process and internalise the concept of death (this sounds dumb, but our cultures are so averse to death and "this fucking kills people", and you see it very clearly in the "he's in a better place" and the effects of it in how flippant they are about how dangerous the car they're driving actually is), fixing the algorithms on social media so they don't funnel people down radicalisation rabbit holes, anti-bullying measures that aren't just some dumb "bullying is mean uwu" video/speaker but are actually providing things for bullied kids to find peers and report the bullies (more clubs, more rigorous policies in schools, for example proven bullying in multiple instances going on your permanent record and potentially therefore affecting college admission, that's definitely going to make people think twice, as well as teaching self-defense classes so that bullied people know how to punch back). I just listed a dozen policies that would chip away at a few of the causal factors of gun deaths (isolation, bullying, mental illness, radicalisation, socioeconomic circumstances, and so forth), there's more, but "ban the mentally ill from getting guns" is so stupid.

as I've mentioned, mental illness isn't the only causal factor, it's also hugely varied - one person's depression may make them more inclined towards violence or suicide, another's less, schizophrenia isn't just going to turn you into the punisher, ptsd can make you terrified of the sound of gunshots, etc. you're overgeneralising in a myriad of ways, and you're only going to end up hurting people, with minimal (if any) positive impact. I know I'm saying this from the "privileged" position of living somewhere with zero gun rights, but need I remind you I've had a gun pointed at my head when I was a child, and ducked a split second before he pulled the trigger. I'd hardly say I'm a stranger to the horrors of kids being shot. I'm left wing, I'm not a lib, so I think an armed populace is one that can fight facism more effectively, I think self-defence for the most marginalised people is essential, I think bodily autonomy and human rights deserve protection - this leads me to a pro-gun position. since no amount of guilt-tripping over how I'm totally advocating to muder babies changes my mind on abortion, why would it on gun rights? I hate that me having been shot at is seen as less "lived experience" than you being born on the same continent as more school shootings, what the hell is that logic?

anyway, fix the system, you can't just ban the worst thing over and over again, otherwise you end up getting butter knives taken by the police in a few years, it's futile. slippery slope and all.

[delusion-of-negation]

exactly. we live in a world with guns now, no amount of policy will ever be able to undo that. either we teach people to use them in a safe and responsible way, and we improve society in general so nobody wants to use them any other way, or we deal with the fact that people are going to get shot. those are the only two actual options. wanting a middle ground where you can magic away all the guns with policy, but not do anything to help people, that's just neolib austerity bullshit, it's not a viable solution. just like cars. to get less car accidents and pollution, we need public transport, we need walkable cities, we need to teach people to drive safely and use seatbelts, etc, banning cars would be ridiculously stupid.

[thriftshop-faith]

“If you ship X you should get help.”

No, no bitch no. I’m tired of this, at this point I feel like it’s borderline ableist; if I’m going to get help for anything, it’s not gonna be over the fucking fictional ships I like, for whatever reasons I may have. 

The only reason I am getting help is because, I dunno, I am mentally ill and suicidal– and lemme tell you it’s not because my ships are problematic and taboo and “gross.” 

Stop telling people to get help because they’re into dark, twisted, taboo FICTIONAL content– it’s honestly fucked up, rude, and honestly makes people begin to think they do need help because people like you are mocking them or bullying them into believing what they’re doing is dangerous and the signs of a crazy person.

OVER FICTIONAL STORIES AND SHIPS.

Just have your NOTPs and move the fuck on! That’s it! You can dislike the ships, but don’t fucking use that to mock or bully the shippers just because of your personal feelings and opinions.

[thriftshop-faith]

People who literally believe they have any moral authority over what is acceptable to ship or enjoy in fiction: Stop shipping gross stuff! Stop shipping incest! Stop shipping unhealthy otps!! Stop shipping characters with age differences! Stop it!! Because I say it’s gross!! And that makes you gross!!

Me:

[fandomsandfeminism]

Anyone who thinks that doing something the hard way with "willpower" instead of the most effective and efficient way with whatever tools you have at your disposable is a fucking dipshit, and likely an ableist too.

I'm so so so tired of the "meds as a last resort" mentality.

If I get a migraine, could I rub peppermint oil on my temples and lay in a dark room and suffer along until the pain abates and I can take pride in surviving on my will power alone? Sure, I fucking guess. Or I could take my fucking meds and have a functional day.

And the same goes for my damn Adderall. Clearly, I can *survive* without Adderall for my ADHD. I did it for my entire life up until I FINALLY got diagnosed earlier this year. But guess what? I dont NEED my meds. I COULD go without them. I don't fucking want to. I am so much more functional with them, and there is no honor in unnecessary suffering.

Medicine isn't a moral failing and there isn't a specially little corner of heaven reserved for folks who took the fewest number of pills in their life.

[whitepeopletwitter]

[alarajrogers]

Actually, this has a dimension to it the OP probably didn’t even realize.

Men are vastly more likely to be the victims of stranger violence than women. Rape and domestic violence are the only categories of violence in which women are more likely to be victims, and overwhelmingly, rape is committed by people that the victim knows (and domestic violence, of course, is defined by the fact that the victim and the perp live in the same house.) In all other categories of violence, men are much, much more likely to be victims. (But even more likely to be perpetrators. 80% of murder victims and 90% of murderers are men.)

So in fact, men are less safe walking at midnight than women are. Male privilege, in this case, is actively dangerous to men. They have the privilege of thinking they are safe and can take care of themselves, but since that isn’t true, they are in more danger. In fact, it’s entirely possible that the self-defense tactics women reflexively engage in to prevent being assaulted by men are why women are less likely to be victims of stranger violence than men are. Women assume strange men are dangerous because, statistically, they are. Men assume strange men are not dangerous… and they pay for it by being victims.

[moral-autism]

Is it really a privilege to have a harmful false belief? Also, I go on walks at midnight fairly often and I’ve never seen violence occur.

[krakenpocalypse]

Question: is it still a privilege if you’re literally more likely to come to harm from having it?

[takashi0]

fuck no, but don’t expect radfems to acknowledge that

[emeraldmercury]

This also means that men having a curfew is detrimental to women, and they’re MORE likely to be abused or murdered if men were forced to stay at home.

Congratulations Radfems, you created the very thing you want to destroy.

[bizarrolord-deactivated20241123]

That and “fearing walking around after dark” is arguably a form of social control placed by OTHER WOMEN so as to shame the woman who does so as a slut and/or victim blame her if something bad happens.

[siryouarebeingmocked]

This isn’t a radfem thing, this is a mainstream feminism thing. Remember ‘Schrodinger’s Rapist’, or that M&M’s analogy?

[dashaibo]

Women are only leading in rape and domestic abuse statistics because in most places in the world men cannot legally be recognized as victims of rape and dv.

[truestscum]

Autistic people understand gender.

Making it seem like autistic people need xenogenders because they "don't understand gender" is fucked up. By saying this you're infantilizing autistic people. autistic people can understand gender, so stop using us as your scapegoat. This is especially bad because people will say things like "Xenogenders are for autistic people because they don't understand gender" and then say "anyone can use xenogenders even if you are neurotypical"

[stayatsam]

yall love trans boys until they start T and get manly and hairy and grow a trans guy penis and get deep voices and some belly chub and get a fucked high sex drive and  not some “uwu space smol bean boy” that you wanna romanticize so deeply and “protect” 

whatever yeehaw 

[kendallroy-deactivated20210425]

must a fictional relationship be “healthy” or “functional”? is it not enough to simply watch two made up people destroy each other, hand in unlovable hand???

[vividoll-xx]

hey what the fuck is wrong with you people

[kendallroy-deactivated20210425]

idk, what is wrong with me? i’m in a healthy and stable relationship with a great partner, i’ve had lots of therapy that has helped me establish strong boundaries and recognize red flags, and i have an active social life and fulfilling career. could it be that i just… like to read books and watch movies and tv shows about dysfunctional people??? you tell me, tumblr user girlcreator!

[derelict-stranger]

You’re a bourgeois degenerate who wants to see shitty despicable & violent relationships for your disgusting sense of entertainment— and you should feel fucking ashamed of yourself.

I agree with @girlcreator but I definitely know there’s something wrong with you. People like you are a huge red flag to me. Bad vibes, for sure.

[kendallroy-deactivated20210425]

can you weirdos just smoke some fucking weed

[annabellioncourt]

shakespeare frantically rewriting macbeth’s marriage to be healthy and adjusted becuase no one will ever want to watch the original 

[alex-wf]

reblog if you’re a bourgeois degenerate who wants to see shitty despicable and violent relationships for your disgusting sense of entertainment (and you should feel fucking ashamed of yourself)

[achillescourse]

one thing i have heaps of thoughts on though is this obsession / idea that the q slur is like. a political position or being more open minded or whatever. like. it was reclaimed by specific individiuals who fought for lgbt liberation but that doesnt make it some holy political position on its own.

additionally. it will NEVER be wholely inclusive due to like. being a slur.

finally. maybe instead of just saying 'we are q**r friendly' and needlessly allow cishits to use a slur, as well as unecesarily expose lgbt ppl to it, just like. be inclusive in ur fucking actions . the obsession with the q slur realy feels like performative individualism most of the time, rather than any practical collectivism - ie it claims to be 'the most inclusive' but tends to violently other people who arent exactly like them

[headspace-hotel]

imagine comparing animal rights activism (veganism) to pseudoscience shit like astrology and magical thinking. acting like there isn’t mountains of scientific evidence pointing to the excessive harms of animal agriculture on both nonhumans and humans… very cringe!

I don't know how to explain to you that this is exactly how they get you.

Something that has mostly solid evidence backing it is just as good a gateway to The Pseudoscience Abyss as something that isn't evidence-based at all. The danger is in the thinking patterns it can lead you to.

There's a lot of rhetoric among some vegan communities about how going vegan is The Solution To Almost Everything (the 'original sin' idea where problems can be traced back to one thing), how The Industry suppresses evidence and people who work in The Industry can't be trusted (this is the foundation of a conspiracy theory), how people are only against the solution because they prioritize self-gratification (conservative evangelicalism at work!), and there is...a lot of misinformation.

Veganism is in an especially potent position because of its appeal to people who have already swallowed the "clean eating/purify your body with Natural Food" pill. Natural Food is the biggest gateway into conspiracy shit, period.

And it's very much entangled in questions of morality and strong emotions from people, which means people are vulnerable to forgetting their brains.

[headspace-hotel]

@xexed I regret to inform you that if the farmer that grew the crops that became your food ever watered them, they were treated with a chemical.

Water is a chemical. All food is made of chemicals. Everything with a chemical formula is a chemical. Avoiding "chemicals," eating things with fewer "chemicals," choosing foods "not treated with chemicals," it's all literally meaningless unless there's a specific reason a specific chemical is bad for human health.

Also, whether a "chemical" is naturally occurring/comes from plants/whatever has nothing whatsoever to do with whether or not it's safe or healthy to eat. Foxgloves, 'destroying angel' mushrooms, oleander and deadly nightshade are all pretty damn natural. As is mercury, arsenic, uranium, and lead.

There's no such thing as a "natural" lifestyle or diet anyway. Most of the plants we eat are so heavily modified by thousands and thousands of years of domestication that they're completely unrecognizable from their wild ancestors.

Humans have adapted to radically different diets depending on the region they live in. We've evolved lactase persistence in some places so we can drink milk from other species! We've domesticated yeast to make bread! We'll eat insects, fungi, leaves, fruits, seeds, meat, fish, roots, you name it, we've tried to put it in our mouths.

"Natural" food is a marketing buzzword at best. There are valid criticisms of today's foodways, and ways our diets could be made better, but "natural" just straight up does not mean anything.

[downtroddendeity]

Gonna drop a link to the Maintenance Phase episode on “the Wellness to QAnon Pipeline” with a prominent researcher of conspiracy theories as a guest. People starting at “I don’t want to be eating pesticides” (valid!) and falling down a pit toward “vaccine microchips” (not valid!) is absolutely a known thing.

[brazenautomaton]

did you know tons of people who draw cp get busted for owning photos of irl cp, and sexual psychologists link the two

did you know people who are violent are more interested in violent media? tv violence rots our kids' minds

[siryouarebeingmocked]

Oh look, anon's going for guilt by association.

[bebe-benzenheimer]

did you know all convicted cannibals were caught with a copy of Night of the Living Dead in their possession?

[father-of-hope-and-fury]

Did you know that anyone who consumes child porn of any type should be run through a woodchipper?

[brazenautomaton]

Did you know that the reason that stuff is bad is not because it’s gross, but because it harms actual human beings in its creation?

Did you know that if no human beings are harmed, and you’re still consumed with bloodlust, the problem is with you?

[father-of-hope-and-fury]

Did you know that I don't care about the opinions of people who defend child porn?

[brazenautomaton]

"We should tear this place down because it's a slave market where people are bought and sold!" "Sir? This is a Wendy's." "WHATEVER, DO YOU THINK I CARE ABOUT THE OPINIONS OF PEOPLE WHO DEFEND SLAVERY?"

[father-of-hope-and-fury]

Do you smell toast? Cause I think you just had a stroke.

[mg-dl]

He's right. If no real children were harmed in the making of a drawing, no crime was committed. Pretending people who think drawings are fine are defending real actual child sexual abuse is a reach to say the least.

[father-of-hope-and-fury]

You're already defending child porn. Don't lie about what I said while you do it.

[mg-dl]

You did it again, lol. Do you believe real children and lines on paper can feel the same things?

[father-of-hope-and-fury]

Did what?

Of course not. The penalty for actually abusing a child should be MUCH worse than a woodchipper.

[mg-dl]

Right, so people should be prosecuted or punished on some way for things that they draw?

[father-of-hope-and-fury]

Yes. Have you not been paying attention?

[thespectacularspider-girl]

You sound like the hysterical dipshits who blamed Columbine on video games and Marilyn Manson.

It’s not real. You can disagree with it, even find it disgusting, without sounding like a Charlie Hebdo shooter.

Stop undercutting the actual suffering, pain and misery that real child porn inflicts upon the world by comparing it to lines on paper.

[stop-stalin-and-suck-my-dick]

I don't want to, bc I find it gross, but I could draw child porn right now and hurt zero people except maybe myself

It isn't a crime to draw some cartoons doing the nasty and you're utterly fucking deranged if you claim otherwise.

[celestial-naiad]

@strict-constitutionalist Hi, I'm a victim of actual child sexual abuse. While drawings of children in sexual situations do irk me and I find them triggering, there are in fact no children being harmed by said drawing. There is no crime being committed. And if we make it a crime, it could extend into other realms of art where it is unecessary.

If you're a constitutionalist as your url says, then I know you know what I mean. We see it everyday with gun control. As soon as one unconstitutional law was created, it opened the door for many more. As soon as we start viewing drawings of kids as criminal, its going to start making other forms of art criminal too.

Just some food for thought.

[shrimpmandan]

Imagine trying someone who draws violent or gory art as a murderer. That’s the equivalent to this

[squeeful]

"if you consume enough problematic media then there will be a point in which you become desensitized and replicate the behavior"

right, that's why all my media studies professors moonlight as serial killers

[squeeful]

half-serious quip aside, what you're saying is that you think people have the inherent moral fiber of overcooked pasta and if you don't spoonfeed them pre-digested purity, they will revert to their baser nature of amoral, immoral, cruel and murderous beasts which, frankly, means you're a dehumanizing cunt

[whiterabbitsandfairydust]

Also there are some studies to suggest the opposite. That for example consuming violent media can help people with anger problems get it out of their system with video games or action movies, or ufc fights. Not saying it’s 100% but it’s a definite probability and it should be considered because that could definitely revolutionize how we treat things like anger management.

[stop-stalin-and-suck-my-dick]

Violent crime drops a bit every time a popular violent videogame is released

According to some study I read years ago, at least. I believe it. There's a reason therapy recognizes the positive impact of catharsis.

[lowkeyed1]

i don't know how to explain to some of the fans today that you are allowed to like stuff that is not a perfect guide to living a healthy life. you are allowed to like stuff with problematic elements if those elements serve a greater story purpose. you are even allowed to like stuff with problematic elements if they don't! you can enjoy stuff that is just plain bad! badly written, badly acted, with no redeeming value. you don't have to defend any of that to anyone! you can ship unhealthy relationships if they are interesting to you! go wild!

[chandajaan-deactivated20220615]

People who “hate small talk” are always the most boring people too, fundamentally because they don’t understand how to have conversations or how to find common ground with others so that you can have lead up to having deep and meaningful talks.

[chandajaan-deactivated20220615]

Clarification for those who clearly need it, this is not a dig at your social anxiety, or how you don’t talk to every stranger you meet, it’s about people who think they’re above “boring” day to day small talk that helps establish rapport with others, and want to talk about the “deep stuff” but fail to acknowledge that small talk is the foundation of deep connections!

[lgbtpolitics]

Everyone online always says how they love to cut through the chit chat to the deep stuff but I saw a guy attempt to do exactly this on a dating show. He just decided to start asking this girl personal questions that were weirdly vague (I don't remember exactly but it was like "Describe some of your formative moments") and he clearly intended it as romantic but this girl was clearly uncomfortable with it and so was everyone else around her.

This scene gave me a bit of an epiphany that it maybe sounds good in theory to "cut through the bullshit" but in practice its just rude and intrusive.

[wherelibertydwells]

[sharper-and-bigger]

Yes.

[cisnowflake]

Absolutely fine with this.

[goohliath]

Racial tensions are a powerful force.

[sometimes-men-need-help-too]

These are not one sided issues:

- any kind of assault 

- rape 

-eating disorders

- low self esteem 

- mental health issues 

And anything else I may have forgotten. It’s great that we have resources out there and awareness for these things for women, because they shouldn’t feel alone either. However, whether it’s on purpose or not, we tend to think of these as ‘women’s issues’ which can prevent men from speaking up out of shame or whatever else they may be feeling. 

[bi-dazai]

"maus is triggering just fyi!!" yeah that's the point??? lmfao?? "oh no the holocaust exists and it's triggering my anxiety" shut the fuck up

[luna-rose5272-blog]

A trigger warning hurts no one, it's just making sure someone is in the right headspace for intense content. We need them, *especially* since we have many sanitised stories of the holocaust which do not show the true horrors. Giving people a heads up that this *does* go into the facts and doesn't hold back is good and not necessarily a deturent. However if certain topics will give you a panic attack it might be best to at least know the book touches on it.

[georgeboleyn-againstovertime]

Buddy no offense but pls stop. Unless that person personally experienced the Holocaust or direct Nazism then they have absolutely zero reason to have a panic attack. That’s the most wild thing ever.

These folks who’ve never had Nazism directed at themselves are not “triggered” by what Holocaust victims went/go through. They’re “triggered” by the fact that for once they have to confront that they and theirs might not be the squeaky clean lil angels they like to think an that bad stuff does happen to other people. It’s a normal empathetic reaction to feel upset or anxious when readin Maus. Abby, 16, is not triggered shes learnin how to be a decent human.

This is not some fanfic. This is not some fictional book you read in 4th grade ELA class. This is history. Doesn’t matter if it’s first hand, second hand, or what. It’s a factual account bout the literal Holocaust. A TW for Maus would be like puttin a TW in your high school history book.

Listen, if you’re old nough to get your hands on and read a copy of Maus then you’re old nough to learn what actual history is. Not what we give 8 year olds.