June 16, 2015

So you think feminine men have never been raped?

[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=teal]Or that people who expressed the slightest transgender interest can't be LEGALLY discriminated against? Or that you can't be legally EVICTED simply for being trans?

Or that they can't be harassed at work? Or that you can't die from undergoing the operations they do? AND YOU THINK TRANSPEOPLE DON'T GET TREATED WITH HOSTILITY?![/font]

• Over half of all LGBTQ murders are committed against transwomen. Murder rate for trans people is 1/12.


• Over 41% of all trans people have ATTEMPTED suicide


• Just trying to get a job outs you during the background check


• Transpeople can be legally FIRED and EVICTED just for being trans in some states


• Transpeople can who are homeless (because they were legally evicted) can be denied access to homeless shelters


• Transpeople have been killed just for being telling someone they were trans


• Over 21% of transpeople get incarcerated and transpeople of color have a 47% chance


• Once in jail transpeople are often thrown in with the sex they DON't identify with and are sexually assaulted (1/3)


• To avoid sexual assault those that are NOT thrown in with the general population are put in solidary confinement...something used for punishment and often called torture.


• The AVERAGE lifespan for a transwoman is only 30-32years of age.


• Nearly half Transpeople who go to the police for help often are mistreated just for asking for help.

[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=teal]No, YOU and the jury that let your remarks stand don't understand anything. Least of all privilege, especially given your transphobic remarks.

http://everydayfeminism.com/2015/05/cissexism-in-the-world/
http://everydayfeminism.com/2014/01/transmisogyny/
http://everydayfeminism.com/2014/11/misconceptions-trans-ally-understand/[/font]

edit: Jury please see http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=6848619

June 16, 2015

Introducing the New Pastafarian Group

[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=teal]Do you like pasta? Do you like beer and rum? How about pirates? Do you wish you could wear a colander on your head everyday of the week claiming it is a part of your religious garb?

Well maties, why don't you come join your fellow pasta lovin' buccaneers at the new Pastafarian group on DU! Where everyday be talk like a pirate day.

Feel free to share your love of pasta and beer recipes, or talk about your love of pirates, or just be a big old goof!

We be docked in the Religion and spirituality port!

Or just click here![/font]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1282

June 9, 2015

New Power Puff Girls series on CN!

http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/06/09/cartoon-network-unveils-first-look-at-new-powerpuff-girls-series?utm_campaign=fbposts&utm_source=facebook


[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#dcdcdc; padding-bottom:5px; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom:none; border-radius:0.4615em 0.4615em 0em 0em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]CARTOON NETWORK UNVEILS FIRST LOOK AT NEW POWERPUFF GIRLS SERIES[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#f0f0f0; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top:none; border-radius:0em 0em 0.4615em 0.4615em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"][center][/center]
8 JUN 2015
by RACHEL HAAS

Cartoon Network has revealed the first glimpse of its reimagined Powerpuff Girls series with some new artwork that's full of sugar, spice and everything nice... and Chemical X.



The revamped series will focus on the original trio of crime-fighting school girls as they save the world from a slew of villains before bedtime, though it's unclear whether the girls will be battling familiar baddies like Mojo Jojo and HIM, or all-new foes. Amanda Leighton, Kristen Li and Natalie Palamides will voice Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup, respectively, while Tom Kenny will return to reprise his role as Narrator/Mayor.

Emmy-winner Nick Jennings (Adventure Time) is executive producing alongside Bob Boyle (Wow! Wow! Wubzy!) as co-exec producer.

"It has been wonderful to see this new show team bring such passion and positive creative spirit to this iconic property," said Chief Content Officer Rob Sorcher. "We know that fans of every age will appreciate this new take on saving the world before bedtime."

...

[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=teal]About another paragraph at link[/font]

June 2, 2015

How not to talk about Caitlyn Jenner

[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=teal]Sorry for changing the title but I felt it was appropriate.

I am posting this more in response to seeing Walt Heyer talk about Jenner on CNN (with no counterpoint). His disinformation needs to be pointed out and I think this article does a good job of that.[/font]


[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#dcdcdc; padding-bottom:5px; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom:none; border-radius:0.4615em 0.4615em 0em 0em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2015/04/29/3652514/bruce-jenner-interview-responses/[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#f0f0f0; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top:none; border-radius:0em 0em 0.4615em 0.4615em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]How Not To Talk About Bruce Jenner
BY ZACK FORD POSTED ON APRIL 29, 2015 AT 3:39 PM

[snip]...

[font size=3]Countering Jenner’s Story With “Transition Regret”[/font]

Ironically, as supporters quibble over Jenner’s unassuming role as a spokesperson for all transgender people, opponents of trans equality are countering by spotlighting their own singular spokesperson. When The Heritage Foundation’s Ryan T. Anderson stopped by CNN Monday morning, he said that he thinks in addition to Jenner’s story, “It will be important that we hear other peoples’ stories, that we hear Walt Heyer, who has spoken on his experience being transgender and he had the sex reassignment surgery. It didn’t help him in that situation. He’s speaking about that.” Indeed, Heyer shared his story this past week on The Public Discourse, which Anderson edits, as well as at The Federalist.

Heyer’s story is an outlier — far more exceptional than Jenner’s. He describes himself as “a former transgender [sic],” explaining that after eight years living as a woman, he began to experience “the shame of being so narcissistic and self-absorbed as a transgender female.” Essentially embracing the rejection of others, Heyer admits that he believes his transition “hurt the ones I loved.” He now advocates against gender-affirming therapies for transgender people, writing this week that “Jenner would do better to change his mind” — as if that were possible.

While Heyer’s own experience is not in question, his broad claims about the rates of transition regret have been thoroughly debunked. Much of the research that is cited to suggest negative outcomes for transition surgeries actually still advocates for those surgeries, acknowledging that they nevertheless do improve the quality of life for transgender people. Modern studies find that surgical regret is particularly uncommon — something less than 4 percent of people experience. In fact, the incredibly low regret rate for transition surgeries is fairly similar to the regret rate for gastric banding (about 2 percent), while regret rates for cosmetic plastic surgeries can be as high as 65 percent.

Heyer and Anderson also both rely on the expertise of Dr. Paul McHugh, a researcher at Johns Hopkins University whose bias against all LGBT people is well documented. As Anderson explained on CNN, McHugh believes performing transition-related surgeries “creates more problems than it solves.” To arrive at that conclusion, McHugh relies on a selective reading of the research, which has earned him the title of “the Mark Regnerus of transgender issues” — a reference to the researcher who erroneously claims that same-sex parenting is harmful to children. McHugh, like Heyer, is an exception, one who stands alone against the consensus of medical organizations that affirm transgender people and support appropriate treatments for them.

[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=teal]More at link...[/font]

May 20, 2015

"Boy" - Short Film

[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=teal]I found this on another forum and couldn't find any links here. I thought this group would appreciate this film.[/font]

May 9, 2015

Ace Day

[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#dcdcdc; padding-bottom:5px; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom:none; border-radius:0.4615em 0.4615em 0em 0em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]Ace Visibility Day[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#f0f0f0; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top:none; border-radius:0em 0em 0.4615em 0.4615em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]On May 8,2015 the Ace Community will be posting photos and graphics of Ace cards to correspond with their orientations. This is not intended to be a selfie day, however if you would like to post a selfie WITH your card, that’s your prerogative.The delegations are as follows:

Ace of Hearts: Alloromantic Asexual - experiences romantic attraction regularly toward one or more genders. This includes orientations such as heteroromantic, homoromantic, biromantic, polyromantic, and panromantic.

Ace of Spades: Aromantic Asexual - does not experience romantic attraction toward any gender.

Ace of Diamonds: Demiromantic/Demisexual & Grey-aromantic/Grey-Asexual- Experiences romantic and/or sexual attraction only if a strong emotional bond is established. OR Experiences romantic/sexual attraction rarely, not strongly enough to act on, only under specific circumstances, or fluctuates between periods of experiencing attraction and not experiencing it.

Ace of Clubs: Questioning/Unsure of Orientation - Aware they fall on the aromantic and/or asexual spectrum, but not sure where.


http://theasexualityblog.tumblr.com/post/115695074156/ace-visibility-day

[center] #AceDay. [/center]

April 22, 2015

10 egregious myths the religious perpetuate about atheists, debunked

[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#dcdcdc; padding-bottom:5px; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom:none; border-radius:0.4615em 0.4615em 0em 0em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]Salon[div class="excerpt" style="background-color:#f0f0f0; border:1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top:none; border-radius:0em 0em 0.4615em 0.4615em; box-shadow:3px 3px 3px #999999;"]

[center]
[/center]

In a regular poll conducted by political scientists Robert Putnam and David Campbell on American political attitudes, atheists recently lost their spot as as the most disliked group in America to the Tea Party. Still, number two is simply way too high in the unpopularity rankings for a group of people who just happen to spend Sunday mornings in bed instead of in church. Polling data shows that nearly half of Americans would disapprove if their child married an atheist and nearly 40 percent of Americans don’t see atheists as sharing their vision of American society, numbers that outstripped similar prejudices toward Muslims and African Americans.

Of course, the real reason atheists are so hated has little to do with jealousy for all their free time, but largely because most Americans are better acquainted with myths than with the realities of atheists’ lives. Unfortunately, atheists often have these myths tossed in their faces, usually by believers who would rather talk about what they heard atheists are like rather than uncomfortable subjects such as the lack of proof for any gods.

These myths do more than hurt atheists. They also harm the basic religious freedoms of all Americans, regardless of their beliefs. Religious freedom and tolerance don’t mean much if they can’t be expanded to include those without religion. With that in mind, here’s 10 of the ugliest myths about atheists, debunked:

[snip...]

3) Atheists are aggressive and rude. This myth has been around in various forms for a long time, but it really took off after the rise of “New Atheism,” which focuses its energy on disproving religious claims instead of merely pleading for tolerance of atheists. This myth only persists because belief is unconsciously privileged over atheism, causing people to believe it’s somehow ruder for an atheist to say, “I don’t believe in God and here’s why” than for a believer to intrude in your personal space with pamphlets, attack people when they’re feeling low with religious claims, knock on your door to proselytize, or force your children to recite religious language in school. Objectively speaking, believers commit transgressions against good manners far more than atheists. But atheist arguments tend to disturb believers more than arguments for God disturb atheists, so atheists get an unfair reputation for being rude, even when they are merely outspoken or unapologetic.


[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=teal]More at link...[/font]

March 31, 2015

So what exactly is Religion?

[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=teal]We have had countless discussions/wars over the nature of religion in this forum, but I can't help but wonder have we ever discussed what actually makes a religion a religion?

Looking up the word in 5 different sources I seem to get 5 different definitions...sometimes within a single source![/font]

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/religion
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/religion
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/religion
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/religion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion

[font style="font-family:'Georgia','Baskerville Old Face','Helvetica',fantasy;" size=4 color=teal]What is it that makes a religion different from a cult? Is there a difference? Or are they the same thing?

Does a religion have to have gods? Or, conversely does believing in gods make a religion? Does it have to have stories/myths about how the universe came into being? What about religions that can exist without gods like Buddhism and Taoism? Are they real religions? Or something else?

Does religion have to have a set of rules or guidelines for how to live one's life or at the very least how one should experience life? Does it have to have rituals?

Personally, I think of religion as a way of living or experiencing life based upon some perceived revelation or "revealed truth" about the nature of the universe.

Maybe the revelation is that there is a supreme deity who created the world and if you please him by living life according to his/her/its wishes you will be rewarded in the afterlife. Or maybe, the truth is that said god is a gigantic jerk and knowing that allows you to experience life the way it really is. Or maybe there is no gods, but a rhythm to existence and if you follow it, you can reborn to a better life, or end the cycle of rebirth, or maybe by following the rhythm you will have a more fulfilling and enjoyable life.

I think that all organized religions are cults and vice versa, and that simply believing that gods exist or don't exist, or believing in one or two myths about how things came about, or having a ritual or two on their own is not sufficient to be called a religion. Otherwise things like football could be called religion.

What about all of you? What is religion to you? [/font]

*Note1: I try not to post too much to my own threads as I don't want to be seen as "bumping" my own threads. Just because I don't reply much does not mean I am not keeping track of the thread.

**Note2: Yes this is in response to some replies in the Scientology thread.

March 30, 2015

Fear of Death

March 30, 2015

Blasphemy

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