Biden's E.O.s

[Freija]

Who are you talking to? It wasn't me. Or I guess it was me after you put words in my mouth so you could respond to in a derogatory manner. At least I hope you feel better now. Glad I could help.

First, let me apologize for not responding here in a timelier manner. I have a friend that is in and out of my life right now because her life is up in the air and she’s in need so she’s been randomly staying with me anywhere from two to four nights a week and when she is here, it is hard to break away.

With that said, also let me apologize if you found my comments derogatory but I cannot be entirely sure which ones so I’ll dig into it and try to understand.

Prisons
Here’s the attitude I got from your comment “While I support the idea, this would only be at the federal level”.

The way this was worded seemed critical of the EO in question by suggesting it is lacking in merit by not doing anything about privately owned state prisons. In a thread like this one, this comes off more like a beef about the current administration and pointless sideism. It is a step forward and while it may not be everything you would like it to be, it seems like a start.

Big Oil
Are you bitching about the government and defending oil producers because you simply don’t like government meddling in private business? Again, this comes off more like bitching about the current administration’s “bloviating” which is maybe where all this “derogatory” tone got started? Do you not like the idea of maybe trying to balance our energy needs or is working to maybe wean ourselves from the teat of the fossil fuel industry not a good idea to you? I’m not putting words in your mouth, just stating how this whinging comes across to me.

Finally the last one where the topic was discrimination and LGBTx protection.

Admittedly, my answer to this one was less than stellar but I did not have the time to flesh out a proper reply. I’m assuming this is my comment you considered “derogatory” but here is what I was intending…

Firstly though, your absurdly hyperbolic and sarcastic references to shooting and sending in the Marines gives a pretty clear indication that discrimination isn’t much of an issue to you, which due to the nature of this thread seems more about kvetching over this administration’s wokeness and fluff policies.

Truthfully if anything, this is what set me off and what I wanted to elaborate on the most but couldn’t due to the time constraints of having an emotionally demanding houseguest.



This is something that is somewhat of a bee in my proverbial bonnet and I will explain why. As a member of a minority group, I am a person with a lot of recognized privilege that maybe has a little more than usual empathy and understanding for those not as fortunate and feel some sense of duty or a responsibility to stand in their corner. To use a sports analogy, I would be the one to root for the underdog or stand up for the little guy.

I don’t take my privilege for granted. I have not been discriminated against simply because of my minority status ever once beyond my troubled and difficult high school years when I was ostracized, bullied and nearly beaten to death because my differences. To escape this persecution or whatever you call it, I was lucky enough to more or less “go into hiding” and never had to deal with these issues again which is fine and dandy but somewhere lurking in the depths of my consciousness was a certain level of guilt maybe that this I got my cake and screw theirs attitude wasn’t really the person I wanted to be.

I think there is a certain difficulty understanding discrimination for most people that haven’t significantly experienced it firsthand. Typically in Western civilization this would include people that are white, male, cisgender heterosexuals that don’t recognize their own privilege hence my comments to that effect. I am sorry if it somehow came across as derogatory or made inaccurate assumptions when it was more intended to be snark.

As a perceived straight, white female i.e. “normal”, I’m overflowing with privilege and lack of discrimination but should I decide to step out of the shadows and reveal my minority status or be someone less fortunate than me that can’t “hide” their membership in a minority group such as a person of color for example or some other disenfranchised group, should I not have a little sympathy for their plight or understanding of the challenges they face because I could easily be in the same boat?

From a morality standpoint, wouldn’t a country of privilege and a world leader like the U.S. have some obligation to stand up for the little guy/underdog and those less fortunate? We’re not talking about shooting or sending in the troops here. We’re talking about economic and trade sanctions and incentives, travel bans and asset freezes and policies to promote non-discrimination and human rights. The Magnitsky Act already allows us to do this as does the EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime.

These EOs and proclamations might be just waving the flag of wokeness and only be window dressing and a shot at good optics with no teeth behind them to appease the whiny left but however problematic or ineffectual they may be, they give me the feeling that as a nation, we are doing something to stand up for the little guy and those less fortunate and privileged. In other words, for whatever they’re worth, I think that at least appearing to be a champion of justice and human rights sets an example for others to follow and I don’t have any problem with that.

Not everything is a cis-trans argument.

Nor was I making one. I was speaking in general about all forms of discrimination and human rights inequalities and referencing privilege that I think I’ve adequately explained above.

So you think using LBGTQ rights as a pretext for raping other nations of their resources is a GOOD thing?

I honestly don’t know what you’re on about? Do you have any examples or citations? You’re a great guy that’s been nice to me and a friend but sometimes I think your imagination runs a bit wild.

As I’ve tried to show here, I am open for intellectual discussion and dialog but when its blatantly partisan, as 90% of the board appears from my point of view, things aren’t always as productive as I would like them to be and I’m not always the best at expressing myself so I usually just keep my mouth shut. Believe me though if I wanted to, I could complain bigly about the previous administrations policies and EOs that have directly affected my life or my “tribe” in negative ways or commented about the spate of Republican sponsored legislation currently aimed squarely at making the lives of people like me more difficult but I haven’t said a word as ignorant and as egregious as it all may be. I am not an activist or SJW but while maybe not with a target on my back personally, I do try to think of others and try to bring that perspective to the discourse. Because of my privilege, that's what feels right for me to do.