As the technium expands, it transforms human nature. We are a civilization in transition. In many countries, the affirmation of transgender identity is enforced by law. Discrimination and “misgendering” are punishable by stiff fines, public shaming, and professional ruin. The Iron Rainbow hangs over our heads.
Joe Allen, Dark Æon: Transhumanism and the War against Humanity
The Iron Rainbow
Clarissa's Blog 
The Iron Rainbow? You, who lived in the USSR, do you think the image is a valid one? It is a genuine question.
Ol.
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Very much so. The fear, the propaganda, the inner immigration feel exactly the same. The only difference is that back in the USSR nobody really believed the slogans we had to recite.
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I don’t know about this one. My knowledge of the USSR and the Eastern Bloc comes from Western fiction, and in it daily life seems way harsher and depressing than the fear of misgendering someone. Interesting.
Also, if feel that the gender discourse on the left starts to change, paying a bit more attention to science. But it is a feeling.
Ol.
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Did you hear about Scotland’s new “hate speech law”? In Brezhnev’s USSR we were allowed the solace of joking about party lunacy with family members and colleagues. Scotland wants to take even that small recourse away. They will have “reporting centers” for people to snitch on each other. And they’ll reduce the police force that investigates crime to redirect it to investigating conversations people have in private.
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I have just read the bill (vertically) online. I think that speech should be taken seriously, and should be legally framed, so I do mind “reporting centres” per se. People should be held accountable of their words. That being said, some parts of the bill are indeed a bit concerning in their vagueness. To give a clear example, am I stirring up hatred if I misgender a student, like it happened again this morning? Am I stirring up hatred if we analyze a novel with a homophobic character in class, because I “share” a hate speech?
Like almost everything nowadays, where are the subtleties, where are the nuances, where is the complexity?
Ol.
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The idea of people being held accountable for words scares me stiff. Who will decide which words deserve punishment? What gives those people the right to make such decisions? How is this different from censorship? Or from squashing political dissent?
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I get your point. Besides, the idea of drawing a line also implies that people can say things that are racist or transphobe but are still “legally” acceptable, which is depressing. Nevertheless, I think it is a good reminder for all of us that le parole sono importanti, to quote the movie Palombella Rossa.
Do you remember the UOttawa literature class controversy? Or perhaps it did not make the news in the US. It was scary and still is.
I am trying very hard not to agree with you on everything. You and I know on what we respectfully disagree. On that matter, I just feel that there are more pressing issues in our society than the ones related to trans people, and that we make much noise out of non-stories, or anecdotes, or absurdities like this incredible link: https://ottawacitizen.com/opinion/todays-letters-gender-inclusive-de-mining-doesnt-help-ukraine.
Ol.
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What’s the UOttawa controversy? I don’t remember it.
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Your blood pressure will go to the roof if you read more about the link I have just sent you. Your health first!
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Of course, I read because curiosity is irresistible, and oh God. My book is already at the printer’s, and I can’t include this, unfortunately. It will go into the next book, so thank you for the link.
Oh Canada. What have you turned into? Extorting people who are fighting for their lives. What a shame.
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HAHAHA! Of course, you read it. Someone (something?) or a group of people at the government should be held accountable for coming up with that crappy policy.
Ol.
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Don’t interrupt your enemies while they’re committing errors …
But by all means, leave before they decide that the best place to continue to commit errors is on your doorstep.
Yes, this is child abuse in actuality and a few other nasty things as well … and yet I can avert my intolerant gaze just long enough to make sure the generations after them have had this nonsense burned out of them, all for the Modest Proposal price of saying nothing.
Especially if I’m no longer there to say anything at all …
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I don’t care what the fanatics do to themselves and each other. I’m that jaded. But they force me to live in fear. They turned having normal eyesight into a crime. I have to be terrified that I will be betrayed by what I see into commiting a thought-crime.
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