The Doonesbury "Say What?" thread

[Kheldarson]

Rather than ignite a flame war I'm just going to say that this could be a slam on the women or the definition of feminism. It's open to interpretation.

I'd say it's more a statement on the connotation of the word. People don't want the association.

[the_std]

I agree with Kheldarson. Unfortunately, the word has developed a negative association because of people and the media emphasizing the feminazi stereotype. I'd say that someone doesn't have to call themselves a feminist in order to think feminist thoughts or take part in feminist actions. I do wish more women would call themselves feminists, as we may be able to reverse some of the stigma associated with the word, but as it stands, as long as people are trying to make a difference, it doesn't matter what label they use for themselves.

[Andara Bledin]

I agree with Kheldarson. Unfortunately, the word has developed a negative association because of people and the media emphasizing the feminazi stereotype. I'd say that someone doesn't have to call themselves a feminist in order to think feminist thoughts or take part in feminist actions. I do wish more women would call themselves feminists, as we may be able to reverse some of the stigma associated with the word, but as it stands, as long as people are trying to make a difference, it doesn't matter what label they use for themselves.

All of this.

I used to avoid the term feminist myself until I really thought about it and realized that I wasn't going to let fanatics and their detractors re-define the word into something it wasn't.

Feminism is, at its heart, humanism with a focus on removing barriers to sexual equality for women as a primary focus.

[lordlundar]

"Let me be clear. Americans have freedom of religion -- but not freedom from religion."
—

Texas Congressman Sam Johnson, on the Preserve and Protect God in Military Oaths Act, which would require Air Force Academy cadets to say "So help me God"

So you're going to stop pushing the stupid religious laws? Nope, it's an excuse to push the stupid religion laws.

[KabeRinnaul]

"Let me be clear. Americans have freedom of religion -- but not freedom from religion."
—

Texas Congressman Sam Johnson, on the Preserve and Protect God in Military Oaths Act, which would require Air Force Academy cadets to say "So help me God"

So you're going to stop pushing the stupid religious laws? Nope, it's an excuse to push the stupid religion laws.

Reminds me of an op-ed or letter to the editor I read once that argued freedom of religion only guaranteed the right to worship God (the christian version, of course) in whatever way you chose, but you still had to worship God in some fashion. And so we should deport all atheists and anyone not following some sort of Abrahamic faith.

[lordlundar]

"You know, it used to be it is accepted scientific wisdom the Earth is flat, and this heretic named Galileo was branded a denier."
—

Sen. Ted Cruz on climate change

Umm Cruz, "Scientific wisdom" (used loosely here because it was really religious belief hence why Galileo was branded a heretic) changed with proof countering the claim. All you're doing is screaming a counter claim against evidence with no proof.

[KabeRinnaul]

"You know, it used to be it is accepted scientific wisdom the Earth is flat, and this heretic named Galileo was branded a denier."
—

Sen. Ted Cruz on climate change

Umm Cruz, "Scientific wisdom" (used loosely here because it was really religious belief hence why Galileo was branded a heretic) changed with proof countering the claim. All you're doing is screaming a counter claim against evidence with no proof.

Nevermind that Cruz has his facts wrong, too. Galileo opposed the Church on heliocentrism, not flat earth theory. We've known the Earth is round ever since the Greeks, at the very least.

Also, Galileo mostly got shut down because he was a troll who did everything in his power to offend the Church, who were his primary sponsors.

Like he was told to include the Church's arguments for heliocentrism in his book. So he did. By constantly mocking them and having them voiced by a character named, literally, "The Simpleton."

[lordlundar]

"The line 'Make America great again' -- the phrase, that was mine. I came up with it about a year ago, and I kept using it. And everybody's now using it. They are all loving it. I don't know, I guess I should copyright it. Maybe I have copyrighted it."
-- Donald Trump

"Let's Make America Great Again."
-- 1980 Reagan-Bush campaign slogan

...and I doubt that Reagan's PR group (because let's face it, when was the last time a politician had a good idea of their own?) was the first to coin the phrase.

[lordlundar]

"I don't believe for a minute that whatever happened to Harry Reid has anything to do with an exercise machine...[He] looks like and is acting like...and behaving like somebody who may have been beaten up."
-- Rush Limbaugh

"When a guy shows up at a Las Vegas emergency room on New Year's Day with severe facial injuries and broken ribs and gives an explanation the functional equivalent of 'I walked into a doorknob,' it isn't hard to guess that he ran afoul of mobsters."
-- Powerline blogger John Hinderaker

*looks to find any factual, non-partisan information for reference, comes up empty*

[Andara Bledin]

Not a lot of info about Reid's accident. He said it was an accident having to do with elastic tension exercise equipment (which if it fails could totally kill a person) while conspiracies abound that he ran afoul of the mob and MSM is ignoring it for... reasons... despite him being a Dem. >_>

[lordlundar]

"This is the curse of God upon America for our sin of not protecting innocent children in the womb, and part of that curse for our rebellion against God as a nation is that our pregnant women are ripped open."
—

Colorado state Rep. Gordon Klingenschmitt, on attack in which an unborn baby was cut out of its mother and died

Clearly a proud member of the Westboro Baptist Church.

[KabeRinnaul]

"This is the curse of God upon America for our sin of not protecting innocent children in the womb, and part of that curse for our rebellion against God as a nation is that our pregnant women are ripped open."
—

Colorado state Rep. Gordon Klingenschmitt, on attack in which an unborn baby was cut out of its mother and died

Clearly a proud member of the Westboro Baptist Church.

If you removed the attribution and changed each "our" to "your", I would very easily believe that quote was from some ISIS or al Queda militant.

[s_stabeler]

yeah, when you can (functionally) change the attribution and get a statement that could have come from extremists on either side of the spectrum, you really start wondering if the spectrum's drawn wrong.

[lordlundar]

It's called the horseshoe effect and it's where the extremists on either side of the political spectrum are largely indistinguishable from one another and the furthest distance from either of them is the moderate viewpoint.

"If a gay couple came in and wanted us to provide pizzas for their wedding, we would have to say no...I do not think it's targeting gays. I don't think it's discrimination...We're not discriminating against anyone, that's just our belief, and anyone has the right to believe in anything...Why should I be beat over the head to go along with something [homosexuals] choose?"
-- Crystal O'Connor, whose family-owned pizza shop supports Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act. After receiving threats, the family closed the shop. A GoFundMe page in support of their stance has raised over $50,000.

"Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act is gay discrimination, pure and simple. You can frost a dog turd, but it's still a dog turd."
-- Stephen King

The saddest thing about this? Most businesses in support of this law probably have been selling to homosexual people for years and not realize it.

[catcul]

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act was signed by former Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton in his first year in office. These laws are modeled on that and a lot of the concerns of discrimination haven't been borne to bear over the last 20 years. But I also think it’s important that we have a sense of perspective about our priorities.

In Iran they hang you for the crime of being gay. They're currently imprisoning an American preacher for spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ in Iran. We should focus on the most important priorities that our country faces right now. And I would say that a nuclear armed Iran, given the threat it poses ... is the most important thing we could be focusing on right now.

-- Tom Cotton, Senator from Arkansas

In other words, don't worry about what rights your country is stripping away from you, just imagine what would happen if Iran got you. Essentially, he's trying to deflect gay rights by saying, "Look over there."

Also, Iran has a better record of trans gender rights than the United States.