Nice Planet: Screw It, I'm Outta Here

[Fishman'81]

Modesto denies permit for straight pride rally, citing safety concerns and no liability insurance.

Bummer. Kind of wanted to see these morons put their idiocy on display and be outnumbered 15-1.

Please explain why anyone would be "proud" of his/her sexual preference, whatever it may be...?

That's an inborn thing, just as is skin-color.

We should all be free to exercise our carnal prerogatives, but there's nothing there either way to constitute pride nor shame.

I'd never march in a "Straight Pride" parade, but it makes as much sense as marching in a "Gay Pride" parade.

(Or, as little sense.)

[The Rube]

Out. I'm out. Done. Wow.

[Fishman'81]

Out. I'm out. Done. Wow.

OK, great, so you'll explain the distinction..? I'm all ears.

I'm an old Leftist, but we, as a loose coalition, are paving the way for another tRump "victory".

We need to be fair, and to keep our eyes on the bigger issues. (As in: "global".)

[The Rube]

OK, great, so you'll explain the distinction..? I'm all ears.

I'm an old Leftist, but we, as a loose coalition, are paving the way for another tRump "victory".

We need to be fair, and to keep our eyes on the bigger issues.

I can't. I'm a straight white male. I sorta get it, but I cannot, in all honesty, fully explain it. I won't state it correctly. You'll have to get an answer from someone else. And that's half the point.

[Fishman'81]

I can't. I'm a straight white male. I sorta get it, but I cannot, in all honesty, fully explain it. I won't state it correctly. You'll have to get an answer from someone else. And that's half the point.

Rube, you ducked the question... And a lot of Cafe posters do the same.

There's a mob-mentality here that isn't helpful.

If we don't reach across the table just a bit, our union will dissolve.

[Fishman'81]

I can't. I'm a straight white male. I sorta get it, but I cannot, in all honesty, fully explain it. I won't state it correctly. You'll have to get an answer from someone else. And that's half the point.

And, furthermore, what makes the opinion of a "straight white male" worth any less than anyone else's opinion, as long as it's an equitable take?

That's what is paving four more years of the Moron in Office, and many people on here don't even seem to notice this fact.

[The Rube]

And, furthermore, what makes the opinion of a "straight white male" worth any less than anyone else's opinion, as long as it's an equitable take?

That's what is paving four more years of the Moron in Office, and many people on here don't even seem to notice this fact.

I have never been in that position. Do you understand that?

[trixR4kids]

Assuming dumb dumb is really seeking an explanation and not just trolling and being a gimmick account, gay people are "proud" of their orientation because society has told them not to be since... forever? Gays literally just got kicked out the military in this country. It's a celebration where they can be among others who are like them and feel welcome.

[The Rube]

Assuming dumb dumb is really seeking an explanation and not just trolling and being a gimmick account, gay people are "proud" of their orientation because society has told them not to be since... forever? Gays literally just got kicked out the military in this country. It's a celebration where they can be among others who are like them and feel welcome.

I gave an honest explanation. I cannot explain, I have never been there. Period. That's it. *shrug*

[Handyman]

And, furthermore, what makes the opinion of a "straight white male" worth any less than anyone else's opinion, as long as it's an equitable take?

That's what is paving four more years of the Moron in Office, and many people on here don't even seem to notice this fact.

What would a straight white male know about being gay?

[MinnesotaNorthStar]

What would a straight white male know about being gay?

This is America...straight white christian males know everything.

Try to keep up.

[cF[Authentic]]

We need to be fair, and to keep our eyes on the bigger issues. (As in: "global".)

And yet, here you are again keeping your eyes focused on this issue. If you want unity to beat Trump, then don't let things like this bother you.

You just want everyone else to give up on their priorities to meet yours.

[mookie1995]

This is America...straight white christian males know everything.

Try to keep up.

Someone has to write the history

[FadeToBlack&Gold]

Assuming dumb dumb is really seeking an explanation and not just trolling and being a gimmick account, gay people are "proud" of their orientation because society has told them not to be since... forever? Gays literally just got kicked out the military in this country. It's a celebration where they can be among others who are like them and feel welcome.

Nah, it's not necessary because gay people aren't being persecuted anymore, remember?

Oh sorry, I'm supposed to be getting help for my "anger issues" diagnosis. Please carry on giving him a kinder, gentler machine gunning while I visit my shrink will ya?

[Kepler]

Please explain why anyone would be "proud" of his/her sexual preference, whatever it may be...?

I'm going to assume you aren't intentionally being mentally and morally opaque and give you a straight answer.

The persecuted have always needed to rally around solidarity. That is a basic human need.

I really thought you were being an intentional d-ck when you posted things like this or that you were a moron, but given your persistence and your stressing that we need to respect one another I am now genuinely convinced that you don't know that your posts are coming of as mean spirited. But I'm giving you some friendly advice, sincerely: they are. You are coming off as borderline troll. As the kind of libertarian who says "the contract between an employer and an employee is perfectly balanced since either is free to terminate it." It comes off as being sheltered and presumptuous.

How do I know this? Because if I had been on the internet 30 years ago that would be exactly how I would have sounded. I was firmly convinced then that because bigotry drove so many problems the most fair solution would be to be completely blind to difference and never acknowledge any characteristic which was incidental to value.

But the problem with this is that's the equivalent of saying the race is fair now because we've taken your chains off but I still start 50 yards ahead of you. Systemic/legal barriers are the chains, and we have taken many of them off (although not all -- witness the legal persecution of gays and trans people in the red states) in the last 100 years. But the head start is the social barriers and those still exist. Whites still bias against POC. Men (and a lot of women!) still bias against women. Straights still bias against non-straights. And don't get me started on Christians.

So the people on the pointy end of these distinctions do need to join together and celebrate who they are. And they need to do it in public to claim their rights in public space and not just huddled in the dark. Have you ever been to a gay march or a women's march? The feeling during them isn't triumph, it's relief. You can see these people go through their lives poised to absorb the next slight (or assault) and for one f-cking day at least they can relax and be themselves without any fear.

Think of how you feel when after a day of work you come home and are safe and secure. POC and women and gays are never 100% secure. As a fellow white straight male I ask you: can you conceive of how hard it must be to live like that? You and I will never, never, never know how tired, how weary that must make a human being.

So, please, understand that a pride parade isn't something contrary to your desire for a blind society. It's essential to it because it is evening the playing field. There are no brown-eyed people's pride marches because they aren't necessary. The fact that there are gay and black and women's pride parades should tell us they are necessary, and why a straight or white or men's pride parade is something very different, mocking, nasty, and even threatening.

It's all about respect and these people still don't get it too often. You and I will never worry about that. And you know how much that stings because you have complained that you are being ignored or put down because you're a straight, white, male. OK... now imagine that amplified by a trillion, every day, and with a history of being written into the very law!

That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

To all the gay, POC, and women posters here: I am very sorry if this comes across as me straight white male 'splaining or being White Savior. I am just trying to give my view because I have been Fishman '81 and know that it is possible to say the things he is saying and not be a jerk. He's simply ignorant of what he has not seen and felt, and I have had that very thing in common with him so I might reach him.

Dude: you're not a d-ck but you're acting like one. Please take the stuff above to heart. It was my journey and maybe it will help you on yours. Go to these marches and be with these people and you'll understand. The love you experience being with people who have been hurt and disrespected, but who are still open and kind, will make you feel great, even if you're a cynical, arrogant old fool like me.

[MissThundercat]

I'm going to assume you aren't intentionally being mentally and morally opaque and give you a straight answer.

The persecuted have always needed to rally around solidarity. That is a basic human need.

I really thought you were being an intentional d-ck when you posted things like this or that you were a moron, but given your persistence and your stressing that we need to respect one another I am now genuinely convinced that you don't know that your posts are coming of as mean spirited. But I'm giving you some friendly advice, sincerely: they are. You are coming off as borderline troll. As the kind of libertarian who says "the contract between an employer and an employee is perfectly balanced since either is free to terminate it." It comes off as being sheltered and presumptuous.

How do I know this? Because if I had been on the internet 30 years ago that would be exactly how I would have sounded. I was firmly convinced then that because bigotry drove so many problems the most fair solution would be to be completely blind to difference and never acknowledge any characteristic which was incidental to value.

But the problem with this is that's the equivalent of saying the race is fair now because we've taken your chains off but I still start 50 yards ahead of you. Systemic/legal barriers are the chains, and we have taken many of them off (although not all -- witness the legal persecution of gays in the red states) in the last 100 years. But the head start is the social barriers and those still exist. Whites still bias against POC. Men (and a lot of women!) still bias against women. Straights still bias against non-straights. And don't get me started on Christians.

So the people on the pointy end of these distinctions do need to join together and celebrate who they are. And they need to do it in public to claim their rights in public space and not just huddled in the dark. Have you ever been to a gay march or a women's march? The feeling during them isn't triumph, it's relief. You can see these people go through their lives poised to absorb the next slight (or assault) and for one f-cking day at least they can relax and be themselves without any fear.

Think of how you feel when after a day of work you come home and are safe and secure. POC and women and gays are never 100% secure. As a fellow white straight male I ask you: can you conceive of how hard it must be to live like that? You and I will never, never, never know how tired, how weary that must make a human being.

So, please, understand that a pride parade isn't something contrary to your desire for a blind society. It's essential to it because it is evening the playing field. There are no brown-eyed people's pride marches because they aren't necessary. The fact that there are gay and black and women's pride parade should tell us they are necessary, and why a straight or white or men's pride parade is something very different, mocking, nasty, and even threatening.

It's all about respect and these people still don't get it too often. You and I will never worry about that. And you know how much that stings because you have complained that you are being ignored or put down because you're a straight, white, male. OK... now imagine that amplified by a trillion, every day, and with a history of being written into the very law! And that it's not just you but your loved ones!

That's what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown.

To all the gay, POC, and women posters here: I am very sorry if this comes across as me straight white male 'splaining or being White Savior. I am just trying to give my view because I have been Fishman '81 and know that it is possible to say the things he is saying and not be a jerk. He's simply ignorant of what he has not seen and felt, and I have had that very thing common with him so I feel might reach him.

Dude: you're not a d-ck but you're acting like one. Please take the stuff above to heart. It was my journey and maybe it will help you on yours. Go to these marches and be with these people and you'll understand. The love you experience being with people who have been hurt and disrespected, but who are still open and kind, will make you feel great, even if you're a cynical, arrogant old fool like me.

This, Fishy, this. As a trans woman, I've tried explaining all the ways Republicans want me dead (either literally or figuratively), and it's gone right over your head. You also said trans people don't deserve bathroom rights because cis men might abuse the privilege. You want me dead too.

Seriously, in 26 states, including Michigan, I can be fired for being trans, and I am **** lucky that my current employer has gender identity written in their non-discrimination policy. If I'm arrested, they'll put me in with the men, which will open me to sexual assault and near death. If I become homeless, this administration says shelters don't have to take me in. I better hope my current medical team stays as warm and affirming as they are, because if they decide religious liberty is more important than my care, I could die. When I die, I better hope my family puts the right name and gender in the paper, because some of my trans siblings haven't been so lucky. Transgender people are 4x as likely to commit suicide as everyone else. I could go on, but you're basically plugging your ears right now going "I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

[St. Clown]

Woodbury is next to GD Oakdale. It has a lot of middle and high income earners, good schools, not a terrible place

Woodbury has its shady parts, too. I came across a few when house hunting last week. It was shocking, really, given what I thought I knew about that city.

[Deutsche Gopher Fan]

Woodbury has its shady parts, too. I came across a few when house hunting last week. It was shocking, really, given what I thought I knew about that city.

Of course it does but it’s not as bad as maplewood, Oakdale, no St. Paul.

[Kepler]

Now I wonder if you know what a Shooting Star Press is?

I do now.

[Kepler]

Pretty much. DX would know more, since he actually lives in goddam Oakdale.

The Urban Dictionary definition of GD Oakdale (#3 on the list) is pretty funny.

#6 (OK) is good, too.

Generally speaking, towns named "Oakdale" apparently have some issues.

BTW I can vouch for the L.I. one (#5, #7) that it is dead on.