Posts by Chris Myers

It's true, maybe nothing much even happens within the diaspora and emigration.

R. I. P. Chris...

Lisa Jackson7 said:Nah, it was just a different flavor of "political correctness"—one where the Nazis were the ones deciding what was acceptable and what wasn't.

It’s simple—whoever holds the power decides what's "correct."
The weird thing about the current trend is how much it relies on media control... they grab power and shape public opinion bit by bit, hiding their influence within institutions instead of making it obvious.

Maybe those college campuses and "safe zones" in the USA get talked about because things feel more open there.

When "practicing democracy" in a society boils down to nothing more than keyboard warrior hyperventilating—all talk with zero actual action or accountability—that’s basically fertile ground for PC culture.

So, if you ask me, the answer to the original question would be... questioning the state of Western democracy and liberalism right now, and actually looking at the root causes instead of just hunting for more "enemies."

Developing direct democracy—I don't mean some global decree, but more grassroots initiatives at the local level—helps stop the constant seesaw between the elites and populists.

There's plenty of talk lately about sociocracy, collective intelligence, and "digital democracy." Some of it is actually being put to use, at least locally.

I guess I'd call that "political incorrectness" instead, since the goal was the exact opposite of today's PC culture, but whatever...

What would be the absolute antithesis of today's political correctness?
Maybe something like this?

Anthony Perez9 said:If you're really that "into" it...Not exactly my finest moment." ( 😂 Look, you can always crawl back to racism, hate speech, misogyny, antisemitism, conspiracy theories, xenophobia, homophobia, chauvinism, militant anti-atheism, or religious fanaticism. You’ve got plenty of options to choose from. 😁

Just because a lot of people might agree doesn't mean she's automatically targeting me, I guess.
Or maybe you just read whatever you want to read?

So, I guess... is there actually any alternative to Political Correctness out there?

Frank Morgan2 said:You got a "little" tangled up in your own logic here.
Truth doesn't care about nationality, religion, or how "progressive" someone is... nor does it care if it hurts someone. There is only one Truth. It exists independently of our interpretations, even if those interpretations involve lying.
We can lie to someone to "spare their feelings," but that just means we aren't telling them the Truth.
Even when it stings, the Truth has a positive impact.

Best,
Frank Morgan2

Dealing with objective facts is easy. If my chair is blue—it's blue. That's the Truth. If I have three apples sitting on my desk right now, that's an easily provable fact.

But what about the stuff that's harder to prove, or things that might be impossible to verify?

Take a historical battle from a century ago—the liberals claim 50,000 died, while the conservatives insist it was only 5,000 (especially if there were no official records kept).
or
One person claims they were assaulted, while the other claims it was consensual... who is actually telling the Truth?
or
Some will say it's a fact that Jesus existed. Others will doubt it, and some will be certain he didn't... so, what is the actual Truth in all of that?

And another thing... whose Truth are we even talking about? I guess the Truth from the left isn't the same as the Truth from the right, and vice versa? Or maybe the Truth itself is just some version of Political Correctness, whether it's this one or some new flavor?

silentviper19 said:Everything boils down to who gets to be the one in charge of the Truth, and once you hand someone the keys to the Truth, you're right back in the middle of totalitarianism.

There isn't really any objective Truth, just a bunch of different opinions and viewpoints that we all eventually agree to call "Truth" just for the sake of the greater good.

For like 2,000 years, the "Truth" was basically that women were just naturally sinful and untrustworthy, and because everyone accepted that "Truth," they weren't treated as equals. But hey, if that was actually the real Truth, then we should probably force women back into that "true position," right? Hope you agree with me there!

Every bit of politeness is technically a lie, or just Political Correctness, but honestly, it’s necessary for our own survival. If everyone just blurted out exactly what they were thinking every single second, most of us would probably end up dead or in a hospital by now.

So, I think the whole point is about finding a balance and stopping the abuse of PC, rather than people trying to drag us all back to some supposed "Truth."

Exactly...

I guess we just need something like a "Ministry of Truth" ?????
Yeah, right...

Truth is a pretty elastic concept, I guess...

This news is current and isn't just some fringe alternative.

As a strict supporter of science, and also someone who—being a true Italian-American—would have much preferred seeing Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton in the White House, I’ll say this blasphemy with full awareness: Jack Cook7 is actually right. God help us...

😁

Political Correctness

Merriam-Webster - definition - Politically Correct
- adhering to the idea that language and behaviors that might upset certain social sensitivities (specifically regarding race or gender) ought to be removed.

Wikipedia - The term political correctness - is used today to characterize various languages, rules, or actions meant to prevent offending or disadvantaging specific societal groups. Within standard political debate and the news, the phrase is typically thrown around as an insult, suggesting such measures have gone too far.

A lot of people resent PC, I suppose... but what do you all think about potential alternatives, and maybe whether there's even a real need for one?

Do you actually buy this?

Orange Blossom
Tom Waits
BGKO
Božo Vreća

(I guess I saw everything else I wanted to see live)

NN served as a Moderator for Tourism for quite some time, and under her leadership, Tourism was easily one of the most efficiently run sub-forums on this Forum. Complaints about her work were rare, though she was frequently praised.

Compass:
I suppose I'm a center-left social moderate.
Left : 0.67, Authoritarian : 0.16

http://www.gotoquiz.com/politics/grid/15x20.gif

rustywalker42 said:Every other day there's some story about these super-mega-hyper-genius young prodigies who "made it." I usually just tune them out—honestly, I’ve always felt the same way about this stuff—but this one actually made me want to start a thread. 😁

http://www.nytimes.com/life/lifestyle-success-stories/5480043/

So, here's the deal: this woman speaks six languages, she's lived in every major cosmopolitan hub on the planet, she's got two master's degrees, and a PhD—all fully funded, mind you. Everyone just hands her stuff for free. The world's top designers and photographers are all begging to work with her; everything just lands in her lap without her even breaking a sweat. they just call her. On top of that, she sings in two massive Chinese pop bands and now, in her late 30s, she's performing with a symphony orchestra.

Oh, wait, forgot to mention: she's launching a luxury jewelry line because, you guessed it, they called her.

And again, totally slipped my mind: she's also designing a high-end furniture collection because, surprise, surprise, she was invited.

What I want to know is: what do you guys think of these stories? How much of this is actually real, and what's the point of them besides pure self-promotion and selling this illusion of success?

Or am I just some bitter loser who didn't "make it" and is now just here to spread envy on a forum? 😁

I think this whole thing seems a bit overblown. Maybe this woman is just building a better "image" by having friends at news outlets???

Anyway, I've met plenty of Americans who have been incredibly successful abroad, but obviously, nobody writes about them. And honestly, it's probably better that way...

Sandra Brown18 said:I was never a moderator for Politics.😬
I recall that situation with HighGuest; I was away from the internet for a few days back then.

So you weren't helping out in Politics for a while?

ruggedseal19 said:Massive post deletion IS politics. And trying to write about Tourism without mentioning its downsides is impossible, not to mention ignoring the bigger picture where Tourism and Politics are intertwined like maybe no other sector.

Besides, this travel sub clearly moderates by the rule that we all have to be consumers of a travel product—just a flock of sheep expected to visit Museums or wherever else without questioning anything except how to get there, what to see, and how to get back home....

If you look at it that way, then everything is politics, which isn't true; politics is only as tied to Tourism as we allow it to be. Within the framework of this Forum, there's even less need to link Politics with Tourism. I guess you didn't quite grasp my point about the fetish comment.

I think as a moderator, NN does a pretty good job, though I recall certain mistakes that bothered me. For example, we have a member named HighGuest who is a great user, active and polite, but when some pro-Austrian spammer insulted him on national grounds, I think it went on far too long before any sanction was issued..., though I did report those posts myself and tried to defend our good guy from Chicago. But again, okay, we have to understand moderators aren't on the forum 24/7, nor can they be...

NN was also a moderator over in Politics for a short while if I remember correctly, and while her comments make it pretty clear she isn't fond of the "left," to put it mildly, I think she was a completely principled and fair mod there too. As a strict independent centrist, it was easy for me to see her sanctioning both "leftists" and "rightists" as needed, despite her obvious political preferences.

I can't agree with the comment about consumers. Compared to other sub-forums, Tourism is actually very lightly moderated. Just go look at how things work in other sections, like Automobiles, sometimes Diaspora, Soccer, especially Politics. Tourism is an easy, breezy part of the forum with very few problems, plenty of good banter, games, photos... We all have something we're interested in and we become that—whether it's Museums, cities, monuments, even those partisan ones, airports, freaking Volote..., and we even have the best beer topic on the Forum, yes! 😁😁😁

I think there's a bit too much unnecessary drama in this thread. People should probably take the forum a little less seriously, but also learn something from all of this—all of us, including NN, and you and me too...

ruggedseal19 said:The sheer number of people unhappy with Mark Harris66's moderation is what really bothers me.

I just hope this whole thing regarding her constant deleting finally gets a permanent fix that actually satisfies most of the users here.

What strikes me is how much politics keeps bleeding into Tourism, which is completely pointless! If people want political debates, they should just head over to Politics and leave us alone. Luckily, that doesn't happen all that often.

One thing is obvious—you have this specific obsession with partisan history and monuments, which is fine; we don't all share the same interests when it comes to travel. As long as it doesn't turn into endless fighting between the left and the right, I don't care.

Did NN mess up? I suppose she did, but who hasn't? From my own experience with forum moderation, I know you can't please everyone. I think NN does an okay job, but I’d personally prefer if she could just strip the Tourism section of any political nonsense whenever possible. When issues like this pop up, though, she handles it by sticking to principle without picking sides.