This is a false equivalency. Monica Cellio is not refusing to use a person's preferred pronouns, but requesting clarification on whether gender-neutral references run afoul of a new proposed policy. Both the intention and the specifics run 100% counter to the misgendering you reference.

What equivalency? I mentioned the first thing of which the quoted text reminded me. If cf means "is the same thing again", then I suppose I misused it, and I can deal with that-- I don't use it much, I'm a n00b with it. OTOH, everything (every pair of things) is a metaphor and all metaphors eventually break down. If two things have all equivalent properties, then they are the same thing.

Maybe I'm merely projecting a position onto those 'other moderators' but it really seemed like someone expects all moderators to go out of their way and forcibly rectify their outdated vocabulary, so now, not even 'they' gets a pass to be used as (making it up as I go) a metapronoun. I don't like it, and neither did JP [find that sort of thing acceptable], and there is everything that I intended to convey when I hit 'add comment'.

Is that cleared up? Did I backpedal? I hope I didn't backpedal.

JP's claim that a relatively straightforward and insignificant anti-discrimination law resulted in "compelled speech" was part of a FUD campaign in which he claimed that misgendering students would result in imprisonment. In reality, it does not criminalize anything, does not make using pronouns other than the ones someone prefers hate speech, and doesn't even apply to universities at all.

Describing JP as "refusing to roll over and engage in "compelled speech"." is inherently endorsing his position.

> Describing ... is inherently endorsing his position.

Well, 'inherently' isn't even necessary... it's a bit obvious that I agreed with his take on a problem...

> In reality, it does not criminalize anything

...which you're saying didn't exist. Admittedly, I didn't stay on top of that whole thing, just got wind of it back when I had a FTJ and didn't follow up on it. As a USAian who doesn't even vote I would've had to really want to know how it turned out. So I should probably do some homework.

But I did see lots of the Internet start insisting on ${good_behavior} toward ${list_of_protected_statuses} in the meantime, and it was irritating. Those social contracts are also poorly written IMO-- they'll only stop expanding when people stop inventing new ways to be different and stop inventing new ways to be horrible toward those who are different. They are not a solution. Well then offer something better, you'll say.

Pull your head completely out of your ass and treat everyone the way you expect to be treated.

"I dunno, it's up there pretty far..." --Joe North, after he asked what it would take for us to go back to being friends like a few years before, when we were sort-of-occasionally drinking buddies, so I told him this

It seems many people are standing up to this compelled speech direction the far left is heading in.

They seem to be fighting a losing battle against an unstoppable opponent - the comment you replied to has already been flagged off of hacker news.

I noticed. So many posts are being flagged and downvoted for expressing a different opinion (not unpopular mind you, it's just in these circles that want to live in their own enclosure).

I'm really glad I turned on flaged/show dead to see what falls below the fold.

Some of the comments are non-constructive, but in some threads, you see things that are viable arguments that are just controversial. People are afraid to make well reasoned points for controversial topics because they could get called out. Professors are now afraid of their students. There almost seems to be a point system or status for being able to get a "bad person" to leave their position.

It's quite bizarre how we got to this situation. It seems that some people who have nothing to contribute but to make instability and tear down what others have built will hide under whatever guise to justify their actions.

Ah, but sometimes it rather seems they would be happier if their enclosure was the only one that was permitted to exist. Oh well. Life's too short to spew dissonance into someone else's echo chamber.