I agree that this is bad, but we've already had state mandated lists of forbidden words for years, and this is a reaction to those less explicitly defined rules.

The shift is just which layer of the establishment is making and enforcing the rules. For the past half century, that's been committees at various government agencies, academic counsels and quasi-governmental groups like the AMA, etc.

Those various entities collectively mandated forbidden words that would for instance, prevent a grant from being approved, prevent a person from getting a job or tenure or a promotion or a political appointment, or prevent a paper from being published.

There is a huge range of language policing and forbidden words, phrases and ideas. From the relatively uncontroversial things like using "person with X" as opposed to "an X person" for various conditions to the clearly controversial replacement of "mother" and "woman" with "birthgiving parent" and "assigned female at birth".

I suspect this will get challenged in court and overturned and not really matter in the long term, but maybe it's an opportunity to consider all the power structures we interface with and how they control what we write, say and think.

> I agree that this is bad, but we've already had state mandated lists of forbidden words for years, and this is a reaction to those less explicitly defined rules.

One issue is that this power exists.

Another then is what it is used for.

If you have a gun and you use it to and only to prevent, oh, bank robbery say, that's fine. If you use it to rob someone, not fine.

Government has enormous power, and now that power is being used for evil and for darkness, and that's the problem.

“Gender, transgender, pregnant person, pregnant people, LGBT, transsexual, non-binary, nonbinary, assigned male at birth, assigned female at birth, biologically male, biologically female,” x100000

Nobody is coming for me.

> Government has enormous power, and now that power is being used for evil and for darkness, and that's the problem.

This order is "power is being used for evil and for darkness"? Come on, cut it out with the hyperbole. It does no one any favors.

This is a good point. It's rather ludicrous to see the people who have been acting as thought police for years with a list of banned words and mandatory terms suddenly now caring about free speech just because someone else is making the list. I'd like to think they've learned their lesson, but I think they just want to be in control of the words again.

Yes, I think this also.

But at least we can think those people are passably decent and have some care for others.

It's quite alarming. And it seems departments are complicit. Which is further alarming. We need Governors, AGs, and mayors to refuse to comply with unlawful federal directives. If everyone just falls in line, what levers can we pull? Feels like at that point, civil war might be upon us.

Sadly, I think you're being optimistic.

The Democrats are not fighters, the states will fall in line, and the people are not willing nor able to wage civil war.

>Sadly, I think you're being optimistic.

I wish. I'm currently looking into where long range gun rifle ranges are. About to start purchasing armor penetrating rounds. Basically try to form local "municipal militia" style groups. I'm fully expecting violence within a decade.

Incredibly respectable. And get on it ASAP because imo its likely they'll be harder to get in the very short term. But the sad thing is I just don't see there being enough organization.

Nazi Germany didn't end because of internal militias.

> The Democrats are not fighters

because they don't represent the people, they represent big corporations.

Totally with ya.

One of the problems of outright refusal is that you'll end up being fired, and likely replaced by a Trumpdroid. Staying in your position and cooperating the "least amount" you can get away with is better. Very thin rope to walk though, and seems like a nigh-impossible position to be in.

>One of the problems of outright refusal is that you'll end up being fired, and likely replaced by a Trumpdroid

We need resistance at all levels. Fire me? We sit in and chain the doors? Call the police? Police stand down and need to support the people. Police need to recognize they will also be on the chopping block.

It's all about who can enforce what. We are literally in a power battle. And it'll take every single one of us to ACT. Otherwise, we are fucked. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

That's easy to say from the sidelines, but it's people's jobs we're talking about: they need to eat, and have mortgages and children in college and whatnot. There's a lot at stake for people in very direct and tangible ways. And at this point it's unclear if any of this will even be effective, or if any of Trump's action will stick. "Put your livelihood on the line to perhaps maybe prevent some form of authoritarianism of unclear severity".

I mean, I don't think we really disagree on matters as such, but I do think you're underestimating the extremely difficult position these workers are in.

It does sound like that, doesn't it. I think it speaks to how dire I see this situation. Because you're right, people are being put in a very difficult situations. And the government likely is aware of that too. They understand the power imbalance that exists.

We need to find a way to support these people. People that sacrifice for the whole of our community must be supported by said community.

Yep. Do not obey in advance.

Government has accumulated enormous power over the centuries.

Now Government goes bad, this becomes very clear.

You're not wrong. We've lost the plot on what value government provides. It should be about community. People having agency and coming together because we see our selves in our neighbors.

Yes, we also lost the plot on what government should be. It should be a tool for positive some collaboration, on projects that most people can agree on. It should not be a club for beating each other over the head.

I can't get an Obamacare protest poster out of my mind that sums up how democracy fails. It raid "If you shove this down our throat, We will shove it up your asses".

This isn't to say democrats started it, but emblematic of the failure mode.

>Yes, we also lost the plot on what government should be. It should be a tool for positive some collaboration, on projects that most people can agree on. It should not be a club for beating each other over the head.

And how we get there is through empathy for one another. Like full on Mr Rodger's love your neighbor.

Sure. I just dont think the role of the government is to enforce that.

Absolutely! It requires all of us to have agency and reach this on our own time.

A direct quote from Fred Rogers "There's a world of difference between insisting on someone's doing something and establishing an atmosphere in which that person can grow into wanting to do it."

Reminds me a lot of what’s happened in countries like Hungary. I never thought this would happen in the US but here we are.

Very much so. Same failure mode. Win by deceiving voters, keep the deceptions going (external enemies - Soros, the EU, etc, take your pick, "we're under threat") enough to keep winning. No need to rig vote counting - it's all rigged before the election. Mess up the economy through corruption, incompetence and favourism. Become more and more authoritarian, suppress dissent and checks and balances. Country goes to hell.

I'm hoping it doesn't happen, that the culture of the USA will be the basic mechanism to prevent this, but if enough people are living in fantasy land, they're going to cheering along for all this.