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   JA Westenberg (daojoan@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jan-2025 18:45:32 JST JA Westenberg

   in reply to

   The truly absurd part is that this demand for neutrality is selectively applied. Those making these accusations of bias rarely demand the same level of detached objectivity from others discussing their own fundamental rights.

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     JA Westenberg (daojoan@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jan-2025 18:45:32 JST JA Westenberg

     in reply to

     They don't expect gun owners to be perfectly neutral about Second Amendment rights, or property owners to be unbiased about property taxes, or religious groups to be dispassionate about religious freedom. But I must remain neutral about my right to draw breath.

     Rich Felker repeated this.
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     JA Westenberg (daojoan@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jan-2025 18:45:32 JST JA Westenberg

     in reply to

     Let's be crystal clear: if someone tells you they plan to harm you, believing them isn't bias – it's listening. If someone has a consistent pattern of actions that directly impact your life, noticing it isn't bias – it's paying attention.

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     JA Westenberg (daojoan@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jan-2025 18:45:33 JST JA Westenberg

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     Think about the underlying logic here: I'm biased because I don't give equal weight to both sides of a debate about my fundamental rights. I'm biased because I notice patterns in political movements that explicitly state their intentions regarding people like me.

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     JA Westenberg (daojoan@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jan-2025 18:45:33 JST JA Westenberg

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     I'm biased because I take them at their word when they tell me what they plan to do.

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     JA Westenberg (daojoan@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jan-2025 18:45:33 JST JA Westenberg

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     The enlightened position would presumably be to meet halfway – perhaps I could agree to half-exist? Maybe I could compromise by only existing on alternating Tuesdays? Would that demonstrate sufficient lack of bias?

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     JA Westenberg (daojoan@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jan-2025 18:45:33 JST JA Westenberg

     in reply to

     This brings us to a broader point about the nature of political discourse and the myth of perfect neutrality. We've somehow arrived at a place where acknowledging reality is considered a form of bias. Where self-preservation is dismissed as prejudice.

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     JA Westenberg (daojoan@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jan-2025 18:45:34 JST JA Westenberg

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     The paradox here is exquisite. To maintain credibility in certain circles, I'm now expected to approach this situation with the detachment of a Vulcan anthropologist studying a particularly fascinating human custom.

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     JA Westenberg (daojoan@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jan-2025 18:45:34 JST JA Westenberg

     in reply to

     Should I stroke my chin thoughtfully while discussing whether I deserve basic dignity? Perhaps I should construct elaborate steel-man arguments for those who question my right to exist in public spaces?

     Rich Felker and scribe repeated this.
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     JA Westenberg (daojoan@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jan-2025 18:45:34 JST JA Westenberg

     in reply to

     When someone says you're biased against them because you object to their stated goal of removing you from society, they're not actually asking for fairness – they're demanding complicity.

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     JA Westenberg (daojoan@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jan-2025 18:45:34 JST JA Westenberg

     in reply to

     It's the political equivalent of asking why the gazelle seems to have such a negative view of lions.

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     JA Westenberg (daojoan@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jan-2025 18:45:35 JST JA Westenberg

     in reply to

     I am a transgender woman. This fact shouldn't be particularly relevant to my ability to analyze political movements or discuss policy implications.

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     JA Westenberg (daojoan@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jan-2025 18:45:35 JST JA Westenberg

     in reply to

     Yet here we are, in 2025, where my very existence has become a convenient political football, kicked around by people who have never met me, never spoken to me, never considered me as anything more than an abstract concept to be debated.

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     JA Westenberg (daojoan@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jan-2025 18:45:35 JST JA Westenberg

     in reply to

     This week, Meta decided to modify its hate speech policies to explicitly allow certain slurs against people like me. They made this change with the precision of a surgeon, carving out special exceptions that target a specific group.

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     JA Westenberg (daojoan@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jan-2025 18:45:35 JST JA Westenberg

     in reply to

     This isn't speculation or paranoia – it's published policy. What exactly is the rational, unbiased response supposed to be to an institution deliberately removing protections from you?

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     JA Westenberg (daojoan@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jan-2025 18:45:36 JST JA Westenberg

     Someone accused me of bias this morning. Specifically, bias against MAGA and Trump supporters. Apparently it's disappointing to discover that I'm not the morally neutral arbiter of truth they imagined me to be.

     So let's talk about it. Let's talk about my neutrality. A thread. 🧵

     Rich Felker, scribe and anban repeated this.
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     JA Westenberg (daojoan@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jan-2025 18:45:36 JST JA Westenberg

     in reply to

     The accusation of bias has become a powerful weapon in modern discourse, wielded like a ceremonial sword that's meant to end all debate.

     It's frequently directed at members of marginalized groups who dare to express concerns about political movements explicitly targeting them.

     tinydoctor repeated this.
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     JA Westenberg (daojoan@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jan-2025 18:45:36 JST JA Westenberg

     in reply to

     Imagine accusing a chess piece of bias against the player trying to remove it from the board. That's pretty much how it plays out.

     Rich Felker and tinydoctor repeated this.
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     JA Westenberg (daojoan@mastodon.social)'s status on Saturday, 11-Jan-2025 18:45:36 JST JA Westenberg

     in reply to

     Here's the thing about bias: sometimes what looks like bias is actually pattern recognition. Sometimes it's mathematics. Sometimes it's the simple calculus of survival. Sometimes it's just common sense.