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Theweakeredge

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This is a Tweet from PragerU, December 21st 2020. 

Inside is an compilation of alleged facts that are presented in a sort of argument for not removing the statues of Robert E. Lee. One of the things presented were as follows: 

"Lee led U.S Marines to crush the attempted slave rebellion by radical abolitionist John Brown in October 1859."

This was framed as a reason why we shouldn't take down the statue by the way. They try to justify the argument a little later on after trying to give some background on the issue itself, the defense is.. well:

"considered it a 'a greater evil to the white man than to the black race' since 'blacks are immeasurably better off here than in Africa.'"

This is a Nazi tier argument... and is very much a pro-slavery position on PragerU's part. This channel is legitimately harmful, Free Speech is one thing, but this kind of rhetoric? It is what slave owners use to employ to A) Make themselves feel better, but also B) Justify it to other people. 

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Politics
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Yaaaay...

I've done it.

Hurrah for the ages.
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People
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I am currently in High School, and.... really I don't use the history information that I was taught there. I typically like to go and hind historians that have work that has been verified by other historians, using as much data as is applicable. For example; The bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to "end WWII" or at least Japan's side in it. It is often presented as a dichotomy of interests: To end hundreds of thousands in an instant to end the war, or lose millions during a ground invasion. The choice, utilitarianlly anyway, seems obvious. We should reduce the loss of life on either side and stop warfare as soon as possible.

However. Here we have what seems a clear rebuke of that view:

" it is the Survey’s opinion that certainly prior to 31 December 1945, and in all probability prior to 1 November 1945, Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped, even if Russia had not entered the war, and even if no invasion had been planned or contemplated."
This survey was called the "UNITED STATES STRATEGIC BOMBING SURVEY SUMMARY REPORT" and was quote a,

"The United States Strategic Bombing Survey was established by the Secretary of War on 3 November 1944, pursuant to a directive from the late President Roosevelt. It was established for the purpose of conducting an impartial and expert study of the effects of our aerial attack on Germany, to be used in connection with air attacks on Japan and to establish a basis for evaluating air power as an instrument of military strategy, for planning the future development of the United States armed forces, and for determining future economic policies with respect to the national defense. A summary report and some 200 supporting reports containing the findings of the Survey in Germany have been published. On 15 August 1945, President Truman requested the Survey to conduct a similar study of the effects of all types of air attack in the war against Japan." 

My point, in drawing attention here is to ask, how accurate is the history taught in public schools?
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Education
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Why do people continuously insist: "Either Capitalism or Socialism", clearly both economic systems have their faults. Why is it that in other regards can we see that there are middle grounds, third options, etcetera, but in this specific field I've overwhelmingly seen support in one or the other way. I think that the faults of either are inescapable in their purest forms. In a capitalist society any short term loss for long term profit, in a Socialistic one the way it can be set below the minimum standard. Now, Capitalism does not solve the problems of Socialism, not in a long term anyways; the same is true of Socialism on Capitalism. It is true, of what I've studied, that devaluing the work actually done to obtain, manufacture, create, etc, the product will do nothing but harm in the long run. 

Therefore should their not be some new considerations here? I'm obviously not very equipped to try something like this, still not very educated on the more fine details of economics, and so I wouldn't attempt to claim I could at all. Instead I would just propose an idea, could there not be a mix of the two? Either keeping some elements of both, or mixing them to a point of making something new? Is that not attainable? If it is attainable, is it something that could benefit people economically? If it is attainable and could benefit people, would we want to do that system? If all of these things are true, how long would you propose a transfer of systems? Perhaps all of this is off base, if so, explain why: This isn't actually a popular dichotomy, or: This dichotomy is reasonable for x,y, & z.
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Economics
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It's been roughly three months since I've joined this site now, and I now have had a much more consistent exposure to high quality rhetoric, debate, and thinking in general. I don't know how much I've gotten better though. Have I improved at all, or I am still the same level I was when I started? What do you guys think? Any categories people think I need to work on in general? Any categories you think I've done a good job at improving in? Input would be appreciated.
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Personal
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I won't even try to stay out of the discourse this time, this is a question that I am very interested to see the different answers to. For me, something which is objective is true independent of any minds, therefore, if there was an objective morality we should be able to reach it WITHOUT god, so the lack of any objective standards seem to point out that IF a god existed what that god would be telling us wouldn't be objective.

Mind you, this is just a quick thought and not my entire argument, but its the basis of my reasoning. 
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Philosophy
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What are some things you want to chat about but never seem to be able to? Maybe its not something big enough to fit into one topic? That's all right, you can do that here.
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Personal
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Is it right or wrong, for this thread I won't take a side, just the "blank slate voter", so go crazy!
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Philosophy
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So... as some of the Dart users here may know, I was in quarantine for a while (24 days to be precise), and I have just returned to school in person. Unfortunately for me, fall break begins after tomorrow, and lasts until the Wednesday after next. Bad news, that I have to get use to school again, which is always fun, good news, I get to blitzkrieg the forum again with posts. 

Look forward to that.
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Personal
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As popularly noted by Mopac, Tradesecret, etc, etc.. I am still in high school, and any knowledge I have beyond one is all research I do in my spare time and online college classes that I've started to take. 

So.. I figure we have a unique and boisterous bunch of educated individuals here. Here you can leave me a post teaching me about whatever, leave sources for me to learn about the topic, start up a conversation to take me to school, etc, etc...

I thought it might be fun for you guys to brutally and metaphorically rip my throat out with your knowledge. Tear me apart and all of the gaps in my less than 2 decades born self I am. Long dramatic speech, long dramatic speech. 
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Philosophy
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I am Gay - though I am specifically pansexual - I still trend towards being attracted to men - and your god told you to murder me (like the doctrine of the bible does) would you murder me? 
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Religion
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I am a progressive, ask me anything, now bear in mind that my views and opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of the majority of progressives.
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Politics
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I am a moral subjectivist, ask me anything, bear in mind that my position isn't necessarily representative of the majority of moral subjectivists or anything of the like. 
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Philosophy
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SO - This forum - Basic interpretations of sports - what are they? why are they designed how they are? how many people enjoy them? why should one play or watch them? It's to simply quantify anything and everything about a sport. 

May seem kind of cliche, but football, anyone wanna tackle all this for football, just to get the ball rolling?

I'm sorry.

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Sports
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I don't know if you've noticed, but I've been busy.........
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DebateArt.com
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I have no idea if anyone cares to ask anything, but in the case, people are curious about me, ask me anything.
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Miscellaneous
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It's been called, if these reports are true, Joseph Biden will be the 46th president of the United States of America.

There has been much discussion even here, what will the Democrats do now that they have the office? Was the election a fraud and should the Republicans take it to court? Will it be exactly how it was 4 years ago? So many questions and no solid answers, I can't hope to provide those answers, but I ask one that's a little more topical and broad. What happens next?

What happens next for America? 
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Current events
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Present your case for any God's existence or lack thereof! Have fun, this is just to talk about the very wide debate going on between the religious and atheist here. There are tons of topics that seem to hit the top of this question, but I decided to cut to the heart of the matter, do(es) god(s) exist?
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Philosophy
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Let's see what we have; just give your opinion, let's start with some facts, hm?

Transgender - "An adjective that isan umbrella term used to describethe full range of people whosegender identity and/or genderrole do not conform to what istypically associated with their sexassigned at birth. While the term“transgender” is commonlyaccepted, not all TGNC peopleself‐identify as transgender."

Gender - "refers to the attitudes,feelings, and behaviors that a givenculture associates with a person’sbiological sex. Behavior that iscompatible with cultural expectationsis referred to as gender-normative;behaviors that are viewed asincompatible with these expectationsconstitute gender non-conformity."

Sex - "refers to a person’s biologicalstatus and is typically categorized asmale, female, or intersex (i.e., atypicalcombinations of features that usuallydistinguish male from female). Thereare a number of indicators ofbiological sex, including sexchromosomes, gonads, internal reproductive organs, and external genitalia" 

This should clear up a common misconception, no, sex and gender do not refer to the same thing. As such any arguments using or referring to the definition of sex as a stand-in for gender is inherently a strawman and fallacious. 

Here's a little introductory information for those new to the concept, explained in better words than I could write: 

"People who defy gender norms have existed in every culture throughout time. However, the term “transgender” is relatively new, dating to the mid-1990s. Often, transgender people are not well understood by the general population. It is useful to think of the word “transgender” as an umbrella term that encompasses a number of people who live substantial portions of their lives expressing an innate sense of gender other than their sex assigned at birth. This includes transsexuals, cross-dressers and people who feel like their biological sex fails to reflect their true gender. People who do not identify as transgender can be called “cisgender,” meaning that they identify with the sex assigned at birth.

Some transgender people report feeling that they were born in the wrong body. For this reason, some transgender people choose to have surgery to take the physical form of their desired sex. This person is sometimes called a post-operative transsexual. Someone can also be pre-operative, or can choose never to have surgery (in this case, she or he might be known as “non-op”). Hormones are used to promote secondary sex characteristics, such as breast tissue or facial hair. Often, the word “transitioning” is used to describe the period of moving away from one’s assigned sex. Physical transitioning may describe surgical, hormonal, or other changes to one’s body. Socially transitioning may describe legally changing one’s name, asking friends to use a chosen pronoun, and other acts of disclosure.

If specifying that someone is trans is necessary (although it usually isn’t), the following terminology should be used: someone who formerly identified as a woman and who now identifies as a man is known as a FTM (female-to-male) transsexual, a trans man, or a transgender man. Likewise, someone who formerly identified as a man and who now identifies as a woman may be labeled a MTF (male-to-female) transsexual, a trans woman, or a transgender woman. It is extremely important to remember that MTF people are women, just as FTM people are men.

Addressing transgender people the way they prefer to be addressed (including chosen name and preferred pronouns) demonstrates respect. Some transgender individuals may choose to use gender-neutral pronouns, such as “ze/hir/hirs,” as in the sentence “That book is hirs. Ze brought hir favorite book.” Other pronouns are in use; the best way to find out someone’s preferred pronoun is to simply ask.

Transgender people may identify as lesbian, bisexual, gay, heterosexual, or some other sexual orientation. Having experienced discrimination, prejudice, oppression, fear and shame, they share commonalties with LGB people. Like LGB people, transgender individuals should not have to hide who they are in order to have safe and satisfying lives."

For those of you who want a first-hand explanation of being transgender


Keith Reynolds, 18, student, Surrey

A lot of people have it in their head that we wake up and decide to be trans. I want people to know that it’s not a choice. Nothing has happened in my life to make me trans. I was born trans. I told my mum when I was about 13. She was shocked and didn’t really understand. Then six months later she told my dad and he was so angry. I love my dad but he was a very traditional person. There was a lot of tension. I couldn’t wear men’s clothing, or I couldn’t wear men’s deodorant – it would cause an argument.

It started to get better, but then Dad got cancer. He died a week before I turned 16. When he got sick we didn’t talk about it any more. I thought that once he had recovered we’d go back to talking about it, but he didn’t recover. After my dad died I found a book about transgender young people and I gave it to my mum. She read it and it was a complete change. She says her main thing and also my dad’s main thing is they were worried about how it will affect me in life – will I be able to find a job, will I be able to find a partner. Well, those things have happened: I’ve found a partner, I have no trouble finding jobs.

My mum is fantastic, she’s really proud of me. She comes to Transgender Pride with me, if anybody says anything bad about me being trans she’s ready to hammer them. She makes me the envy of many trans people, I think. I was referred to Tavistock [the clinic for children and adolescents] in May 2014. You’re not allowed testosterone until you’ve been on hormone blockers for a year at Tavistock. But I was 16 at my first appointment and had already gone through puberty, and knew that by the time I had done a year on blockers I’d be picked up by the adult clinics. I decided not to go on hormone blockers, because it wouldn’t really do much for me. I was referred to an adult clinic in May 2015.

I still haven’t had an appointment, which means I haven’t had any medical intervention in three years. I’m desperate for hormones and surgery. My dysphoria makes me feel like I’m embarrassed for people to look at me. In my head I’m this weird thing that is ugly. I have to wear baggy clothes to hide my hips, I have to think about how many layers I have to wear to hide my chest. I really understand that the NHS is overstretched because there’s a sudden influx of people being referred. I completely understand why, but that doesn’t stop the frustration.


Surat-Shaan Knan, 40s, project manager for Liberal Judaism, London

I didn’t really know anything about gender identity until quite late, when I was in my mid-20s. I also come from a secular Jewish family, so I didn’t know much about what it means to be Jewish either. I identify as non-binary, trans-masculine. Being trans and Jewish seemed a complete oxymoron. I thought, it can’t be, I have to decide between them. But I had this wonderful community here to give me all that space and time to come out.

I feel very blessed that everyone, including family and friends, have been extremely supportive throughout. I haven’t had to go through what many trans people have to go through.
Years ago when I came out I went to the wall [Western Wall in Jerusalem]. There are three sections – the male section, the female section and an ungendered section. Now I would probably go to the ungendered section, but it was my first time presenting as male in such a holy place and I went to the male section of the wall. It made me so happy to do that, to go to the part of the wall I wanted to. I was transitioning medically and spiritually and it was one of the most important moments of my life.

A Jewish online magazine reported on that and it sparked off online, I got really abusive messages. I thought, these people don’t know me, I don’t think anyone should be able to tell you who you are and how to live your life. Yourself is yourself, even in the religious community. A lot of people from mainstream trans communities ask me, how can you be a person of faith, because even your own religion has been so horrible to LGBT people in general and trans people specifically? That’s true. But it’s about what faith means and leaving out what some leaders and institutions do with it.

In the media, the focus is often on the pathology and medical transitioning and that’s a big part of it, but there are so many layers of what it means to be trans. It’s almost like trans people are one-dimensional, they are just these people who need medical help. I do hope we will change our view on what trans looks like. It’s not just something on the outside, it’s something that’s very deep and spiritual. We are created in the image of God. I am part of that as a trans Jew.

Thank you all for your time and attention, I'm not here to argue (though I will if needed) I'm here to present information and resources to learn more. If any trans individual has anything to correct, or one simply more informed on the subject overall, I'd be glad to have the correction. Please be kind to one another in this thread, there is no need for ad hominem and such here. 

Additional Resources:

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Philosophy
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So, I'm super new to debating anything purely economically related. If you guys could give advice on general rules for debating it, resources to get started (Or visit my forum topic: https://www.debateart.com/forum/topics/4966-resources-materials and leave it there) learning economics more in depth, some good debates to get a framework, stuff like that. 

I'm here to learn, hit me with your best shot.
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Economics
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Hello DART users! Obviously research and collecting information is an important part to any debate, but a lot of people have trouble starting their search. This topic was made with the intention of providing materials, citations, resources, etc to the debaters of DART on a variety of subjects. I would ask that the resources given are labeled under a general category, for example:


Free Online Dictionaries



Thank you for any participation, good debating!
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DebateArt.com
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What are some debate topics you've wanted to see debated, but don't feel like debating? Perhaps debates you've had but want to see in another context? Whatever, request or come up with debate topics below. 

(Please nothing super cliche or overdone)
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DebateArt.com
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