6 ms·

Austinite here, looking to move. There's a lot of political stuff that this guy glosses over because it doesn't affect him as a white male Christian. The "tra

Austinite here, looking to move. There's a lot of political stuff that this guy glosses over because it doesn't affect him as a white male Christian. The "traditional gender roles" thing, for one. With our governor and the 5th Circuit eager to send anything and everything regressive up to our 6-3 SCOTUS, my lesbian neighbors are worried about things as basic as their marriage. The University of Austin he cites approvingly (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Austin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Austin) is a right-wing project set up explicitly to be "anti-woke". And the heartbeat bill he cites as something that people can just disagree about has no exception for rape or incest, something that 75+ percent of people in Texas support. The government has moved to the right of the median Texan, and with the gerrymandered districts and no ballot initiative, it is not really democratically accountable to the voters. And Texas is 45th in percentage of public land, definitely not a 7/10. With the growth in the Austin area, the hikes and water features that are nearby are always crowded, and you have to reserve campsites months out at state parks. If this dude went hunting, he more than likely paid to hunt on somebody else's land, something I never had to do when I lived in NC or VA.

fundad 4y ago
The key is why people don’t want to talk politics. Well, not wanting to discuss politics usually signals that the status quo works for you and rule of law will always protect your interests.
heynowheynow 4y ago
igetspam 4y ago
Well if we're gonna dive into that... Texas is anti-human, unless you happen to wealthy, white, male or the first two and a woman who agrees that "her place" is in the home. My wife is always on edge here. It's violent and people are becoming more cruel as the politics more and more support our worst inclinations.
- MathCodeLove 4y ago
  How absurd. How is Texas anti-human for non-whites? For the poor? For women? The only thing that could be argued is "anti women" would be the abortion bill. But a lot of people don't view that as a woman's rights issue. The "my body my choice" argument is about the same as if a single father advocated to kill his infant and claimed "my life my choice". The 9 months of pregnancy are by no means more of an invasion of autonomy than the following 18 years of care.
  - biggieshellz 4y ago
    For non-whites? Austin is the only fast-growing major city that has lost Black population (https://www.kut.org/austin/2014-05-16/austins-the-only-fast-growing-city-in-the-country-losing-african-americans https://www.kut.org/austin/2014-05-16/austins-the-only-fast-...). For the poor? See https://itep.org/whopays/ https://itep.org/whopays/ -- we have the second most inequitable tax system in the nation, where the poor pay the highest effective rate. We also have no expanded Medicaid, so the rate of uninsured is twice the national average. The State of Texas blocked Austin's sick leave ordinance (https://www.texastribune.org/2020/06/05/texas-supreme-court-austin-sick-leave/ https://www.texastribune.org/2020/06/05/texas-supreme-court-...). All this affects women and minorities disproportionately -- we're above the national average for maternal mortality, and non-white women are at disproportionate risk above that.
    - MathCodeLove 4y ago
      Losing black people doesn't mean Austin is "anti black". SF also lost minorities when the tech scene blew up. Texas doesn't even have state income tax. The state isn't and shouldn't be responsible for ensuring everyone has medical insurance. That's an individual responsability. Blocking the sick leave ordinance just put us in line with the majority of the country. Not exactly a radical move. Edit: Also citations not from a .org would be great. I don't need a write up to wade through. Your data should be able to speak for itself if it's legitimate.
    - fleetwoodsnack 4y ago
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
cs137 4y ago
Thank you for this. It really infuriates me when white guys (and I am a cishet white guy, but I have empathy for those who aren't) treat issues like gay marriage and abortion access like "culture war" nice-to-haves, as if for any controversy the center must be the right place and both sides must have a point. It ain't so. Some people in our society really want to turn women into passive baby-making machines, just as some people in our society want back the legal right to own people, just as some people think capital's leverage over labor is morally legitimate. Human rights and civil rights are non-negotiable and we must give our adversaries no quarter.
hash07e 4y ago
So why Woke people feel the need to go to "conservative" places. Is that conservative places offer better quality of life? Or is that "crazy christians" have same values that make life in society better? I never understood why you go miles and miles to be oppressed. In some cases you run from your country, cross several countries illegally then risk your life to be oppressed by evil white cis men? I am a latino and the best places for me living in US was in the white cis conservative neighborhoods. Do I agree with all their thinking? No Do I want to change them? Hell no. They must be doing something right so I respect their laws and customs. There is no law saying that US has to be a charity country or has to cater to everyone and anyone. I am not seeing free work visa to US americans in Mexico or Latin america countries. So why should we expect it from US? And here came the downvote rain
vehemenz 4y ago
I looked at the advisory board and trustees for the University of Austin, and it's a mix of left- and right-wing, but mostly centrists. Among the right-wing members, they seem to be the think tank type. Furthermore, even if it were set up to be "anti-woke," why is that a problem? Most of the woke stuff in higher ed has little basis in reality or is conceptually incoherent. It's signaling for social capital because nearly everyone is straight, white, etc.

fundad 4y ago

The key is why people don’t want to talk politics. Well, not wanting to discuss politics usually signals that the status quo works for you and rule of law will always protect your interests.

heynowheynow 4y ago

igetspam 4y ago

Well if we're gonna dive into that... Texas is anti-human, unless you happen to wealthy, white, male or the first two and a woman who agrees that "her place" is in the home. My wife is always on edge here. It's violent and people are becoming more cruel as the politics more and more support our worst inclinations.

MathCodeLove 4y ago
How absurd. How is Texas anti-human for non-whites? For the poor? For women? The only thing that could be argued is "anti women" would be the abortion bill. But a lot of people don't view that as a woman's rights issue. The "my body my choice" argument is about the same as if a single father advocated to kill his infant and claimed "my life my choice". The 9 months of pregnancy are by no means more of an invasion of autonomy than the following 18 years of care.
- biggieshellz 4y ago
  For non-whites? Austin is the only fast-growing major city that has lost Black population (https://www.kut.org/austin/2014-05-16/austins-the-only-fast-growing-city-in-the-country-losing-african-americans https://www.kut.org/austin/2014-05-16/austins-the-only-fast-...). For the poor? See https://itep.org/whopays/ https://itep.org/whopays/ -- we have the second most inequitable tax system in the nation, where the poor pay the highest effective rate. We also have no expanded Medicaid, so the rate of uninsured is twice the national average. The State of Texas blocked Austin's sick leave ordinance (https://www.texastribune.org/2020/06/05/texas-supreme-court-austin-sick-leave/ https://www.texastribune.org/2020/06/05/texas-supreme-court-...). All this affects women and minorities disproportionately -- we're above the national average for maternal mortality, and non-white women are at disproportionate risk above that.
  - MathCodeLove 4y ago
    Losing black people doesn't mean Austin is "anti black". SF also lost minorities when the tech scene blew up. Texas doesn't even have state income tax. The state isn't and shouldn't be responsible for ensuring everyone has medical insurance. That's an individual responsability. Blocking the sick leave ordinance just put us in line with the majority of the country. Not exactly a radical move. Edit: Also citations not from a .org would be great. I don't need a write up to wade through. Your data should be able to speak for itself if it's legitimate.
  - fleetwoodsnack 4y ago

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

cs137 4y ago

Thank you for this. It really infuriates me when white guys (and I am a cishet white guy, but I have empathy for those who aren't) treat issues like gay marriage and abortion access like "culture war" nice-to-haves, as if for any controversy the center must be the right place and both sides must have a point. It ain't so. Some people in our society really want to turn women into passive baby-making machines, just as some people in our society want back the legal right to own people, just as some people think capital's leverage over labor is morally legitimate. Human rights and civil rights are non-negotiable and we must give our adversaries no quarter.

hash07e 4y ago

So why Woke people feel the need to go to "conservative" places. Is that conservative places offer better quality of life? Or is that "crazy christians" have same values that make life in society better? I never understood why you go miles and miles to be oppressed. In some cases you run from your country, cross several countries illegally then risk your life to be oppressed by evil white cis men? I am a latino and the best places for me living in US was in the white cis conservative neighborhoods. Do I agree with all their thinking? No Do I want to change them? Hell no. They must be doing something right so I respect their laws and customs. There is no law saying that US has to be a charity country or has to cater to everyone and anyone. I am not seeing free work visa to US americans in Mexico or Latin america countries. So why should we expect it from US? And here came the downvote rain

vehemenz 4y ago

I looked at the advisory board and trustees for the University of Austin, and it's a mix of left- and right-wing, but mostly centrists. Among the right-wing members, they seem to be the think tank type. Furthermore, even if it were set up to be "anti-woke," why is that a problem? Most of the woke stuff in higher ed has little basis in reality or is conceptually incoherent. It's signaling for social capital because nearly everyone is straight, white, etc.