Opinion of Memphis

[Mechaman]

Transphobic moron

Also,

He's not a Todd Akin type, he's a bro who thinks that being politically liberal excuses him from having to develop a personal understanding of people who aren't like him.

[Mechaman]

According to recent exit polling, 40% of this forum approves of transphobia, sexism, and ignorance.

Way the go guys!

[Mechaman]

BK, I very much appreciate your attempts to bring some sanity to this thread. It's nice to have things in common with people. We can both probably agree that people who spend too much time at the Boot are trouble and are to be avoided at all costs To be honest, I didn't find the culture at Tulane to be at all Southern. If anything, the culture there was most like the atrocious Jersey Shore tv show. Frankly, I didn't feel particulary "at home" there, as I was not accustomed to being surrounded by so many spoiled and extroverted rich kids. I had friends and knew plenty of good people, of course, but it probably was not a good fit for me in retrospect. Nonetheless, three very important points: First, I am not an internet bigot. My opinions and observations have been severely misconstrued and misrepresented by others for their own reasons. If I was not tactful in explaining my positions (and I probably wasn't; tact has never been one of my talents), I take responsibility for that and will try to explain myself in a more productive manner in the future. Second, I did not post the pics to "prove I wasn't sexist." That wouldn't make any sense at all, and I didn't realize until just now that people misunderstood my point in doing so. The pictures were posted in repsonse to a specific allegation that I was unpopular with women. Perhaps it wasn't a wise decision, but I posted the pics as factual evidence in opposition to that statement, not to make any sort of point about my own personal ideology. And my third, and by far most important, point, I have never lived in suburbia. I find that lifestyle abhorrent and a crime against nature To make an inperfect comparison, East Memphis (where I've always lived except during college) is most similar to Buckhead in Atlanta except that Memphis is not exploding with newness and popularity the way Atlanta is, and I grew in a bizarre, though quiet and totally acceptable to me, little corner of it where incomes are far closer to average. I know from experience what it's like to have my immediate neighborhood referred to as "Whitetrashville." My public high school was extremely diverse (for Memphis)  racially, economically, and academically. We consistently had more National Merit Semi-Finalist than any other school in Tennessee, most of whom came from well to do families, and we also had a lot of very underprivileged kids who were bused in from Orange Mound, Memphis's version of New Orleans' infamous 9th ward for desegregational purposes. My parents always found it surprising that we had a decent number of South and East Asians. In their day, everybody was supposed to be either black or white. I missed that diversity at Tulane a lot. Moreso economically than anything else. I'm sure it's just my own very average background, but I've always found wealthy enclaves to be lacking in...I would say authenticity, but they're clearly real. Lacking something vital to humanity anyhow. For that I reason, I'm probably the only person ever to prefer Oakland to San Francisco. At Tulane, I even knew Chuck Schumer's niece pretty well. She was a lovely young lady, though I did not get a chance to meet her before the nose job she got for her 18th birthday. I'm sure she was just as lovely a person before as well
Shane, I think it's cool that your mom is an engineer. Mine was a math teacher who took an interest in amateur computer programming way back in the 80s before most Americans knew how to turn on a computer. She even had a few BASIC language educational programs copyrighted or patented (I always confuse the two) just for kicks. I feel compelled to say that I do not appreciate being referred to as a douche, and I want you to know I would never refer to you or any other Atlas poster in such a manner. I'm far from perfect, but I do try as best I can to refrain from that sort of petty name calling. And, I would like to pre-emptively apologize before anybody brings up an embarassing posting of mine that contradicts that statement. Nonetheless, I was pleased to see that you were willing to stop and think about the issue of the sexes and offer your own non-orthodox (for the forum) views. I highly value independent thought and not just when it agrees with me. I readily admit that I can get irrationally outraged by those who just instinctively follow the crowd in debate situations. I've always been a marching to the beat of his own drummer kind of guy. That's one of my biggest issues with organized religion. I don't like institutions tell people what they have to believe and I especially don't like it when they use untestable threats to reinforce it.   Some may have noticed I made a big stink about it when certain politicians suddenly rushed to agree with me on gay marriage, a position I have supported ever since I became interested in politics. Perhaps if I were more of a cup half full kind of guy, I would've been content to be "right" on that one and call it a day. But I was annoyed because I felt like so many members of the public hadn't really "learned" anything about critical thinking but were just following the crowd, albeit my direction I sincerely hope you are not demonized for your convictions, though I don't think I'm being unfair in saying that would be the logical outcome based upon how similar statements have been received in the past. Perhaps your likable personality will prevent another wave of indignation. I certainly hope so.
All that said, I wish all members of humanity well (including the otherkin, of whom I just learned a few hours ago) and I hope that many of you can recognize that nothing I've said stems from a personal hatred for any groups of people. Perhaps we all would do well to question the truths that we clutch tightly more often. We could all be less quick to judge others and make false assumptions, myself included.

That is a very thoughtful speech Memphis.  And I for one am willing to give you a benefit of a doubt.  Not being sarcastic here.

P.S.: Next time you open your mouth on transsexualism, it might be a pretty damn good idea not to stubbornly (after repeat correction) play the "man in a dress" card.  It's just flat out freakin' ignorant, rude, and just an assholish thing to do.
It's kind of like how people used to say that gay people had psychiatric disorders, for instance.