“End of” is not a persuasive rhetorical device, let alone an argument.
The word “are” is not magic. Saying Xs are Ys doesn’t change reality. I can say “houses are turnips” but that doesn’t make it true, not even if I go on to say “End of.”
Women are human. Women are people. Those are reasonable claims, and true if we all agree on what “women” means and what “human” and “people” mean.
People have rights. That’s a moral claim more than it is a factual claim, and there’s a lot of disagreement over what those rights are exactly, so saying “End of” after that one is also pretty silly. It’s not end of so much as beginning of.
One of the debatable rights these quarrels have made central lately is the “right” to be seen, accepted, endorsed, “validated” as whatever you say you are. I think it takes only about 5 seconds worth of thought to see how precarious the idea of such a right is, since if it were a real right we could all empty each other’s bank accounts.
And then there’s the image.
End of.
Comments
15 responses to “End of.”
Well, that image says it all, really. An extinct being insulting an extant being; the extinct part kind of takes the sting out of the sentiment somewhat.
Wait isn’t it the still-living dino that gives us all that oil?
Also, the person saying “Fuck JK Rowling” – is hating. If we’re supposed to ignore the haters, that sounds an awful lot like ignoring LGBT+Proud.
Well not those haters. The other haters.
Is the Instagram poster four years old? ’cause that’s what Dino looks like-something created by a four year old. Four year olds are fond of living in an imaginary world, I might note. :)
There’s a long-running joke in one of my friend circles about one guy who would append “Period, period, period” in whatever silly argument we were having over beers. As in, “Bobby Orr was the greatest hockey player ever, period period period.” It became a running joke because precisely because it’s a silly affectation that adds nothing to an argument, but he couldn’t help himself.
Ophelia, #2:
No, that’s the Crudeoilocetus you’re thinking of. The image is the Nomouthcanteatasaur, which probably explains why it died out. Mind you, I have no sympathy with a dinosaur that doesn’t capitalise proper nouns – that’s just disrespectful.
But then after the “end of” there is an addition, so that’s not really the “end of.” If there were no valid arguments to TWAW and TMAM, then the converstion would be over. No need to ignore anyone, especially people who are labelled in derogatory terms. The acknowledgement that “TERF’s” and “haters” posess valid counter claims, despite the call to “ignore” them, invalidates the whole business. “Period” and “End of sentence” is a weak arm twist for people who make invalid, unjustified statements and vacuous arguments. Then they admit there is opposition, so it’s even more ridiculous. I’ve heard better arguments on grade school playgrounds.
Glad you said it, and not me. Someone else gets annoyed at that, too! I actually take points off with my students if they don’t capitalize proper nouns, and I would do the same for any dinosaur that signed up for my class…unless, of course, they were named e.e. cummings. Then I guess I would have to concede with grace…or not.
They’ve been pushing this at my right-on work. Why don’t they just shut up and make money, like good corporates?
Also “transgender awareness” – if transwomen are women I wouldn’t be “aware” of them as they would presumably look and act like most other women. I wouldn’t be aware of Dead Name Dick who became Dixie Girl any more than Deirdre who stayed as Deirdre.
If this is trans awareness week does that mean that they’ll shut the fuck up for the next 51? Thought not; every week is trans awareness week, anything else would mean not centering the precious loves for more than a millisecond, and we know that’s literal violence that literally harms them and literally plays literal havoc with their lateral (hah!) sense of validation.
Maybe transgender awareness means we’re supposed to be so hyper-aware of trans people that we are compelled to tell them how much better they are at being the other sex than the other sex is?
I think Trans Awareness Week means that for a week they should try and be aware of exactly what the hell they’re up to. Lord knows they’re not aware of it the other fifty-one.
I think Trans Self-Awareness Week is a bit too much to ask for.
@Ophelia #12
Did you see the book “Brenda is a Sheep”?