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Comment by 746F7475 | Hacker News Reader

> Who here is a feminist? (Two, three hands go up, timidly.)

> Wait, let me ask another way around: who here thinks that all people, regardless of gender, have the same rights and should be treated equally? (All hands go up.)

> Congratulations, you are all feminists.

It's too bad that current feminism/SJW movement has so corrupted the feminism "brand" that I do not feel comfortable identifying as one and probably who more hands don't get raised. The definition given doesn't match what currently feminism is about.

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I concur. I'm an equalist, not a feminist. I don't believe in either sex having more rights than the other, over any issue whatsoever, and think we should treat everyone - regardless of race, language-spoken, gender, culture, whatever - equally, no matter what.

I never use the word feminist because it just doesn't mean that any more. What it means, is something else entirely than what I've just described.

> It's too bad that current feminism/SJW movement has so corrupted the feminism "brand"

I've started to think of the SJ movement as analogous to the GNU/GPL movement. From a high level, it's easy to see it as extreme and difficult to identify with, but if you give it some time and thought, you start to see the merits of the argument.

Note, one does not always have to agree to think there are merits. Once I saw SJ advocates in this light, it also became much easier to see that much like the software license debates, there are a spectrum of beliefs; Not all GNU advocates are alike, just like not all SJWs are alike.

> The definition given doesn't match what currently feminism is about.

I have not seen evidence that this has changed. I have, however, seen opinions that I don't agree with, but ultimately stem from that working premise.

I think that all movements have to deal with the agent-provocateur problem, sooner or later - which is to say, any time you make an enemy, if you don't allow your enemy to become you properly, then you will become your enemy.

This is what happened with feminist movements: they became the very frothy-mouthed totalitarians they were resisting. Because they didn't do enough to deal with the totalitarians that were attracted to their platform of power, gained in the rising days of the feminist movement, and must now share that platform with a vast array of differing views, somehow aligned with feminism, but nevertheless diluting the goals of very subject and thwarting it in a direction not originally intended.

All movements have to deal with this factor, it seems. Its a social one.

> I have not seen evidence that this has changed.

Just the things like: "men can't be opressed" and all the "check your privilege" shit just brings my piss to boil. And more I see all these SJWs acting like spoiled kids with their "safe zones" and "trigger warnings" more I feel like maybe things were better back in 40s and 50s.

Maybe it's a cultural thing, I really don't care, but when I'm told that I'm the very essence of evil-sexists-racist-pig because I'm male, white and straight (or cis, whatever that means) I can't but help feel like I'm being bullied for nothing I've done nor my Finnish ancestors.

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