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Comment by vnth93 | Hacker News Reader

Apparently the person was concerned that this would allow people to control any narrative they want. For example he suggested that nobody should have to be obligated to acknowledged him as, say, a Christian. I genuinely dont know if this is a good equivalence.

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I actually think it's a very strong equivalence.

Both are self selected descriptors which could be reasonably objected to without denigrating or disrespecting the person specifically.

Removing the ability to engage in thoughtful conversation where parties disagree is a travesty.

I'll be blunt - as a strong atheist, I'm in full agreement with the moderator who posted this. I personally don't agree with his opinions on gender pronouns, but I think his point stands loud and clear: Respectful disagreement is no longer allowed.

I think that is especially poignant given the community he moderates almost certainly aligns with his views.

I believe many of the communities that press these gender issues are broken. Not because I care about "pronouns" but because when disagreement with the majority opinion is IN ITSELF considered an insult worthy of exclusion or derision, there is no longer any apparatus to allow honest discussion.

I have the same opinion of the most restrictive church communities. The mental process is the same - Disagreement is threatening, remove the threat through ostracism and social pressure instead of honest conversation. Fuck that. Fuck that on both sides.

I guess it is equivalent in some ways. In modern society we don't really see religion as fundamental to personhood, or perhaps not to the extent of gender. And many would argue that a person do not choose their gender, although since I'm also not religious, I can't tell if religious people see themselves as "choosing" their religion or not.

As for respectful disagreement, far as I can tell, concerning pronouns, if people see discussion as tantamount to disrespect, it is often because they believe that the overwhelming majority of people who insist on pronouns should be taken in good faith. There will always be people who use discussion as an excuse to in fact disrespect. It is a difficult issue and I really don't know what to think.

> we don't really see religion as fundamental to personhood

In saying this, you are doing exactly the thing that I've been called a bigot for. You've excluded me from "we" because I do see religion as fundamental to my identity. In fact my identify is first and foremost defined by the my maker and redeemer. If the God who made the very material from which I am made and breathed breath into my body isn't allowed to be a core part of my identity, then what is? Just because you believe I'm wrong about those facts doesn't give you the right to force me to affirm your view of them.

I do not understand why someone would downvote this.

A question was asked, then it was answered by the only party who can give an accurate answer.

This vote demonstrates to me the animus towards people of faith. This is an example of the wrong-headedness in how we approach disagreements. Conform or leave.

It is actually difficult to claim that this SE aligns with ANY one person's religious views. There is (or at least was) such a mix of denominations, creeds, and belief that it was actually quite a marvel that it lasted more than a couple months.

This mod actually had a post named "brothers we are not Christians" where he explained the plurality of the community. This SE certainly does not have any real unity in belief.

A good comparison would be pointing to Bernie Sanders and to Rand Paul and saying "your views likely align because you're both Americans."

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