yeah, I think that was maybe my point, it would be a mistake to conclude "human nature is determined by material conditions" and better to say "human nature does not exist, instead human behavior is driven primarily by material conditions" - but I understand if for the sake of brevity a meme might not want to be so verbose
hm, there is nothing that is not "nature" - that's kinda the premise of naturalism ... but that's not the same as the meme's point about "human nature" - which is not about whether something is natural or not, but rather about whether humans are innately or essentially something or not (in the meme whether they are selfish or altruistic).
I tend to think altruism and selfishness are probably related to environment and material conditions, but we can't completely deny the role genetics play in behavior (even as environment helps shape those genetics).
This reminds me a bit of the Chomsky Foucault debate, where Chomsky took the position that there is such a thing as a "human nature" - using the example of human's innate capacity to learn language. Foucault takes the position that there is nothing but social influence and environment (though he was less focused on the material and more focused on the structural / social). At least that was my understanding of the positions.
I tend to agree with Chomsky that our biology results in some "innate" capacities, though I do think we should reject essentialist views that humans are all X or Y, since the biology is so varied and what we get is not necessarily a monolith of human nature as much as a variety of human beings many or even most with some similarities. Maybe most humans are capable of learning a language, but some probably are not for various reasons (and those reasons may be innate as well, such as a genetic condition, or they may be environment such as due to abuse like social isolation during early development, etc.).
if "human nature" is just material conditions, then it's not "human nature" - the phrase implies something essential, and if it's contingent and conditioned, it's not inherent
I get the feeling the average person isn't fiddling with that, though I do know of one person who has.
EDIT: either way, the win here is for the corporations who don't want regulations, not for the consumer (who will now suffer the downstream consequences of not having those regulations).
In the South it seems like a lot of people still want to buy American cars and trucks (maybe esp. American trucks), even though I think they're garbage 😅 Hard to imagine arguing that people don't want a Ford F-150 where I live, tbh
Yes, I do think there is a tendency to condemn people from their associations, and that can lead to unfair characterizations - though I don't think this is one of those cases.
Actually watching some of the video, her comments align pretty directly with conservative talking points and builds upon existing conservative "arguments" and outrage about the influence of feminism on video games.
I think nublung is basically suggesting we shouldn't be sharing bigoted or hateful perspectives, which I agree with.
not familiar enough with libby or the narrators, but here are some fun non-fiction books that aren't biographies, pop psychology, or self-help, but which might have general appeal:
almost anything by Bill Bryson, e.g. At Home, A Walk in the Woods, A Short History of Nearly Everything, basically just science writing at its best
1491 and 1493 by Charles C. Mann, which debunks a lot of the common myths about Columbus, indigenous Americans, and American colonialism. Excellently written, these are enjoyable as well as informative.
less likely to have general appeal, but which I enjoyed and found important personally:
The Management Myth by Matthew Stewart, a critique of business and management philosophy. I had no idea MBAs were some of the least successful at running businesses and that philosophy majors were some of the most successful - eye opening and particularly relevant if you've ever worked an office job.
Disciplined Minds by Jeff Schmidt, a physicist who was fired for writing this book which critiqued the academy for the way it socializes professionals
A Mathematician's Lament by Paul Lockhart, this book radically changed my view of mathematics as a discipline and unlocked for me me ways to approach math in a way that was enjoyable and productive
The youtuber is claiming modern games have "masculinized" female characters likely in response to attempts to not sexualize some female characters in contemporary games. Representing this as "erasure of feminity" sounds like a conservative defense of sexist gender norms.
Her right-wing views also explains why Asmongold, another streamer, is sending viewers her way.
If you're not familiar, Asmongold has right-wing views himself (e.g. characterizing the Palestinian people as "terrible" and an "inferior culture"), and sexist views in particular, for example he was upset that a woman won a fan vote for an esports award, claiming it was a "diversity pick" and she only won because she was a woman (promoting a conspiracy theory that the vote was rigged because he doesn't believe she actually could win the vote). He claims she wasn't a top streamer despite the fact that she was a top streamer with 6.5 million fans, etc.
While nublung's comment points out the youtuber's sexism, likely what they meant by "hateful garbage" was the typical conservative bigotry, which aims at:
and it's worth pointing out, a trans woman is straight if she likes men (not a homosexual), either way it's true that sexual orientation is independent of gender identity - there are trans people who are attracted to the same sex, to the opposite sex, to both, or to neither.
I don't understand your response, why is acknowledging the political aspect to contemporary Western queer identity upsetting to you? I'm just trying to explain why queer conservatives might not identify as "queer" or "LGBT+" - because of their political associations. It's similar to how conservatives might remain in the closet about their sexuality.
The comment I was responding to just said they were surprised that the arrested trans person prayed the Rosary in the bathroom before being arrested, i.e. they were surprised a trans woman could be a devout Catholic. (Admittedly, I think people who do successfully transition are maybe less likely to be devout Christians, considering Christianity's role in conversion therapy and the anti-trans movement, so it's not entirely unreasonable to be surprised.)
I read this in the voice of Charlie from It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia