The meaning of words

I’m finding the regressive left to be a real phenomenon. Between different social justice causes, 3rd wave feminism and the current political discourse those of us who live under rocks are finding themselves on the “right” of issues they would normally be “left” on. I am one of those. Before I start, let me lay out some political beliefs. I:

• am a registered Democrat, but consider myself an independent
• am pro Bernie
• believe in equality for all people
• believe racism is unproductive
• believe religions are mostly bullshit
• believe in “free”or less expensive education for all who want it. (It should not cost what it does)
• believe in a public option for healthcare
• believe in tariffs – not globalism – NAFTA was bad and TPP will be more of the same
• believe in strong borders for every nation, national sovereignty
• believe in fact based reasoning
• am pro science and logic
• am a skeptic
• am pro choice, pro birth control
• am pro consenting adults being able to marry (IE gay marriage)
• am pro separation of church and state
• am uninterested in your sex life
• am a capitalist, but believe businesses do need to be regulated
• am pro environment
• am non-interventionist
• am pro democracies / pro republics
• am a small business owner that employs others
• am pro free speech
• am anti-hate speech legislation
• am open to change my beliefs upon reflection experience and knowledge
• am Hispanic

I find that there isn’t a political party for me. The closest is Libertarianism, but this isn’t a perfect fit either. This current election is a train wreck in my opinion, but I digress.

Ten+ years ago I would be considered a liberal Democrat. My basic stances have remained the same throughout my life without much change (some refinements here and there). What I find disconcerting is how the media and society are trying to twist things into their narrative. Maybe its always been this way, but I am becoming aware of it.

One of the words I find misleading is “Feminism.” I am all for the dictionary definition of feminism, but I strongly disagree with the Dworkins of the movement. I don’t believe that “patriarchy,” as defined by feminists, exists. I don’t believe the wage gap exists (that isn’t to say that women aren’t being discriminated against, just not generally). I do not believe that rape culture as defined by feminists exists (culturally speaking, rapists are not looked upon fondly for their behavior. P.S. The Brock Turner ruling was terrible, but this is an exception, not the rule. This issue deals more with nepotism, cronyism and how connected people are to those with political power).

I don’t understand the oppression Olympics. Being a part of a minority doesn’t necessarily make your points valid. Me being Hispanic has nothing to do with whether an argument is true or not, only evidence can make a case, not one’s feelings.  In the beginning of the Black lives matter movement, I was horrified by how black people were treated (I still am) and believed their assessment to be correct, but I no longer believe that it is a systemic issue of cops just wanting to shoot black people. “Black Lives Matter” should have been “Black Lives Matter Too.” This would have prevented the “All Lives Matter” response which is also a true slogan, but because it was more inclusive, it gained traction and took away some of the spotlight between the issues of cops and black people.

White privilege is probably the only phenomenon that may have some basis in reality, but is wildly oversimplified or exaggerated. Some portray white privilege as banks handing out money to white people willy-nilly. Every race has its benefits, stereotypes, and disadvantages. I would prefer the term “racial privilege.” Since regressive leftists choose to make as many issues as possible to be rooted in race and identity politics, “white guilt” is prevalent. While slavery was terrible, the people responsible have long passed away. That bell can’t be unrung! More importantly, blaming the descendants of a race who happened to own slaves is unproductive. The Irish, for example, did not own slaves and were themselves oppressed. Also, chattel slavery was common among many peoples within Africa and throughout the world in the past. If slavery is an impetus for you, please fight slavery that is happening now. The issues now are to defeat the unconscious perceptions that result in disparity when hiring etc…

Racism, reverse racism, misogyny and misandry exist. If you discriminate against someone based on race, sex, etc… then you are committing the fallacy of composition; you’re judging the whole set by a subset without justification. (ie All black people are [blank]; All women are [blank]; usually based on anecdotal evidence). When misogyny rears its ugly head among the Muslim community, the left seems silent. Misogyny is misogyny no matter who does it and where it is done.

Identity politics among the trans community is becoming tiresome and I’m beginning to lose empathy as I see the movement more about shutting people up then society integrating a group of people who have legitimate gripes. It doesn’t help that legislation is being introduced to “encourage” the proper use of pronouns. Simply stated, free speech can’t be legislated away for the sake of a minority and more importantly this will only create resentment. Even if everyone started to use the language you wanted it simply won’t end there as it will accomplish nothing of real value. People will still hate you, just hate you using your pronoun. The question becomes do they hate out of ignorance or because you are a despicable person, it becomes unclear since they used your proper pronoun. You haven’t achieved true dialogue, just compulsory behavior.

“Literally” now also means figuratively (WTF is that about!). I know languages evolve, but this is strange since the word that describes it already exists and is still in common usage.

So am I right wing nut job? I ask because the left doesn’t agree with me and my opinions seem to be deal breakers. Is it me or are the meaning of words changing?