"Genuine diversity should - indeed, absolutely must - center on diversity of experience and diversity of thought. Yes -- ethnicity, gender, and sexuality do shape these things, but if you stop there, you've missed an entire universe of other relevant factors. I would venture to say, for example, that in a room full of middle class American academics, a black author who is also a middle class academic will add less in the way of diversity than will a white author from Eastern Kentucky who enlisted in the military instead of going to college and is entirely self-taught. And if those middle class American academics are practical atheists, a gay academic who's also a practical atheist will add less in the way of diversity than will an Orthodox Jew or a practicing evangelical Christian." -- 2014
"I believe the fandom should welcome all comers -- and so, I'm convinced, does everyone else who's taken the 'conservative' position on this issue. In the end, though, the supposed benefits of ethnic and sexual diversity will only accrue if people are allowed to speak openly when conflicts inevitably arise. And that brings me to my second point: If you want to have true diversity, a vibrant interchange of ideas, and the possibility of positive change in our own community and in society as a whole, you must hold the line on freedom of expression. The illib-progs subscribe to this bizarre idea that if they police what people say and how they say it, they will usher in a new era of racial and sexual harmony -- but in reality, forcing everyone to stuff his or her true opinions and adopt the mannerisms and speech patterns of the aforementioned clerisy on threat of shunning doesn't change minds or hearts. Instead, it hardens old hatreds and resentments.
Growth and change will only arise through conversation. Yes -- that conversation will not always make us feel 'safe' and comfy-cozy. We evolved to see 'outsiders' as possible threats to our lives, and so we all feel that rush of anger and adrenaline when we encounter people whose worldviews fundamentally contradict our own. But the instincts of our lizard brain shouldn't be afforded instant legitimacy just because they are so powerful and so disturbing. Because we are sapient, we have the capacity to stop, think, and discern the difference between something truly threatening and something emotionally upsetting -- and we should exercise that capacity to its fullest. Naughty words? A breach of etiquette, but not a threat. A verbal challenge to your ideology, your lifestyle, or your faith? Not a threat. Actions have the potential to be threatening, but [...] opinions can not and do not 'terrorize.'" -- 2014
"[...] a conversation can only be productive if no one is told to shut up, the participants all abide by the same rules, and everyone argues in good faith. You can't allow people in certain protected classes to act like assholes without consequences [...]" -- 2014
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