Simon Paynton

I think JP’s original mission was sound: promoting intellectual freedom and diversity.  Helen Pluckrose’s article is probably a better way to go about it.

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
We can ask ourselves if an “impartial observer” would approve of our actions and would empathize with our emotional responses to said actions.

That’s an interesting idea.  It’s like the objective voice of the group: a representative of group norms.

But if we tell people to pull up their socks and become resp…

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Here’s a very interesting recent article by Helen Pluckrose, comparing liberalism and “critical social justice theory”.

… liberalism is not a political position. It is a set of values that seeks to defend every person’s freedom (individualism), tolerate and even appreciate difference (pluralism) and recognise and value our shared humanity and s…

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Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
the concept of Adam Smiths’ “impartial spectator”

Wasn’t he talking about impartiality in the context of fairness and justice?  As in, “justice is blind”.

I agree with his mission – tackling ideological censorship of free thinking – but I think the way he went about it might have been questionable.

Davis wrote:
Does the fact that a problem is messy ever justify any of this?

My point is, wars are bad because they are messy.  Don’t have wars.  That’s my point.

Davis wrote:
Simon could you give a loose definition of what being a liberal is (socially)? I am super curious what you think that means. Please give more than a single sentence answer.

As far as I’m concerned, a classical liberal is someone who celebrates a diversity of ideas, and the fact that people are allowed to voice them: and an…[Read more]

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
This article makes a good case for deeming him a Conservative. Some of his views and comments are very similar to religious conservatives.

I’m not convinced by this article.

@jakelafort – I’m disappointed that he seems to have acted like a bit of a dumbass, and forgotten the welfare of transgender people who are being used as a weapon by both sides.  I’ve heard one transgender activist say, publicly, (literally) that if you question publicly an aspect of transgender orthodoxy, a transgender person is going to kill…[Read more]

Davis wrote:
Are you referring to the hostility coming from trans-gender people who are fighting to have the equality they deserve according to the charter of rights and freedoms recognised under the law…or are you referring to the hostility coming from a person afraid of change to the status quo resorting to misinformation campaigns that make l…

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Kristina wrote:
He’s literally saying things that are not factual, so no, it isn’t difficult.

Yes, I can see your point about that, if JP is saying that the father was arrested for misgendering his child.  That would be needlessly harmful, not to mention untrue, and he needs to sort his ideas out.

This is the situation as I see it, and it’s not…[Read more]

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
He has expressed ideas about how the masculine spirit is under constant attack and how chaos equates to females.

Once men master these rules, they will be responsible individuals and as the subtitle of his book says, they will have the antidote to chaos.

On the one hand, it’s unfortunate for JP to equate chaos with…[Read more]

Kristina wrote:
I know this because he tweeted the actual reason the father was arrested—a matter of fact, not opinion—and waved it off without reason. He is either lying, being intellectually dishonest, or lazy.

It is a shame for the young transgender person that all this has happened to them.  But isn’t it hard to call JP dishonest, when he c…[Read more]

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
He said, in his refusal to use gender pronouns that (I paraphrase) having to use those terms reminded him of totalitarian regimes who attempted to set ideologies by controlling the words citizens could use.

But he didn’t refuse to use them.  He said he would use them out of courtesy, but wouldn’t be forced to use…[Read more]

I don’t see how, in any way, shape or form.  He’s specifically against totalitarianism.  That’s why he speaks out in favour of free speech.

The Red Skull seems to be a men’s rights activist.  It’s a lazy parody.  I would be upset if I was JP.

Ah, a wish is only a wish, lol

Reg the Fronkey Farmer wrote:
But much of what JP offered was very basic

Are there really that many clueless men around??

You could call it basic, or thorough.  Yes, there are a lot of clueless people around, and I think I’m one of them.  You never know what people don’t know.  If he’s building a world view, he has to start with the ba…[Read more]

Davis wrote:
Because he clearly stands by traditional gender roles, traditional marriage (is not a fan of gay families adopting) and even vaguely defends “boys being boys” in odd and bizarre ways. If his message is about two parties in a relationship asking what their partner needs and doing their best to compromise and provide it…then all gende…

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His new book is reviewed here.

In fact the prescription turns out to be similar to last time: assume responsibility for your situation, dig deep to discover your capacity for self-discipline, and face life’s inevitable awfulness as unflinchingly as you can.

Seems good to me.