Modern Vespa

In light of recent events...a link to an opinion piece about transgender athletes in sports.

The science says there is no advantage for people who have undergone transitioning.

Especially when taken into context of a non contact team sport. This article even quotes how swimmer Lia Thomas competitive times compare to other recent champions.

The science says there is no advantage to being a transgender athlete. All of this has been publicized for political gain...to foster divisiveness in order to gain a political advantage they are preying on the ignorant.

The University of Nevada at Reno told their women's volleyball team that they needed to educate themselves on the issue they were protesting and the University is absolutely correct in that statement.

For anybody that has done even minimal reading on the subject it is obvious that this is only about politics and the division among the reds and the blues in the USA.

The bottom line is if being a trans woman is an advantage in competitive sport why aren't they winning? Personally I think politics in sport is way more dangerous than trans athletes.

I can see though that many people who know nothing about trans people are upset that they have to learn about them. They never had to before because most of the trans people in recent history have lived with the closely guarded secret. They were there all along but have become more visible recently and this upsets people who haven't learned anything about them yet.

We have a long way to go to end hate. I love how in Dr. Sapolsky's short clip he makes jokes about how being gay up until 1970 in the USA would qualify you to be diagnosed with a mental illness. Someone born in 1950 coming out as gay before they turned 20 could have been institutionalized by their own parents...yeah let's not rethink that position (insert /s for sarcasm here)

I understand ignorance. You don't know what you don't know and perfectly normal I think to be somewhat afraid of the unknown but stubbornly refusing to learn when presented with overwhelming information is just stupid.

https://sports.yahoo.com/opinion-transgender-witch-hunt-san-150949168.html

Agreed that e-bikes are basically motorcycles now. I think people underestimate how much it hurts to hit the pavement, even at 25 or 30mph.

Yeah, been there more than a couple of times. It really doesn't matter what vehicle you *USED* to be on.

I think we should probably retire this particular hot take. It's an important subject, but it has also been incredibly politicized of late. Mostly, though, I recognize that this subject falls into the same category as religion and politics: opinions are firm, nobody is likely to change their minds, and ultimately we are just going to end up being angry at each other the longer the conversation continues.

Apologies to all who have a stake in this topic.

I agree that when it comes to guns, religion, and politics people are not likely to change their minds and discussing this will just foster animosity in the forum.

I think the subject of trans people is different though as it is so new especially to most older folks, the ones born in the 50's and 60's.

It is obvious to me that the people against trans participation in sport and trans people openly existing in society just haven't been exposed to any facts rather than just misinformation and hearsay.

I tried to carefully posit that hate or even just being uncomfortable around trans people is the same as any kind of prejudice towards any group. If you realize that it is wrong to use the N word even privately for the harm that it causes then you should also know that being uncomfortable around trans people is the same thing.

Unlike religion guns or politics the subject of the minority that are trans people is not well known and the information that is out there for the most part is new. Even the scientific studies acknowledge that more work needs to be done in this area. I think because of this that discussing it will foster education and it will change people's minds.

I don't mind not talking about religion guns or politics but I can't sit quietly while hate and misinformation are being fostered and if that leads to a ban so be it. People need to understand that excluding trans people from society is a hate crime.

Just to be clear, I am not suggesting that nobody should talk about trans people. But I am starting to feel uneasy about where this discussion of trans people in sports is headed.

I think it's only a matter of time before people are yelling at each other.

The Ratchet and Clank video game series for Play Station are the best games ever made.

Realistic combat games do not hold a candle to a Lombax and his lovable robot companion causing havoc on evildoers.

Another hot take on this subject...

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I agree with your assessment and will desist from the debate of trans people in sport. I have made my point that being against trans people in sport is scientifically unfounded and that being against trans people in general is ignorant and should be considered a hate crime.

In the USA all the trans people have the same rights to life liberty and the pursuit of happiness (changed from property by Thomas Jefferson you gotta love language) as everyone else.

I took the oath in 1978 when I enlisted in the USMC. I really didn't understand the implications when I took the oath, but I have since learned more about what it meant and I must say the more I learned the more I embraced defending the constitution and the rights they convey to every American.

Agree wholeheartedly.

I certainly hope nobody yells at me for that. It's hate and it's wrong.

I'm with you, skids, and I appreciate your measured and clear words on this issue.

BTW, I was born in the '40s.

can I just have ones of these

Is that a "loaded" Welsh rarebit?

this is hot as well

I'll take that.

It only takes a minute

My hot take is that the downfall of our public discourse is caused by those who continually share their uninformed opinions about topics in which they have absolutely no stake.

No matter what or who it is, if you can't name one, if you have never seen one except on TV or social media, then this is not the issue/person that can possibly be stoking your grievance.

Chris from CLE

The world is full of people who vent their angst over something that has absolutely no bearing on their life.

In this part of the world we tend to label these people Gammon Snowflakes!

Oh my. That looks awesome. Homemade?

Bob

I think you've nailed it. Truly.

I also think those same people will read what you wrote there and have no idea that it applies directly to them. Such is the nature of the un-self-aware.

I see what you did there.

👹
This is what I get for posting before coffee...

I don't really do selfies

The Believe Plaza with the Whale is no motorized vehicles

To make it a super Reno thing, it would be a video with homeless people with homemade whips cracking away in the background

fact

Only if you don't have cats or toddlers.

I've seen both leave whole rolls of toilet paper on the floor in seconds. In our house we still hang it 'backwards' just in case, and we have neither cats nor toddlers anymore.

Ban one train the other

So the choice is either correctly hung loo roll or cats and toddlers..

Legalizing marijuana for recreational use was a mistake. There. I said it.

I have four cats.

My family has always had cats, a total of 18 over the years.

Not a single one has ever played with or attacked the toilet paper roll.

I'm neither for nor against it, genuinely. I have no stake in it either way. But on the flip side, how many people do we want to incarcerate for smoking pot?

You are lucky.

We have had cats since 1972 and toddlers, off and on, since 1978.

The toilet paper rolls were never safe.

With our current cats we have the toilet paper in baskets rather than mounted on the wall, as one of them, at least, doesn't care how they are hung. They are prey, plain and simple, and are to be destroyed and strewn about the house.

I left that stuff behind in high school, but I can think of many people I know that should use it on a regular basis and chill the heck out.

Jess,

I absolutely agree that pot smoking should not be a criminal offence. The old three strike rule put way to many folks behind bars for what is basically a nonviolent act.

But, I understand where seamus26 is coming from. The abuse is problematic, just like the abuse of alcohol. The cost to society for the abuse of both alcohol and weed is significant. Despite this, I don't want my evening cocktail each night to be criminal and having government telling me what to do. (Driving impaired either way being criminal is understandable).

I also think, unstated in the back of seamus26's thought, is the concern that previous distributors had other bad drugs readily available to sell. Going to legit sellers of legal weed may remove this issue. It was like when I go to the liquor store, they also offer meth under the counter.

I think due to my age, I really was not into pot. My 7 year younger bride did a bunch of the devil weed years ago. When I first met my wife, we were out to dinner with her parents. I misspoke, and told them, as a joke, that their daughter would smoke the shingles off their roof if she thought she could get high. To this day, I still get hell for that.

Bob Copeland

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We've got a medical marijuana issue on the ballot this time around. I'm opposed. Either remove the criminal penalty, or don't. The whole "you can only smoke it if you go get a doctor to (wink wink) say you need it" is stupid. Now the people too poor, too lazy, or too dumb to go get a card from a doctor are still criminals. Poor people don't need any more pressure, and if being dumb or lazy were a criminal offense you could just build a wall topped with barbed wire around DC and state capitols.

Skids,

I do appreciate your posts and valuable insight. Yes, from a science standpoint, the impact on ladies sports by transgender participants is statistically insignificant. Simply stated, the over whelming number of female athletes are only competing against other female born athletes.

It hit the press, because Laurel Hubbard, a female weightlifter, lost gold in the 2020 Olympics in Japan to a transgender male. Next press hit was Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer dominating NCAA Division 1 competition at the college level. She was actually sued for preventing other female athletes from getting scholarships and eligibility for the Olympics. USA court ruled the cases against Lia Thomas had no standing because it was not illegal in the USA.

Current Status: No rules barring transgender in USA female athletics. The Olympic committee is barring transgender unless you made the transition before going through puberty (Did not develop the male muscle mass).

Hey, "The Science" may be wrong and seems to be evoked to close the door on further discussion. The scientific method is designed to continue to disapprove (question) the hypothesis. So, if you disagree with guys competing with ladies, I do not think it rises to the level of hate speech.

Skids, you post good stuff.

Bob Copeland

I like smoking weed on the odd occasion as I do get pretty emotionally stressed at times, I just wish it didn't make me so paranoid when I move from one place to another.

As for banning it, no there's far more deserving things to sanction in this world.

My dad is 81, and he smoked quite a bit when he was in his late-20s/early-30s. I'm told he stopped when he was 36/37 due to a bad reaction one night. I'm thinking it was probably laced with something.

I only smoked weed for about three years, between the ages of 31 & 34. Both of my brothers (one 3 years older, one 1.5 years younger) claim that they've only tried it once each, and didn't enjoy it. I only smoked with a few specific friends who always offered it to me.

Personally, I'm ok with it being legalized, or at the very least decriminalized.