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Well he was against gay marriage and against the Boy Scouts of America allowing gay kids.

If I have 10 friends and ask them all where they want to eat for dinner and 6 said let’s go to this nice Italian spot and the other 4 said “let’s kill Ralph and eat him”, that still means I have a shitty friend group.

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It's more like 3 say "let's get Italian", 3 say "let's get Mexican", 3 say "I'm not hungry", and 1 says "let's kill Ralph, and eat him seasoned with Italian spices". Then the first 3 say "great idea!".
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> You say "openly MAGA" as if it were a crime or something to be ashamed of.

maga is absolutely something to be ashamed of

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It is absolutely something to be ashamed of, and a moral crime.
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> You say "openly MAGA" as if it were a crime or something to be ashamed of

Can you explain why it's not something to be ashamed of?

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I'm not american but I see technically nothing wrong with MAGA for me. it doesn't mean you must be transphobe or homophobe etc. but what people do under MAGA is another thing. sometimes it feels like for them it means "run america into the ground" or "get rid of all the best about america". GRABA if you like
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You mean things done under MAGA led by a president who said on national TV that Haitians are eating pets and led the “birther” conspiracy ?
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Being maga is diametrically opposed to supporting your country, as we've seen in particular this time around, but was also clearly visible in 2016-2020.

Rampant abuse of the legal system to target individuals, despite claiming (without evidence) that that was that the Democrats did against them

Total disregard for the constitution

Threats towards the judiciary

A million other things that I can list - but I'm sure you've heard them all and just don't care, so there's probably not much use in me continuing.

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The entire point of MAGA is that they see “their country” as one where uppity negroes like Obama should have known his place, it’s DEI whenever a minority has a position of influence and power yet they keep lowering the standards for both ICE and the DOJ and RFK JR with no medical knowledge is the head of HHS.

America won’t be “great” until minorities, non Christians and non straight people know their role.

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Indeed. And supporting MAGA is supporting the destruction of your country.
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To believe in "Make America Great Again" you have to believe that America is not great, and this implies you are ashamed of your country. Shame is built in to MAGA.
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That's some grade AAA ignorance hard at work. Or did you mean supporting Israel?
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My country is not a cult of personality.
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MAGA is not "the country". It's a collection of disgusting people that will take everything for themselves, even from others "in the group".
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Those points are fine, but not the root of what makes MAGA shameful. You can go about having that opinion and take actions towards it without being racist, anti-LGBT, generally hateful, and backing an administration that has been proven time and time again to be deceitful in every facet and tuned to the interest of the wealthiest.
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You have a very narrow and rose colored view of what maga is. To us living in the US, maga stands for pedophilia, misogyny, racism, fascism, homophobia, transphobia, corroption and much more.

It absolutely has nothing to do with putting america first, it has everything to do with putting trump first. Im afraid you have made the mistake of listening to a politicians words instead of watching his actions. Every word from his mouth is a lie.

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I know he's a liar. He is probably mentally ill and definitely not very bright. But I was not talking about Donald Trump. I was talking about the principle of wanting to make one's country "great."

> To us living in the US maga stands for...

This is not true. The GOP won the popular vote, centrists see some advantages in MAGA, and even some Democrats are against MAGA without going to the extreme of painting them all as pedophiles and corrupt.

You are in the minority with that opinion.

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That's absolutely what it stands for. To see this you need only listen to what they say and observe what they do.
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"Make America Great Again" is propaganda and you're analyzing it as if it were a truthful mission statement.

Or more aptly, you're commenting on the title instead of reading TFA.

MAGA does not mean what you think it means for the people who actually live here.

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Anyone not ashamed to be MAGA is a psychopath. It absolutely is a shameful, hateful stance to embrace.
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MAGA isn't a political platform, it's a cult of personality.

Witness the abrupt reversal in public opinion on foreign wars in the last month.

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He was vocally against gay marriage

He was a vocal proponent of the birther conspiracy theory about Obama

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Real men don't hate gay people and aren't scared about where people pee
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Masculine, kind, and fatherly. What a man. I want to be more like Chuck.
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What part about Chuck was a great role model for real men?

The homophobia? The racism? The infidelity? The conspiracy theories?

Or just because he was a martial artist and actor that had a bunch of low effort memes?

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Just out of curiosity, could you (or anyone else) give a couple of examples of what you would consider "great role models for real men"? Or "good role models for well-adapted men", if you'd rather use less inflammatory language.
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Fred Rogers, Terry Crews, Lin Manuel Miranda, Henry Cavill, John Cena, Steve Irwin and Dave Grohl to name a few.
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Fred Rogers advised François Clemmons, an openly gay cast member, to remain closeted and even suggested he marry a woman to protect the show's viability.[1]

Terry Crews? Porn addict. [2]

Lin Manuel Miranda "blindly asks BIPOC performers to act in a piece detailing historical events benefiting their oppressors." [3]

Henry Cavill undermined the #MeToo movement saying he feared being called a "rapist" if he pursued women. [4]

John Cena buries talent... used his backstage influence to undermine the momentum of new stars (remember The Nexus in 2010, CM Punk etc) [5]

Steve Irwin fed a crocodille while holding his month-old son, putting him in danger. [6]

Dave Grohl? Chronic infidelity. [7]

All these men are way better than me, for sure. But you can see how these arguments against Chuck Norris are a slippery slope:

> The homophobia? The racism? The infidelity? The conspiracy theories?

You're cherry-picking virtues from people aligned with your politics and ignoring the good things your perceived "adversaries" have.

[1] https://www.npr.org/2020/04/30/847315345/officer-clemmons-mi...

[2] https://www.addictioncenter.com/community/terry-crews-pornog...

[3] https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/12/9/unpop-opinion-c...

[4] https://culturess.com/2018/07/13/henry-cavill-missed-point-m...

[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQr5ZD6fr0g&t=3s

[6] https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-47343688

[7] https://www.gutinstinctmedia.com/latest-articles/a-rockstar-...

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I think Cavill has a fair point - I generally support MeToo, think it was very important, but I can understand how being a fairly big name in Hollywood can result in hesitation around pursuing women. Especially now that he's got a lot of power for a whole franchise, with the Warhammer 40k stuff.

Steve Irwin I don't think what he did was a particularly big deal with the kid.

I don't really like celebrities as role models though. They have to have public personas as a matter of course. I would instead try to point to specific behaviors from real people. I also don't think people have to be perfect. But I do think there are some deal breakers that would mean I would never point my kids towards them as a role model. Racism and homophobia are among those things. I think believing that whole classifications of people are lesser is disqualifying.

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Oh I think all of those guys have fair points. I was trying to illustrate how you could make a hero or a villain out of anybody if you cherry pick incidents, decisions or opinions.

Just like the parent comment was trying to do with Chuck Norris. (Which was probably way worse than any of these examples)

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Ironically, the very concept of a “real man” is founded on the idea that a man should be defined by stereotypes rather than by sex, which puts manosphere enthusiasts and gender enthusiasts in closer epistemological proximity than either would care to admit.
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I saw this coming, that's why I made this point, which you ignored:

> Could you give a couple of examples of what you would consider > "good role models for well-adapted men" ?

I'm actually curious.

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Amy Coney Barrett.

Supreme court judge, mother of 7, still finds time to go to the gym.

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I meant male role models for men (I'm sure you could find one). Not every man aspires to be the mother of 7 and go to the gym. (Because: remember that gyms are classist by design. [1])

But maybe lets talk about how Amy got called out by The Human Rights Campaign and 185 LGBTQ organizations for her "disturbingly anti-LGBTQ past writings, rhetoric and association with extremist groups." [2]

Or how about when The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights described her record as "fundamentally cruel," arguing she frequently sides with corporations over individuals and shows hostility toward established precedents like the Affordable Care Act.

At least Chuck Norris had no real impact on policy with his bigotry.

[1] https://www.leeboyce.com/truth-the-fitness-life-is-a-relativ...

[2] https://www.hrc.org/press-releases/the-human-rights-campaign...

[3] https://civilrights.org/resource/oppose-the-confirmation-of-...

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Why does a role model for a man have to be a man? Besides, she's an exceptionally good role model even for traditionalist views of what makes a man, by virtue of being so accomplished in her career and still making time for family and health. Her record poses the question: what's your excuse? Men who are all-in on hyperfocus should wither before her.

Sure, there are people that hate her. Her own patron, our Dear Leader, probably hates her when she rules against his interests. All the more reason to respect her.

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Sure, a woman can be a role model for a man.

Just out of curiosity, could you think of one man that could also be a role model for men and women?

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Real men say fuck.
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Real men have culture and don't have to say that.
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what are "real men"?
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You grew up and you still have to ask?
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You just told us you don't give a flying duck, so I guess thanks for answering a question with a question...?
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It wasn't really a question.
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Guess I'll never know?
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In this context, a "real man" is probably someone who conforms to the traditional role of a male (physically strong, emotionally restrained, a provider and protector of women, children, and weaker men, etc.).

Of course, "real men" can be just the opposite, depending on who you ask. So, it's really a subjective issue.

I don't think every man should be like that, but I also don't think any of those qualities are bad. In fact, I think they're pretty admirable.

Do you have issues with the fact that some men conform to that type?

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Being physically strong is a good thing, and regular resistance training is a huge gap for overall health for quite a lot of people today - men and women.

Being able to provide for someone is an admirable quality, man or woman

Same for being able to protect someone.

I don't think being emotionally restrained is a good thing - and I say this as someone who was raised to be emotionally restrained. I've had to specifically work as an adult to be less emotionally restrained. I think there's a very wide gap between being emotionally restrained and letting emotions rule over you.

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