Giving This Post All the Respect it Deserves

By Which I Mean I Fed it to ChatGPT

Okay, but a lot of this is kinda bullshit.

Some people love to say they’re just “telling hard truths” or “following the facts,” especially when what they’re saying sounds mean or messed up. But just because someone says they’re being brave or honest doesn’t mean they actually are. Sometimes they’re just repeating bad ideas with a smug face.

Let’s go through a few of the claims from that list, because... yikes.

“Race has biological reality.”
Technically, humans have different genes. But the idea of race—the way it’s used in society—is something humans made up. It’s not like skin color decides your worth or behavior. That idea has been used forever to excuse horrible stuff. So yeah, we can study genetics, but don’t pretend “race science” is some brave truth. It’s lazy and dangerous.

“Marriage reduces crime.”
Sure, married people commit less crime on average. But that doesn’t mean marriage causes that. People who are richer, more stable, or better educated are also more likely to get married—and they already have stuff that makes crime less likely. It's not the wedding ring doing the work, dude.

“Hot-spot policing works.”
Sometimes. But mostly, it just means flooding poor neighborhoods with cops. Sure, it can drop crime a bit, but it also pisses people off, makes them feel unsafe around police, and leads to way too many people—usually Black and brown—getting harassed or arrested for dumb reasons.

“Racism is in decline.”
Are there fewer people yelling slurs in public? Probably. But racism didn’t vanish—it just got quieter and sneakier. Look at schools, jobs, housing, healthcare, prisons. The numbers still show unfairness all over the place. Acting like racism is “basically over” just makes it easier to ignore.

“Trigger warnings are harmful.”
Nah. At worst, they don’t change much. At best, they help someone avoid a panic attack. How is giving someone a heads-up a bad thing? You don’t want to ruin someone’s day just to prove how “tough” your ideas are.

“Africans were involved in the slave trade too.”
This gets brought up every time slavery is mentioned. Yes, some African rulers sold people. But who built the global system? Who made it into hundreds of years of racial slavery, genocide, and exploitation? European powers. Bringing this up is just a cheap distraction.

“Education is partly genetic.”
Sort of, but not in the way they’re making it sound. Sure, people have different abilities. But your success in school is mostly about money, support, good teachers, decent housing, not being hungry, not being stressed all the time. Saying it's about “genes” skips over the real problems and gives up on fixing them.

“Cracking down on drugs works.”
What it really does is fill jails with people who need help, not punishment. The drug war has ruined lives and ripped families apart—mostly poor ones. It doesn’t stop addiction. It just punishes people for struggling.

“Markets make people more generous.”
That’s some capitalist fairy tale. People don’t suddenly become kind because money is flying around. If anything, extreme capitalism often does the opposite—hoarding, greed, and stepping on others to get ahead. Generosity comes from empathy, not profit margins.

So what’s going on here?
This list acts like it’s all about “truth,” but it’s mostly just pushing a one-sided, conservative view of the world. It skips nuance, ignores context, and calls that bravery. Real truth is messier. It takes listening, learning, questioning—and giving a damn about who’s affected.

Don’t fall for the “I’m just being honest” trick when someone’s just being a jerk.

You’re allowed to ask better questions. Keep doing that.