Hot Takes

Caster Semenya being unable to compete in 400m to mile events is wholly unethical and flawed. For context, Semenya is an accomplished female South African athlete who has higher testosterone levels than 'the average woman', and due to a new 2018 IAAF ruling on "differences of sex development", she's now barred from the aforementioned events. While her "having an unfair advantage" sounds simple on a surface-level, these implications and 'alms of testosterone' are widely overblown.

• The science is insufficient. The difference between testosterone and oestrogen performance is usually around 12%; Semenya is generally 2% faster than her competitors. While this 2% could be down to the hormonal imbalance, an athlete's psychology & work ethic & differing (eg more successful) training methods could all play into this. Semenya's BP has also been topped by others -- 10 years ago from Semenya's BP, in 2008, Pamela Jamilo ran 1:54.01, and even longer ago in 1983, Russian athlete Jarmila Kratochvílová (who has been vigorously tested and no signs of doping) ran the world record of 1:53.28

• Figures aside, many encourage Semenya to undergo surgery & take medicine to reduce her testosterone. Asking a woman -- a person -- to toy with their natural makeup just to prove one is 'woman enough' is irrefutably degrading and flirts with violating human rights.

• It singles out Semenya's situation specifically. Other women athletes that have higher testosterone levels, like congenital adrenal hyperplasia, are not asked to lessen their testosterone levels. Athletes who have increased red-blood cell mass, enabling heightened oxygen-carrying capacity, are not asked to fix their mutation. In fact, many athletes that have enhanced genetics with FAR more advantages than Semenya are and have been allowed to compete. For example, Finish skier Eero Mäntyranta's red-blood cell mass is up to 50% greater than the average person, thus, naturally, allowing a superhuman performance. He augmented this through natural doping (basically just gene therapy), which was allowed at the time and later outlawed, but his genetic mutation still remains just and fair.

Why then? Semenya is a black, androgynous, successful queer athlete. The amalgam of racism, misogyny, homophobia and transphobia that pervades the air -- and these faceless & massive institutions -- is omnipotent. It sends the message of "you're too male" to aspiring intersex individuals, and just reinforces the hopelessness and ostracisation millions of them go through. On most youtube videos featuring Semenya competing, the top comments are usually "the podium is filled with men", and the 3 white women who didn't make the podium are victims of these """men""" -- the other black athletes don't even have higher testosterone levels, they're just black and people can't handle their physique and athleticism, sadly. I could go on and on addressing people's faux-good-faith arguments regarding the "slippery slope of letting transgender athletes compete", but I don't want to derail and ramble further.
 
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There is too many goddamn states in the US! Like holy fk, having 50 different responses to a pandemic has just exacerbated how stupid it is to have that many states. Literally if a State had actually done everything recommended to slow down the spread of Covid, (Masks, distancing, shutting stuff down stuff and more) some dumbfk from Florida would just come down and screw it all up.

" B-b-but the states are laboratories of democracy" Bruh we aren't an actual science lab we don't need 50+ fking test variables, these are actually people's lives. And with so many states, the news and happening from each get washed away unnoticed in the craziness of the world.

How many should there be you ask? I have no clue, I am not an expert in any field close to what would be necessary to make that decision but for symbolism lets go with 13 states, I mean would anyone actually notice and or care if Idaho Wyoming and Montana combined? No, the answer is no.
 
I don't find Trevor Noah funny, and he got even more unfunny when the pandemic hit.

He has no material outside of Donald Trump jokes. Hell, jokes about a man that provides almost endless material should be fucking easy. Instead it's lame, milquetoast humor with many jokes being a comparison like "that would be like if X was a thing". His attempts at wit and wordplay are cringey and repetitive, almost like a teenager who is trying stand up for the first time.
Now, he's supposedly much better as a standup comedian. Then he should just fire most of his Daily Show writers and do it himself.
 
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I saw someone on discord say that "Dark Humor is cringe" IE joking about tragedies, sad events, etc. I want to spit a hot take and say Dark Humor is the best humor and that normal everyday jokes are fairly mid. I do think there is a right and wrong way to tell these style of jokes though; as there is with every style of humor.
 

Cynara

Banned deucer.
Private house renting should be abolished. Landlord is not a valid occupation. Housing is/should be a basic human right that is affordable for all. Affordable housing does not exist and should exist, instead the private renting sector is rife with serious exploitation of the lower class.

The price of bottled drinking water is outrageous.
 

Diophantine

Banned deucer.
Positive discrimination for university places and employment schemes should exist for children/young adults from low-income families and/or the low quality secondary/sixth form/high school, but should not exist for those on the basis of non-economic identity factors such as race, sexuality, and gender.

Companies and universities just tick boxes and say "look, we're not racist/sexist/etc". It may have initially been out of good intentions, but now you get many people abusing their identities to get opportunities more easily (I don't blame them - just how it is), instead of those that have been directly negatively impacted by their educational upbringing.
 

Mr.E

unban me from Discord
is a Two-Time Past SPL Champion
The price of bottled drinking water is outrageous.
The throwaway bottles of big-brand stuff is but it's extremely cheap when bought in bulk! You can get gallons of water for pennies on the dollar at most grocery stores or buy ginormo cases of generic bottled water for a few bucks at larger gas stations/convenience stores.
 

Texas Cloverleaf

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The throwaway bottles of big-brand stuff is but it's extremely cheap when bought in bulk! You can get gallons of water for pennies on the dollar at most grocery stores or buy ginormo cases of generic bottled water for a few bucks at larger gas stations/convenience stores.
Can confirm when I used to work retail the default price of a 12-case of bottled water was $2.29 CAD and would occasionally go on sale for $0.99
 
Private house renting should be abolished. Landlord is not a valid occupation. Housing is/should be a basic human right that is affordable for all. Affordable housing does not exist and should exist, instead the private renting sector is rife with serious exploitation of the lower class.
Public house renting should also be abolished. Most governments that provide public housing actually charge their occupants rent as well, albeit at a lower rate. This is also a travesty because the lower/working class should not be charged to use infrastructure that we ourselves built and paid taxes for. And if something is a basic right, as housing should be, then it can't come with a price tag. Fuck state capitalism.
 

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