Another part of this that disappoints me that is a way more minor but nonetheless still has meaning to me personally is I'm someone who has never really had a role-model or idol or "hero" as such of any sort, either now or as a child. And that's one of the things that bugged me as a kid like when at the start of a new school-year they did those "learn a bit about your classmates" questionnaires and stuff, when the question of "who's your biggest hero" or "who's your biggest role-model" came up, I was never sure who to put because even as a kid I just never really viewed the world that way and nothing in particular came to mind, so I had to keep those kind of questions blank. And yet I think of myself as a well-balanced enough human being. And I think part of this is due to how, while I wouldn't have been able to express this in this kind of way as a child, but I guess nonetheless on some level even as a kid I always knew that nobody's perfect, that we all just human beings with our own strengths and weaknesses and so it doesn't make sense to really elevate anyone to that level to begin with, no matter how good or amazing they might seem. No one should be put on a pedestal, and I believe me viewing the world that way has lead to a balanced approach and helped me avoid concepts like idol-worship or becoming too attached to anyone that I just embarrassingly defend them no matter what, or stuff like that, and in that regard, I wouldn't want to be any other way.
So just based on my own experiences, it's way more a minor thing, but the idea that we need any kind of role models at all and can't just strive to be great people even if we don't have any particular role models, of either gender, is also something that bugs me a bit because that's just so contrary to my own experience and feels like it's just kind of erasing it, even if Crews doesn't intend to do that, as he obviously doesn't know that I exist at all in the first place. But nonetheless I do, I wouldn't say that applies to me at all, and I personally would feel I turned out alright and wouldn't consider myself malnourished or anything of the sort, not in that kinda way at least. I don't have any particular role models (no, not even my own parents, despite having two wonderful loving ones, despite their best intentions they clearly had no idea quite what to do with someone as extremely shy and quite and introverted and anxious like me and that caused them all kinds of distress despite wanting the best for me, their answer was to not push me in any particular regards and I kinda just had to figure a lot of stuff out on my own, and I feel that worked fine in the end and don't blame them or anything, it just kinda is what is is and that's another component of how even in regards to them I'm able to have as close to a balanced view as possible and realize they're just two people doing their best, with strengths and weaknesses, strong points and flaws as with everyone else and that too made me part of who I am and if I had my way I wouldn't want to be anyone else or be any different from how I am in those kinda regards) and just kinda figured stuff out on my own through interactions with a bunch of different kinds of people, and I don't consider myself lacking in that kinda way at all and don't feel I particularly need those exact type of connections and am malnourished because of it or anything.
So that's more of a minor thing, but is nonetheless another reason why the whole thing feels off to me, personally.
Oh good so we're now in the phase of ignoring all the good a person has done because we disagree with one of their viewpoints and now need to destroy their career.
Left fights itself once again, purity test, etc.
It's OK to disagree with people without making them an enemy, Terry is a very vocal proud father and does a lot for his kids, of course he disagrees with articles stating that fathers are unneeded, etc.
Can we stop with the phrase "purity test" stuff though? It's okay to disagree people without throwing that word around, which only serves to imply they're being disingenuous on some grounds or another and adds nothing to the discussion, and can only heighten tensions on both sides. I hate that phrase so much, because even if it's not meant that way, it just comes off as so so dismissive, and serves to imply that it's NOT okay to disagree, that what the people making the "purity tests" are saying doesn't matter and hence why it can just be brushed off so easily in the first place.
Disagreeing is one thing, but we can do it without that term, that adds nothing to the discussion and I wish, god I wish would just go away or disappear back into whatever hole that particular phrase crawled out of to begin with, but I'm nowhere near optimistic enough to believe will actually happen.
