Awh, can I introduce myself too? O:)

You're the piler-onner I recently accused of being Thorongil. If that's who you really are.. then sure. Answer the question.

Well, I'm not. So I guess we both can see what Thorongil Lute Lover has to say here, X-)

Calling me out I see. I suppose I shall indulge you.

I find the recurring anti-American thing — Mongrel

You won't find that from me.

What brought you to PF originally? — Mongrel

The need to alleviate boredom.

Oh... shit... sorry about that. I said some anti-American sentiments... solely directed at, and in passive-aggressive response to Trump supporters, and with the intent to be obnoxious, and annoying. Everyone else in the world besides those couple of people are collateral damage.

I apologize, and don't have anything seriously against Americans, I was just being a dick on purpose because I was annoyed at Trump victory gloating. I'll refrain in the future.

What the fuck is going on on this forum right now?! Seriously guys, get your shit together, it's a fucking internet forum.

if it's any consolation, I'm still an American, even if I might contribute to the sentiments so referenced.

I'm an old lady, Generation X — Mongrel

I'm in the gray zone where you could say I arrived at the tail end of the Baby Boom generation or at the beginning of Generation X. I wouldn't say that I'm old. (Of course, some punk-ass kids who need to get the hell offa my lawn might say otherwise, but that's another story.)

Oh... shit... sorry about that. I said some anti-American sentiments... solely directed at, and in passive-aggressive response to Trump supporters, and with the intent to be obnoxious, and annoying. Everyone else in the world besides those couple of people are collateral damage.

I apologize, and don't have anything seriously against Americans, I was just being a dick on purpose because I was annoyed at Trump victory gloating. I'll refrain in the future. — Wosret

Don't be sorry! I just thought if I was going to interview Thorongil, I should say some things about myself... otherwise it would be like a weird police interview or something. That was just something that came to mind.

How would you answer the question, btw? How did you end up on a philosophy forum? What brought you to it?

I'm in the gray zone where you could say I arrived at the tail end of the Baby Boom generation or at the beginning of Generation X. I wouldn't say that I'm old. (Of course, some punk-ass kids who need to get the hell offa my lawn might say otherwise, but that's another story.) — Terrapin Station

I'm also too young to be Baby Boomer and a little old for GenX, but the music and general vibe of GenX is definitely me. So.. same question: what brought you to a philosophy forum?

The need to alleviate boredom. — Thorongil

But... you could have picked rock climbing... or hunting arrow-heads. Why philosophy?

what brought you to a philosophy forum? — Mongrel

I love philosophy, and I have an academic background in it, but not many in my current social milieu have much of a grounding in it or are very interested in it (I work in arts & entertainment fields and the vast majority of my social circle is comprised of people in A&E). I like to "stay in practice" re social interaction centered on philosophy, so that's my interest. I prefer casual, friendly conversation, which isn't typically how it's approached in venues like this--usually people want to argue (er, "debate") instead, there are usually a lot of superiority complexes involved, venues like this often seem to attract people with little social skills and who don't really want to have social skills, etc., but I want to retain my social interaction skills with respect to philosophy, so I have to take what's available.

I love philosophy, — Terrapin Station

Why?

it's just a natural disposition, similar to loving desert landscapes or pizza or whatever. Ultimately, it's "because that's the way my brain is/the way my brain works."

When would you say you first noticed your brain was philosophy oriented?

I first realized that that was what it was considered when I was 11, in 1973. I wound up browsing the philosophy section of a bookstore for the first time at that age and realized "Wait a minute--there's actually a whole tradition of thinking about things in this way?!? Cool!" And that's when I started studying philosophy as such. The first book I picked up was the Robert Paul Wolff-edited Ten Great Works of Philosophy.

So you must have been thinking along philosophical lines before that. Do you remember anything in particular (pre-11 years old, I mean.)

So you must have been thinking along philosophical lines before that. — Mongrel

Yeah, that's what I meant by "I first realized that that was what it was considered." I naturally thought that way, but I hadn't realized that it had a name or that there was a tradition of it or that there was anything unusual about it, really.

Regarding recalling any particular philosophical views at that age, I can't offhand. Maybe if I thought about it longer, but a lot of it is a blur with respect to more developed views at a later age.

So what views have you developed?

I'm blah blah blahing about some of them here all the time. Just follow my posts, or just look at my post ("comment") history. For example, in the past 24 hours, I was explaining the different ways of looking at the question of whether something is "real," I was explaining my "reference pointism" in relation to the mind/body problem with an emphasis on how it impacts a common objection from the "hard problem" supporters, etc.

Damn. I was going to interview myself, or ask my cat Sulla to do so, or interview Sulla. But now everybody will want to be interviewed. If not by themselves or their cats, then by someone else.

Don't you have some oblique statement to make about sexual harassment?

Don't you have some oblique statement to make about sexual harassment? — Mongrel

Well, Sulla might.

it's just a natural disposition, similar to loving desert landscapes — Terrapin Station

Desert landscapes is exactly what comes to mind when I am approached by serious philosophy.

So this is how stupid I am: I knew this gay dude who's an enthusiastic Republican. I asked him once why he didn't get involved in politics considering how much thought and energy he seemed to devote to it. He told me it was because he's gay. For a second I just stared at him.. like... so? And then I realized.. oh shit.. you can't become a politician in the US if you're gay! This was a few years back so maybe things have changed, but could you comment on what that's like? Or has it never been of significance to you? Or what?

It's just that in many if not most locales, you're unfortunately not going to get very far as an openly gay politician. A lot of folks would still refrain voting for you simply because you're gay.

Still, Barney Frank, for example, was a congressman from Massachusetts. He was in office for over 20 years after it came out that he was gay.

On the other hand, Jim McGreevey was the governor of New Jersey who resigned not too long after folks learned he was gay, but that was due to other controversies, especially threats of sexual harassment lawsuits.

And it wasn't known that either were gay when they were first elected.

Terrapin Station stole my Frank thunder, but there is more. Larry Craig, a presumptive heterosexual Senator from Idaho was arrested for suggesting to an undercover cop that sex might be an amusing interlude in a toilet stall at the Minneapolis airport. Based on my experience of the Minneapolis Airport's sterility, I would say that a quickie in a toilet stall beats most of the time-passing options available there. Whose budget was sufficiently plush that they could afford to have cops suppressing cock sucking, don't know.

Senator Craig, martyr to the cause



Here is a list from Wikipedia of gay congressmen currently or gently serving in the US Congress:

Kyrsten Sinema
Mark Pocan
Mark Takano
Sean Patrick Maloney
David Cicilline
Jared Polis
Mike Michaud
Mark Foley
Michael Huffington
Jim Kolbe
im Kolbe
Steve Gunderson
Barney Frank
Jon Hinson
Gerry Studds
Robert Bauman
Stewart McKinney
Tammy Baldwin
Harris Wofford

The Wiki article also notes that gay politicians serve in all 50 states, in one capacity or another.

Of course it's possible to be a gay politician, even a successful gay politician. The key is to be a gay politician from the get go. Revealing the crocodile in the closet later, or worse--having the crocodile brought out by somebody else, is the fatal error. Accusing someone of faggotry fails as a destructive strategy if one has already announced one's faggot status, and is neutralized even more if the faggot adds "and proud of it".

For my friend, I think it's probably just a little late. If it had been possible for him in the 1980's.. I could definitely see him as a congressman or senator. But now his history is just invested elsewhere.

Considering that you saw a lot of that change, how did you experience it? Did it mean anything to you when you started to see those doors opening? In terms of how you saw yourself? Or not?

That's cool. Hand the phone to your cat.