Dr. V's magical putter

You didn't say that. You said no one called for one, which is provably and demonstrably false.

 

If a tree falls in a forest...

 

I agree with this, especially the indictment of the "clicks above all" philosophy of web journalism:

http://thebiglead.com/2014/01/19/the-rise-and-fall-of-caleb-hannans-grantland-story/

Even though Dr. V explicitly asked, at the outset of Hannan’s research, for the work to be about the science behind the putter (and it really is bananas that this whole thing arose over a fucking putter) and not the scientist, Hannan was well within his right as a journalist to expose the fraud that almost certainly enabled the golf club’s popularity to take off.

After CBS broadcaster Gary McCord touted the putter and its creator’s purported military engineering and elite education background — and the club was used successfully by notable professionals — it’s good reporting to expose that narrative as a complete crock of shit and imply that the placebo effect is responsible for golfers’ apparent preferences for it. This information could have carried a very strong piece if the suicide were treated sympathetically.

Would it have been shared as much without the transgender revelation and thrilling narrative format, though? Probably not, and this presents a moral hazard for all of us in web publishing. Just as when we fall for fake stuff, it’s not as if the pageviews and ad revenue get taken back.

 

Hi, big time ESPN journalists reading this thread!

Penny for your thoughts?

 

How dare you:

Why do you not take Simmons at his word?

 

That's a different argument, perhaps indicative of a country not ready to have that conversation yet.

That's everyone's fault, including ours.

 

Would Dr. V be alive today if Caleb never found that YouTube video?

 

Apologies for backtracking a couple pages, but this really bothers me:

Trans* people believe their issues align with those of gays. Gay people believe their issues align with those of trans*. Multiple straight male posters on this thread know better, though.

The arrogance, it burns.

 

Yeah, and I don't think it really matter whether or not sexuality and gender identity are analogous. What the gay community, and what the trans* community seek from the public, and from the law, are largely the same thing.

And, it largely focuses on acceptance, and being treated like everyone else.

 

I assume you're in part talking about me.

I was speaking in terms of acceptance. Learning to accept men being sexually attracted to other men is a different process than learning to accept men who identify as women.

I'm sorry. It just is.

If the gay and transgender communities want to align with each other, they're more than welcome.

But they are no more the same thing than homosexuals and pedophiles, another common misperception from the not-too-distant past.

 

I certainly think a lot of their issues align. Like I said, so do a lot of the issues of the AFL/CIO and the pro-life movement. But I'm a sentient human being who can make my own judgment, based upon evidence, on that. They aren't doctors. They aren't researchers. In this case, they are mostly political allies.

My point is that I'm not obligated to support all trans* issues because I support gay marriage. Hell, I'm not obligated to support all gay issues because I support gay marriage. We should stop imposing this binary framework on civil rights.

 

Remember when we felt sympathy for the trans* person, who was not treated with respect:

But, hey, Paul Oberjuerge was just "telling the truth". Christine's status was already well known, and he had made no agreement with her to avoid the subject.

What's the problem?