Jeez, so many things. The most influential 180 for me has been from being what others have called a “super Christian” to an atheist. This caused a few 180s for me: young earth creationist->evolution is a fact and the cornerstone of biology/big bang cosmology is probably the most correct Sex outside of marriage is bad->sluts are cool as fuck, actually Marriage is hierarchical->loving someone is a partnership and marriage is tax break for it The Bible is a revolutionary infallible divine guide->the Bible is an interesting, remarkably well-preserved text, a wildly inconsistent mythology, and with a weirdly cobbled mess of regressive morality even for it’s time Gay bad->ARM EVERYONE WHO IS LGBTQ
My political journey has been pretty wild, too. From a self-described “ultra-conservative” to Christian liberal to Christian “anti-patriot”(an aggressive political apathy because Jesus) to full communist(anarcho-syndicalist…ish) to Christian Socialism to Market Socialist to DemSoc to Libertarian Socialist to a kinda Cosmopolitan Anarchist/Socialist.
Another 180 for me that has strangely stayed independent of my religious and political views(mostly) is my views on feminism. I guess more specifically my views on what feminism is. I’ve always been a feminist deep down, but I had some pretty warped views on what feminism is, especially in my conservative days. The two things that always bothered me as a Christian about Christianity were slavery in the Bible and the treatment of women. The thing is, I really bought into the whole “feminism is when men bad and women rule world” bs for an embarrassingly long time. I may be a straight cis man, but even as a kid I thought the systemic unfair treatment of women was a real problem that urgently needed fixing, but feminism is just a pendulum swing to the other side. lol. Not only have I come to a better understanding of feminism with the goal of establishing equal rights for women, I’ve come to understand the role feminism plays for men’s liberation as well. Bell Hooks has really opened my eyes to the simplicity of feminism really being about our collective liberation from patriarchy. I truly appreciate feminism because I finally joined the movement in order to fight for the rights of others and instead of turning their nose at a perceived enemy, I was taught to fight for myself as well. I think it speaks volumes when a movement seeks to empower everyone that joins, despite the gargantuan disparity in the level of oppression they experience. I’m not a sideline cheerleader, I’m a fucking comrade. So I guess: feminism bad-> FUCK THE PATRIARCHY
The standards of ROE they hold fucking police officers to is absolutely fucked. They draw their weapons at the drop of a hat and fucking POINT a weapon at unarmed people all the fucking time. The second weapon safety rule is to NEVER point your weapon at anything you do not intend to shoot. IN A FUCKING WAR ZONE, a mfer could be cursing at you with a goddamn AK pointed at you and ROE say you still aren’t justified to engage. If a cop points a weapon directly at someone, that establishes intent by basic-ass weapons safety rules that these jackasses are supposed to be trained in. Charge all cops with attempted murder that point weapons at unarmed people. And I mean that unironically, pass a law and everything. They can’t keep getting away with escalating all these situations so fucking often that people feel the need to arm themselves and put on body armor just in case they run across a cop. And if these baby-bitch cops can’t be trusted with firearms, how about we take their fucking guns and arm minorities instead. At least minorities in America actually have a reason to fear for their lives enough to arm themselves.