Dangerous and harmful? Sorry for my wrongthink I guess. I'm not saying any discussion has to be about racism and sexism, I'm saying that this discussion filled with thought experiments and tortured analogies barely even considers the prospect that there's something more at play here. As if there is no power dynamic whatsoever. This debate is as political (probably more so) as it is philosophical. Your post seems to presuppose that there aren't sexism and racism dynamics at play, which seems equally "dangerous and harmful" to me if we're going to go down that road.
As for in-group signaling, there's a lot of that going on here, including in your very comment (white coastal elite sensibilities). Talk about making a strong argument -- maybe saying a comment is "dangerous and elitist" isn't putting your best foot forward.
Roe v. Wade didn't fall because more people were convinced it should fall. A minority of the country elected a President that appointed the current Justices. A Senate representing a minority of the country used hardball power-plays to install those justices on the bench. Those Justices lied (according to two Senators that voted for them) and obfuscated to make sure they would be confirmed, some of whom passed by the slimmest of margins and certainly wouldn't have gotten on the bench if they had been candid about their intentions. Abortion rights are falling because people in power used their power to get what they wanted, regardless of anyone's opinion.
For me, this whole issue has taught me that the best way to get what you want isn't to convince people and build a coalition (who have largely made up their minds anyway), but to use power in cynical ways to reach your desired outcome, the consequences be damned.
Given the structure of the Senate and the composition of the states, implementing policies by simple will to power is a strategy only available to Republicans. And if you think convincing more people, person by person, isn't a viable strategy for Democrats, we're in for a bad time for the foreseeable future.
As for in-group signaling, there's a lot of that going on here, including in your very comment (white coastal elite sensibilities). Talk about making a strong argument -- maybe saying a comment is "dangerous and elitist" isn't putting your best foot forward.
Roe v. Wade didn't fall because more people were convinced it should fall. A minority of the country elected a President that appointed the current Justices. A Senate representing a minority of the country used hardball power-plays to install those justices on the bench. Those Justices lied (according to two Senators that voted for them) and obfuscated to make sure they would be confirmed, some of whom passed by the slimmest of margins and certainly wouldn't have gotten on the bench if they had been candid about their intentions. Abortion rights are falling because people in power used their power to get what they wanted, regardless of anyone's opinion.
For me, this whole issue has taught me that the best way to get what you want isn't to convince people and build a coalition (who have largely made up their minds anyway), but to use power in cynical ways to reach your desired outcome, the consequences be damned.