# What have you changed your mind about? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 23, 2016, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about/763763 "2016-08-23T21:04:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Annoying\_Buzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Annoying\_Buzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annoying_Buzz)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about/763763/41 "2016-08-26T02:12:57Z")
As a teen, my opinion was that homosexuality was unnatural. I think I can safely say I’ve done a full 180 from that position. My opinions on transgenderism changed later, but also changed the same way. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about/763763/42 "2016-08-26T02:27:12Z")
I’ve changed my views on race and gender because of black lives matter. I now see that we as white males tend to throw up this wall of “wait, what about” but I think we should stop and acknowledge that yes, certain people have certain privileges. Yes, as a white male I might be more trusted than a black male who is younger and as a male I definitely am safer camping or hiking alone. But than along with that it’s also a privilege to be born in the US and not Somalia. To have the use of both arms and legs as well as eyes and ears. So yes, we must all acknowledge when an oppressed group gets mad about things. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about/763763/43 "2016-08-26T02:43:55Z")
When the movie “Food Inc” was released, I changed my mind about eating factory farmed animal products. I have run the gamut since, on the vegan to vegetarian to pescetarian to eating meat again choices. I’ve come down to whatever, I don’t have the energy to constantly educate and am happy to simply eat mindfully and with full awareness of whatever choices I make and their impact. What I did change my mind on for good is about hunting for meat. I used to be totally against any kind of hunting. After all the research and pondering I did, I concluded I have no issue with “good” hunting with the intentions of filling freezers for families to live on and with respect to the animals. Living in the wild and having one bad day, really isn’t such a bad way for a wild beastie to go. Far better than any factory farming, that’s for sure. So I’m OK with hunting for food now. And then a friend of mine convinced me to go to a “introduction to guns and safety” course last December and I’ve changed my mind about guns, too. I used to be generally against them (exceptions being shotguns/rifles for hunting) and if you told me a year ago I’d have a gun in my house, that I owned, on purpose, I’d have said you were nuts. Then the class happened and I shot a pistol (prior to that just a shotgun -skeet - and bows), and I applied for my FOID that night. Since then I’ve acquired my CCL and own a semiauto pistol while actively saving up for my next one that will be for shooting league/competition. It’s freaking fun and I’m kinda good at it. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about/763763/44 "2016-08-26T03:32:25Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > But than along with that it’s also a privilege to be born in the US and not Somalia. To have the use of both arms and legs as well as eyes and ears. > > So yes, we must all acknowledge when an oppressed group gets mad about things. I read this great book a long time ago, _Pedagogy of the Oppressed_. The book has been probably been one of the most influential books on my mindset toward addressing injustice. One thing Freire said that really stuck with me is: ‘‘There is an oppressor and an oppressed within each of us.’’ You are right on point. Intersectionality is a key to understanding privilege. The ways we’re advantaged and disadvantaged are both relevant. I used to intern for a Jewish retirement and continued care/hospice facility, and it drove that point home to me in a big way. It was a very wealthy, economically privileged institution with access to the best conceivable care… and some of our residents were Holocaust survivors. I’ve had the shit end of the stick in some ways but I’m probably advantaged in ways I’ll never even know. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about/763763/45 "2016-08-26T03:58:59Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > That’s terrible. I’ve always looked at pharmacy as a potentially really cool job. Though I have to admit my local drug store pharmacies always seem understaffed. The economy wasn’t the only thing that made a drastic change in 2008. That year, +/- a year or two depending on where you work(ed), was the pivotal point, and my unofficial “retirement” year was 2012. It’s a decision for which I’ve had 100% support. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about/763763/46 "2016-08-26T04:21:04Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > The economy wasn’t the only thing that made a drastic change in 2008. That year, +/- a year or two depending on where you work(ed), was the pivotal point, and my unofficial “retirement” year was 2012. It’s a decision for which I’ve had 100% support. ☹ I assume you’re talking about Obamacare. Could you elaborate? Was it an added burden for the pharmacies to process prescriptions and they just didn’t have the staffing? Or something more? ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about/763763/47 "2016-08-26T04:23:09Z")
I’ll start with spelling-and-grammar. I used to be quite the stickler without much patience for changing usage. Now, though I still try to get it right in my own stuff, but I’m not bothered by other folks’ spelling, as long as the meaning is clear. Through many discussions on the Dope, I’ve come to accept that English is a slowly but constantly changing thing. Definitions and bits of grammar I was sure of as a younger man are no longer set in stone, as I thought. Perhaps they never were, but I didn’t realize it. ---
**Author:** ![Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Enter\_the\_Flagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enter_the_Flagon)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about/763763/48 "2016-08-26T05:03:40Z")
In my 20’s, I supported pretty much the entire Libertarian Party platform. But the more I learned about how the real world works, the more I came to see libertarian policies as naive and untenable. More recently, I’ve changed my mind about the minimum wage, after reading how most economists feel about it. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about/763763/49 "2016-08-26T08:42:39Z")
For a long time the jury still seemed out on Climate Change, so I sided with the skeptics during that early period (1990s). I am skeptical about most things at first. Even now I think there are some contradictions or exaggerations in the Climate Change statistics causing unnecessary panic, but I do accept that the scientists have it right, and it’s all going doolally, fast. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about/763763/50 "2016-08-26T17:44:57Z")
> [@MareIt](#): > > I used to think that racism, sexism, bigotry etc was rare and restricted to the few assholes. Now? Now I know it is everywhere. Sometimes explicit, sometimes implicit, sometimes not seen at first glance. Knowing that has made me more willing to speak out and speak up when I encounter it. Something we can thank Trump for, possibly? That is, knowing more fully the true extent of these attitudes. I, for one, preferred when those people felt somewhat constrained to stay under their rocks. For me, I have changed politically a fair amount. I have always been strong on individual liberty, and remain so. On the economic side, I have changed quite a bit. I have come to see that “benefit to society” includes benefits to me specifically. It is to the benefit of everyone in society to have good education, good infrastructure (roads and bridges), good and fairly administered public safety, and some kind of help for people who fall down, before they get run over by the bus. I am still of the opinion that government does nearly everything badly, but I can’t think of any other way to get these things done. Libertarianism might be made to work on paper or in fiction but I despair of the reality. ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about/763763/51 "2016-08-26T18:07:15Z")
> [@Urbanredneck](#): > > I’ve changed my views on race and gender because of black lives matter. > > I now see that we as white males tend to throw up this wall of “wait, what about” but I think we should stop and acknowledge that yes, certain people have certain privileges. Yes, as a white male I might be more trusted than a black male who is younger and as a male I definitely am safer camping or hiking alone. > > But than along with that it’s also a privilege to be born in the US and not Somalia. To have the use of both arms and legs as well as eyes and ears. > > So yes, we must all acknowledge when an oppressed group gets mad about things. I’ve given you hell for pretty much everything you have ever posted. So it’s only fair to give you props when you post something good. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2016, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about/763763/52 "2016-08-26T20:07:30Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I assume you’re talking about Obamacare. Could you elaborate? Was it an added burden for the pharmacies to process prescriptions and they just didn’t have the staffing? Or something more? It’s hospital work too which has changed. The ACA had nothing to do with it from our end, and I blame a lot of escalating RX costs on Medicare Part D(isaster). I was working at a grocery store when it was announced ca. 2000, and there was a lot of publicity about how pharmacists were almost universally opposed to it. One of my co-workers, who had been practicing 20 years longer than I had and owned his own pharmacy for some years, summed it up this way: “When that goes online, you will find out just how free it is.” He was right, and it keeps getting worse and worse all the time. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2016, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about/763763/53 "2016-08-27T22:34:37Z")
When I was in high school (class of 1967) state law required us to take, and pass, Civics class. We were taught the basic workings of state and federal government; how bills are passed, separation of powers, and such. It’s very useful knowledge, and I agreed with the intent of the law. I still think it’s a good idea, but I think it should teach kids the way the government actually works. That reality is quite different from the textbook version we were taught. I’ll skip the bushel of cynical citizen stuff, if that’s okay with you. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about/763763/54 "2016-08-29T21:26:30Z")
> [@Mosier](#): > > Opposite for me. I was very strongly in favor of unions until they got a guy brought back to work **who was caught stealing thousands of dollars worth of building materials and assaulted the security people who caught him doing it**. If the guy was “caught” I’ll presume the employer likely got the police to lay criminal charges and fired his ass. I’ll have to presume the termination led to a grievance arbitration hearing. If the evidence was as strong as you say, how did the employer manage to lose? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about/763763/55 "2016-08-29T21:36:01Z")
I think I’ll have just _one more beer_ after all. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about/763763/56 "2016-08-29T23:14:29Z")
> [@Mallard](#): > > If the guy was “caught” I’ll presume the employer likely got the police to lay criminal charges and fired his ass. I’ll have to presume the termination led to a grievance arbitration hearing. If the evidence was as strong as you say, how did the employer manage to lose? :dubious: The problem with this thread is that I’ve had to bite my tongue on a number of things people have posted, because I think they have changed their minds in the wrong direction. This thread could potentially devolve into dozens of spinoff threads. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2016, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about/763763/57 "2016-08-29T23:43:41Z")
I’ve heard this before, some thief got his job back because of the big bad union, when in actuality, the employer just didn’t have the goods on the guy and couldn’t prove the case so I was curious what happened. Just like when " murderers go free" ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about/763763/58 "2016-08-30T00:36:34Z")
I used to not believe in white male privilege until I got older. I still don’t believe that it is as universal as many people claim but it is real for respectable looking, white men that are older than about 30. I know that I am not going to get ticketed, let alone threatened, by the police if I get stopped. All I have to do is say I am sorry and all is instantly forgiven. People listen to me at work when I say something and my opinion has weight that other people are expected to act on. I can walk into almost any building in the western hemisphere without being questioned even if I just want to use the bathroom or look around. I forgot how unusual that was until I took my daughters to a high-security event this past weekend and they noticed that traffic literally stopped when I held up my hand to cross a busy street (this is the Boston area where such a response is not normal) and the police just waved us through every checkpoint. It wasn’t because we weren’t a threat. Their mother is the master of being ticketed, detained and questioned even though though she is much less physically threatening than I am. I was a little embarrassed when I had to explain the reality to my daughters but they have to learn to live in the real world. I can walk around freely and do whatever I want without much regard besides basic common sense but they are going to have to be more diligent about their own safety and security to have a consistently good outcome. ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about/763763/59 "2016-08-30T01:03:40Z")
Until about 10 years ago I’d been the textbook definition of the feared “Christian right” voter. Not only did I believe the entire dogma of evangelical Christianity, but I also bought hook, line and sinker into its political extension, the Republican Party. These days I’m agnostic and libertarian. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2016, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about/763763/60 "2016-08-30T01:16:15Z")
> [@Mallard](#): > > If the guy was “caught” I’ll presume the employer likely got the police to lay criminal charges and fired his ass. I’ll have to presume the termination led to a grievance arbitration hearing. If the evidence was as strong as you say, how did the employer manage to lose? :dubious: I think this could lead down a spinoff rabbit hole, so I’ll leave this particular story where it is. But, it might help to clarify my actual position a bit. I’m still in favor of labor unions, but with a more nuanced opinion now. I’ve changed my mind from “employers are always trying to exploit you, and unions are always right to challenge every labor-related decision the employer ever makes” to “maybe unions are a little too quick to protect really terrible employees.” I’ve seen unions defend people who stole from their employer, a teacher who was habitually drunk while she taught an elementary class, another teacher who had an inappropriate relationship with an elementary school child (met with the kid in private, locked the doors to the classroom while he and the kid were alone, wrote letters to the kid and told the kid not to show the parents, drove the kid places alone in his car after class, etc). We’ve all seen unions protect cops who have ten times the average (or more!) the number of complaints filed against them by civilians. I still think unions are very important, but I also think that they interfere with and disrupt the employee discipline and termination process so much for every single case, that supervisors just decide to live with terrible, toxic employees rather than try to fix the problem and fight the union. If unions would just stop doing that, my support would be much higher. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about/763763.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-changed-your-mind-about/763763.md?page=4)