@rey Also note that the original inspiration for my whole rant was actually NOT the news or Masto discourse, but a book about parasitology ffs.

There's a great section in Carl Zimmer's _Parasite Rex_ about the concept of the "Red Queen's Race" in biology. Like the one in Alice Through The Looking Glass, it's a race where you have to run in order to keep still. Parasites and predators constantly evolve new offenses, so herds develop new defenses. The process will never, ever end unless evolution itself ends. And for better or worse, it seems to apply to politics too. :|

But just like with biology, sociopolitical exploitation breeds some really beautiful monsters and some really miraculous order out of total chaos. You try to put something like liberated sexuality or genuine empathy down for good, and all you really do is bring it back a little WEIRDER. It's been one of my major life goals to accelerate this process as much as possible. >:D