It's also just a depressing loss of regional character. When I was growing up in rural PA, my people said "crick," we said "warsh," we didn't say "y'all." Now when I visit family it's like our authentic linguistic heritage has been replaced with this cosplay southern accent. It's a shame.

For real. As a ciswoman who was not pretty as a girl, this would've been a nightmare.

Or you could do as some other countries do and just reject the name and make the parents do the paperwork againt with a real name. Trouble is setting a reasonable/fair/non-racist process to decide what counts as a 'real name.'

I think the trouble is the rhetoric vs concrete bit. I feel like guys from Bernie to Trump do get points from people who dont pay much attention bc they have big *rhetorical* visions for the future, so they look like they stand for something even if the details don't hold up on any inspection.

I don't disagree, but it's a lot easier to show you stand for some kind of values when you're aiming for a real coherent vision of the future rather than an ad hoc collection of policies and oppositions. Even people who disagree with your vision will trust you more for having one.

A lot of people just aren't prepared for that to happen and try to keep arguing with you anyway. It's like they don't process that you've changed your position. Makes me wonder why they were bothering to argue in the first place if it never occurred to them that they could do so effectively.