I know I used to get into a lot of political debates on here (and in school, and on Instagram, and on Twitter, etc.) when I was between the ages of 14-17. It was kind of my "thing" for a while. I generally avoid politics now. It's not worth the hostility that comes with it.

That being said, I was looking through some of my old posts and I found myself disagreeing with a lot of my own arguments lol. Some topics in particular that I've changed my mind on include:

Police

I'll start off with probably the biggest shift. I used to be very pro-police. I'm pretty sure I have a "Blue Lives Matter" shirt somewhere. Then I started actually interacting with police officers, and man do they suck lol. (I think Audit the Audit's videos on YouTube also played a big part in changing my mind.) I do have to say that I've met some very kind and friendly police officers. I can think of two of the top of my head that I had awesome interactions with. But the majority of police officers that I've encountered have been jerks. It's a job that attracts people that get a rush from having power, and from exerting that power over people. And the system rewards that type of behavior. The police academy needs to teach empathy. It needs to teach understanding. And most importantly, it needs to teach the rights and liberties that citizens are entitled to. Right now, there are far too many police officers who think they're job is to find away to gives as many tickets and arrest as many people as possible. It should be the other way around. As a police officer, your job should be to resolve situations without needing to make arrests or write tickets. I wouldn't say I'm in favor of abolishing the police, but I do think significant reform is necessary.

Transgender issues

This is a topic that I always had some internal struggles with when I was younger. I was very much a party-follower at that time; because I tended to side with conservatives on most issues, I felt like I had to side with them on all issues. Therefore, I would often make points about transgender people having a mental disorder, not respecting preferred pronouns, etc. This wasn't even really a political take, it was kind of just rude lol. But I always felt conflicted about it, because in addition to being a conservative, I've also always been libertarian. And the libertarian side of me kept saying "who cares what other people do?"

Over time, that side won out, and that is my stance now: who cares what other people do? Other people's gender identity is none of my business, and it doesn't affect me in any way. Wear whatever clothes you want. Call yourself whatever you want. Get whatever kind of surgeries or hormone treatments you want.

The bathroom thing was a big topic of discussion back then, and I was on the side of people needing to use the bathroom that aligns with their biological sex. Now I'm on the side of it's a bathroom, who cares, just pee, wash your hands, and leave.

That being said, I do firmly believe that children should not be undergoing sex change operations or hormone replacement therapy. Adults can do whatever they want, but there's a reason that we don't let children vote, or own firearms, or get tattoos. While I do think children are generally much smarter than people give them credit for, they don't always have the best decision-making processes, nor the best foresight. Sometimes it is necessary to protect children from themselves, and I believe preventing them from undergoing procedures or hormone therapies that could have a permanent effect on their bodies is an example of that.

Services for children

I am still firmly pro-life. That has not changed, and that will not change. I do not think abortion should be legal at any point during pregnancy, unless the pregnancy puts the mother's life at risk.

What has changed, however, is my opinion about what should happen after birth. Sometimes pro-choice people will say something along the lines of "you're not pro-life, you're just pro-birth," and while I generally think this is a pretty weak argument that relies on being "clever" more than anything substantive, I do think a lot more could be done for children to ensure their well-being. I think this is especially important in a world where abortion is outlawed, and children that normally would have been killed in the womb are now either being adopted, going to foster care, or being raised by people (or a single person) that didn't want them in the first place.

I generally oppose government assistance programs. I think able-bodied adults should be more or less on their own to work, make their own money, and support themselves. But I am in favor of government assistance for children. Adults are responsible for their own failures, but children should not face the consequences of their parents' failures.

I think we need to incentivize adoption and remove a lot of the barriers that currently exist so that more children are able to go to loving homes. I think we need to find a way to ensure that any money or assistance going to low income families with children is actually being spent on those children. I think schools should have free breakfast and lunches for all students. I think we need schools to care more about the overall well-being of their students, rather than just grades and behavior.

When I was younger, I never would have supported anything like what I just discussed in the above paragraph. But maybe then I was just pro-birth, rather than pro-life.

I'm sure there are probably other topics that I've changed my mind on too, but these are the ones that came to mind right away. What about you? Have you changed your mind on any political topics as you've gotten older?

Many things and even with the things that my stance remains the same on my underlying motivations tend to be a lot more developed.

I feel like my sociology and language background gave me a structural awareness that opened my eyes to a lot of social issues that I had previously ignored. One example being realizing how capitalism influences so many aspects of our lives even on a psychological level. The goals we set, the relationships we keep and the way we participate in society. One of the more highlighted examples being the commodification of dating. Dating apps, changing the way many people connect with others (generally for the worse in my view). Suddenly there's hundreds of people to choose from at any given moment, and paradoxically that leads many of us to struggle with finding any sort of connection. People become a lot more expendable, and as a result we're encouraged to constantly market ourselves. All of this before even making contact with another person.

I do try to avoid taking a deterministic view of society. I don't think there is a single metric that completely orders the world (even if money probably comes the closest). What I feel like a lot of the more diehard SJW fail to acknowledge is that hierarchy is a natural and everpresent part of society, but the standards through which we judge people can change both over time and in different contexts. From more obvious aspects to sex, skin color, money to less talked about ones like educational background or physical attractiveness. Generally if you eliminate one, another equally unfair metric will take it's place. That's why I advocate structural awareness more than I do trying to end any particular form of discrimination. Even though I do still feel like these are topics that we need to keep talking about and reflecting on.

Another aspect I know I've changed on since my teens is freedom and technology. I used to value personal freedom a lot more, and I feel that I've come to be a lot more critical of the concept with age. Partially following perhaps from the above realization. In that sense, I suppose I'm actually more conservative nowadays. People need a social context to fit into, something that to some extent constricts and gives them a clear role. Otherwise you get the kind of rampant identity issues and paralysis of choice that I feel characterizes much of the younger generation today. I think I've fully realized the importance of social cohesion and belonging, and how the increasing lack of it drives so many of the problems we have today.

This goes hand in hand with technological advancement which has in many ways only enabled and exacerbated these problems. While the internet can be a source of community. It also keeps a huge amount people isolated and in a state of having unrealistic expectations. Much of which feels like its down to the rate at which we develop new tech far outpacing our ability to consider the long term effects of it.

Political Topics I have changed my mind over the years.

I have been a Libertarian for quite a long time. Despite that I have changed my view on a few things.

First, One issue I have been consistent on is supporting gun ownership rights. I believe that law abiding citizens should be able to own a gun for self defense, animal control like Coyotes, hunting and etc. I also believe people should be able to conceal guns for self defense.

When I was younger I was opposed to any form of gun control. I am open to a little bit of control. I"m for background checks on all gun sells and closing the gun show loophole (31 states do not require a background check at a gun show). I believe that certain people are too dangerous to own a gun. This is a way to ensure guns do not get into the wrong hands. Is it fool proof now but it can stop a lot of them. Moreover, it does not infringe on gun rights. My state requires background checks at gun shows and gun sales and has since the late 1990's. My state of TN is a gun owner friendly state.

I"m very much opposed to mandatory buybacks as that is gun confiscation. I'm also opposed to banning AR type rifles or assault weapons as the media labels them as. The main reason is the states cannot agree on the term. Second, if they can ban that gun whats to stop them from labeling other guns as assault weapons.

Now with that being said one issue I wrestle with raising the age from 18 to 21 to purchase the AR type Rifle. Yes at 18 in the states you are an adult. However, the brain is a lot more mature at 21 than at 18. That is one reason states raised the drinking age from 18 to 21. On the other hand, at 18 you can get drafted and trained to kill with weapons civilians are not allowed to own. I can see the argument well if you can be drafted and sent over seas then you should have that right.

That is really the issue I have changed on and its not really a change in my opinion because I"m still a very strong Second supporter.

As I stated I'm very much a Libertarian who leans conservative. I'm opposed to govt spying on citizens without a warrant. I oppose the patriot and freedom acts. I also oppose no knock warrants because so many people have gotten killed not knowing police were answering their door and thought somebody was busting in on them. I also oppose the US being the world police. I do not think we should get involved in other countries problems unless it concerns us.

well let's just say it's going to have to take alot for Conservative politicians to earn my trust again....on both sides of the border. Back in November I came to the conclusion that Stephen Harper didn't really do anything to lose my vote I was just ready to move on (and I didn't even vote for Trudeau in 2015) that doesn't mean I voted Conservative back in the Spring (Doug Ford was more vocal about "He Who I won't Bring up" sucks than Pierre Pollievre was. And now he's going to face a leadership review)

Canada doesn't have the biggest political issues that the US has. All it took was one hate filled mass school shooting (yeah all three at the same time) for something to be done about it and we didn't have another mass shooting until 2020

we clearly have a homeless situation that needs to be fixed in Winnipeg (and clearly we aren't the only city in this country that has the problem)

basically the only thing that changed for me is that maybe Doug Ford doesn't suck so much but I want him to keep up the attitude