• Tarquinn2049@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    36
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    9 months ago

    There is a good chance that exposure to more and more lead over time was what caused their generation to become more that way over time. They just assumed it was normal progression because it was happening to almost everyone. Not realizing there was something that could artificially cause that progression.

    The kinds of changes in the brain caused by lead exposure do seem to line up with changes that would cause that behaviour. And even the people who stood to benefit financially from leaded gasoline decided it was a bad idea, so their own internal data must have been pretty damning to convince them to make less money.

    • givesomefucks@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      18
      arrow-down
      4
      ·
      9 months ago

      Oh for sure, lead was 100% a factor.

      We can “out think” implicit racism with critical thinking, but we lose that critical thinking ability as a normal part of aging.

      Lead exposure fucks with critical thinking too, which compounds with aging.

      The good part of that is implicit racism can be offset by just seeing people of other races, even if it’s only on TV. So just watching Family Matters or Sesame St is enough to prevent in groups from forming along racial lines.

      So generations that came up watching Urkel are less likely to “become racist” as they age.

      Which makes states like Alabama banning Sesame St because it was racially integrated even more nefarious and explains why those states still have higher rates of racism.

      • Wolf_359@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        9 months ago

        I’ll assume you meant that in good faith.

        If being trans is caused by microplastics, alright. They’re still not hurting anyone. If there is an environmental culprit, then hopefully conservatives would finally acknowledge that there is a biological process at work and it’s not a choice made by deviants or whatever.

        • Shiggs (they/them)@lemmy.blahaj.zone
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          9 months ago

          Enby transfemme chiming in real quick:

          1. I highly doubt they meant that in good faith
          2. I also wouldn’t be shocked one way or another

          I am not a biologist by any stretch of the imagination, but I have definitely read that there is an impact on sex hormone production from microplastics, and that our generation’s sex hormone production has changed (Decreased? I think?) without a solidly defined cause.

          I also know that I’m basically sipping on a liquified styrofoam cup every time I drink my tap water.

          That said, fuck, if microplastics were the only thing it took to make someone trans, I would be saving a lot on laser hair removal, doctors’ appointments, and E.

          Not to mention saving time and misery on voice training.

          So if microplastics are turning the friggin frogs gay and turning people trans, that doesn’t make trans people any less valid. If someone has PTSD because of foreign stimulous (a traumatic event) impacting their psyche, that doesn’t mean their PTSD doesn’t count.

          If my ‘transness’ is somehow related to microplastics, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t count.

          I know that you’re in agreement with me, definitely not directed at you. It’s just an interesting line of discussion, and you seem more interesting to have that conversation with than the person who just blanket blamed transgenderism on microplastics while providing zero context and comparing it to boomer lead poisoning.

          When all is said and done, I’d rather be microplastic trans than a lead-induced bigot/mouthbreather.