I'm Joe Parrish, Ask Me Anything

[Joe the Stoic]

So as some of you saw, Gay Star News recently did an article about me being an openly asexual candidate in the 2016 elections. I had a talk with Robin L, and we agreed that an AMA would be a fun idea to do here.

For a little more clarification about my race, I am running for the seat of District 002 in the North Carolina House of Representatives. I received the Democratic Party's nomination by default, as I was unopposed on the primary ticket, so I will only have to beat the incumbent Republican in November. If I win, I will be a legislator for the state of North Carolina. I will have the power to write and vote on state legislation: bills, budgets, acts, resolutions, et cetera.

There is no real limit as to the kinds of questions you can ask, so ask away. If a question gets asked a lot, I may copy a person's question and my response and edit them into this post so that new visitors to the thread can see it right away.

I await your questions.

[Guest]

In your interview, you say education is a primary focus for you. As a recent high school graduate and first year University student [in the state of Indiana], I'll focus on that.

You mention that funding is an issue in your area. What ideas or plans do you have to appropriate the necessary funding to provide students with an enriched learning environment?

In what specific ways would you try to target and uplift at risk and low income students? (for example, the expansion of this http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/high-school-kids-start-food-pantry-to-keep-classmates-from-hunger/school food bank program in your state, free tutoring services and SAT/ACT prep materials, covering test fees, helping students to find part time or summer jobs in their communities, etc.)

How much value do you place on in-classroom technology and why?

Will you encourage dual-credit and AP classes in high schools?

Would you consider supporting integrating an associates degree program option into high schools?

What do you reasonably believe you will be able to accomplish if elected?

Do you envision a more locally-based approach involving students, communities, and frequently dysfunctional local governments and school boards or do you envision a more top down service-based approach which runs a higher risk of disconnect but a lower risk of gridlock?

Edit: Another question- I have family in North Carolina and know that football is integral to NC culture. In schools, you frequently have young boys playing competitive tackle football. Given recent knowledge about the potential impact of the sport on young mens' long term health, how do you plan to address such a dangerous yet valued part of school children's lives?

Edit 2: How do you plan to encourage the teaching of medically accurate, comprehensive sex education in schools?

[Sapphire Rose]

Im not into politics so I will ask you an unrelated question. What's your favorite color and why?

[TheStarrySkai]

Interesting idea to get some questions here. I don't really know much about NC, so I can't really ask too much questions I guess. I'll think of some anyway. I have a friend who lives in NC though. Might ask him if he has any questions.

You talked about how schools don't have enough materials [which I totally agree is 100% true in any state unfortunately]. What will you do about that?

Or what about school programs. Like more diversity or better, more modern material.

^Thats all I got for now^

Umm.... What is your favorite animal and why? [just for the fun of it]

[Joe the Stoic]

Eliii: Raise state income tax on wealthier citizens. I don't think I need to repeat the usual speech about the "1%" having all this excess wealth here. We can also put excises on luxuries and such.

I feel like it's odd to target at-risk and low-income students in my area because that is kind of what my area is. So many of us are poor that just funding the schools properly would do a lot for them just by virtue of that. That said, I don't want to be too lazy in my answer. I really think we should reconsider how we run schools. The idea sort of hit me last week, when I was doing Teacher for a Day with an old teacher of mine at my county's high school. He described himself as a parent of his students. I asked him if he really thought that in a true sense, and he said he did because for many students he is the only consistent adult male in their lives. It made me think about how we treat school like it's work for the students. They show up, clock in, clock out, and leave, essentially. Home is just home. Sure, there are school counselors and such, but generally the mindset is that what happens at home stays at home, and the school is only there for the student to go to class.

Common doctrine among conservatives in politics is to leave everything up to families, but not every child is lucky enough to be born in a stable, familial environment. My teacher acting like a parent for his students is him going above and beyond his role as an educator in a classroom. I think his "it takes a village to raise a child" philosophy needs to become the mainstream in our schools. Schools can't just be simulated workplaces for kids. They need to be communities. That is how colleges work. Why not K-12?

In-classroom tech is important because schools needs to keep up with society as it advances and ensure that each generation is tech savvy. There are also new, perhaps more efficient, teaching methods available when tech is readily available.

Dual-credit and AP are great. Served me pretty well.

I think integrating Associate Degree programs in high school is a worthwhile program for the students who can achieve it. There is no reason to hold a student back who can excel, I think. The sooner they bloom, they sooner they can contribute to society.

I reasonably believe that I will accomplish helping the governor sustain a veto against a mostly Republican legislature, if elected. I guess we will have to see what that enables us to gain on the bargaining table. Hopefully that means schools can start to get decent funds again.

I think a top-down approach is best. Schools should meet the same standards anywhere in the country. A child should not receive less because they live in the wrong area. Parents should not have to fret over deciding where to move or send their kids. Schools should just work, and you need central leadership to make that kind of consitency a reality.

I think the dangers of football to a child's brain are alarming. We should look at phasing football teams out of our public school system.

How do I plan to encourage teaching medically accurate, comprehensive sex ed? I feel like this is an odd question. The state government can just tell schools to do it. It's not like we need to convince them. Schools have to do what North Carolina tells them to do. The Education Department needs to make them, and if they lack the means, we pass laws with the appropriate language to do that. Does that answer it well enough for you?

Sapphire Rose: Blue, because it is easy on the eyes and calming.

TheStarrySkai: I feel like I answered a lot of your questions in my response to Eliii. Let me know if you think I should elaborate more. As far as diversity, do you mean in courses?

Favorite animal is the great white shark, because it is the best shark.

[Guest]

How do I plan to encourage teaching medically accurate, comprehensive sex ed? I feel like this is an odd question. The state government can just tell schools to do it. It's not like we need to convince them. Schools have to do what North Carolina tells them to do. The Education Department needs to make them, and if they lack the means, we pass laws with the appropriate language to do that. Does that answer it well enough for you?

I meant in terms of pushing those things through the support of your colleagues, many of whom are likely to be conservative and so may be more inclined to prefer politicized sex ed like abstinence-only education. Currently NC seems to have reasonable protection in place that holds biological information to be medically accurate, but there doesn't appear to be any assurances that unsupported psychological speculation (like the "tape that has stuck too many times" metaphor) or manipulation of information according to an agenda (like using STI information as a scare tactic in abstinence-only education) will be prohibited.

[Joe the Stoic]

I meant in terms of pushing those things through the support of your colleagues, many of whom are likely to be conservative and so may be more inclined to prefer politicized sex ed like abstinence-only education. Currently NC seems to have reasonable protection in place that holds biological information to be medically accurate, but there doesn't appear to be any assurances that unsupported psychological speculation (like the "tape that has stuck too many times" metaphor) or manipulation of information according to an agenda (like using STI information as a scare tactic in abstinence-only education) will be prohibited.

That is not something, I feel, where you can convince them. The Republicans, especially in North Carolina, are strongly anti-science, particularly if it comes into conflict with their religious views. There is really nothing you can do about that. That said, as someone who got sex ed here, I can't say it was abstinence-only education. Yes, they did scare us with STDs. Yes, at times it was pointed out that abstinence is your best protection against pregnancies and infections (which is a fact), but we were taught about contraceptives, about getting blood tests, about how long a sperm cell can survive, about how the diseases are physically transmitted, and so forth.

But yeah, trying to get Republicans to shake their religiosity about things related to sexuality is about as easy as convincing ISIS to tone down beheading people. You can't reason with people like this. You can only vote them out of office, so make sure your Republicans lose.

The only possible alternative that I can imagine is to find some reason to challenge the sex ed curriculum in the courts and hopefully get them to rule that a conservative spin on sex ed is illegal.

[Sally]

You're not the only out-non-cis politician. We have three openly gay state legislators in Washington State, several who are running, and a bisexual and a transgender serving in the Legislature. The conservatives on the eastern side of the state hate them, of course.

And until just this year we had two gay Seattle City Councilmembers and a gay Mayor. And a gay County Councilmember.

But then we're not North Carolina.

America will really be relatively OK when Texas has an openly-gay, married-to-a-gay Governor.

[Nea Rose Symphony]

I love the color blue too! As an asexual what's your stance on you having sex?

[sculapius]

Do you believe a message of fear always trumps a message of hope?

e: Actually yeah economic policy please, stance on what percentage of GDP should the state own in taxation, state-owned companies, and government spending and such please. And as a followup to that, which sectors of the economy should the state be in control of if any?

[Joe the Stoic]

Cetasoul: I guess the term for me would be "sex-positive." I like the idea of having a family of my own one day. Sex is how you do that. I've never had sex, so my only worry is that I will be terrible at it as far as this hypothetical mother of my children is concerned, haha.

Sculapius: Is that supposed to be a reference to Donald Trump? :P I actually think positive leadership is always more effective than fearmongering. This is why Bernie is more liked than Trump. That is why men like Theodore Roosevelt and Martin Luther King, Jr. were able to lead movements. They did not rely on fear but tapped into a common, moral conscience.

Edit: Whoops left out econ. policy! I think the percentage of the GDP that should be taxed should not be a set amount. Taxation and spending should adjust as time goes on and needs change. I happened to say just this in my other thread about my response to NC Campaign for Liberty. I do not see things in terms of big government versus small government. I see government more like a rubber band.

The state should control education, for one, while maybe allowing some private schools. The state should also control health care, if the federal government is not going to do that. There are private companies managing parts of our toll system in this country. If we are going to have tolls on our roads, it should be publicly run. Ideally, though, you would not charge tolls on roads and would take that tax burden off of the common citizen, who is helping the state economy by driving, commuting, and trading.

[ThaHoward]

What's your opinion on IS, Syrian conflict, Russia's foreign policy and the refugee situation?

[Joe the Stoic]

ThaHoward: First, I will point out that there is nothing I will be able to do regarding anything going on with the fight against ISIS in my capacity as a state official. States do not have power over things like that.

But to answer, the conflict in the Middle East regarding ISIS, I feel, is the result of a piss-poor strategy of the Bush Administration. Unilateralist war in the 21st Century based on outright lies could never have gone well. The result is that we destabilized the region and ruined or ended the lives of millions either directly or indirectly. Further, Bush's policy of unilateralism has embolded Russia to take a similar approach in foreign affairs, as we have seen in Georgia, Ukraine, and now Syria. Rule of law on the international stage has been weakened, and it's going to take a long time to get back on track.

As far as the refugees, we (America) should try to help them, since it is our fault that ISIS exists in the first place.

[Rising Sun]

- What do you think about restrictions in the scientific research budget ? Do you think that scientific research should be one of the first priorities in a country's budget ?

- Do you think there should be stricter laws when it comes to giving schoolkids healthy, balanced meals at school ?

- Do you think that biodiversity of ancient domesticated animals and plants should be preserved, and if yes, what should be done ?

- What do you think about laws banning specific dog breeds ? Do you think that they should be abolished given that they have no scientific basis ?

- Do you think that students with neurodevelopmental disabilities should have the right to benefit from specific school programs, adaptations even at university and should be particularly protected against potential bullying ?

- Do you know about the problem of light pollution, and have you heard about simple solutions that would benefit both the environment and the taxpayer ? (Because there is one)

I have a lot of information about these questions, if ever you find one of them interesting I can give you more data about them in private. I don't have recent statistics but I have quite a lot of data about some of these topics. Especially the last one.

[deleted7]

You're not the only out-non-cis politician. We have three openly gay state legislators in Washington State, several who are running, and a bisexual and a transgender serving in the Legislature. The conservatives on the eastern side of the state hate them, of course.

And until just this year we had two gay Seattle City Councilmembers and a gay Mayor. And a gay County Councilmember.

But when we're not North Carolina.

America will really be relatively OK when Texas has an openly-gay, married-to-a-gay Governor.

Well, for six years up until this past January, Houston did have an openly gay mayor. Two of those years she was married to her longtime partner. But an openly non-cis/hetero Texas governor is a long way off from being a reality, I think.

[Joe the Stoic]

Rising Sun: Scientific research should always be something of a priority. The simple fact is that we often cannot calculate the wealth of benefits from scientific discovery. Men like Newton and Einstein could have never imagined how their discoveries might be used today for some of our most advanced pieces of machinery and technology. Jenner could never have foreseen that his work to fight smallpox would enable us to eradicate scores of diseases around the world. We really should be careful not to leave science in the dust.

We should work especially hard to ensure that children all over the state receive proper nutrition, not just in schools. Again, I think this is a good investment. Healthier children become more productive adults who make better decisions.

I cannot say I really have much of an opinion regarding preserving biodiversity or banning dog breeds.

I think all people should have the opportunity of college who can achieve it. It is somewhat questionable how high students with neurodevelopmental disorders can go in our education system, but I see no reason to shut them out of a degree of some sort. They may not become physicists, but they are not worthless. As far as special protection against bullying, I feel like that is an odd thing. We should just clamp down on bullying. It is unprofessional and gets in the way of teaching. I see no reason to favor groups here. All types children are affected negatively by bullying. While it certainly feels more tragic to see children with mental disorders/disabilities picked on as they appear more helpless, children with sharper, mental faculties that are overlooked can also become highly intelligent adults who are embittered and spiteful because of bullying. To give an example, the brutal dictator Joseph Stalin was an extremely intelligent man, whose father had been an abusive alcoholic, and we can see through Stalin's example why it's important to ensure that children of all ranges of mental strengths are treated well.

I know what light pollution is, thanks to an episode of The Simpsons that I saw as a child as well as my Astronomy class in college. Also, you can see the difference when you grow up in the country and then spend some time in an urban area. As far as the overall consequences of it and what must be done, I really have no input of my own on the matter.

[Steph Ace]

This seems like an excellent AMA!

I unfortunately do not have a sound grasp on American Politics and don't feel comfortable engaging with existing issues. Therefore;

- Who is the political philosopher/ ideology you subscribe to primarily? (Answer can also be a combination of ideologies but please identify the different components)

- Which type of democracy do your values align with the most?

[TheStarrySkai]

TheStarrySkai: I feel like I answered a lot of your questions in my response to Eliii. Let me know if you think I should elaborate more. As far as diversity, do you mean in courses?

Favorite animal is the great white shark, because it is the best shark.

Yeah I mean diversity in courses

EDIT::

I came up with another question...

I have a sister with microcephaly [unusual smallness of brain/skull]. This makes her have mental retardation. So life skills education to kids with mental disabilities is always something that is important to me. Do you have any plans with that? Like bettering programs at schools. Having diverse types of programs. For example a program that is good for a kid with downs syndrome might not be a good fit for someone like my sister.

[Rising Sun]

Thank you for your answers.

On this part :

As far as special protection against bullying, I feel like that is an odd thing. We should just clamp down on bullying. It is unprofessional and gets in the way of teaching. I see no reason to favor groups here. All types children are affected negatively by bullying. While it certainly feels more tragic to see children with mental disorders/disabilities picked on as they appear more helpless, children with sharper, mental faculties that are overlooked can also become highly intelligent adults who are embittered and spiteful because of bullying. To give an example, the brutal dictator Joseph Stalin was an extremely intelligent man, whose father had been an abusive alcoholic, and we can see through Stalin's example why it's important to ensure that children of all ranges of mental strengths are treated well.

Let me reformulate my question, as I think I've been a bit misunderstood.

I'm mainly referring to children with cognitive disabilities and learning disabilities, which don't seem to affect "general intelligence" but very often tend to affect the capacity to communicate, including communicating needs. These children can seem very intelligent but their difference makes them very often victims of bullying, and when I mean bullying, I don't mean only bullying my their classmates, but even bullying by their teachers, and even their parents and other relatives. The most important aspect of protection against school bullying is counselors who can listen to kids. The problem is that kids with disabilities can rarely communicate their needs and won't be heard by counselors, even if they talk to them. These kids need specifically trained counselors (trained to communicate with autistic and other neurodivergent kids) who visit all schools to detect them all as early as possible, to talk to them to help them open to communication, and to intervene to protect disabled kids against their bullies. This is what I meant by "special protection". School counselors are trained to help neurotypical kids, not neurodivergent ones.

[Joe the Stoic]

Asgore: I consider myself a follower of stoicism. I think man should live in accordance with nature and seek to maximizie his or her potential within its limits. Man should frequently be introspective and seek out conflicting ideas in order to refine his or her reasoning and information.

I assume you mean something along the lines of representative democracy versus direct? Or do mean by types of elections (first past the post, ranked, proportional representation)? Do you mean a parliamentary system where the legislature chooses the head of state/government within itself or a presidential system in which the executor is elected to that office? To answer all three: representative, not first past the post, and the presidential.

TheStarrySkai: Diversity is good, but I feel that is better at college-level facilities. More linguistic options at high school would certainly be nice.

Rising Sun & TheStarrySkai: I would refer you both back to my big picture scheme that I put out to Ellii earlier in the thread, as far as what needs to be done to help children with "neurodevelopmental disorders," whether that means they suffer from mental retardation, autism, dyslexia, ADD—whatever—I think a communitarian approach to schools (as opposed to the somewhat simulated workplace approach) would go a long way toward providing the needed support structure for such students. To build on that, I think having a school year stretched around the whole year (as opposed to the archaic tradition of a summer break) would give students more consistent access to these things. In general, I think the arguments for a year-round school year suggest it would be better for all students but especially for students with special needs in education.

[Steph Ace]

Asgore: I consider myself a follower of stoicism. I think man should live in accordance with nature and seek to maximizie his or her potential within its limits. Man should frequently be introspective and seek out conflicting ideas in order to refine his or her reasoning and information.

I assume you mean something along the lines of representative democracy versus direct? Or do mean by types of elections (first past the post, ranked, proportional representation)? Do you mean a parliamentary system where the legislature chooses the head of state/government within itself or a presidential system in which the executor is elected to that office? To answer all three: representative, not first past the post, and the presidential.

You answered my question brilliantly with representative and presidential. I hadn't considered questioning about first past the post or not but I'm glad you brought that up.

Additionally thank you for bringing stoicism to my attention also. I hadn't come across the concept directly in my studies however a quick google search seems to indicate it shares traits with Aristotle's concepts.

That being said; another question for you:

I do not claim to have an understanding of USA social traditions (And therefore could be very off in this question) and language however applying to AVEN:

As AVEN is an LGBT community, we take notice to detail regarding pronouns. Using the phrase "man" to represent the human race in a predominately leftist community may be shying away potential female voters (especially radicals). You're obviously free to use whichever language you prefer however have you considered the use of such phrasing given the audience? If yes, are you accepting of potentially losing votes?

The question isn't meant to be insulting (Please do not take as such), I really hope you win the election as you seem phenomenal! Hopefully a little refining from us can help you in the long run! Goodluck!

[Joe the Stoic]

Asgore: I have irregular views regarding gender that do not fit into either the establishment of the left-wing or the right-wing. In short, I dislike distinguishing things on the basis of "gender" and think we should avoid doing so as much as possible. When I use "man" in the sense that I did, however, I used it in the gender-neutral sense, as is common for the use of the word in discussions of philosophy, as well as in other areas. Additionally, "chairman" is always "chairman" for me. It never becomes "chairwoman" or "chairperson." Same with "manhole." It doesn't become "womanhole" as soon as the sewer worker is a woman. I do not think that segregating men and women either physically or abstractly (such as in language) is a course of action that is socially worthwhile. If you want to see my views on gender in a little more detail, I wrote an essay, of sorts, on Facebook, which you can read here.

[Rising Sun]

I can't access your essay. "Content unavailable"

[Joe the Stoic]

It was originally set Friends Only. I realized that after I checked myself. I have already fixed it by now to make it public, so you should be able to see it.

[Earth Sprite]

Asgore: I have irregular views regarding gender that do not fit into either the establishment of the left-wing or the right-wing. In short, I dislike distinguishing things on the basis of "gender" and think we should avoid doing so as much as possible. When I use "man" in the sense that I did, however, I used it in the gender-neutral sense, as is common for the use of the word in discussions of philosophy, as well as in other areas. Additionally, "chairman" is always "chairman" for me. It never becomes "chairwoman" or "chairperson." Same with "manhole." It doesn't become "womanhole" as soon as the sewer worker is a woman. I do not think that segregating men and women either physically or abstractly (such as in language) is a course of action that is socially worthwhile. If you want to see my views on gender in a little more detail, I wrote an essay, of sorts, on Facebook, which you can read here.

Your essay isn't anything but neo-conservative polemic. Your anti-gender views are from the 1950s America & your social contribution would be most reactionary in the 2010s.

[ThaHoward]

AMA?

[Joe the Stoic]

Earth Sprite: Perhaps you could put your grievances in the form of a question.

[iff]

Hi Joe, welcome to the forum and I wish you well in your campaign.

Have their been any books you have found influential to you?

[Joe the Stoic]

iff: Thanks!

The Work of Nations and Supercapitalism, both by Robert Reich.

[Robin L]

Split posts regarding AVEN policy to Site Comments to prevent derailing

Robin L, Moderator