The subject of "privilege" for straight, white, Christian males is once again rearing its ugly head. Whenever this topic arises, those who are accused of privilege insist that they are not, while those who are doing the accusing refuse to see their own culpability in the structural problems that face the downtrodden in our American… Continue reading The Privileged Pilgrim’s Progress
Category: Psychology
The Triune Self
My name is Alex Simmons, but what does that really mean? Who am “I”? I am a Christian, a husband, the father of four lovely girls, a sociologist, a drummer, a UNLV graduate student, and a UNLV employee. These are roles and statuses, but is that all I am; the sum of roles and statuses?… Continue reading The Triune Self
The Bias of Unbiased Science
It's fun to think of the scientist as a person seeking empirical knowledge without bias. The belief that science is the superior, or even only, means to gain knowledge IS biased; and flawed. How many of sciences findings have been replaced with updated research? The Earth was flat until it wasn't. The sun revolved… Continue reading The Bias of Unbiased Science
Transreality.
A little girl born with girl parts grew up liking other little girls with girl parts. Now that little girl is a boy with girl parts who likes other boys with girl parts. Soon, that little girl will be a boy with boy parts who likes other boys with boy parts. Yet we are… Continue reading Transreality.
I am a “Racist” and That’s Okay.
I was talking to person of color yesterday about the lack of a major church led peace rally in response to the Black Lives Matter riots, and the conversation ended with me essentially being called a racist. How did we get there? This person, a self-professed Christian who happens to be biracial, seemed like a… Continue reading I am a “Racist” and That’s Okay.
Let’s Talk About Rape
Rape culture. Have you heard of it? Are you aware that we allegedly live in one here in the US of A? Did you know that our college campuses have rates of sexual assault on par with the Rwandan genocide (23% if you take the highest possible estimations) where rape was used as a weapon.… Continue reading Let’s Talk About Rape
The Cure for Legitimation Crisis
We are staring into the eyes of what Jurgen Habermas called a “legitimation crisis.” There is a fundamental mistrust of our government, churches, media, education, legal system, and other administrative agencies that are supposed to be in place to protect us from tyranny. Regardless of our political or religious affiliations, we feel let down. This… Continue reading The Cure for Legitimation Crisis
The Reality of Transgender Children
What would you do if your child was confused about their gender identity? This was a question posed to a group of college students, and I found their responses to be quite interesting. Answers ranged from “I don’t know” to “I would love them no matter what,” which is quite refreshing. Some of the more… Continue reading The Reality of Transgender Children
The Postmodern World
I want us all to really think hard about this: There will be people voting in the next election who have no personal connection to America prior to George W. Bush. There is a massive voting bloc who were 3 years old when the World Trade Center went down. There are millions of eligible voters… Continue reading The Postmodern World
Evil is NOT a Social Construction
As a Christian social scientist, my personal views are often at odds with those of my peers. That is not to say that I cannot apply sociological thought and theory to the world around me. In fact, I believe it gives me a unique perspective in both the academic and religious worlds. I believe that… Continue reading Evil is NOT a Social Construction
Simmons' Opinions 