First, I agree - and even if people don't believe* that trans men/women are men/women, that still does not give the state(s) the right to interfere with that old-fashioned inalienable right of the individual to pursue happiness, which, at the very least, should include the right to be at peace with, and inside, your own body.
Mind you, I don't believe many of these Republican lawmakers care that much about the issue, in the same way that many past rulers in Europe didn't care about the Jews: it was just that pogroms and, at times, banishment and mass murder, were politically expedient. The GOP can only win non-billionaire votes through fear: fear of non-whites, fear of non-heterosexual males, fear of immigrants et cetera. The politics of fear is the politics of distraction - and that's all this anti-trans legislation is.
So, for people of good will this is not the time for technical questions, as the famous, 'Think about the professional cis female athletes', or the technicalities of what treatment should be allowed at what age. All those questions can, and should, wait (and most will, I don't doubt, fall by the wayside because they will be proved to be irrelevant). First, we need to protect trans rights, and to protect trans people against the horrific abuse they already suffer. In the time of slavery, for instance, it was clear to people of good will that FIRST you had to abolish it and only then deal with any of the practical stuff that came afterwards.
Anyway, sorry again to take so much space here but I find it so exasperating: on the one hand you have the grotesque forces of evil & fear, who use trans people/rights as punching bags, and on the other the people of (potential) good will, who let themselves be distracted by fucking details, while trans people suffer & die. So, if you care that much about professional cis female athletes: Fine... but maybe come back to us AFTER we have safeguarded trans rights?!
All right, end of rant.
*and to be clear: I do believe they are - and I would find it preposterous for me (or anyone) to have 'opinions' about the lived reality/identity of others
Thank you for the quote on life and humanity. As a teacher, I have always loved a questioning spirit, but I’ve found this disingenuous “just asking” tactic so saddening. I feel like so many foundational principles of education and journalism have been used cruelly in our current environment (perhaps they always have, but I was blind to them). I appreciate you offering the phrase.
I don’t know if I am allowed to share, but there is a podcast called Pantsuit Politics that also uses this principle to discuss current events.
I feel hopeful that this idea is gaining traction❤️. Thank you so much for your posts. In this environment where it’s hard to talk about meaningful things, they are a source of strength.
On the other hand some questions need asking, like all of yours above. I find the state legislation you write about absolutely appalling. People’s prurient and invasive interest in other people’s gender identity and sexuality has always struck me as just plain rude and none of their business. I wish they spent as much thought and concern on children who daily live with physical and sexual abuse in their homes.
"There’s no such thing as good-faith debate over someone’s life and humanity". Thank you so much. You've expressed this so well and I've felt this in discussions with my family but haven't been able to put it into words this well! My brother is a philosopher and father a physicist and they love to "just ask questions" that never debate their own life or humanity.
First, I agree - and even if people don't believe* that trans men/women are men/women, that still does not give the state(s) the right to interfere with that old-fashioned inalienable right of the individual to pursue happiness, which, at the very least, should include the right to be at peace with, and inside, your own body.
Mind you, I don't believe many of these Republican lawmakers care that much about the issue, in the same way that many past rulers in Europe didn't care about the Jews: it was just that pogroms and, at times, banishment and mass murder, were politically expedient. The GOP can only win non-billionaire votes through fear: fear of non-whites, fear of non-heterosexual males, fear of immigrants et cetera. The politics of fear is the politics of distraction - and that's all this anti-trans legislation is.
So, for people of good will this is not the time for technical questions, as the famous, 'Think about the professional cis female athletes', or the technicalities of what treatment should be allowed at what age. All those questions can, and should, wait (and most will, I don't doubt, fall by the wayside because they will be proved to be irrelevant). First, we need to protect trans rights, and to protect trans people against the horrific abuse they already suffer. In the time of slavery, for instance, it was clear to people of good will that FIRST you had to abolish it and only then deal with any of the practical stuff that came afterwards.
Anyway, sorry again to take so much space here but I find it so exasperating: on the one hand you have the grotesque forces of evil & fear, who use trans people/rights as punching bags, and on the other the people of (potential) good will, who let themselves be distracted by fucking details, while trans people suffer & die. So, if you care that much about professional cis female athletes: Fine... but maybe come back to us AFTER we have safeguarded trans rights?!
All right, end of rant.
*and to be clear: I do believe they are - and I would find it preposterous for me (or anyone) to have 'opinions' about the lived reality/identity of others
Thank you for the quote on life and humanity. As a teacher, I have always loved a questioning spirit, but I’ve found this disingenuous “just asking” tactic so saddening. I feel like so many foundational principles of education and journalism have been used cruelly in our current environment (perhaps they always have, but I was blind to them). I appreciate you offering the phrase.
I don’t know if I am allowed to share, but there is a podcast called Pantsuit Politics that also uses this principle to discuss current events.
I feel hopeful that this idea is gaining traction❤️. Thank you so much for your posts. In this environment where it’s hard to talk about meaningful things, they are a source of strength.
On the other hand some questions need asking, like all of yours above. I find the state legislation you write about absolutely appalling. People’s prurient and invasive interest in other people’s gender identity and sexuality has always struck me as just plain rude and none of their business. I wish they spent as much thought and concern on children who daily live with physical and sexual abuse in their homes.
👏👏👏 I can feel and I share your outrage over their hypocrisy in this piece.
"There’s no such thing as good-faith debate over someone’s life and humanity". Thank you so much. You've expressed this so well and I've felt this in discussions with my family but haven't been able to put it into words this well! My brother is a philosopher and father a physicist and they love to "just ask questions" that never debate their own life or humanity.