But that toll will come due, it always does
But that toll will come due, it always does
He’s absolutely only conscious by virtue of a chemical cocktail that no one with an annual income lower than 7 digits will ever have the privilege of getting eyes on
Nothing RETVRN about it my guy, we were built for that type of work. Modern society has plenty of wonderful things & I’m glad we achieved them, but god I also wish I could directly see the fruits of my labor in such a material capacity as what farming provides.
*that guarantee of protection
I’m fully aware of my privileged position in this situation, which is why I don’t fault any persons of color for not wanting to even chance this dude staying in power another four years. But I hope you can understand that right now trans people don’t even have that guarantee under Democrats.
Then now is precisely the time for the people who determine if he gets that chance to be telling him “you need to stop fucking around and using the basic human rights of people in our tent as playing cards with people who literally want us dead and have no interest in meeting halfway.”
Look, I get where you’re coming from, and I’m not trying to say you specifically are a bad person for looking after your community. My point is that when we still have a full 2-3 years before this guy even has a chance at putting his hat in the presidential ring like he so clearly wants to (1/2)
If he told people like Charlie Kirk to eat shit and kick rocks I would have infinitely more respect for what he’s doing, because Kirk and his fellows have zero interest in anything but wasting our time by forcing us to engage with them.
What about my position is possibly telling you that I’ve chosen to give Trump and his party of ghouls a pass? My fundamental issue with Newsom is literally that he’s choosing to collaborate with the people I actively despise.
So did I man, and all we’ve got to show for it is Democrats publicly stating that maybe bigotry isn’t always incorrect in 2025.
Half of my issue with these wishy-washy stances on trans rights from people like Newsom is because it establishes a precedent to the opposition, that there is a line of argument by which they can make Democrats agree that universal human rights are not actually universal
And the fact that you seem to believe I’m somehow blind to the atrocities our current administration is enacting against marginalized communities purely because I simultaneously recognize how their predecessors laid the groundwork for this shit is disappointing to hear.
For the people who were murdered in Rafah when it got bombed to shit—well after Biden laid the area out as his supposed ‘red line’—no, I’d say they probably wouldn’t have taken much solace in the fact that the guy who enabled their murderer got pouty about it instead of openly cheering it on.
Please, let’s stop pretending as though Harris ever had the slightest intention of anything beyond continuing Biden’s policy of stern finger-wagging when it came to Netanyahu lmao. It can hardly be considered an own-goal when their fellow Muslims were already being bombed to shit by ‘our guy’
I fucking wish Gaza had been enough of a hardline issue to meaningfully shift electoral policy, but people here have never given a shit about other countries, least of all if they’re not white. The Democrats campaigning on “we’ll be just like Biden again” was not a winning playbook.
Acting as though enough left-leaning non-voters to make a material difference in 2024 abstained because of Palestine is hilariously, willfully ignorant of the reality in this country. Plenty more (myself included) voted for Harris in spite of these misgivings, though it did fuck all anyways.
If condemning a country’s continued supply of overkill weaponry to a bloodthirsty fascist in his quest to wipe out a group of people he views as lesser beings is an extreme position, that political central is deeply fucking poisoned.
Oh please do elaborate on these supposed “shades of gray” to trans rights. I’m sure you have incredibly well-informed opinions on the subject.
Also observing the fact that our president was complicit in an active genocide isn’t a maximalist position, no matter how you try and spin it now.
If someone has positioned transphobic policies as a central issue in their voting process, you’re not going to win them over by agreeing to be ‘partially’ transphobic. If your opponent is promising the complete package, then they’re going to vote for them every time.
No, this guy www.erininthemorning.com/p/newsoms-bi...
![“‘That’s now no longer about celebrating your rights. It’s about denying other people theirs,” Newsom said. “Marriage equality was about everyone’s right […] But your child may not have that same opportunity to get on the podium if a trans athlete is competing.”](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:yrnatwvuz3ygh5lukeg7267y/bafkreicoypoajjxcymih3gwnm3c44hujmf54sxvmqytkerhjq3umhqnimy@jpeg "Click to view full size")
My guy, you realize people are capable of processing multiple thoughts at once, right? Me demanding that our representatives hold themselves to a higher standard in defense of our marginalized fellows does not preclude me from putting in the work to protect my neighbors.
Our point is that he ISN’T the nominee yet, and that if the Democrats are actually committed to protecting trans people like they claim, he shouldn’t be. He’s shown a dangerous willingness to platform far-right voices (people explicitly and immutably in Trump’s camp), that cannot be overlooked
So when we’re at least two full years out from even having to entertain this guy’s requests for presidential votes, we just have to suck it up rather than leveraging our position as the people who get them into office to make them do what we want? What’s the point of voting then?
So when people raise these issues during election season y’all blast us for it not being ‘the right time,’ but when we’re three years out from the next presidential run now it’s ’too soon?’ The moment a candidate gets locked in you’ll go right back to ‘don’t rock the boat’ type shit
Go ahead and block me then, practice what you preach and make both our lives better. You clearly had no intention of giving anything I said any honest consideration, so may as well stop wasting our respective times.
Harris had every opportunity to openly state “I support trans rights, and will protect our trans Americans,” in the face of unrelenting bigotry from her opponents, and chose not to. The best she could muster was “following the law,” when the law on such matters is blatantly abused in several states.
You and I both know that most voters on Election Day are not making their decisions based on comprehensive research Anti-vaxxers were never going to vote for Harris. But there are still plenty of people who know nothing about trans issues, and were primed on the subject this election by Republicans
If the best a presidential candidate can offer on their position regarding trans rights is vague gesturing towards a PDF, rather than a direct statement in the moment, that is not a promising sign of that candidate’s investment in the issue.
I assume you meant to say “interest in/advocacy for trans people” otherwise you’re agreeing with me, which would be a first in this thread. On that assumption: written party policy on a webpage most voters never see is not equivalent to statements made on the campaign trail, as I was requesting.
I don’t think you’re doing much better than you seem to think I am if you saw fit to dive 14 replies deep into a random thread that you had no stakes in, just to stir the pot. Might want to move up that next appointment!
Clearly not, since you’re down here in the mud with me my guy. You sure that therapist of yours you keep highlighting is doing you any favors if you wound up here in the same place you’re lambasting me for? 😘
Oh yes, drawing attention to the fact that our supposed beacon for progressive politics actively enabled the erasure of an entire people that we’re now watching in real time definitely means I see Trump as a step up! You’re playing all the classics on party stooge counterpoints yourself!
Bold of you to assume I can’t hate both for their own unique and wonderful reasons! But keep working this therapist angle, it’s definitely helping your case as you ask why people won’t think of the poor politicians
He sure got Gaza right on the money as an electoral issue, didn’t he? Did you want to tell the Palestinians that they should be grateful the guy sending bombs had a blue tie and was really upset about it?
Sure! Do you have an answer to my question? Or are you going to keep looking down your nose at me when you have provided no meaningful response beyond “but did they ACTUALLY SPECIFICALLY say this?”
You don’t get to play the “what was the alternative?” card for this issue when what we got was already the literal worst-case scenario for trans children. That’s the thing about making trans folks into sacrificial lambs: you lose any right to bitch when the people you ceded to come for everyone else
I do not understand how you people view it as a checkmate that Biden wasn’t actually a two-faced liar, but instead an utterly spineless ghoul
And worse STILL that he made that concession AFTER promising so openly to fight for trans people?
Cool, you got me on the date, I’ll cede you there, honest flub. You do realize it’s even worse that he decided to make that concession right as we were facing an imminent fascist takeover, and Democrats still had some semblance of power, right?
You can piss off with your “Um, akshaully” routine here, it’s cold fucking comfort to the people who suffered under Biden just as they are under Trump now.
If the states can’t be fucked to follow those policies because the federal government doesn’t bother to verify that they’re being honest when they say they make their “best effort,” exactly what good is a change in wording? www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-...
And how much of a material difference has that change made for trans prisoners? Because from what I’m seeing that ruling went into effect 5 months before Trump came into office, and with how flagrantly transphobic prisons were before that point, I don’t believe they changed behavior on a dime.
At least you’re finally admit you don’t have anything to offer in defense of these ghouls. I don’t have any trouble ceding the point that the Democrats don’t literally have an explicit anti-trans written platform. You, however, clearly have no principles beyond party identity, so kudos for that.
I’m waiting.
And the DOJ’s 2015 requirement that trans prisoners be able to maintain their hormone regimen doesn’t mean much when most prisons have never had staff qualified to perform/regulate these regimens, much less those who are actually willing to journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/gend...
In theory, sure. In practice, Biden & Obama’s policies both decided to have prisons make decisions on whether to house trans people in facilities matching their gender identity on a “case-by-case” basis, which left the matter utterly rife for abuse by states www.govexec.com/management/2...
Fun fact: the guy in this article who Newsom says he’s able to find ‘common ground’ with, is a COVID conspiracy theorist, supported the January 6th insurrection, and a climate change denier. But hey, as long as he agrees that trans people shouldn’t play sports, am I right?
Why would they take any finger-wagging from Biden & his party seriously when they had already shown that they could be pushed into adopting transphobic legislation with the right kind of pressure?
Probably because Republicans knew how hollow that statement rang, given that Biden had signed a military bill with a Republican provision banning service members from using their healthcare to support their trans children only *checks notes* 3 months prior www.hrc.org/press-releas...
Harris did not defend trans prisoners in 2024; she said she would defer to the law, which inherently leaves the door open for states to abuse their trans prisoners in non-federal facilities. Her comment supporting trans prisoners was from 2019, and she wouldn’t even reaffirm it during the election.
So no, I am not willing to give the Democrats credit for being in favor of trans rights on paper, when in practice, they aren’t willing to put their careers on the line as Civil Rights-era politicians demonstrably did by comparison. They could have done better in the election, and still can (8/8)
And now that Trump has not only won, but did so on a campaign that was openly transphobic, those efforts have been further emboldened. Where are Democrats? Party frontrunners like Gavin Newsom are now platforming and AGREEING with transphobes (7/X) www.erininthemorning.com/p/newsoms-bi...
Which brings me to my original point: when the opportunity came to take that step during an election cycle, Democrats, especially Harris, blinked. They explicitly chose not to engage with the issue, knowing that their opponents would, and would make trans people’s lives hell as a result (6/X)
A notable part of moving the needle on these issues, unfortunately, is explicit support from prominent public figures, such as politicians. Activist groups can do their best to push things forward, but at a certain point, our elected officials have to visibly take that jump as well. (5/X)
In short, it was easy for Harris to act in support of LGBTQ+ rights as a basket issue during her time as VP, because on the whole, Americans nowadays are more familiar with the topic As a singular issue however, trans rights have not been fortunate enough to receive that same coverage (4/X)
That distinction is important because LGBTQ+ issues as a broad spectrum will always perform better than trans issues do individually, because the fight for gay/lesbian rights have already had extensive public coverage, which has in turn led to more widespread acceptance of the topic (3/X)
An important thing to note with those cited examples: only one of Harris’s statements is in explicit support of trans people specifically, rather than the LGBTQ+ community on the whole, and that one example took place BEFORE Biden was replaced by Harris as the Democratic candidate (2/X)
First, thank you for actually engaging my points. And it’s great that she was willing to do so in previous years, I’m not arguing otherwise. But this circles back to my earlier point: there’s a difference between support when it’s convenient, and support in a time where an issue is contested. (1/X)
*in absence of
Who said anything about convincing Republicans? I’m talking about the general public who, in light of an opposing viewpoint, were primed on the topic of trans issues by a group hostile to trans people’s very existence, and received no counterpoints to digest.
Last I checked, ad hominems are a rhetorical fallacy as well, bud. Try holding yourself to the same standards you lambast others for once in a while You haven’t answered my question: what good is ‘official policy’ for defending trans people if you can’t be bothered to materially defend that policy?
How is it “moving the goalposts” to observe that a trans hate campaign that doesn’t receive direct and open counterargument to its core principles will be emboldened to continue its fearmongering?
Alright then, I’ll bite. What about my argument fails to engage in good faith with the core topic?
If we’re in the business of taking Democrats’ political platforms as word of God, then Guantanamo Bay should have been closed down in Obama’s first term in office. Looks like that didn’t quite come to pass though, did it?
Not particularly. When your opposition is loudly and unapologetically calling for the systemic erasure of a marginalized group from society, radio silence on that issue is not a neutral position. It shows that you’re not willing to go to bat for that group if it’s not politically convenient.
And no, “I will follow the law” is not a message of support. That can mean quite literally whatever anyone listening wants it to without further elaboration
Alright dude, if it’s so patently obvious that Democrats support trans people, then surely you’d be happy to point me to even one example of Harris openly demonstrating that support during the 2024 election, a time when said community was experiencing historic levels of dehumanization?
Can you point me to where in the presidential campaign they did anything to stand in defense of trans people against the unabated vitriol from Republicans? If they can’t be bothered to stand up to such vitriol towards one of their demographics, how else can that be interpreted but disdain at best?
Keep it up man! Sealioning is a historically great way to win people over to your position!
And I’m waiting for you to materially engage with my counterarguments instead of plugging your ears and burying your head, but it looks we don’t always get what we want
The part where you act like hatred can only manifest in the same flagrant, mustache-twirling villainy that Republicans demonstrate on a daily basis. A lack of directly-quotable hatred does not exclude the potential for malice, and if you’re seriously arguing otherwise you’re being disingenuous.
Please find me a single message of support for the trans community from the Democrats’ candidate for the most important domestic election of 2024. And no, saying she would “follow the law” does not qualify
The best Harris could muster was “I will follow the law” which is not a winning position when there were already plenty of anti-trans state laws in progress during campaign season. And by saying nothing else, she gave her opposition free reign to run with with statements from fucking 2019
Being deliberately obtuse by setting the standard as “find me a written statement from Democrats explicitly stating they hate trans people” isn’t going to win you any arguments here. People are plenty capable of reading subtext, and a lack of statements on the trail is a statement in its own right
LMFAO, you had 5 hours to cook up a response and that’s the best you could put on the table??? Holy shit you are so single-minded it’s insane.
Though when arguing with someone already chomping at the bit to throw trans people under the bus so he can be spared the worst of what’s to come, why would I expect anything more
It sure is easy to dismiss people arguing with you as stupid when you just cherry-pick your replies, rather than engaging with cogent points raised against you elsewhere in this thread.
Then again you didn’t even have the spine to respond to my original follow-up after the strawman you constructed about me stopped holding water, so I can’t say I’m surprised.
At least bother to re-read your shit before blatantly lying about what you said
If you do not give people a material reason to show up to the polls beyond “well THEY’LL be worse” then you do not get to be surprised when people who are already being beaten into submission under the current admin check out of the process
Motherfucker I did vote in the primary and the general, and I voted for your “lesser of two evils” so you can stop looking down your nose at me like you’re some arbiter of moral authority on these issues. This strategy is not working so you need to wake up and realize that “less bad” does not sell.
And you’re leaving out that the general election is 3 fucking years away, which should be more than sufficient time for the Democrats to get their heads out of their asses and put forward a candidate that isn’t a spineless ghoul shamelessly (and pointlessly) courting the right.
I unironically believe that their dream world is one where they no longer need to pay for anything except the electricity costs for the AI clones they’ve made of their underlings cheering on their every decision.
Does your plan to see a better alternative for the Democratic nominee begin and end at the primary voting booth?
And primaries are still three years away, which is precisely why strong lines in the sand on which candidates are acceptable to the party’s constituents matter now more than ever. Saying “I hate Newsom, but I guess I’ll vote for him if I have to” tells Democrats they don’t have to change shit.
A single issue can be kind of important when said issue is whether you get to have equal human rights with your countrymen, actually
We were never built to be carrying the burden - physical or otherwise - of more people than we could count in our immediate circles. I don’t think it makes you a bad person to have an upper limit on who you’re willing to put it all on the line for, just a person.
If these dumb motherfuckers hand the mayoral election for NEW YORK CITY to Republicans because they cannot conceive of a person who’s younger than them and socialist being in a position of meaningful power I’m gonna lose it man, this party’s internal dialogue is so cooked.
Seeing people act as though cities like Alexandria & Richmond are the only spots of ‘proper’ civilization in the state gets so exhausting man, some of the worst people I’ve met came from the so-called “blue dots”
Virginia really does occupy a bizarre spot in the collective consciousness of the US. Literally the capital of the Confederacy, yet my dyed-in-the-wool redneck grandparents always referred to it as some sort of liberal bastion. It’s like no one wants to lay full claim to it.
I am not loving what this weekend looks to be bringing ngl
Desperately praying for these hacks to bleed each other dry so viscerally and publicly as to scare off any investors from ever touching the poison apple of AI again
Heard! I appreciate the insight :) Definitely need to start putting more free time towards honing my craft!
Gotcha! Is there any reading material about sharpening one’s writing that you might recommend? Or would you say it’s more of a “learn by doing” situation?
What would you say is the single most valuable lesson journalism you ever received? And what would you recommend to folks looking to get their start in the field, given the current state of affairs?
Both things CAN be true, sure, but I strongly disagree with the idea that we’re not within our rights to lambast the decisionmaking and/or shitty attitude of the people who are ostensibly supposed to be our opposition party just because it’s “too soon” after a tragedy. They need to wake the fuck up.
I’d argue it’s crass and shitty to knowingly appoint an elderly individual with cancer to a critical House position at an extremely crucial time for the country, instead of having him spend that time focusing exclusively on recovery, but I guess I’m not a DNC head so what would I know.
Still have to finish it but Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator is an unfortunately great encapsulation of a completely dehumanized market for human capital in its rawest form, complete with selling stocks for individual organs before you flood the market with them & rebuy said stocks.