I had a relative tell me that the problem with trans and homosexuality is that itās a mental illness. Instead of fighting those ideas, my response was āso what?ā I decided to follow that line of argument to its conclusion.
Even if it were a mental illness, it would be one that causes no harm. I asked that relative what they would do if they found out they had a mental illness, and that the only thing that treatment would accomplish would be to make them no longer love their spouse. Of course theyād refuse treatment and go on loving who they love.
That should be the end of the conversation. If someone is doing something that harms nobody, why should they be forced to change who they are to please someone unaffected by the outcome?
As a full grown adult with a demanding job and many responsibilities like feeding myself every day, and carefully balancing my caffeine intake with getting enough sleep, I legitimately cannot imagine having the time or energy to care about what other peopleās children are doing.
Yeah Iād say itās something like 40-60. The middle of adulthood. Then around 60 itās weird because it used to be elderly but 60 year olds are just in so much better shape than a few generations back were at that age. And really I think thatās where a lot of our awkwardness about aging comes from. Back in the day a 40 year old looked like a 60 year old now.
But yeah heās old. Heās still cool af, but his iconic music was about a phenomenon I have to explain to people who can vote.
Trans should be mundane because it really is but unfortunately since they are such a small part of the total population by the nature of being trans they are an extremely convenient scapegoat. As long at theyāre on the chopping block like they are in Texas and Florida, there is a chopping block, and thatās everyoneās business. Only the delusional believe that it could never be their turn if these kinds of politics proliferate or become mainstream.
Scapegoat is a bad term. I donāt think anyone is blaming trans folks for anything except ārecruiting more kids to be transā or some such.
I think itās simpler and even more close-minded than that. Pardon the term, but being such a small part of the population they are seen as more of a freak show. Whats worse, they probably justify bullying them more than the traditional freaks of yore, because they āchoseā this life.
Even worse, they are mostly reflecting on their fear of meeting a hot AMAB at a bar. And if Iām being totally honest, as a cis white male, Iām pretty afraid of the confusion I would face if I found myself in that position too.
What you described is a prejudice which is not great. This prejudice, like all prejudices, can be mitigated through exposure. Because of the stigmitization which you described this exposure has additional barriers than just population size. Youāre right that this is enough of a problem.
What Iām talking about is weaponizing this prejudice through politics. There has been a major push to pin āthe fall of western societyā on ātrans ideology.ā Idiots may repeat these moronic talking points to one another, but they are not the ones who wrote those talking points for them to parrot mindlessly. In fact, these talking points are derived from a movement which has existed for just over a century.
One of the reasons fascism is so attractive to many people is that it unites the āproperā people against the enemy which is simulaneously corrupt and foolish but also masterminds who will undermine and destroy the culture unless they are stopped. Because these foes exist, the state must exercise greater social control and violence to manage the āmenace.ā Because this population is small and stigmatized (by coincidence, relatively about the size of the Jewish population in 30ās germany), the state can establish the apparatuses for social control and violence. Because these mechanisms are ostensibly to use against just trans people, idiotic bigots support them and a far greater number of people simply donāt care. The thing is though, that from a fascist politicianās point of view the excuse for creating these authoritarian devices is not important really. The point is to establish an authoritarian fascist government. Any defenseless group can be demonized and persecucted, they just have to pick a group that the population will let them persecute. As long as the greater population doesnāt mind what they do to the scapegoat they can build up a system which can eventually be deployed against any threat to fascist power.
And, therefore, none of the governments business, since they represent the people. But what about the people that believe it is their business and, therefore, the governments business. Never end a thought process at ānone of my businessā, VOTE!
I am of the opinion that closed-minded thinking is only part of the issue. The other part is there are well financed interst groups who work hard to create and encourage division in order to prevent regular folks from working together for a common cause.
The reason is simple: convince people to fight amongst themselves and they will be too busy to notice how much they are being ripped off by the tiny handful of rich people at the top.
This is the same Billie Joe whose fans went home from an āAmerican Idiotā anniversary concert surprised that he got āpoliticalā. I reckon thereās plenty of scope there.
Thatās almost as good as the people who drag on RATM for being political. But not nearly as good as fans shit talking Morello and telling him he needs to stick to what he knows.
āYou donāt have to have a degree in political science from Harvard to understand this, but I actually doā (or however he phrased it) was one of the best comebacks to bad faith āstick to what you knowā admonishing ever šāļø
For posterity, the quote (that I never get tired of reading):
āOne does not have to be an honours grad in political science from Harvard University to recognise the unethical and inhumane nature of this administration but well, I happen to be an honours grad in political science from Harvard University, so I can confirm that for you,ā Morello wrote in reply.
I get what you mean, but considering how many influential people are having their anti-trans opinions broadcast (see: JKR), I think this kind of article is more necessary than you might think.
I donāt really care either way, I just thought it was an amusing point in context. The majority of what I listen to has pop on the end so I donāt have much to gatekeep.
