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[–] -1 points 1 week ago* (10 children)

You are significantly misreading both the situation and the risks.

The administration has not needed legislation to cause harm, but legislaters can check the administration. There's no checks without a majority. The potential majority is razor thin and a single loss could mean we miss it.

Not to mention the risk of the power transition not happening two years from now if the GOP is in power in the House and Senate.

We're literally in this mess because people thought your exacta tactics were a good idea.

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  • [–] [S] 4 points 1 week ago (6 children)

    The issue is for trans issues specifically, a transphobic dem winning means they'll very likely not vote to keep the administration in check with regards to trans issues.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago (5 children)

    And if the GOP candidate wins you're in the same boat but you're negotiating with a Republican instead of a Democrat on these issues. And in 2 years that person might help end our democracy so they can stay in power.

    Again, this is literally the same logic that got us Trump's second term.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (4 children)

    From the article I posted:

    Assumption #9: Vote blue no matter who

    This is a popular slogan intended to encourage leftist, liberal, and centrist voters to all band together in order to oppose and defeat MAGA and all of its authoritarian and fascistic tendencies. I’ve expressed my desire for trans people to be a part of such a coalition many times, including in the Afterword to the 3rd edition of Whipping Girl (p.387). And speaking for myself, I have on many occasions voted for Democrats (including in every Presidential election this millennium) who were way more moderate or centrist than I preferred, because I thought they were a better option than their Republican opponents.

    But of course, none of those Democrats campaigned on rolling back my rights.

    Whenever I publicly criticize Democrats who flirt with or outright promote anti-trans positions, random social media accounts will appear seemingly out of thin air to insist that I must “vote blue no matter who.” When they say this, it is most certainly not in the spirit of building a mutually beneficial coalition — as I’ve argued, that would involve them contacting the Democratic politician in question and petitioning them to not abandon trans people, since that would shrink the coalition.

    Rather, when these strangers bark “vote blue no matter who” at me, they are essentially accusing me of being “divisive” for not “voting blue” (even though I haven’t actually said who I’m voting for; see final section below).

    In my book Excluded — which examines the recurring problem of how marginalized groups are often excluded from movements that they have a stake in — I discuss (on p.57) how the word “divisive” is a red flag for me. To paraphrase that passage: When trans people critique trans-exclusion within our own communities and coalitions, we are often called “divisive” for doing so. In contrast, I have never once heard anyone use the word “divisive” to describe cis people who promote or tacitly support trans-exclusion (in this case, Talarico, Turek, et al.). The fact that acts that marginalize trans people are not typically described as being “divisive” implies that there is a presumed and unspoken “one-ness” that exists in people’s minds that implicitly precludes trans people.

    I’d argue that the central issue here isn’t what candidate X says about trans athletes or trans healthcare (although that is certainly important), or what trans person Y says in response. Rather, it’s that many cisgender Democrats will by default view Y as divisive and X as not. And by doing so, they are essentially communicating (whether they realize it or not) that trans people are not really a part of the Democratic coalition in their eyes: We are either votes to be taken for granted or else “dead weight” that the party should drop.

    Everyone is fixating on what trans people are saying about Talarico, Turek, et al., or how we might vote come November, but they have it all completely backwards. Trans people are not the problem here — we are merely reacting to what (overwhelmingly cisgender) Republicans and Democrats are doing to us. This is a cisgender problem. Cisgender Democrats have to decide whether y’all want us (and our heretofore reliable votes) to be a part of the anti-MAGA coalition moving forward or not. I sincerely hope (for your sake and mine) that you ultimately recognize the value that trans people bring to the coalition, and that you stop blaming us for the actions of anti-trans bigots and trans-exclusionary candidates.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 child)

    Also this one a bit:

    Assumption #6: Trans people should wait until after these Democratic candidates are elected before putting pressure on them to change their positions

    Are you fucking kidding me? That is not how politics works at all.

    Imagine for a moment that Talarico or Turek or some other Democrat conceded a different (non-trans-related) issue to their Republican opponent. For instance, what if they said that, if elected to the Senate, they would vote for a nation-wide ban on mifepristone. Would you expect women and other pro-choice voters to “keep quiet” until after the election before speaking out against that position? Of course you wouldn’t!

    If that doesn’t persuade you, just think for a moment about a political issue that is most important to you personally. Do you have it in mind? Now imagine how you would react if a Democratic Senate candidate conceded that issue to Republicans. Wouldn’t you immediately and loudly protest their position change? To let the candidate know that they made the wrong decision, in the hope that they might eventually reverse course?

    Or how about this: Imagine that Republicans were specifically set on revoking your rights: Your access to healthcare, public restrooms, driver’s licenses and passports, and so forth. If their Democratic Senate opponent sided with them, would you simply keep quiet and patiently wait for some imaginary future timepoint when (according to people on the internet who don’t actually give a shit about you) you can “properly” express your concerns?

    If people told you to keep quiet when your rights were on the chopping block, wouldn’t that sound condescending if not downright cruel to you?

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 1 week ago

    We’re literally in this mess because people thought your exacta tactics were a good idea.

    Also, that's not why we're in this situation. Trump is not the problem, he is a symptom of a much deeper and more fundamental problem in American politics. And even ignoring that, Trump didn't win because of left-wing voters not voting for Harris, he won because people voted for him, combined with the fact Harris ran a bad campaign and failed to drive potential voters to actually vote for her.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago (1 child)

    The last thing I'm going to say is that the author telling people not to vote for these dems in the general elections had absolutely nothing to say about these candidates during the primary season. I do not see a single article about the primary elections at all. That makes this stance even more troubling.

    Good luck, I hope it works the way you hope it will. We're all going to need a bit of luck over the next two years.

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  • [–] [S] 3 points 1 week ago

    A lot of the anti-trans ads have happened in the last month or less, as a complete 180 from the previous positions they claimed to hold. Annie Andrews and Turek are the biggest examples. In general it's hard to campaign against someone in a primary for transphobia they have yet to espouse.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 week ago (2 children)

    I'm done trying to explain things to you. You do not listen, you do not think. I'm sorry for your daughter I wish she had more thoughtful and caring parents.

    This stategy is new and in response to recent democratic transphobia. There is no purpose talking to someone who cannot even comprehend the concept of causality.

    If you can demonstrate an understanding of the things I and other trans people have said on the topic then we can discuss, but otherwise just go away.

    We have been trans for a long time. We understand the situation. The articles linked on this community are written by respected expert journalist and commentators. Try listening.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 week ago (1 child)

    Yeah, you're right. In the problem when it's you who have to attack me personally for disagreeing with you.

    The expert author of this article had nothing to say about these candidates or how to vote during the primaries when sending a message the dems was both the most effective and least detrimental to people like my daughter.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 week ago

    Is there a community that includes allies? My daughter is trans and I certainly understand having a trans only space but I'd like a community where I can be looped in to their perspective.

    Follow your own advice. Allies listen. Seek understanding. Stop arrogantly presuming that you already know everything. We support allies here but you are not acting like one.

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