this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2024

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351

Activist says trans people can’t trust Democrats to protect them anymore (www.independent.co.uk)

submitted 1 week ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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In the face of ‘eradication’, one trans activist is preparing to fight – and she’s sick of silence and neglect from her supposed allies. Raquel Willis tells Io Dodds why Republican bathroom bans are everybody’s problem

(page 3) 24 comments

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[–] [email protected] 18 points 1 week ago (7 children)

When Kamala Harris was the AG for California she was forced to defend a lawsuit where a trans woman in prison for murder wanted the state to pay for reassignment surgery. I was told that by supporting Harris I was transphobic and I should just admit it.

Here's what I'll admit: trans people who didn't support the Harris ticket as if their life depended on it fucked up.

Seriously, "fuck Democrats"? Okay Dude, I can see you don't want to be cheered up - c'mon Donny let's go get us a lane.

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[–] [email protected] 85 points 1 week ago

Democrats have forgotten their history. They like to say that trans rights are a "distraction." They forget that not only were trans people some of the first victims of the Holocaust, but that liberal papers like the NYTimes similarly dismissed Nazi antisemitism as a "distraction" as well. They predicted that, just like Trump and trans people, Hitler was just using Jews as a scapegoat to get elected. They thought that despite widespread antisemitism in Germany, it was just a campaign distraction. They thought there simply weren't enough Jews in Germany to make real oppression something worthwhile for the Nazis to pursue.

In pre-Nazi Germany, Jews represented about 1% of the population. That is the same portion of the population that trans people represent in the US today.

[–] [email protected] -4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Just wait for the next administration lol

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 week ago (3 children)

Voters: Not enough votes for Democrats, letting the people who want to convert trans people and make hormone therapy illegal and God knows what else come to power

Republicans: Hey now that we're in power, we're going to convert trans people and make hormone therapy illegal and God knows what else

Voters: You guys really fucked this one up, I can't trust you

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[–] [email protected] 23 points 1 week ago (7 children)

Democrats were pretty cool about protecting trans people. But thanks to non-voters and $hill Stein voters (along with tens of millions of “low information” Trumpledorks), Trump has all three branches of government at his disposal.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Not really, like their supposed protection of black people their protection of trans people is contingent on how the minority behaves.

That's not support, that's blackmail.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Username checks out

Not really, like their supposed protection of black people their protection of trans people is contingent on how the minority behaves.

"Behaves"?? You mean votes? Yeah it is contingent on how people vote. See gestures to everything

[–] [email protected] -2 points 1 week ago (3 children)

No, behaves. Liberal darling Tim walz called the national guard on the Floyd protests long before any semblance of violence happened.

If any minority protests a Democrat, they go back to their kkk roots faster than you can say southern strategy.

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[–] [email protected] 30 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Just hours after Willis’s interview with The Independent, House and Senate negotiators revealed a bipartisan compromise spending bill that would ban military health insurance from covering transition care for children. On Wednesday, 50 House Democrats who previously denounced that provision voted in favor, and key Senate Democrats said they would reluctantly back it too.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 week ago (2 children)

What did they get in return?

It's politics, they got something, what was it?

It doesn't say? Huh. I wonder why.

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[–] [email protected] 61 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Considering Democrats are now complaining that their protection of trans people cost them the election, I wouldn't say they were all that cool to begin with. They use trans people as a political tool and then toss them aside the second it becomes inconvenient for them to support trans rights. Just look at how the Democrats have "defended" their newest trans colleague.

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Specific people in the Democratic Party have made those complaints. The party has not. Your comment is no different than stereotyping a group for the actions of individuals.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Has the party as a whole done anything to say otherwise? Silence is a different kind of choice.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

You’re claiming the Democratic Party hasn’t supported the trans community?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 week ago (7 children)

They really haven't. They tend to take a neutral stance at best, rather than positively affirming trans rights. This was one of the things that killed them in the election. Despite being a decade in to the recent Republican war on trans people, Democrats have never bothered to develop a set of coherent talking points that they can defend trans rights around. When was the last time you heard a centrist Democrat say, "trans women are women, trans men are men. Their healthcare is medically necessary and life-saving. Trans women belong in women's restrooms and trans men in men's. Republicans are currently guilty of attempting a genocide."

That's the kind of talking points they should be using, a full-throated defense of trans rights that can directly stand up against Republican hate mongering. Instead, if they respond at all, they respond in a pathetic mincing way that tries to "both sides" the issue. Instead of vocally coming down firmly on the side of trans rights, they'll say things like, "these are complex issues...." or "these issues are a distraction..." You would never see a Democrat say that antisemitism is "a distraction" or that defending abortion rights "are a complex issue."

With some notable exceptions, Democrats have completely failed to actually have strong support for trans rights. Republicans are anti-trans and pro-trans genocide. Democrats are neutral. And this really hurt them in the election. Republicans supported full trans elimination. And Democrats could only respond with non-committal mealy-mouthed mumbling about the complexity of the issue. Voters saw that they really didn't stand for anything. Kamala didn't really believe in anything when it comes to trans rights, and the voters punished her for it. Voters want people who actually believe in something, not an empty suit that is just following polls and focus groups.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 week ago (1 children)

When the leading candidate avoids the issue, gives less representation to trans people than the preceding candidates, and says "states rights" in response to growing repression of trans people when pushed to say something in an interview, I think its fair to say the Dem leadership has abandoned us. Individual dems are better, but the leadership clearly doesn't care.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 week ago (2 children)

If you want to turn on the Democratic Party you’ll get a stronger GOP. Your move.

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I'm saying they're willing to throw them under the bus as soon as it gets difficult. Being silent while a few members do so explicitly isn't being an ally.

[–] [email protected] 29 points 1 week ago

The problem with democrats is that they always hold progressive action overhead like a carrot. "Vote for us, we'll establish trans rights/universal healthcare/codify roe v wade!".

Then they don't do it because they want to use it as a fundraising and election platform next go around. If they just did things when they had power people would be more willing to vote for them.

And yes, I know that there are Republicans and independents blocking progressive action. But that doesn't excuse the DNC from doing what I described above as well as constantly shitting on popular progressive candidates.

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