All purpose news and politics thread part VII: News & Politics Total Landscaping

[Mister Mets]

Those kids are not killing themselves for attention.

Kerry Von Erich didn't kill himself for attention.
Lee Thompson Young didn't kill himself for attention.
Chris Beniot did not either.
Nor Jason David Frank (Power Rangers).

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nearly-...22-cdc-report/






So when will REPUBLICANS leave folks alone???

What group has lead an all out attack on the LGBTQA+ community? WHO?

https://www.thepinknews.com/2024/03/...rsial-remarks/



https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-...enti-rcna34530







So is THIS unsettling????


https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/10/polit...lth/index.html

People kill themselves for a variety of reasons.

Some do it for attention to their cause. Aaron Bushnell lit himself on fire to protest what's going on in Gaza. I was against glorifying that for the same reason.

https://community.cbr.com/showthread...=1#post6738102

https://community.cbr.com/showthread...=1#post6738525

It is unsettling if people get the message that they'll have an impact when they're dead.

So Mets is saying Nex might have committed suicide for other reasons, like reading transphobic messages on a comic book forum?

Mets is perplexed as to how people came to that conclusion.

Mets thinks it is possible that Nex might have committed suicide for other reasons. Maybe it was embarrassment over getting suspended after throwing water on classmates. Maybe it's got something to do with Nex's father being in jail. Maybe it was something else completely.

Mets does not think transphobic messages on a comic book forum is one of those reasons.

To be clear, Mets doesn't think Nex Benedict killed himself to send a message on trans rights.

But Mets is worried that other people may decide that if they kill themselves, they'll be important. This isn't due to what they read on comic book message boards, because they can get the message elsewhere.

[Catlady in training]

In the few cases when people commit suicide to draw attention to themselves and/or a message they want people to listen to, there is a specific way the go about it. 1) They plan it in advance. 2) They do it in public so that, you know, more people would see it and be able to hear the message. Most people who commit suicide just want terrible things to stop happening to them.

Let's not draw or conclusions based on something that happens in much less than 1% of the cases.

Otherwise, we might use the same logic and for example make assumptions about people who refer to themselves in the third person.

[zinderel]

So, according to Mets, Nex Benedict probably didn’t kill themself because of transphobic bullying borne of transphobic culture and the openly stated plank of the Republican Party platform to dehumanize trans people. They killed themself out of a need to draw attention to themselves after their failed attempt to stand up to bullies got them beaten.

And Matthew Shepherd’s brutal murder was probably just a drug deal gone bad, and he probably deserved it, and his murderers were probably just victims of mean ol’ hate crimes laws being manipulated by the unscrupulous lawyers prosecuting them.

Wow.

[aja_christopher]

So, according to Mets, Nex Benedict probably didn’t kill themself because of transphobic bullying borne of transphobic culture and the openly stated plank of the Republican Party platform to dehumanize trans people. They killed themself out of a need to draw attention to themselves after their failed attempt to stand up to bullies got them beaten.

All the talk of respecting facts and evidence is a clear lie — even when shown evidence he refuses to address provided documentation and continues attempting to deny the obvious.

And he has yet to show any evidence backing his argument — he just ignores the facts presented when they don’t suit his agenda.

Nothing new — just the same old denial and excuses for Republican prejudice and bigotry.

People kill themselves for a variety of reasons.

Including for being attacked for being non-binary after being targeted by Republican fear and hate.

Evidence has been repeatedly provided that this is the case and you have repeatedly ignored it.

You have provided no counter evidence and instead have gloated about being right about a suicide.

This is why many claim you don’t argue in good faith — with valid reason.

[Tendrin]

If you have links, post it. It's possible to miss useful information when a lot of the discussion was about things that ended up not being true.

Let's see your earlier comments.

I have posted them, and I've posted about the culture of bullying and harassment in a state run by the party you want more than anything to protect.

The first post has a link to a Daily Kos article that made some serious claims and didn't bother updating claims like "Nex Benedict, a non-binary transgender 16-year-old student at Owasso High School, was brutally murdered in an assault in the girl’s restroom this month." when it turns out to be inaccurate.

So, you didn't read it at the time, or likely any of the links contained within to journalists that documented Chaya's rhetoric and what happens after, or the role it played in Oklahoma schools receiving bomb threats? Just being clear, here, we're dismissing all of that because they said it was a murder. Got it!

As an aside, this seems like an obvious indication that a source is garbage. These types of things can be updated.

That's 1) not generally how DailyKos works, as other people posted when then news of the medical examiner's report broke. and 2) their point was that Chaya Raichik helped enable a culture of harssment and bullying in the school that helped make the bullying acceptable. Bullying that helped lead to a violent assault on a student, whose injuries were pretty severe for a 'school fight'.

One user suggested that as a policy matter the United States should figure out how to put Raichik on trial for murder.

Oh, are we now taking user *replies* to discount things?

Nex Benedict wasn't a murder victim, but anyone blaming him for ending his own life did end up being correct.

Transphobia killed them.

That thread includes a reference to Matthew Shepard. An aside on that one is that Matthew Shepard probably wasn't a victim of a hate crime. It's more likely to have been a drug deal gone bad, with a lawyer thinking gay panic would be a better explanation than saying the defendant shot someone expecting ten grand worth of meth.

[QUOTE]https://reason.com/2023/10/12/matthe...ay-hate-crime/

Oh no! A reference to a commonly held and largely uncontroversial belief? Better discount everything else they wrote! Typical Mets strategy.

This may be a distinction without a difference, because there have been homophobic murders within the United States.

I hope that you recognize that I wasn't saying that I believed to be untrue.

Naw. You are a liar.

You lied: Most politicians with anti-trans views don't think they're hurting trans kids.

I think it's pretty obvious they know they're hurting them, and I think you know that too. At best, they believe it's for their own good. Believing it is for their own good doesn't make abuse less abusive, nor does it make ignoring a culture of abuse towards non gender conforming and trans students okay.

You should be embarrassed that you called me a liar

No, I do in fact think you are a liar and that you engage in frequently deceptive and slippery rhetoric here, as you have throughout this entire reply to me.

when you were wrong on the facts, and I was correct to say that we didn't know what caused the kid's death and that authorities were saying it probably wasn't physical trauma.

I was never unwilling to acknowledge that Nex died by suicide if that was proven. What drove them there seems pretty obvious, given the aforementioned *months of transphobic bullying* that had been previously mentioned.

ABC News spoke with former students and local parents, who say that the impact of anti-LGBTQ policy and rhetoric is a growing concern in Oklahoma schools like Owasso High School, where Benedict was a student.

"I was constantly fearing for my safety," said 2022 Owasso alum and trans student Riley, who requested to go by their first name for safety reasons. "Looking back, I think that if I were out (as trans) during high school, I probably wouldn't have survived."

Benedict, 16, died on Feb. 8, one day after a physical altercation between the student and others at Owasso High School. According to Benedict's family, Benedict was nonbinary and went by they/them pronouns.

Benedict's family claimed that the teen had experienced several months of bullying from other students, which began after Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill into law in May 2022 that barred transgender and gender expansive youth from using bathrooms consistent with their gender identity, citing safety concerns.

So, again: I have provided numerous links that show the influence of Libs of TikTok and the transphobic rhetoric from state officials. That Nex might've taken their own life by overdosing on their medication doesn't change that they endured months of harassment without sufficient protection from the people who were supposed to protect them, which I have repeatedly shown to be true and without contest from you.

[Jack Dracula]

I like that he suggests that standing up to bullies is the worst thing a victim can do. And that their suicide probably was more about getting attention than all the documented anti-trans bullying (provoked by ‘conservative’, ‘christian’ Republican talking heads and politicians and leaders) that they suffered.

Classy victim blaming. Opinions like this are why people are so ‘mean’ to conservatives, and why conservatives are so ‘oppressed’.



Conservatives are good at two things: spreading hatred and ignorance under the guise of ‘free speech’ and ‘religious freedom’, and then denying any responsibility for the violence that comes from spreading hate and ignorance.

Oh, I forgot the third thing: profiting from the suffering of the vulnerable.

It used to be that LGBTQ+ youths could at least tell themselves that if they can suffer through high school things will eventually be better because they’ll be free to live their lives as they choose. Now that Republicans have gone all in on oppressing people like them they’re left with very little to look forward to. It seems that way to me anyway.

[zinderel]

It used to be that LGBTQ+ youths could at least tell themselves that if they can suffer through high school things will eventually be better because they’ll be free to live their lives as they choose. Now that Republicans have gone all in on oppressing people like them they’re left with very little to look forward to. It seems that way to me anyway.

9/11 broke America.

Vietnam came close, but 9/11 broke our brains. We had come out of the MASSIVE wave of violent, virulent homophobia caused by the appearance of HIV/AIDS, and were starting to see queer folx as human again, the way we did BEFORE the HIV/AIDS crisis (seriously, THE LOVE BOAT had trans people who weren’t the butt of jokes and TAXI had a bi guy hit on a straight guy, and the straight guy’s main concern is how to tell the girl they both like…). Disco was a thing, clubs were packed with people who were looking for fun, and ‘gay or straight’ only mattered to old, white, ‘conservative’ folks who hated the idea of anyone having fun that didn’t involve ‘patriotism’ and Bible study.

And then 9/11 happened.

And we went to war with the wrong nations, for over 20 years. And Christian fundamentalists decided to blame 9/11 on growing acceptance of queer folx. And they spread fear among the fundamentalist faithful with the help of funding from the Bush Admin (many members of which worked on the Reagan Admin and it’s disastrous, monstrous policies about HIV/AIDS…) that entrenched a radically extremist version of ‘Christianity’ that voted in lock step with anyone with an (R) beside their name, no matter how anti-Christ they or their policies are.

That boost of finances and power that they got from Bush 2 (and the reality that the public has been trained to see ‘christian’ as ‘trustworthy and good’ by default) and a nation desperate for someone to blame has simply metastasized from ‘God hates fags’ to ‘trans people are turning your kids into furries!’ and ‘doing transness is only for attention’ and ‘queer suicide rates are just queers shouting ‘look at me!’ like the librul snowflakes they are’ (and NOT a result of decades of GOP policy and ‘christian’ indoctrination and influence over culture).

[Mister Mets]

So, according to Mets, Nex Benedict probably didn’t kill themself because of transphobic bullying borne of transphobic culture and the openly stated plank of the Republican Party platform to dehumanize trans people. They killed themself out of a need to draw attention to themselves after their failed attempt to stand up to bullies got them beaten.

And Matthew Shepherd’s brutal murder was probably just a drug deal gone bad, and he probably deserved it, and his murderers were probably just victims of mean ol’ hate crimes laws being manipulated by the unscrupulous lawyers prosecuting them.

Wow.

I really don't think your summary of what I said matches.

That thread includes a reference to Matthew Shepard. An aside on that one is that Matthew Shepard probably wasn't a victim of a hate crime. It's more likely to have been a drug deal gone bad, with a lawyer thinking gay panic would be a better explanation than saying the defendant shot someone expecting ten grand worth of meth.

https://reason.com/2023/10/12/matthe...ay-hate-crime/

This may be a distinction without a difference, because there have been homophobic murders within the United States.

But it does highlight a problem in civic discussion, if activists are misinformed on something like this.

I didn't say anything that could be understood as Matthew Shepard probably deserving it, or that his murderers were victims.

I don't think I described anyone killing themself to draw attention to themselves. I said "Some do it for attention to their cause" or "There is something really unsettling about the coverage, and the message that teenagers who kill themselves will get national attention for their cause."

Incidentally, I also didn't say that I think Nex Benedict committed suicide to draw attention to any issue. My concern is about the message other kids are getting right now about how they can have an impact.

The difference between what I wrote and how you describe it is interesting. I wonder if you're primed to respond very negatively to me and just assume the worst, or if you typically know when you're lying.

[aja_christopher]

My concern is about the message other kids are getting right now about how they can have an impact.

Rather than being concerned that a child committed suicide due to documented anti-LGBT abuse promoted by the conservative political party that you support.



Again — don’t claim to care about facts and evidence if you are going to ignore them.

It used to be that LGBTQ+ youths could at least tell themselves that if they can suffer through high school things will eventually be better because they’ll be free to live their lives as they choose. Now that Republicans have gone all in on oppressing people like them they’re left with very little to look forward to. It seems that way to me anyway.

You can see it in the complete lack of concern for the victims of conservative policy.

The consolation is that this willful ignorance of racism and bigotry will be their downfall in an increasingly diverse nation — even Republicans themselves know this.

The only person Mets is fooling here is himself — ignoring factual evidence and arguing for morals and ethics while demanding none from those that he defends is so blatantly hypocritical that it’s clear that he sees it even if he won’t admit to it.

Attacking others for calling him out on this just verifies his lack of accountability.

[Mister Mets]

In the few cases when people commit suicide to draw attention to themselves and/or a message they want people to listen to, there is a specific way the go about it. 1) They plan it in advance. 2) They do it in public so that, you know, more people would see it and be able to hear the message. Most people who commit suicide just want terrible things to stop happening to them.

Let's not draw or conclusions based on something that happens in much less than 1% of the cases.

Otherwise, we might use the same logic and for example make assumptions about people who refer to themselves in the third person.

I referred to myself in the third person in response to another comment about what Mets is thinking.

I wasn't suggesting that Nex Benedict likely killed themselves to send a message. I'm concerned about what may happen in the future.

This reminds me of a viral hoax that multiple family members of users of a support forum for trans youth killed themselves after Trump won the 2016 election.

As I said years ago, it appears that people made up a story about eight trans youth committing suicide after Trump won the presidential election. The most generous interpretation is that people made stories normalizing suicide to score political points. The worst is that it was intentional trolling of members and loved ones of a minority group with high suicide rates.

https://community.cbr.com/showthread...de#post5436371

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/tr...2016-election/

All the talk of respecting facts and evidence is a clear lie — even when shown evidence he refuses to address provided documentation and continues attempting to deny the obvious.

And he has yet to show any evidence backing his argument — he just ignores the facts presented when they don’t suit his agenda.

Nothing new — just the same old denial and excuses for Republican prejudice and bigotry.



Including for being attacked for being non-binary after being targeted by Republican fear and hate.

Evidence has been repeatedly provided that this is the case and you have repeatedly ignored it.

You have provided no counter evidence and instead have gloated about being right about a suicide.

This is why many claim you don’t argue in good faith — with valid reason.

It seems sketchy to criticize someone for being right.

If you think I've said something that reflects a poor tone, you can quote it.

The idea that I've provided no evidence just doesn't match the reality.

But this may get to a difference in the discussion. I'm talking about ambiguity, while others are much more certain about what happened, just as certain as when they thought it was physical trauma.

If you think there's a claim I've made that I haven't provided evidence for, by all means, ask.

If you think I deny the obvious, you can point out how something is wrong.

Often you seem to be critical of things I haven't said, but in that case you should be willing to ask a non-loaded question.

I have posted them, and I've posted about the culture of bullying and harassment in a state run by the party you want more than anything to protect.



So, you didn't read it at the time, or likely any of the links contained within to journalists that documented Chaya's rhetoric and what happens after, or the role it played in Oklahoma schools receiving bomb threats? Just being clear, here, we're dismissing all of that because they said it was a murder. Got it!



That's 1) not generally how DailyKos works, as other people posted when then news of the medical examiner's report broke. and 2) their point was that Chaya Raichik helped enable a culture of harssment and bullying in the school that helped make the bullying acceptable. Bullying that helped lead to a violent assault on a student, whose injuries were pretty severe for a 'school fight'.



Oh, are we now taking user *replies* to discount things?



Transphobia killed them.

https://reason.com/2023/10/12/matthe...ay-hate-crime/

Oh no! A reference to a commonly held and largely uncontroversial belief? Better discount everything else they wrote! Typical Mets strategy.





Naw. You are a liar.

You lied: Most politicians with anti-trans views don't think they're hurting trans kids.

I think it's pretty obvious they know they're hurting them, and I think you know that too. At best, they believe it's for their own good. Believing it is for their own good doesn't make abuse less abusive, nor does it make ignoring a culture of abuse towards non gender conforming and trans students okay.



No, I do in fact think you are a liar and that you engage in frequently deceptive and slippery rhetoric here, as you have throughout this entire reply to me.



I was never unwilling to acknowledge that Nex died by suicide if that was proven. What drove them there seems pretty obvious, given the aforementioned *months of transphobic bullying* that had been previously mentioned.



So, again: I have provided numerous links that show the influence of Libs of TikTok and the transphobic rhetoric from state officials. That Nex might've taken their own life by overdosing on their medication doesn't change that they endured months of harassment without sufficient protection from the people who were supposed to protect them, which I have repeatedly shown to be true and without contest from you.

The Daily Kos post wasn't obviously incorrect when you posted the link, so the point wasn't necessary at the time. But it should be updated by now.

It seems relevant to the article that they think Nex Benedict was beaten to death. "Nex Benedict, a non-binary transgender 16-year-old student at Owasso High School, was brutally murdered in an assault in the girl’s restroom this month." "Violent attacks on transgender and non-binary youth have been increasing across the nation as a legislative blitzkrieg from Republican lawmakers targets their collective rights to exist." "For reasons that remain unclear, Owasso High School refused to call an ambulance for 16-year-old Nex Benedict, who died from their injuries in the hospital the next day. A motive for this killing has not been shared by law enforcement, but we know that schools in Oklahoma have been specifically pushing violent eliminationist rhetoric against transgender and non-binary youth"

The user *reply* was relevant because it was part of a chain of posts you were responding to.

I think it is a red flag if someone writing about hate crimes is unaware that a commonly held belief is controversial.

I wasn't lying when I said I believe that most politicians with anti-trans views think they're helping. That's more of an opinion than a fact. The moment you wrote "At best, they believe it's for their own good" you no longer believe that I'm lying, or even wrong.

You called me a liar for saying we didn't know what caused the kid's death and that authorities were saying it probably wasn't physical trauma.

And your last point suggests a level of ambiguity, which is the main thing I've been arguing for.

Is the argument about vibes? Is it that you don't care about the specific point, and it's more about signaling?

* Edit- When you wrote "I was never unwilling to acknowledge that Nex died by suicide if that was proven. What drove them there seems pretty obvious, given the aforementioned *months of transphobic bullying* that had been previously mentioned," did you think it was a possibility before the report came out? Were you confident that the evidence would show that Nex Benedict died of physical trauma, or did you think some other explanation was possible? I can completely understand thinking that it would be inappropriate to discuss any suspicions in a public forum until more evidence came to light.

[aja_christopher]

The idea that I've provided no evidence just doesn't match the reality.

You weren’t criticized for being “right” as others also made that same observation.

You are being criticized for your hypocrisy in ignoring racism and bigotry in the party you support.

You’ve provided no evidence that refutes the issue of blatant Republican bigotry while others have posted direct evidence about Republican anti-LGBT legislation and its effects on those it targets.

Given recent legislation and hate speech in Oklahoma, Nex clearly was one such individual.

You argued “we don’t know why they were bullied” despite being provided with numerous articles that stated why — reminding others again of why they shouldn’t bother providing evidence to you.

In reality, you’ve spent more time complaining about others than addressing factual evidence.

Because you can’t defend Republican bigotry.

I was never unwilling to acknowledge that Nex died by suicide if that was proven. What drove them there seems pretty obvious, given the aforementioned *months of transphobic bullying* that had been previously mentioned.

So, again: I have provided numerous links that show the influence of Libs of TikTok and the transphobic rhetoric from state officials. That Nex might've taken their own life by overdosing on their medication doesn't change that they endured months of harassment without sufficient protection from the people who were supposed to protect them, which I have repeatedly shown to be true and without contest from you.

More factual evidence for him to address — or likely ignore — regarding Republican bigotry.

Rather than repeatedly mischaracterizing the arguments of others in an attempt to deflect from actual conservative behavior and policy since that is his habit.

If he truly wanted to address these issues he would do so instead of criticizing other posters.

[Tendrin]

The Daily Kos post wasn't obviously incorrect when you posted the link, so the point wasn't necessary at the time. But it should be updated by now.

As I said before: people don't generally update DailyKos posts unless it's still on their reccomended list and receiving feedback and discussion. Instead, new posts are written containing new opinions and information. This is how DailyKos works. I posted that article because it aggregated a lot of information on the climate created and emboldened by the people you're protecting here. Demanding that they change it to suit you before you'll take anything else written in something posted at the time more seriously is another example of you deciding you get to invent a standard and apply it to a site you don't use. Moreover, it changes nothing about what's contained within the diary in terms of sources for what it's mostly talking about: the climate of bullying, harassment, and prejudice created by Chaya Raichik and Ryan Walters, alongside the kind of people who would call bomb threats into schools or work to get more supporitve teachers fired.

It seems relevant to the article that they think Nex Benedict was beaten to death. "Nex Benedict, a non-binary transgender 16-year-old student at Owasso High School, was brutally murdered in an assault in the girl’s restroom this month." "Violent attacks on transgender and non-binary youth have been increasing across the nation as a legislative blitzkrieg from Republican lawmakers targets their collective rights to exist." "For reasons that remain unclear, Owasso High School refused to call an ambulance for 16-year-old Nex Benedict, who died from their injuries in the hospital the next day. A motive for this killing has not been shared by law enforcement, but we know that schools in Oklahoma have been specifically pushing violent eliminationist rhetoric against transgender and non-binary youth"

Again, this changes literally nothing about what else is contained in the article, written by people not them in reputable newspapers, which you'd know if you bothered to look at anything beyond trying to find something to disagree with so you can ignore everything else. Like you do.

The user *reply* was relevant because it was part of a chain of posts you were responding to.

Oh, it's a t-shirt thing! Again, this is another example of you trying to find a minor thing you can then use to ignore all the other things there.

I think it is a red flag if someone writing about hate crimes is unaware that a commonly held belief is controversial.

It's not controversial and changes nothing about anything else they wrote. This is another example of you wanting to discount the entirety of something by trying to find one thing you consider a 'red flag' that lets you do so. You never address the totality of an argument because you know that you cannot. You can think they're wrong about Matthew Shepherd if you want, but it doesn't challenge anything else they wrote. It's just you, once again, inventing a standard and applying it as a means to ignore everything else.

I wasn't lying when I said I believe that most politicians with anti-trans views think they're helping. That's more of an opinion than a fact. The moment you wrote "At best, they believe it's for their own good" you no longer believe that I'm lying, or even wrong.

Yes, I actually do, because this is the justification many abusers use when they are abusing people, and given that we're talking about people creating overseeing a climate of factually documented bullying, harassment, and abuse...

You called me a liar for saying we didn't know what caused the kid's death and that authorities were saying it probably wasn't physical trauma.

I said lies *and* deflection. Mostly, you were doing the latter, but you absolutely do both.

And your last point suggests a level of ambiguity, which is the main thing I've been arguing for.

Naw.

Is the argument about vibes? Is it that you don't care about the specific point, and it's more about signaling?

Hardly.

* Edit- When you wrote "I was never unwilling to acknowledge that Nex died by suicide if that was proven. What drove them there seems pretty obvious, given the aforementioned *months of transphobic bullying* that had been previously mentioned," did you think it was a possibility before the report came out? Were you confident that the evidence would show that Nex Benedict died of physical trauma, or did you think some other explanation was possible? I can completely understand thinking that it would be inappropriate to discuss any suspicions in a public forum until more evidence came to light.

Head injuries are notorious for later killing someone initially assessed as all right, and can be quite difficult to actually properly identify. I didn't wholly think suicide is out of the question, and American law enforcement is *notorious* for downplaying crimes against minorities, which is why the police initial statement and later walk back was eyebrow raising.

And even if they had taken their own life, they had done so in a heightened climate of bile directed at them by the party and politicians in question. Unlike you, they have to live with the policies and politicians you carry endless water for.

[Tami]

First They Came – by Pastor Martin Niemöller

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

Here is an update version by me for anyone who is at the bottom of the list:

First they came for the LGBTQ+
And I did not speak out
Because I was not LGBTQ+
Then they came for the Migrants
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Migrant
Then they came for Women
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Woman
Then they came for the Books
And I did not speak out
Because I do not/can not read
Then they came for the Educators
And I did not speak out
Because I was not an educator
Then they came for the Election/Poll Workers
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Election/Poll Worker
Then they came for the Medical Professionals
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Medical Professional
Then they came for the Liberals/Democrats
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Liberal or a Democrat
Then they came for the Blacks and Browns
And I did not speak out
Because I was White
Then they came for the Career Civil Servants
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Civil Servant
Then they came for the Journalists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Journalist
Then they came for the Asians
And I did not speak out
Because I was not Asian
Then they came for the Muslims and Arabs
And I did not speak out
Because I was not Muslim or Arab
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

[Robotman]

9/11 broke America.

Vietnam came close, but 9/11 broke our brains. We had come out of the MASSIVE wave of violent, virulent homophobia caused by the appearance of HIV/AIDS, and were starting to see queer folx as human again, the way we did BEFORE the HIV/AIDS crisis (seriously, THE LOVE BOAT had trans people who weren’t the butt of jokes and TAXI had a bi guy hit on a straight guy, and the straight guy’s main concern is how to tell the girl they both like…). Disco was a thing, clubs were packed with people who were looking for fun, and ‘gay or straight’ only mattered to old, white, ‘conservative’ folks who hated the idea of anyone having fun that didn’t involve ‘patriotism’ and Bible study.

And then 9/11 happened.

And we went to war with the wrong nations, for over 20 years. And Christian fundamentalists decided to blame 9/11 on growing acceptance of queer folx. And they spread fear among the fundamentalist faithful with the help of funding from the Bush Admin (many members of which worked on the Reagan Admin and it’s disastrous, monstrous policies about HIV/AIDS…) that entrenched a radically extremist version of ‘Christianity’ that voted in lock step with anyone with an (R) beside their name, no matter how anti-Christ they or their policies are.

That boost of finances and power that they got from Bush 2 (and the reality that the public has been trained to see ‘christian’ as ‘trustworthy and good’ by default) and a nation desperate for someone to blame has simply metastasized from ‘God hates fags’ to ‘trans people are turning your kids into furries!’ and ‘doing transness is only for attention’ and ‘queer suicide rates are just queers shouting ‘look at me!’ like the librul snowflakes they are’ (and NOT a result of decades of GOP policy and ‘christian’ indoctrination and influence over culture).

9/11 definitely opened the door for the fear and hatred in America to run rampant. People were understandably scared and confused after the worst attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor. This coincided with the rise of Fox News and social media. It was a perfect storm for paranoia and hate to take over. Fox News became a cultural force post 9/11 because it was the one stop shop for spreading fear, blind patriotism, and stoking hatred for “the other”.

The only positive thing to happen with Bush letting the Christian right into the White House was that their campaign of hatred for LGBTQ and women has turned many people off mainstream religion. the number of people in the US who have no formal religious identity has been increasing, and is now one of the largest single voting groups in the country, at 28%.

Though this won’t matter if Trump is allowed back in the White House and he is allowed to put more Christofascists on the Supreme Court.

[aja_christopher]

First They Came – by Pastor Martin Niemöller

Here is an update version by me for anyone who is at the bottom of the list:

First they came for the LGBTQ+
And I did not speak out
Because I was not LGBTQ+
Then they came for the Migrants
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Migrant
Then they came for Women
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Woman
Then they came for the Books
And I did not speak out
Because I do not/can not read
Then they came for the Educators
And I did not speak out
Because I was not an educator
Then they came for the Election/Poll Workers
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Election/Poll Worker
Then they came for the Medical Professionals
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Medical Professional
Then they came for the Liberals/Democrats
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Liberal or a Democrat
Then they came for the Blacks and Browns
And I did not speak out
Because I was White
Then they came for the Career Civil Servants
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Civil Servant
Then they came for the Journalists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Journalist
Then they came for the Asians
And I did not speak out
Because I was not Asian
Then they came for the Muslims and Arabs
And I did not speak out
Because I was not Muslim or Arab
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me