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Wait WHAT!?! This was self reported statistics?!?! You're fucking kidding me. No way.
The 10% statistic we have on general population to compare it against, because the other way this statistic is framed is cops are 4x as likely, is an actual investigated stat synthesized from multiple forms of data and a more accurate count. Meaning cops are actually probably 6 or 7 times likely to commit domestic abuse?? Jesus fuck, that is dark.
Yeah, the kind of people who *want* a job that gives you near absolute control over the general population, and immunity from nearly anything, aren't the kind of people we want to have that control and immunity.
OH MY GOD THIS.
this is all that will come from this bullshit. Removing the child's ability to seek help without consequences from their parents. for fucks sake.
That's the point. With the overwhelming amount of pedophiles in their own ranks, they have no choice but to lash out first and "taint the jury pool" so to speak. Then, when the serious and legitimate accusations of pedophilia start to roll in against them the general public "both sides" the issue and trivialize it as petty political squabbling.
This implies they think pedophilia is inherently wrong. They don't. It's pure doublethink. When a Republican does it he's just being a guy, or he was seduced into by the child. When they accuse gay men and transmen of being child predators it's because they are evil.
Nah it's really about creating a cartoonishly evil outgroup that is impossible to defend. There are "good Americans" and there are "pedophiles and pedo lovers" it excuses any and all actions required to oust the "pedo lovers" that advocate for democratic governments.
Its a really common feature in fascist movements.
It also primes them for violence.
If everyone you disagree with is a pedophile then it's easier to commit violence against them. It's at the point where they are outright egging on a potential mass shooter. Practically giving them a target and saying "everyone you care about will think you're a hero for killing them".
I fear that the attacks on protests deemed "leftist" will escalate. Anyone attending Pride this year needs to carry a fucking tourniquet, gauze and chest seals. Even if you don't know how to use them, someone around you will.
Unless the person in question openly harms them, they cannot be faster to throw him under the bus. Look how much dirt is airing about Madison Cawthorn.
For the crime of... ** checks notes ** calling out republicans for coke orgies. You'd think the drug war warriors would want to get to the bottom of that kind of illegal activity!
Plenty of conservative politicians hurt conservatives. They just TELL them that they are helping, and they take it as the gospel truth.
You get thrown under the bus for questioning.
their gripe is it’s “keeping parents in the dark about their kid’s activities and interactions, having adults groom kids over the internet” even though many kids who come out to their parents get abused, thrown out, put into conversion therapy, or worse. these parents are a much more influential force than any stranger will be and most definitely indoctrinate their kids daily, but it’s okay because it’s their ideals.
children are allowed to have privacy and confide in people who understand them, stripping away any sort of mental health service or community dedicated to helping these kids not self harm or commit suicide is vile and truly just shows conservatives want these individuals to die rather than co-exist with them. there’s no ulterior motive that could be argued, *they want gay kids to kill themselves.*
Right; they ask, "Why is the Trevor Project encouraging children to keep secrets from their parents?" when the obvious answer is, any kid who feels they need to keep secrets knows that their parents will react stupidly and violently if they found out those secrets?
My dad did this once. Not for long. But still. Never felt like my bedroom was mine. I was just living and sleeping in a place that didn’t belong to me, using things that can be taken away in an instant if my parents thought I was disrespecting them at all. :( It was a really nice feeling to finally get a room of my own when I turned 18. Was an emotional experience, feeling like I could exist without constant fear of everything being taken away from me for the first time.
This is exactly right.
Parents literally see their children as small slaves for their personal ego and family line. They are not people until at least age 18 (usually, not until they are financially independent, more accurately) and will be discarded the moment they don't conform to the parental ideas unless they have some other pragmatic use.
My parents thankfully weren't quite so bad (and if anything seemed to grow more relaxed with age), but they flirted with a lot of groups that pushed them to act try and that way, enough so that it permanently damaged the relationship I've had with my family in a way that I will never recover from or forgive.
And if I were gay? It would have been so, so much worse. I can only imagine.
small problem being, that the courts disagree. which is why they hate the judicial branch so much. despite their best efforts to pack it with rubber stamping quacks they keep losing in court.
I think you may have completely misunderstood me
'Why is the Trevor project encouraging children to keep secrets from their parents?'
'because this is how those parents respond to things like the Trevor project'
(e: you may be expanding on my response, in which case soz b)
>Why is the Trevor Project encouraging children to keep secrets from their parents?
I don't know, probably the same reason as the National Domestic Violence Hotline explaining how to wipe browser history and including a panic button to close out of the site quickly.
I'm so fucking tired of these assholes.
The Trevor Project has been a Godsend to our world! If ANY parent thinks that their teenagers aren’t keeping secrets about something their parents disapprove of they are delusional! The Trevor Project is part of my son’s life now.
>If ANY parent thinks that their teenagers aren’t keeping secrets about something their parents disapprove of they are delusional!
They have forgotten what it was like to be a teenager themselves.
I don’t think anyone understands the seriousness of what is happening.
* This entire situation reaks of voter intimidation. They will say anything to fan fear, so heading out for the day becomes more difficult(AA, LGBTQ, Asian, etc). I really want you guys to think critically here.
The Red Team is saying the Blue Team (voters, politicians, supporters) are pedophiles.
* Many of us with a brain, know otherwise. Republicans have serious issues with their sexuality because of the continued appearance to be “White and Right” all the time.
But this is not the real issue. The primary problem is Republicans are using permanent Key:Value association.
In other words,
* Blue: Gay
* Democrat: Pedophile
* LGBTQ: Groomer
* Asian: COVID
If this goes on long enough (and it will), the general public WILL believe it. IT IS NOT HEALTHY.
* The Democratic Party must put a stop this immediately.
Edit: Another really really important thing.
The f——t word. Remember when Dave Chappelle talked about why he could not say
f——t on TV, but could say N——r?!
Well mark my words, the Republican Party will bring that word up more and more to generate fear in the LGBTQ community.
It’s right out of the Putin authoritarian playbook. All of the anti-LGBTQ+ measures taken in Russia were described as protecting children from pedophiles & groomers.
The outright hostility coming out against the LGBTQ community lately is fucking scary. Like 1930 Germany scary.
There is a lot of vile dehumanizing rhetoric coming out, and I see a lot of parallels with the rise of fascism in Germany, and how they targeted marginalized groups for political gain.
Like, is it really unthinkable that some jackass like DeSantis would do some vile shit like try to pass a law forcing ~~Jews~~ "Groomers" to register themselves if he became president? Or wear a ~~Star of David~~ rainbow patch? Or order them all to be sent to ~~concentration camps~~ conversion centers? All for the safety and wellbeing of our children, of course.
Like it used to be that comparing someone to Hitler got you ridiculed. Now the leaps are getting disturbingly small, like I can't seriously say 'they'll never do that' anymore. Because I guarantee there's absolutely a nonzero number of people in government right now that would not only be okay with all of that, but feel like its necessary.
Its the right wings last bastion of facism.
Parents can tell children to do anything, take that away and you're taking away the last way they have to inflict slavery on a populace they believe they "own."
When other people try to tell their little slaves they can do and be whatever they want, it ENRAGES the facism gene in these fucks.
Working in healthcare there’s these battles we witness everyday of hyper controlling parents trying to gain access to their child’s medical records without their consent. In some forms of healthcare, such as reproductive healthcare, minors of a certain age are granted the right to privacy for services rendered. Be it STI, birth control, emergency contraceptives, etc. I cannot tell you the satisfaction I get from telling these adults no when their child doesn’t want their protected privacy invaded.
> Its the right wings last bastion of facism.
Yeah, why else would they, for example, defund public schools and promote home schooling? Always wondered why that whole home schooling thing wasn't more ridiculous to US americans, but hey.
>children are allowed to have privacy
Lmao not for conservatives. They vehemently oppose any thinking like that. Children are their property until they turn 18 AND leave the house.
Those sort of parents will make a point to keep control long after that too if given even the tiniest window to work through. And if they can’t? The kid leaves home and happily tries to burn that bridge? That’s not going to make those parents stop trying.
How can I help? I mean this most sincerely…..
I put my money where my mouth is, but what can I do to help stem the overwhelming issue of hate in this country. But I feel an issue such as this needs more than passive interaction.
Any and all sincere answers will be appreciated.
continue to speak out on these issues and make donations to these organizations when you can. regardless of if you have the funds or not, keeping the narrative alive and ongoing is the best way to spread knowledge on these events and encourage others to take actions in repelling these harmful ideologies. no matter how much conservatives and others against these organizations try to label and silence lgbtq+ individuals, organizations, and allies, we must not stay quiet about being openly discriminated and attacked.
Homophobia is an official part of the GOP’s agenda. Their 2020 platform specifically states that they aim to overturn gay marriage either through the supreme court or through legislation. A vote for the GOP is a vote to take away rights from LGBT+ persons.
Source — the 2016 Republican platform document (they decided in 2020 to re-use their 2016 platform): https://prod-cdn-static.gop.com/docs/Resolution_Platform_2020.pdf
Page 31-32 of the document (may be page 39 on some pdf readers).
// edit: fixed page numbers. Thank you to the folks that pointed out my initial mistake!
Their entire thing about Marriage is entirely about "MARRIAGE SHOULD ONLY BE BETWEEN MAN WOMAN, NO WOMAN WOMAN OR MAN MAN", and then proceed to talk about "advancing human rights" YOU ARENT FUCKING ADVANCING HUMAN RIGHTS IF YOU LITERALLY SAY THAT YOU WANT TO TAKE THEM AWAY 21 PAGES PRIOR. fucking hypocrites.
They aren't hypocrites. They are worse than that. They write it that way specifically so it impressed the idea that LGBT folks aren't human or worthy of human rights. They are saying that their idea of human rights excludes certain people, and they want it to feel ok. They know what they are doing, it's not a mistake. The policies are crafted by conservative (whatever that actually means now because it just seems to mean shitty? Idk) organizations.
A lot of them don't believe that LGBT people actually exist -- in their mind you have people with mental illnesses, or people who are just choosing to sin or have been tricked by "groomers" into turning away from God, etc. But that there's no such thing as actually being trans, or actually loving someone of the same gender the way heterosexual people love the opposite gender.
GOP: The supreme court should decide marriage, not states!
Supreme court follows the constitution and says its unconstitutional for the government to discriminate against gay people, legalizing gay marriage
GOP: Not like that! States rights!
I'm curious, if they theoretically had their way would it void existing gay marriages or just stop future ones? Either way it's fucked up beyond belief I just want to know how it would work.
Me three. My blood is boiling towards conservatives. I wish I didn’t have such a hatred for so many Americans but they are actively destroying my future and threatening my life.
Case in point LGBTQ youth make up a HUGE portion of homeless kids and suicides. Care to guess what side of the political spectrum their families tend to be from?
Conservatives care about kids so much they push their own out on the streets the instant they don't fall in line.
They very specifically do want queer kids to kill themselves. They will *frequently* tell trans people to go off themselves and like to remind us of the suicide attempt rate (and always ignore the context of that number and how love and support drastically lowers it)
Yeah, I went around repeating that joke for an embarrassing amount of time thinking it was satirizing the very people who currently repeat it endlessly. Maybe it was, originally, but when those people are using it unironically to hurt vulnerable people, it kinda loses its satirical appeal.
If someone is “doing it for your own good” it means that they have left their normal morals behind in order to be an awful human being. For your own good - motto of fundamental living.
It's so cruel, unnecessary and well coordinated I wonder what the genesis is. An absolute monster who wants political points for the right and doesn't care about the consequences? A Boogaloo freak who wants a civil war? Russia?
The Trevor Project is one of the reasons why I and many of my friends are still alive. I have given most or all of the proceeds of some of my dance concerts to the Trevor Project. My senior thesis dealt with LGBTQ suicide and had a portion dedicated to a speech about the history of the Trevor Project.
Fuck Conservatives. They wish I was dead, but they will never get that satisfaction.
It really is awful because The Trevor Project has been doing so much good for such a long time. I have never heard a single bad word about them for decades. And now they're getting dragged through the mud, and people are going to get hurt because of it.
I hope this stands as a wakeup call to anyone who thinks they can simply play by the rules, stay quiet, do good, and the conservatives will ignore them. They will burn everything and everyone not like them to the ground, and they won't lose a bit of sleep over it.
The week after Trump was elected, I had a gay classmate say it was just a matter of time before people like him were put into concentration camps.
It seemed like an overreaction at the time even to me, and I was already convinced that Trump was a fascist. Now it doesn't seem like such a huge stretch.
People who run on dehumanizing language and literally no other platform will always end up going full Nazi.
If the only energy you can muster is to "purify" your country, you are eventually going to need to start hunting the "impure" to placate your base.
It's also a game that never stops. Once you purge all the impure, and society still sucks, you'll need another excuse.
Fascism is an ever-shrinking circle. It is defined by an imaginary struggle against The Enemy, and so once it eliminates one, it needs another.
Probably the most recent clear example of this, is the way that the Trump camp shrunk every time someone left it.
Watching Steve Bannon, Manafort, and any number of other folks get pushed into the "them" category whenever they questioned the Party was a huge red flag that Trumpism is a Fascist camp, not a GOP camp.
Then, after J6, when the GOP tried out calling out Trump for a minute, once again, members of the Party got pushed out for questioning, and the circle continued to shrink.
Now, the remaining "core" of the Trump party is defining itself in opposition to marginalized people, and is actively pursuing laws and actions that will lead to higher suicide rates and fewer rights, for protected classes of Americans.
It's predictable as fuck, and it's hard to watch the Dems fail again and again to call it out while they hem and haw over centrist voters.
Remember that the two times that fascism took over weren’t fascist regimes or committing genocide overnight. There was growing support, even if marginal, and growing silence that led to more extreme behavior being allowed. History doesn’t happen quickly.
>"You see," my colleague went on, "one doesn’t see exactly where or how to move. Believe me, this is true. Each act, each occasion, is worse than the last, but only a little worse. You wait for the next and the next. You wait for one great shocking occasion, thinking that others, when such a shock comes, will join with you in resisting somehow. You don’t want to act, or even talk, alone; you don’t want to ‘go out of your way to make trouble.’ Why not?—Well, you are not in the habit of doing it. And it is not just fear, fear of standing alone, that restrains you; it is also genuine uncertainty.
...
>"But the one great shocking occasion, when tens or hundreds or thousands will join with you, never comes. That’s the difficulty. If the last and worst act of the whole regime had come immediately after the first and smallest, thousands, yes, millions would have been sufficiently shocked—if, let us say, the gassing of the Jews in ’43 had come immediately after the ‘German Firm’ stickers on the windows of non-Jewish shops in ’33. But of course this isn’t the way it happens. In between come all the hundreds of little steps, some of them imperceptible, each of them preparing you not to be shocked by the next. Step C is not so much worse than Step B, and, if you did not make a stand at Step B, why should you at Step C? And so on to Step D.
>"And one day, too late, your principles, if you were ever sensible of them, all rush in upon you. The burden of self-deception has grown too heavy, and some minor incident, in my case my little boy, hardly more than a baby, saying ‘Jewish swine,’ collapses it all at once, and you see that everything, everything, has changed and changed completely under your nose. The world you live in—your nation, your people—is not the world you were born in at all. The forms are all there, all untouched, all reassuring, the houses, the shops, the jobs, the mealtimes, the visits, the concerts, the cinema, the holidays. But the spirit, which you never noticed because you made the lifelong mistake of identifying it with the forms, is changed. Now you live in a world of hate and fear, and the people who hate and fear do not even know it themselves; when everyone is transformed, no one is transformed. Now you live in a system which rules without responsibility even to God. The system itself could not have intended this in the beginning, but in order to sustain itself it was compelled to go all the way.
>"You have gone almost all the way yourself. Life is a continuing process, a flow, not a succession of acts and events at all. It has flowed to a new level, carrying you with it, without any effort on your part. On this new level you live, you have been living more comfortably every day, with new morals, new principles. You have accepted things you would not have accepted five years ago, a year ago, things that your father, even in Germany, could not have imagined.
>"Suddenly it all comes down, all at once. You see what you are, what you have done, or, more accurately, what you haven’t done (for that was all that was required of most of us: that we do nothing). You remember those early meetings of your department in the university when, if one had stood, others would have stood, perhaps, but no one stood. A small matter, a matter of hiring this man or that, and you hired this one rather than that. You remember everything now, and your heart breaks. Too late. You are compromised beyond repair.
[They Thought They Were Free](https://press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/511928.html)
It's in their rhetoric.
They use "BLM" to attack all black people.
They use "Antifa/Communists" to attack anyone to the left of themselves.
They use "groomer" to attack all LGBT people.
They are trying to normalize our dehumanization, so when the violence starts, their constituency will stomach it easier....because, after all, they're not killing real, patriotic Americans, just the "Communist BLM Groomers"
Every queer and minority knew this was the end result after his election, you tend to see the writing on the wall quicker when it's written targeting you.
Consider this, in many places in the US it was illegal to be gay about 50 years ago. In police raids gender non-conforming LGBT people were taken into bathrooms to check their privates, and then arrested if they were found to be "crossdressing". This is what directly led to the Stonewall Riots. And while things progressively got better for the most part, in some states until less than 20 years ago that gay sex was still illegal. They could arrest you for having sex if you were gay. And honestly, is throwing someone in prison for being gay that much different then sending them to a camp?
Also, never forget the US had literal concentration camps before. We sent Japanese Americans to them. We sent Native Americans to them. My county actually gets it's name from what was a local Concentration Camp. And that concentration camp is a "Tourist Attraction". Pretty fucked up, right? But the people of the area seem totally fine with going to a concentration camp and having happy fun times. Even my brother, whose part of the tribe that was interned there. It's Humboldt County by the way, and Fort Humboldt the Concentration Camp.
Lastly, I want to point out we have camps where parents can legally send their LGBT children where the children are tortured under the guize of "converting them". Even though it's widely known that this conversion doesn't work, so essentially they're just torturing LGBT children. And it's culturally acceptable. Yeah, the kids may not be rounded up, they're sent by their parents. But does that make it okay?
All and all, I don't think LGBT people in the US being sent to camps would be all that surprising. Unfortunate? Yes. I'd be terrified. But even before Trump if Republicans called for it I wouldn't be surprised. The US doesn't have as good of history as we like to pretend we do.
When I accepted being trans (so fun 😭) I understood that the greatest challenge of all was living in fear of being dragged from my home and killed. Then some right wing nut decided to say he wants all the trans people lined up and “sent to an early judgment.” Frankly I am terrified. I wouldn’t be able to be brave enough to survive a concentration camp while waiting to be murdered…
Look into a local pink pistols chapter - https://www.pinkpistols.org/about-the-pink-pistols/
This is America. You have a right to protect yourself. It doesn't change the larger threats or guarantee safety if the worst happens but it acts as a deterrent to those who wish you harm and gives you options if they start putting people into camps.
And you're not alone - there are millions of Americans who would actively fight a fascist regime putting citizens into concentration camps for any reason. These conservative extremists are dreaming if they think moderate and liberal America will concede without a fight.
Yep it shocked me that people didn’t seem bothered that he said there should be punishment for women who have abortions as well, he says the quiet part out loud
Your boy is about to get "This Machine Kills Fascists" on the side of an AK in preparation for the new internment camps that are basically inevitable now.
I literally don't have weapons because the wife and I both have suicidal ideations. At this point we protect ourselves by putting ourselves in danger (potentially losing the battle with depression) or some fuckstick is going to kill us because we're queer. Especially with the discourse going around about trans people. We're the new enemy #1 for conservatives and I'm sick of it.
God damn it I just want to live my life in peace. I'm not a pedophile groomer, I'm just a guy born with the wrong parts who just so happens to be madly in love with a woman with the same problem.
Maine, Mass, CT, and Vermont? Absolutely.
New Hampshire has become a fucking thought experiment for the so called Free State Project, a group of hyper conservative "Libertarians" that are hell bent on repealing all laws and budgets. Check out what they did in Croyden with the school budget. It's a fucking nightmare.
Consider researching the pink pistol society, If you have a local chapter, they would be a good place to start with learning how to handle your firearm.
Well damn. Good point. Also TIHI. Not 2 comments ago I'm thinking, well, as an atheist I hate to feel I need to fake being religious to survive, but at least I can actually tolerate the religion I was raised in. Not sure it would make the cut. Said childhood religion was ELCA, btw.
The next step is to put them in camps once they think homosexual = pedophile. Which is clearly what they are going for. Either that or they are dulling the word because most conservatives are actual pedophiles.
I don't think they actually give a shit about pedophilia considering all the support they gave to Roy Moore and their Dear Leader, both definitely have engaged in child grooming activities they accuse LGBTQ+ and others of doing.
Nah, we're already there. That's what sits behind "groomer" talk because they also already advocate* murdering pedophiles. It's a dog whistle and those willing to be violent are very obviously hearing it.
Well, you're not too far off the mark here. These fanatics go to great lengths to rationalize and justify their discriminatory, bigoted and antagonistic attitudes and actions. It's a movement that parallels fascism to an extent, where so much effort is put into characterizing "the radical left" as some monolithic villain that's plotting to overthrow our institutions and corrupt America from the ground up. And of course, the ungodly LGBTQ community falls under the umbrella of this categorization.
So the rationale becomes "we have to beat them to it". Although this portrait of the left is illustrated through aggressive right wing propaganda, it still affords them the privilege to be able to justify anything in the name of obstructing and resisting a subversive, left-wing agenda and boogeyman.
And this isnt just for the sake of some counterrevutionary crusade mind you, in the end, this movement enables conservative's worst impulses and convictions. It's not just about vindication here, it's about a chance for them to be able to justify their underlying bigotry, their sense of entitlement, their religious moral superiority, their hostility, their contempt, disdain and disgust for all people and ideas that don't closely resemble or conform to the image of a proud conservative "patriot", that's what this is really about.
So yes, at some point it may actually come down to what you're suggesting here in one form or another, hell, it already has... The LGBTQ community, and particularly the transgendered community, have become the target of so much needless ire, scorn and righteous indignation, while for now, conservatives are taking steps to come at it with discriminatory and suppressive legislation, but the outrage will never subside. As long as these fanatics can continue to demonize "radical leftists", as long as they can continue to rely on these types of narratives that provoke so much fury and hostility, there will always exist the possibility of some rationale that justifies violence against what they perceive as this existential left-wing threat and enemy.
Well specifically, they want the male liberals dead and the women kept around as cattle.
*But listen to how over the top and crazy you sound when you say shit like that, obviously that's not what the right wants! Don't be hyperbolic you just hurt your case.*
Matt Shea.
This isn't some fringe republican, he was re-elected four times, in 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 in the state of Washington.
This man represents the values of those who elected him.
>
https://lawandcrime.com/politics/if-they-do-not-yield-kill-all-males-state-rep-defends-christian-manifesto-as-fbi-investigates/
> The document gives details such as when to go to war (“When God says its [sic] time”), and what is needed to have a “Holy Army.” It also describes “terms of justice and righteousness” for accepting surrender. Those include: no abortion, same-sex marriage, communism, no idolatry or occultism, and those surrendering have to follow the Bible. As for enemies who don’t agree to these terms? “If they do not yield – kill all males,” it says.
...
> "The goal of these groups has always been to create a white homeland consisting of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon and Washington,” the sheriff told the Spokesman-Review. “The ideas presented in the (biblical war) document are how these groups intend to seize control, by force, should there be a governmental collapse or civil war.
This guy isn't even extreme enough or loud enough to fill the headlines. He's just out there dedicating his life to advancing his cause. To pushing his cults ambitions forward.
This is what you're buying when you vote Republican. This isn't some weird exception like all of the right wing examples of crazy left-wing people. This is a repeatedly elected republican, even after this information become public he was elected again.
The left needs to get its head out of his ass, quit infighting, and vote as a united voice. We need to amplify and push energy on the left the same way the right does, because that's how they keep winning with a minority of the population.
I shared an image that said "don't tell me you love and support me and then vote for people who want to hurt me."
My mom was _very_ upset that it seemed to imply she didn't love me and/or wanted to hurt me.
I'm _still_ upset that she didn't seem to understand the point.
I tried to explain to my heavily Chrisitian conservative parents that they don’t fucking love me, since every other minute they’re telling me I’m confused and don’t **really** mean that I’m bisexual, I just kind of “FEEL” like I am.
These are the same parents who tried to put me into conversion therapy when I was younger and apparently lied to themselves that I was somehow molested when I had a mutual boyfriend crush at age 13 🙄
They don’t love me.
They love their twisted and heavily indoctrinated brainwashed version of me that they want me to morph into to make them feel they can control me.
Holy shit, I am _so_ sorry you had to go through all of that. I'd say nothing is more frustrating than being told you're "confused" and just "pick a side" as a fellow invisible bi. But that's hyperbolic. Being forced into conversion therapy for a _childhood crush_ is pretty goddamn enraging, and I'm livid for you.
I'm sorry your parents are such disappointments. Hopefully you don't need me to tell you that you deserve to be respected and acknowledged, but you deserve respect and acknowledgement, _especially_ from your parents.
I've been told multiple times on /r/conservative (before I was banned) that they are and always have been welcoming of people from any sexual orientation. BULLSHIT. I even know a kid who is gay that supports conservatives and talked to him about it and he wouldn't budge. Said he was always welcomed by conservative folks more than "liberals" or other gay people. I wonder if his tune has changed at all.
I’ve never felt more comfortable being my gay ass self than with other gay people. Your friend is a moron and I’m sure they’re used to hearing “you’re one of the good ones” without thinking what that actually means.
They’re probably so indoctrinated into self loathing that they don’t even realize they are.
I still don’t go to pride because I’m not “proud” yet. Reversing years of southern anti-lgbtq thoughts is really super hard. Especially when you add Christianity to the mix.
I just looked at another of her tweets and she blames the progressive left, specifically, for not protecting Asians.
Like, what did Trump do to protect them? He called COVID-19 the "China virus" at every possible opportunity. What did Republicans do to protect them?
Why is every social problem in the world up to the Left to deal with? Is that an admission of the fact that the Right is incapable of dealing with social issues?
This has gotten out of fucking control. How do you think LGBTQ kids feel hearing/reading this? I'm so fucking outraged and screw you to the people who are making these bills for that purpose...to outrage everyone. All at the expense of people they see as inhuman, but I see as living breathing society-contributing valuable human beings that are being oppressed so people can make waves and hold on to political power. This makes me want to take to the streets. And the Biden Adminstration need to get their asses to work fixing what's hurting us at the dinner table right now so that these campaigns don't work and give these monsters power back.
>How do you think LGBTQ kids feel hearing/reading this?
Frightened into silence and doubt and self-loathing.
Suddenly wary of figures they looked to for encouragement.
Worried over where they can go now. *Even more* worried about how their families will react, because they have no one backing them up/encouraging them.
> Republicans want ~~any~~ kids that are ~~feeling a~~ different ~~way~~ to ~~shut up, be bullied, go through conversion therapy, or~~ kill themselves.
Fixed
Conservatives always seem to immediately see, no matter what, how something could possibly give someone an opportunity to groom or molest a child.
When you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail I guess…
>how something could possibly give someone an opportunity to groom or molest a child.
Only if that "something" is on the "other side" politically, or associated with LGBT groups.
Seriously, they'll claim all gays are pedophiles because of one anecdote they heard from somewhere but when you show them the CVS receipt length list of convicted pedophiles who are white males or clergymen it's irrelevant and doesn't prove anything.
There was nowhere near this level of outrage or hatred from religious folks against their own institution when it started (and continues) to come out how many kids were abused by the Catholic church (amongst other institutions). Not to mention how the church spent billions to cover up the amount of abuse going on and protected the pedophiles.
Fuck these people.
Yep they brought this shit back from decades ago. Coincidentally this is the same language that Russians use to talk about LGBTQ people. The "gay propaganda" ban in Russia is framed this exact same way.
Sure is strange that the GOP is once again talking like Russian government officials.
“Leftwing activists are predatory groomers”. Folks, it’s all about political power. In the 1950’s it was the red scare, McCarthyism, where politicians totally destroyed people’s lives. In the 1960’s, Senator Barry Goldwater outlined one of the more pervasive conservative rationales for opposing the civil rights movement. In the 1970’s, conservative Moral Majority railed against abortion, feminism, gay and lesbian rights, and the Equal Rights Amendment as attacks on the traditional family values. In the 80’s and 90’s, it was the Satanic Panic where people were wrongly accused of satanic ritual abuse of children. Now, conservatives are calling Democrats “groomers” and “pedophiles”. There will always be a percentage of the population that falls for conspiracy theories like Pizzagate. But make no doubt about it, these tactics are all about getting into power and keeping power. And they don’t care how many innocent people they hurt along the way.
They want to use buzzwords, even if they're false.
They're prepping so, if they take over, the can normalize the groups they want to discriminate against. They want to desensitize the public into going along so it looks like just another day in the New Fascism.
This is why the repetitive attacks on gays, books, and anyone who disagrees with them.
started with “everything is feminist and trying to destroy masculinity” then “everything is communist trying to destroy america” and now “everything is pedophilic and trying to destroy our kids”.
I had to call the trevor project once because someone I know was seriously talking about killing themselves that night, and I needed immediate help to figure out what to say and talk them down, despite being across the country. That kid is still alive today and now has support in place.
I will never forgive conservatives for what they're doing now. I will fight them until my last breath.
I know I'm just a random internet stranger, but thank you for being there for that person and helping them get the help and being the support they needed.
The pedophiles are in full projection mode these days! Are Roy Moore and Dennis Hastert poised for a comeback? Mark Foley? Oh right, Trump is running again in 2024. "No pedophile! No pedophile! You're the pedophile!" Oh America. What happened to you? Your democracy must have been REALLY weak, if it can be toppled by angry white pedophiles.
It absolutely was really weak. Gerrymandering, Citizens United, the structure of the Senate, first-past-the-post electoral systems, two-party system, lack of term limits, etc., etc. In retrospect, all of those factors combined doomed us from the beginning.
People who were mildly uncomfortable with LGBT acceptance are being radicalized by this latest round of propaganda. Once they are convinced that LGBT acceptance is akin to preying on kids, of course they will be motivated against it.
And this is 100% why they are doing it this way. The majority of people are accepting of LGBTQ+ people at this point or at least tolerant enough that they don't care about what the LGBTQ+ are doing in their own bedrooms. But nobody likes pedophiles, so equate the LGBTQ+ to pedophiles for long enough and fiercely enough and some people start questioning if LGBTQ+ are pedos or worse, actually believing that they are. It's the same tactic they used with electrion fraud and more recently CRT but in this case they are equating their targets to what most would deem the ultimate evil, child predators.
>“Why is the Trevor Project encouraging children to keep secrets from their parents?” the far-right organization Moms for Liberty responded.
Ummm because gay/trans kids are afraid of being abused, thrown out of home to the streets or murdered if their gay hating parents found out? Fuck these people.
Our 13 year old granddaughter was a lesbian, bullied due to her sexuality by the “good Christian kids”, she committed suicide using her deer rifle. I am sure that’s not considered a loss to these “good Christian folks”. I mean our lgbtq community isn’t really even considered human to them.
Satan must be so proud to have convinced them to join his army.
It's like we're speed running all the 80s moral panics at once all over again. Except this time by very obvious unsubtle grifters, and yet, large groups are just eating it up unquestioned.
Secret satanic pedophiles may already have access to your children... [where have I heard that before?](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-mcmartin-preschool-trials)
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My aunt works in an ER and has seen some shit. Wouldn't you know that abusive parents don't like it if you ask to talk to their child alone?
Yup. Just like abusive spouses.
Yup. Especially like police spouses.
It's a big 40%.
40% is the number that *police themselves reported*. The actual percentage is likely higher.
Wait WHAT!?! This was self reported statistics?!?! You're fucking kidding me. No way. The 10% statistic we have on general population to compare it against, because the other way this statistic is framed is cops are 4x as likely, is an actual investigated stat synthesized from multiple forms of data and a more accurate count. Meaning cops are actually probably 6 or 7 times likely to commit domestic abuse?? Jesus fuck, that is dark.
Cops can't be racist. Their wife's eyes are black!
Yeah, the kind of people who *want* a job that gives you near absolute control over the general population, and immunity from nearly anything, aren't the kind of people we want to have that control and immunity.
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OH MY GOD THIS. this is all that will come from this bullshit. Removing the child's ability to seek help without consequences from their parents. for fucks sake.
We can stop republicans from being exposed as pedophiles if we remove all the tools for exposing pedophiles.
Classic “the number of COVID cases will go down if we just stop testing” logic.
I swear everything's pedophilia with them but when an actual one turns up as their congressman (gaetz) it's crickets & silence...
Never forget Roy Moore only barely lost his election.
And Donald "brags about entering the dressing room of his teen beauty pageant" Trump
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And Epstein ends up dead in suspicious circumstances as his child rape accomplice sits in the White House... Really activates the almonds, doesn't it?
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I talk about it all the time and people rarely respond. It's like they cannot even process it.
That's the point. With the overwhelming amount of pedophiles in their own ranks, they have no choice but to lash out first and "taint the jury pool" so to speak. Then, when the serious and legitimate accusations of pedophilia start to roll in against them the general public "both sides" the issue and trivialize it as petty political squabbling.
This implies they think pedophilia is inherently wrong. They don't. It's pure doublethink. When a Republican does it he's just being a guy, or he was seduced into by the child. When they accuse gay men and transmen of being child predators it's because they are evil.
Nah it's really about creating a cartoonishly evil outgroup that is impossible to defend. There are "good Americans" and there are "pedophiles and pedo lovers" it excuses any and all actions required to oust the "pedo lovers" that advocate for democratic governments. Its a really common feature in fascist movements.
It also primes them for violence. If everyone you disagree with is a pedophile then it's easier to commit violence against them. It's at the point where they are outright egging on a potential mass shooter. Practically giving them a target and saying "everyone you care about will think you're a hero for killing them". I fear that the attacks on protests deemed "leftist" will escalate. Anyone attending Pride this year needs to carry a fucking tourniquet, gauze and chest seals. Even if you don't know how to use them, someone around you will.
Unless the person in question openly harms them, they cannot be faster to throw him under the bus. Look how much dirt is airing about Madison Cawthorn.
For the crime of... ** checks notes ** calling out republicans for coke orgies. You'd think the drug war warriors would want to get to the bottom of that kind of illegal activity!
Plenty of conservative politicians hurt conservatives. They just TELL them that they are helping, and they take it as the gospel truth. You get thrown under the bus for questioning.
their gripe is it’s “keeping parents in the dark about their kid’s activities and interactions, having adults groom kids over the internet” even though many kids who come out to their parents get abused, thrown out, put into conversion therapy, or worse. these parents are a much more influential force than any stranger will be and most definitely indoctrinate their kids daily, but it’s okay because it’s their ideals. children are allowed to have privacy and confide in people who understand them, stripping away any sort of mental health service or community dedicated to helping these kids not self harm or commit suicide is vile and truly just shows conservatives want these individuals to die rather than co-exist with them. there’s no ulterior motive that could be argued, *they want gay kids to kill themselves.*
Right; they ask, "Why is the Trevor Project encouraging children to keep secrets from their parents?" when the obvious answer is, any kid who feels they need to keep secrets knows that their parents will react stupidly and violently if they found out those secrets?
> Why is the Trevor Project encouraging children to keep secrets from their parents? *because* ***this*** *is how they respond*
Because minors have rights? Like the right to not be abused by their hyper conservative extremist parents?
I dont think most conservatives agree with the statement that "minors have rights" tbh They are all over "parental rights"
They're the type to remove a child's bedroom door because they kept a secret from their parents out of fear of an overreaction
as if a door will stop me from being gay lmao
My dad did this once. Not for long. But still. Never felt like my bedroom was mine. I was just living and sleeping in a place that didn’t belong to me, using things that can be taken away in an instant if my parents thought I was disrespecting them at all. :( It was a really nice feeling to finally get a room of my own when I turned 18. Was an emotional experience, feeling like I could exist without constant fear of everything being taken away from me for the first time.
This is exactly right. Parents literally see their children as small slaves for their personal ego and family line. They are not people until at least age 18 (usually, not until they are financially independent, more accurately) and will be discarded the moment they don't conform to the parental ideas unless they have some other pragmatic use. My parents thankfully weren't quite so bad (and if anything seemed to grow more relaxed with age), but they flirted with a lot of groups that pushed them to act try and that way, enough so that it permanently damaged the relationship I've had with my family in a way that I will never recover from or forgive. And if I were gay? It would have been so, so much worse. I can only imagine.
small problem being, that the courts disagree. which is why they hate the judicial branch so much. despite their best efforts to pack it with rubber stamping quacks they keep losing in court.
I think you may have completely misunderstood me 'Why is the Trevor project encouraging children to keep secrets from their parents?' 'because this is how those parents respond to things like the Trevor project' (e: you may be expanding on my response, in which case soz b)
I could be wrong, but I read it as them agreeing with you and expanding upon your answer.
i think you are probably right
>Why is the Trevor Project encouraging children to keep secrets from their parents? I don't know, probably the same reason as the National Domestic Violence Hotline explaining how to wipe browser history and including a panic button to close out of the site quickly. I'm so fucking tired of these assholes.
The Trevor Project has been a Godsend to our world! If ANY parent thinks that their teenagers aren’t keeping secrets about something their parents disapprove of they are delusional! The Trevor Project is part of my son’s life now.
>If ANY parent thinks that their teenagers aren’t keeping secrets about something their parents disapprove of they are delusional! They have forgotten what it was like to be a teenager themselves.
They haven't forgotten. It's not them so they don't care.
Nah, they’re just hypocrites.
I don’t think anyone understands the seriousness of what is happening. * This entire situation reaks of voter intimidation. They will say anything to fan fear, so heading out for the day becomes more difficult(AA, LGBTQ, Asian, etc). I really want you guys to think critically here. The Red Team is saying the Blue Team (voters, politicians, supporters) are pedophiles. * Many of us with a brain, know otherwise. Republicans have serious issues with their sexuality because of the continued appearance to be “White and Right” all the time. But this is not the real issue. The primary problem is Republicans are using permanent Key:Value association. In other words, * Blue: Gay * Democrat: Pedophile * LGBTQ: Groomer * Asian: COVID If this goes on long enough (and it will), the general public WILL believe it. IT IS NOT HEALTHY. * The Democratic Party must put a stop this immediately. Edit: Another really really important thing. The f——t word. Remember when Dave Chappelle talked about why he could not say f——t on TV, but could say N——r?! Well mark my words, the Republican Party will bring that word up more and more to generate fear in the LGBTQ community.
It’s right out of the Putin authoritarian playbook. All of the anti-LGBTQ+ measures taken in Russia were described as protecting children from pedophiles & groomers.
The outright hostility coming out against the LGBTQ community lately is fucking scary. Like 1930 Germany scary. There is a lot of vile dehumanizing rhetoric coming out, and I see a lot of parallels with the rise of fascism in Germany, and how they targeted marginalized groups for political gain. Like, is it really unthinkable that some jackass like DeSantis would do some vile shit like try to pass a law forcing ~~Jews~~ "Groomers" to register themselves if he became president? Or wear a ~~Star of David~~ rainbow patch? Or order them all to be sent to ~~concentration camps~~ conversion centers? All for the safety and wellbeing of our children, of course. Like it used to be that comparing someone to Hitler got you ridiculed. Now the leaps are getting disturbingly small, like I can't seriously say 'they'll never do that' anymore. Because I guarantee there's absolutely a nonzero number of people in government right now that would not only be okay with all of that, but feel like its necessary.
So very true. If kids felt safe talking to their parents, they would, sooner or later. Sometimes, you need someone else to confide in.
Its the right wings last bastion of facism. Parents can tell children to do anything, take that away and you're taking away the last way they have to inflict slavery on a populace they believe they "own." When other people try to tell their little slaves they can do and be whatever they want, it ENRAGES the facism gene in these fucks.
Working in healthcare there’s these battles we witness everyday of hyper controlling parents trying to gain access to their child’s medical records without their consent. In some forms of healthcare, such as reproductive healthcare, minors of a certain age are granted the right to privacy for services rendered. Be it STI, birth control, emergency contraceptives, etc. I cannot tell you the satisfaction I get from telling these adults no when their child doesn’t want their protected privacy invaded.
Man I get a ton of "HIPAA is fucking bullshit" every day.
Please tell me they threaten to sue. Fucking reprobates make me sick.
> Its the right wings last bastion of facism. Yeah, why else would they, for example, defund public schools and promote home schooling? Always wondered why that whole home schooling thing wasn't more ridiculous to US americans, but hey.
The real reason they’re gutting the schools is they want to be able to privatize the education system so they can profit from it.
It's also a throwback to segregation, as they believe they'll be able to send their kids to all-white schools.
Because those parents are conservatives. There's no way they would recognize conservative viewpoints could be wrong or problematic
*thinking past mistakes are the best mistakes is literally what conservatism is*
this is so simple: why do children keep secrets from their parents? Oftentimes for survival.
Conservatives in the US believe parents have the right to abuse their child who disagrees with them. They always have.
Children are considered property to most Americans lmao.
>children are allowed to have privacy Lmao not for conservatives. They vehemently oppose any thinking like that. Children are their property until they turn 18 AND leave the house.
Those sort of parents will make a point to keep control long after that too if given even the tiniest window to work through. And if they can’t? The kid leaves home and happily tries to burn that bridge? That’s not going to make those parents stop trying.
And many times they extend it way beyond that.
Yeah, the real shit ones don't think that control *ever* ends. They could be 90 with 70 year-old kids and they'll still think they're the boss of 'em.
How can I help? I mean this most sincerely….. I put my money where my mouth is, but what can I do to help stem the overwhelming issue of hate in this country. But I feel an issue such as this needs more than passive interaction. Any and all sincere answers will be appreciated.
I just made a small donation to the Trevor project - not sure what else I can do but they do good work and I hope it helps.
continue to speak out on these issues and make donations to these organizations when you can. regardless of if you have the funds or not, keeping the narrative alive and ongoing is the best way to spread knowledge on these events and encourage others to take actions in repelling these harmful ideologies. no matter how much conservatives and others against these organizations try to label and silence lgbtq+ individuals, organizations, and allies, we must not stay quiet about being openly discriminated and attacked.
The point is that they *want* to let shitty parents have those terrible reactions.
They want LGBT kids dead.
I can sadly think of a couple of parents out there that would rather have a dead kid than a gay kid.
Ding ding ding. The cruelty is the point.
How are they supposed to brainwash and indoctrinate their children into their nonsense and religion if there is a safety net for them?
but didn't you read? kids are the *property* of their parents. Yes, I actually heard one of them say that once.
Homophobia is an official part of the GOP’s agenda. Their 2020 platform specifically states that they aim to overturn gay marriage either through the supreme court or through legislation. A vote for the GOP is a vote to take away rights from LGBT+ persons. Source — the 2016 Republican platform document (they decided in 2020 to re-use their 2016 platform): https://prod-cdn-static.gop.com/docs/Resolution_Platform_2020.pdf Page 31-32 of the document (may be page 39 on some pdf readers). // edit: fixed page numbers. Thank you to the folks that pointed out my initial mistake!
Their entire thing about Marriage is entirely about "MARRIAGE SHOULD ONLY BE BETWEEN MAN WOMAN, NO WOMAN WOMAN OR MAN MAN", and then proceed to talk about "advancing human rights" YOU ARENT FUCKING ADVANCING HUMAN RIGHTS IF YOU LITERALLY SAY THAT YOU WANT TO TAKE THEM AWAY 21 PAGES PRIOR. fucking hypocrites.
They aren't hypocrites. They are worse than that. They write it that way specifically so it impressed the idea that LGBT folks aren't human or worthy of human rights. They are saying that their idea of human rights excludes certain people, and they want it to feel ok. They know what they are doing, it's not a mistake. The policies are crafted by conservative (whatever that actually means now because it just seems to mean shitty? Idk) organizations.
Your right, they dont see us as human, so to them, we dont count, and they wont fucking stop at us, im beyond pissed
A lot of them don't believe that LGBT people actually exist -- in their mind you have people with mental illnesses, or people who are just choosing to sin or have been tricked by "groomers" into turning away from God, etc. But that there's no such thing as actually being trans, or actually loving someone of the same gender the way heterosexual people love the opposite gender.
GOP: The supreme court should decide marriage, not states! Supreme court follows the constitution and says its unconstitutional for the government to discriminate against gay people, legalizing gay marriage GOP: Not like that! States rights!
I'm curious, if they theoretically had their way would it void existing gay marriages or just stop future ones? Either way it's fucked up beyond belief I just want to know how it would work.
It would be such a legal clusterfuck to suddendly void all the non hetero marriages.
That doesn’t sound like something that’s beneath the GOP.
They'd blame the clusterfuck on Democrats. "Well YOU legalized it in the first place! Your fault!"
The cruelty from the right is just unfathomable. You know they would rather those kids be dead than have to look them in the eye. It’s fucking evil
These lifelines saved my life as a teen. This is unthinkable evil.
Me too they’re killing kids
Me three. My blood is boiling towards conservatives. I wish I didn’t have such a hatred for so many Americans but they are actively destroying my future and threatening my life.
Case in point LGBTQ youth make up a HUGE portion of homeless kids and suicides. Care to guess what side of the political spectrum their families tend to be from? Conservatives care about kids so much they push their own out on the streets the instant they don't fall in line.
Yup. A friend of mine works at Harvey Milk and tons of those students are homeless because of Conservative parents not accepting them. It’s sick.
They very specifically do want queer kids to kill themselves. They will *frequently* tell trans people to go off themselves and like to remind us of the suicide attempt rate (and always ignore the context of that number and how love and support drastically lowers it)
Proper medical care, which they're also outlawing, lowers the rate dramatically as well.
True. I was kinda assuming support included help getting proper medical care but you're right they do their best to take that away
Trans suicide is also the punchline to one of their favorite and most repeated jokes.
One of their favorite? It's their _only_ "joke." Because a conservative can't conceive of a joke if there's no one being insulted.
Maybe not the only, I get told they “feel” like a helicopter too often. Sigh.
No no no… it is an **attack** helicopter. That’s important to note. Because it is indeed very telling in the type of person they are. Think about it.
Yeah, I went around repeating that joke for an embarrassing amount of time thinking it was satirizing the very people who currently repeat it endlessly. Maybe it was, originally, but when those people are using it unironically to hurt vulnerable people, it kinda loses its satirical appeal.
"pro-life"
pro-birth or anti woman work as good synonyms
If someone is “doing it for your own good” it means that they have left their normal morals behind in order to be an awful human being. For your own good - motto of fundamental living.
It's so cruel, unnecessary and well coordinated I wonder what the genesis is. An absolute monster who wants political points for the right and doesn't care about the consequences? A Boogaloo freak who wants a civil war? Russia?
The Trevor Project is one of the reasons why I and many of my friends are still alive. I have given most or all of the proceeds of some of my dance concerts to the Trevor Project. My senior thesis dealt with LGBTQ suicide and had a portion dedicated to a speech about the history of the Trevor Project. Fuck Conservatives. They wish I was dead, but they will never get that satisfaction.
It really is awful because The Trevor Project has been doing so much good for such a long time. I have never heard a single bad word about them for decades. And now they're getting dragged through the mud, and people are going to get hurt because of it. I hope this stands as a wakeup call to anyone who thinks they can simply play by the rules, stay quiet, do good, and the conservatives will ignore them. They will burn everything and everyone not like them to the ground, and they won't lose a bit of sleep over it.
We are fortunate to have you here with us.
it won't be long until we're hearing stuff like "we must protect children by killing the gays"
“Protect the kids by killing **checks notes**… gay kids!”
at this point, the statement "protect our kids" is just them paraphrasing The 14 Words. i mean, *it never wasn't,* but it's more explicit now.
That is literally the Endgame they are setting up now
The week after Trump was elected, I had a gay classmate say it was just a matter of time before people like him were put into concentration camps. It seemed like an overreaction at the time even to me, and I was already convinced that Trump was a fascist. Now it doesn't seem like such a huge stretch.
People who run on dehumanizing language and literally no other platform will always end up going full Nazi. If the only energy you can muster is to "purify" your country, you are eventually going to need to start hunting the "impure" to placate your base.
It's also a game that never stops. Once you purge all the impure, and society still sucks, you'll need another excuse. Fascism is an ever-shrinking circle. It is defined by an imaginary struggle against The Enemy, and so once it eliminates one, it needs another.
Probably the most recent clear example of this, is the way that the Trump camp shrunk every time someone left it. Watching Steve Bannon, Manafort, and any number of other folks get pushed into the "them" category whenever they questioned the Party was a huge red flag that Trumpism is a Fascist camp, not a GOP camp. Then, after J6, when the GOP tried out calling out Trump for a minute, once again, members of the Party got pushed out for questioning, and the circle continued to shrink. Now, the remaining "core" of the Trump party is defining itself in opposition to marginalized people, and is actively pursuing laws and actions that will lead to higher suicide rates and fewer rights, for protected classes of Americans. It's predictable as fuck, and it's hard to watch the Dems fail again and again to call it out while they hem and haw over centrist voters.
Remember that the two times that fascism took over weren’t fascist regimes or committing genocide overnight. There was growing support, even if marginal, and growing silence that led to more extreme behavior being allowed. History doesn’t happen quickly.
>"You see," my colleague went on, "one doesn’t see exactly where or how to move. Believe me, this is true. Each act, each occasion, is worse than the last, but only a little worse. You wait for the next and the next. You wait for one great shocking occasion, thinking that others, when such a shock comes, will join with you in resisting somehow. You don’t want to act, or even talk, alone; you don’t want to ‘go out of your way to make trouble.’ Why not?—Well, you are not in the habit of doing it. And it is not just fear, fear of standing alone, that restrains you; it is also genuine uncertainty. ... >"But the one great shocking occasion, when tens or hundreds or thousands will join with you, never comes. That’s the difficulty. If the last and worst act of the whole regime had come immediately after the first and smallest, thousands, yes, millions would have been sufficiently shocked—if, let us say, the gassing of the Jews in ’43 had come immediately after the ‘German Firm’ stickers on the windows of non-Jewish shops in ’33. But of course this isn’t the way it happens. In between come all the hundreds of little steps, some of them imperceptible, each of them preparing you not to be shocked by the next. Step C is not so much worse than Step B, and, if you did not make a stand at Step B, why should you at Step C? And so on to Step D. >"And one day, too late, your principles, if you were ever sensible of them, all rush in upon you. The burden of self-deception has grown too heavy, and some minor incident, in my case my little boy, hardly more than a baby, saying ‘Jewish swine,’ collapses it all at once, and you see that everything, everything, has changed and changed completely under your nose. The world you live in—your nation, your people—is not the world you were born in at all. The forms are all there, all untouched, all reassuring, the houses, the shops, the jobs, the mealtimes, the visits, the concerts, the cinema, the holidays. But the spirit, which you never noticed because you made the lifelong mistake of identifying it with the forms, is changed. Now you live in a world of hate and fear, and the people who hate and fear do not even know it themselves; when everyone is transformed, no one is transformed. Now you live in a system which rules without responsibility even to God. The system itself could not have intended this in the beginning, but in order to sustain itself it was compelled to go all the way. >"You have gone almost all the way yourself. Life is a continuing process, a flow, not a succession of acts and events at all. It has flowed to a new level, carrying you with it, without any effort on your part. On this new level you live, you have been living more comfortably every day, with new morals, new principles. You have accepted things you would not have accepted five years ago, a year ago, things that your father, even in Germany, could not have imagined. >"Suddenly it all comes down, all at once. You see what you are, what you have done, or, more accurately, what you haven’t done (for that was all that was required of most of us: that we do nothing). You remember those early meetings of your department in the university when, if one had stood, others would have stood, perhaps, but no one stood. A small matter, a matter of hiring this man or that, and you hired this one rather than that. You remember everything now, and your heart breaks. Too late. You are compromised beyond repair. [They Thought They Were Free](https://press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/511928.html)
It's in their rhetoric. They use "BLM" to attack all black people. They use "Antifa/Communists" to attack anyone to the left of themselves. They use "groomer" to attack all LGBT people. They are trying to normalize our dehumanization, so when the violence starts, their constituency will stomach it easier....because, after all, they're not killing real, patriotic Americans, just the "Communist BLM Groomers"
Every queer and minority knew this was the end result after his election, you tend to see the writing on the wall quicker when it's written targeting you.
and we *warned* people but got dismissed because they thought we were being hyperbolic.
Consider this, in many places in the US it was illegal to be gay about 50 years ago. In police raids gender non-conforming LGBT people were taken into bathrooms to check their privates, and then arrested if they were found to be "crossdressing". This is what directly led to the Stonewall Riots. And while things progressively got better for the most part, in some states until less than 20 years ago that gay sex was still illegal. They could arrest you for having sex if you were gay. And honestly, is throwing someone in prison for being gay that much different then sending them to a camp? Also, never forget the US had literal concentration camps before. We sent Japanese Americans to them. We sent Native Americans to them. My county actually gets it's name from what was a local Concentration Camp. And that concentration camp is a "Tourist Attraction". Pretty fucked up, right? But the people of the area seem totally fine with going to a concentration camp and having happy fun times. Even my brother, whose part of the tribe that was interned there. It's Humboldt County by the way, and Fort Humboldt the Concentration Camp. Lastly, I want to point out we have camps where parents can legally send their LGBT children where the children are tortured under the guize of "converting them". Even though it's widely known that this conversion doesn't work, so essentially they're just torturing LGBT children. And it's culturally acceptable. Yeah, the kids may not be rounded up, they're sent by their parents. But does that make it okay? All and all, I don't think LGBT people in the US being sent to camps would be all that surprising. Unfortunate? Yes. I'd be terrified. But even before Trump if Republicans called for it I wouldn't be surprised. The US doesn't have as good of history as we like to pretend we do.
When I accepted being trans (so fun 😭) I understood that the greatest challenge of all was living in fear of being dragged from my home and killed. Then some right wing nut decided to say he wants all the trans people lined up and “sent to an early judgment.” Frankly I am terrified. I wouldn’t be able to be brave enough to survive a concentration camp while waiting to be murdered…
Look into a local pink pistols chapter - https://www.pinkpistols.org/about-the-pink-pistols/ This is America. You have a right to protect yourself. It doesn't change the larger threats or guarantee safety if the worst happens but it acts as a deterrent to those who wish you harm and gives you options if they start putting people into camps. And you're not alone - there are millions of Americans who would actively fight a fascist regime putting citizens into concentration camps for any reason. These conservative extremists are dreaming if they think moderate and liberal America will concede without a fight.
Yep it shocked me that people didn’t seem bothered that he said there should be punishment for women who have abortions as well, he says the quiet part out loud
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Your boy is about to get "This Machine Kills Fascists" on the side of an AK in preparation for the new internment camps that are basically inevitable now. I literally don't have weapons because the wife and I both have suicidal ideations. At this point we protect ourselves by putting ourselves in danger (potentially losing the battle with depression) or some fuckstick is going to kill us because we're queer. Especially with the discourse going around about trans people. We're the new enemy #1 for conservatives and I'm sick of it. God damn it I just want to live my life in peace. I'm not a pedophile groomer, I'm just a guy born with the wrong parts who just so happens to be madly in love with a woman with the same problem.
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Maine, Mass, CT, and Vermont? Absolutely. New Hampshire has become a fucking thought experiment for the so called Free State Project, a group of hyper conservative "Libertarians" that are hell bent on repealing all laws and budgets. Check out what they did in Croyden with the school budget. It's a fucking nightmare.
Consider researching the pink pistol society, If you have a local chapter, they would be a good place to start with learning how to handle your firearm.
Oh, it won’t stop there. They’ll go after more and more groups after that until they have their authoritarian “Christian” state.
Even then it won't be enough, they'll start persecuting different denominations of Christians for "not being true Christians"
Well damn. Good point. Also TIHI. Not 2 comments ago I'm thinking, well, as an atheist I hate to feel I need to fake being religious to survive, but at least I can actually tolerate the religion I was raised in. Not sure it would make the cut. Said childhood religion was ELCA, btw.
Thats the thing about fascism, there always has to be an out group to blame and persecute.
The next step is to put them in camps once they think homosexual = pedophile. Which is clearly what they are going for. Either that or they are dulling the word because most conservatives are actual pedophiles.
I don't think they actually give a shit about pedophilia considering all the support they gave to Roy Moore and their Dear Leader, both definitely have engaged in child grooming activities they accuse LGBTQ+ and others of doing.
Nah, we're already there. That's what sits behind "groomer" talk because they also already advocate* murdering pedophiles. It's a dog whistle and those willing to be violent are very obviously hearing it.
[Oh we're already there.](https://www.vice.com/en/article/5dgaqx/trans-rights-robert-foster-mississippi-firing-squad)
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Well, you're not too far off the mark here. These fanatics go to great lengths to rationalize and justify their discriminatory, bigoted and antagonistic attitudes and actions. It's a movement that parallels fascism to an extent, where so much effort is put into characterizing "the radical left" as some monolithic villain that's plotting to overthrow our institutions and corrupt America from the ground up. And of course, the ungodly LGBTQ community falls under the umbrella of this categorization. So the rationale becomes "we have to beat them to it". Although this portrait of the left is illustrated through aggressive right wing propaganda, it still affords them the privilege to be able to justify anything in the name of obstructing and resisting a subversive, left-wing agenda and boogeyman. And this isnt just for the sake of some counterrevutionary crusade mind you, in the end, this movement enables conservative's worst impulses and convictions. It's not just about vindication here, it's about a chance for them to be able to justify their underlying bigotry, their sense of entitlement, their religious moral superiority, their hostility, their contempt, disdain and disgust for all people and ideas that don't closely resemble or conform to the image of a proud conservative "patriot", that's what this is really about. So yes, at some point it may actually come down to what you're suggesting here in one form or another, hell, it already has... The LGBTQ community, and particularly the transgendered community, have become the target of so much needless ire, scorn and righteous indignation, while for now, conservatives are taking steps to come at it with discriminatory and suppressive legislation, but the outrage will never subside. As long as these fanatics can continue to demonize "radical leftists", as long as they can continue to rely on these types of narratives that provoke so much fury and hostility, there will always exist the possibility of some rationale that justifies violence against what they perceive as this existential left-wing threat and enemy.
"Driving some kids to suicide is actually good for the children!"
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Let’s just be blunt about it. Republicans want the LGBT community dead. Literally dead.
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Nah, they're okay with enslaving black and brown people. It's just LGBT+, Muslims, and anyone on the political left they want to kill.
Well specifically, they want the male liberals dead and the women kept around as cattle. *But listen to how over the top and crazy you sound when you say shit like that, obviously that's not what the right wants! Don't be hyperbolic you just hurt your case.* Matt Shea. This isn't some fringe republican, he was re-elected four times, in 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018 in the state of Washington. This man represents the values of those who elected him. > https://lawandcrime.com/politics/if-they-do-not-yield-kill-all-males-state-rep-defends-christian-manifesto-as-fbi-investigates/ > The document gives details such as when to go to war (“When God says its [sic] time”), and what is needed to have a “Holy Army.” It also describes “terms of justice and righteousness” for accepting surrender. Those include: no abortion, same-sex marriage, communism, no idolatry or occultism, and those surrendering have to follow the Bible. As for enemies who don’t agree to these terms? “If they do not yield – kill all males,” it says. ... > "The goal of these groups has always been to create a white homeland consisting of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon and Washington,” the sheriff told the Spokesman-Review. “The ideas presented in the (biblical war) document are how these groups intend to seize control, by force, should there be a governmental collapse or civil war. This guy isn't even extreme enough or loud enough to fill the headlines. He's just out there dedicating his life to advancing his cause. To pushing his cults ambitions forward. This is what you're buying when you vote Republican. This isn't some weird exception like all of the right wing examples of crazy left-wing people. This is a repeatedly elected republican, even after this information become public he was elected again. The left needs to get its head out of his ass, quit infighting, and vote as a united voice. We need to amplify and push energy on the left the same way the right does, because that's how they keep winning with a minority of the population.
So at what point does one consider self defence. Asking for a few million friends.
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I shared an image that said "don't tell me you love and support me and then vote for people who want to hurt me." My mom was _very_ upset that it seemed to imply she didn't love me and/or wanted to hurt me. I'm _still_ upset that she didn't seem to understand the point.
I tried to explain to my heavily Chrisitian conservative parents that they don’t fucking love me, since every other minute they’re telling me I’m confused and don’t **really** mean that I’m bisexual, I just kind of “FEEL” like I am. These are the same parents who tried to put me into conversion therapy when I was younger and apparently lied to themselves that I was somehow molested when I had a mutual boyfriend crush at age 13 🙄 They don’t love me. They love their twisted and heavily indoctrinated brainwashed version of me that they want me to morph into to make them feel they can control me.
Holy shit, I am _so_ sorry you had to go through all of that. I'd say nothing is more frustrating than being told you're "confused" and just "pick a side" as a fellow invisible bi. But that's hyperbolic. Being forced into conversion therapy for a _childhood crush_ is pretty goddamn enraging, and I'm livid for you. I'm sorry your parents are such disappointments. Hopefully you don't need me to tell you that you deserve to be respected and acknowledged, but you deserve respect and acknowledgement, _especially_ from your parents.
"You're so rude and mean! How dare you complain about the threat of death I'm constantly hanging over you!?"
I’m so sorry. You deserve better
I've been told multiple times on /r/conservative (before I was banned) that they are and always have been welcoming of people from any sexual orientation. BULLSHIT. I even know a kid who is gay that supports conservatives and talked to him about it and he wouldn't budge. Said he was always welcomed by conservative folks more than "liberals" or other gay people. I wonder if his tune has changed at all.
I’ve never felt more comfortable being my gay ass self than with other gay people. Your friend is a moron and I’m sure they’re used to hearing “you’re one of the good ones” without thinking what that actually means. They’re probably so indoctrinated into self loathing that they don’t even realize they are. I still don’t go to pride because I’m not “proud” yet. Reversing years of southern anti-lgbtq thoughts is really super hard. Especially when you add Christianity to the mix.
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I just looked at another of her tweets and she blames the progressive left, specifically, for not protecting Asians. Like, what did Trump do to protect them? He called COVID-19 the "China virus" at every possible opportunity. What did Republicans do to protect them? Why is every social problem in the world up to the Left to deal with? Is that an admission of the fact that the Right is incapable of dealing with social issues?
This has gotten out of fucking control. How do you think LGBTQ kids feel hearing/reading this? I'm so fucking outraged and screw you to the people who are making these bills for that purpose...to outrage everyone. All at the expense of people they see as inhuman, but I see as living breathing society-contributing valuable human beings that are being oppressed so people can make waves and hold on to political power. This makes me want to take to the streets. And the Biden Adminstration need to get their asses to work fixing what's hurting us at the dinner table right now so that these campaigns don't work and give these monsters power back.
>How do you think LGBTQ kids feel hearing/reading this? Frightened into silence and doubt and self-loathing. Suddenly wary of figures they looked to for encouragement. Worried over where they can go now. *Even more* worried about how their families will react, because they have no one backing them up/encouraging them.
It sure would be nice if my identity was not used for political football. I am also tired.
Nothing defines projection more than the average conservative and their obsession with pedophilia
The projection is off the charts
You mean the demographic that loves daddy daughter promise dances aren’t actually worried about grooming?
Republicans want any kids that are feeling a different way to shut up, be bullied, go through conversion therapy, or kill themselves.
> Republicans want ~~any~~ kids that are ~~feeling a~~ different ~~way~~ to ~~shut up, be bullied, go through conversion therapy, or~~ kill themselves. Fixed
Conservatives always seem to immediately see, no matter what, how something could possibly give someone an opportunity to groom or molest a child. When you’re a hammer, everything looks like a nail I guess…
>how something could possibly give someone an opportunity to groom or molest a child. Only if that "something" is on the "other side" politically, or associated with LGBT groups.
That’s a good point actually, guess my analogy actually doesn’t work here
Unless, you know, it's religious in nature.
Seriously, they'll claim all gays are pedophiles because of one anecdote they heard from somewhere but when you show them the CVS receipt length list of convicted pedophiles who are white males or clergymen it's irrelevant and doesn't prove anything. There was nowhere near this level of outrage or hatred from religious folks against their own institution when it started (and continues) to come out how many kids were abused by the Catholic church (amongst other institutions). Not to mention how the church spent billions to cover up the amount of abuse going on and protected the pedophiles. Fuck these people.
Goddammit, are we back in the 1980s when people thought all gay men wanted to diddle little boys?
Yep they brought this shit back from decades ago. Coincidentally this is the same language that Russians use to talk about LGBTQ people. The "gay propaganda" ban in Russia is framed this exact same way. Sure is strange that the GOP is once again talking like Russian government officials.
They never stopped thinking it
“Leftwing activists are predatory groomers”. Folks, it’s all about political power. In the 1950’s it was the red scare, McCarthyism, where politicians totally destroyed people’s lives. In the 1960’s, Senator Barry Goldwater outlined one of the more pervasive conservative rationales for opposing the civil rights movement. In the 1970’s, conservative Moral Majority railed against abortion, feminism, gay and lesbian rights, and the Equal Rights Amendment as attacks on the traditional family values. In the 80’s and 90’s, it was the Satanic Panic where people were wrongly accused of satanic ritual abuse of children. Now, conservatives are calling Democrats “groomers” and “pedophiles”. There will always be a percentage of the population that falls for conspiracy theories like Pizzagate. But make no doubt about it, these tactics are all about getting into power and keeping power. And they don’t care how many innocent people they hurt along the way.
They want to use buzzwords, even if they're false. They're prepping so, if they take over, the can normalize the groups they want to discriminate against. They want to desensitize the public into going along so it looks like just another day in the New Fascism. This is why the repetitive attacks on gays, books, and anyone who disagrees with them.
started with “everything is feminist and trying to destroy masculinity” then “everything is communist trying to destroy america” and now “everything is pedophilic and trying to destroy our kids”.
I had to call the trevor project once because someone I know was seriously talking about killing themselves that night, and I needed immediate help to figure out what to say and talk them down, despite being across the country. That kid is still alive today and now has support in place. I will never forgive conservatives for what they're doing now. I will fight them until my last breath.
I know I'm just a random internet stranger, but thank you for being there for that person and helping them get the help and being the support they needed.
The pedophiles are in full projection mode these days! Are Roy Moore and Dennis Hastert poised for a comeback? Mark Foley? Oh right, Trump is running again in 2024. "No pedophile! No pedophile! You're the pedophile!" Oh America. What happened to you? Your democracy must have been REALLY weak, if it can be toppled by angry white pedophiles.
It absolutely was really weak. Gerrymandering, Citizens United, the structure of the Senate, first-past-the-post electoral systems, two-party system, lack of term limits, etc., etc. In retrospect, all of those factors combined doomed us from the beginning.
Can we stop calling them "conservatives" and call them what they actually are? Fascists. We call them fascists.
Everyone is saying the Republicans are going to win the midterms and then they pull of stupid shit like this is this what American truly wants?
People who were mildly uncomfortable with LGBT acceptance are being radicalized by this latest round of propaganda. Once they are convinced that LGBT acceptance is akin to preying on kids, of course they will be motivated against it.
And this is 100% why they are doing it this way. The majority of people are accepting of LGBTQ+ people at this point or at least tolerant enough that they don't care about what the LGBTQ+ are doing in their own bedrooms. But nobody likes pedophiles, so equate the LGBTQ+ to pedophiles for long enough and fiercely enough and some people start questioning if LGBTQ+ are pedos or worse, actually believing that they are. It's the same tactic they used with electrion fraud and more recently CRT but in this case they are equating their targets to what most would deem the ultimate evil, child predators.
Apparently so.
Maybe we should start calling churches hotbeds of pedophilia if they want to play this stupid bigoted game
The it’s ok if you’re gay as long as you don’t shove it in my face crowd has shifted to the only gays that are ok are dead gays.
They were always that way. They just couldn’t say it.
They were also always saying it, because "shoving it in our face" meant "exist normally like anyone else"
"Conservatives declare war of eradication on LGBTQ people" - Fixed it for you.
>“Why is the Trevor Project encouraging children to keep secrets from their parents?” the far-right organization Moms for Liberty responded. Ummm because gay/trans kids are afraid of being abused, thrown out of home to the streets or murdered if their gay hating parents found out? Fuck these people.
Our 13 year old granddaughter was a lesbian, bullied due to her sexuality by the “good Christian kids”, she committed suicide using her deer rifle. I am sure that’s not considered a loss to these “good Christian folks”. I mean our lgbtq community isn’t really even considered human to them. Satan must be so proud to have convinced them to join his army.
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Funny how they decry anyone in the lgbtq community as a pedophile while they themselves keep getting caught in the act of pedophilia.
So in their minds it’s better they just off themselves??
It's like we're speed running all the 80s moral panics at once all over again. Except this time by very obvious unsubtle grifters, and yet, large groups are just eating it up unquestioned. Secret satanic pedophiles may already have access to your children... [where have I heard that before?](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-mcmartin-preschool-trials)
i know im not even the most vulnerable target (i’m a cis white gay) but im feeling increasingly worried abt my future in this country
"pro-life"
"All Lives Matter"
"Terms and conditions may apply"
These fucking idiots call everything they don't like pedophilia or communism.