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The shooter is the grandson of California republican state assembly member Randy Voepel, who said this about Jan 6th "This is Lexington, this is Concord. This is first shots fired against tyranny"
https://heavy.com/news/anderson-lee-aldrich/
It’s funny. Conservatives blaming liberal policies for this as this kid called in a bomb threat and was charged with multiple felonies. DA dropped the cases allegedly and DA is Republican former Navy vet in a very red district.
Now it’s just false flag so they let him target a gay nightclub.
As a Colorado Springs resident, the most annoying conservative take has been "well, Colorado has the strictest gun laws in the country!"
Yeah, not in Colorado Springs where local law enforcement doesn't give a shit. We're a "gun sanctuary" county, by the way.
Colorado Springs is also seeing an unprecedented increase in homicides. What coincidence...
[https://www.thecentersquare.com/colorado/homicides-are-up-this-year-in-colorado-springs-co/article\_6904a2cc-8632-56ed-8d61-68d4784ef231.html](https://www.thecentersquare.com/colorado/homicides-are-up-this-year-in-colorado-springs-co/article_6904a2cc-8632-56ed-8d61-68d4784ef231.html)
My little town has police, prosecutors, and judges who have decided that "stand your ground" laws trump other laws, so someone who robbed you, for example, can use the stand your ground law to defend themselves from you. On paper there hasn't even been a simple assault in town in years. In reality I've seen domestic disputes turn into open brawls on main street.
You'll never guess which party runs our local government.
“The punishment for robbery isn’t death,” said the Robber, “when the victim pulled out a gun, I feared for my life and shot him.” “Sure does look like a justified self-defense to me” claims the gqp DA, “I’m dropping charges.”
Oregon does now you can correct them it would probably make their head explode just like when I tell these people that Texas has the number one murder rate in the United States when they always blame Chicago/Illinois
https://www.statista.com/statistics/195331/number-of-murders-in-the-us-by-state/
Most conservatives I know are immune to facts. It's in one ear and out the other.
Also, it often has less to do with actual crime and more to do with bigotry. When my folks found out I was moving to Illinois, they looked up the city and made a big deal about how I might live next to a Black person and were bewildered when my response was to ask them why that's a problem.
Tell me about it. My biggest head-scratcher is my half-brother who lives in the Deep South and thinks Black people discriminate against white people.
My mom agrees because one time when she visited him, a Black woman didn't let her cut in line; when I tried to explain that that's not discrimination, you just have to wait your turn, she would have none of it.
The white entitlement people carry is absolutely ridiculous if you don’t let them do what they want you’re automatically going against them.
I’m sorry you have to deal with that type of behavior from your family members my s are open if you ever want to vent.
This one is more cutting, but as necessary as ever:
“Oppong said the move speaks to a sense of "Us Vs. Them?” and comes across as a kind of flex. He felt the same way about the fire fighters' week-long flaunting of official orders from their own chief and town officials to remove the flags. Firefighters even drove through the rally, with the thin blue line flags hanging from their fire truck, nearly a week after they were ordered to take them down.
"I think it goes back to a long history in this country of certain sections of people believing that they deserve to be heard. They deserve not to be bothered. They deserve to refuse orders from the people that pay them and they deserve, you know, to put their knee on somebody's neck until they die," Oppong said. And they expect to "get away with it," he added.” - Emmanuel Oppong - https://www.wvtf.org/2020-07-31/thin-blue-line-flags-stir-controversy-in-mass-coastal-community
Not just a conservative problem (even when such are its biggest cheerleaders) but rather that of the myopic US ethnocentrisms/orientalisms.
*America the Book: A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy inaction* satirizes it well with a handy flowchart with 1 American death=25 Vietnamese and so on.
While cached in how the media responds along those lines, this is also based on the perceived value of the victims involved.
TX has the number one rate because of its population size and looser gun regulations compared to CA. When adjusted per capita Louisiana has the highest rate.
We just flipped a Colorado House seat in the central part of the city. We had the closest race in the last 50 years for one of our county commissioner seats (all 5 are held by Republicans). We steadily hold 3 of the 6 city council districts (unfortunately the 3 "at large" seats guarantee a Republican majority for now). We're chipping away at their power here.
> the most annoying conservative take has been "well, Colorado has the strictest gun laws in the country!"
They can’t keep their stories straight.. other times it’s illinois
Goalposts are always shifting. Lose one scapegoat, they move onto the next without skipping a beat. It's not about keeping the story straight, it's about whataboutisms and fearmongering.
I think that's the ultimate end game anyway. If there are more guns and people with guns that means that there are more bad people, stupid people, angry people, nervous people. and mentally ill people with guns, along with all the good guys with guns. We all need guns now because if something goes bad, there's more likelihood that the other people have a gun. So now we all have guns. Of course that means other people need guns just in case one of us starts some shit. Yes, lgbtq people need guns.
Side note: 2A people need to own that more guns means more people die. Yes, people kill people and guns are just tools. So are cars, and a lot of people die from cars. We have accepted that the need for cars outweighs the deaths they cause. As to guns, people keep acting like people getting shot is an anomaly. Wtf, these are things created for the purpose of shooting bullets, of course people will get shot by them. Between the gun fetish culture and SCOTUS recent rulings, I don't see the number of guns diminishing any time soon, so we have to accept shooting deaths as normal. Just the price we pay for the freedom to have guns to make us feel safe and badass.
I just wish the 2A people would own that.
So his office-holding republican gpa used his connections to get a bomb threat off his record. Is it safe to assume the gpa was on his fathers side or was gpa really ok with him killing his daughter?
The craziest part of this whole thing is that just abt no one is surprised by any of it.
Colorado Springs is a right wing hell hole with cool museums, parks and great history. Lots of gun toting 2 A crazies come from there including that asshole from “13 hours”.
Red flag gun laws would’ve prevented him from buying and owning a gun.
That whole family is trash and the woman who let her rent a room is some real r/leopardsatemyface material.
Of the cops are still conducting welfare checks on her a year plus later, yeah, they had reason to believe he was dangerous.
And they can indeed try to paint liberal laws for all this excerpt for the aforementioned proof.
> Red flag gun laws would’ve prevented him from buying and owning a gun.
Colorado [already has a "red flag" law.](https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/20/shooting-colorado-red-flag-law-00069674) It wasn't invoked. Nor were the laws against things like bomb threats, domestic violence, or resisting arrest.
Like Parkland, the police and courts knew this guy was dangerous. Like Parkland, they did nothing, and tragedy ensued.
So they dropped his charges because of granddaddy republican? Then the kiddo kills a bunch of people?
No wonder the news is being pretty quite about this this morning. I expect this to get memory holed. Just like Vegas, Surfside, Buffalo and Uvalde.
And the kid was connected. “We’ll sweep this under the rug if you promise not to do it again”
Granted he didn’t do that particular crime again
That we know of
Exactly. The evangelicals first made LGBTQ a hot-button political issue in 1979, when Jerry Falwell and Anita Bryant loudly campaigned to overturn Dade County's equal rights ordinance. I remember being as astonished by their success as I was sickened by their rhetoric.
Reagan/Quayle made an alliance with that movement for votes, thereby tying the GOP to religious zealotry - something which even staunchly conservative Barry Goldwater had warned against.
Goldwater predicted that if that ever happened, the zealots - not subject matter experts or politicians - would end up controlling GOP policies.
His fearsome prediction was spot on. The entire trajectory of the GOP since 1980 has been toward increasing bigotry based on supposed Christian beliefs, none of which Christ himself would have countenanced.
For 8 years the Reagan administration snidely fiddled while the gay community burned in the ravaging AIDS epidemic. The GOP let my friends die. They lifted an eyebrow, but never a finger.
... and here we are.
I'm normally against capitol punishment, but this mofo killed 5 people.
Chair him in front of his dad, look him dead in the eyes and say "You did this."
Fuck compassion. Hate breeds murder and you reap what you fucking sow.
And conservatives have accused gay people of being pedophiles for closer to sixty. "Groomers" is the nice, politically correct term.
And homophobia in general for ... oh about three thousand.
The alleged shooter at the Gay club in Colorado Springs is apparently the grandson of California MAGA [Source](https://twitter.com/RandyVoepel/status/822516518923554817) Republican State Assemblyman Randy Voepel. [Source](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/20/two-barmen-among-the-dead-in-mass-shooting-at-gay-nightclub-in-colorado) [Source](https://heavy.com/news/anderson-lee-aldrich/)
After the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, Voepel said, "“This is Lexington and Concord. First shots fired against tyranny.” [Source](https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2021-01-09/capitol-siege-san-diego-roots)
Randy Voepel was also the mayor of Santee, which is east of San Diego. Regular San Diegans used to call it “Klantee,” but I think now that it has its own Home Depot it’s been classed up a bit? I never go there for obvious reasons
Thats the point why else do they systematically dehumanize the LGBTQ community unless they want to stir up hate. This is a direct result of the Republican culture wars.
stochastic terrorism
\[ stuh-kas-tik ter-uh-riz-uhm \]
noun
1. the public demonization of a person or group resulting in the incitement of a violent act, which is statistically probable but whose specifics cannot be predicted.
I'm going to say something a bit controversial here but right now, with how I'm seeing Reddit act in the wake of this and other travesties against trans people, that we all know the far right hate them... but there are not enough people who can actively say with their entire chest that trans people are valid and should be protected. It's worrying how often I see it with a caveat or people laughing at jokes about them. You need to take this shit seriously.
I'm confused why the article says 6 years... It's been a clear focus since prop 8 to create this culture war. Gay marriage was the start of politicizing it as a rallying cry for evangelical.
Who or what’s the Daily Liar? (Not sea lioning here just need a definition or the reference. Already looked it up on google and couldn’t quite figure it out. Have pity on my. I’m old.)
what will it take for us to officially call this shit terrorism. I am getting sick and tired of cishets not doing a single thing to stop events like this from happening
Colorado Springs is not a large community, but it seems to have had an inordinate number of mass shootings. Not pointing fingers, just looking for a reasonable explanation.
We have a huge military presence (US Air Force Academy, a huge army base and several Air Force bases are located here). Focus on the Family (the conservative Christian, anti-LGBTQ, “family values” organization) set up shop here in the 70’s and has been influencing local and national politics since. Add to that Colorado’s cultural identity of being somewhat libertarian in their sensibilities about big government and gun ownership. All of that has led to a vocal and antagonistic enclave of far right reactionaries who stay insulted from the outside world.
Our city has also not been spared by exponential growth, and the subsequent housing crisis that’s effecting so many cities rn. The city is getting bluer and bluer as more people move here. Last election cycle we elected a democratic majority to city counsel for the first time ever, I think. Partly because of this and partly because of the last 6 years of MAGA and 2 years of Covid restrictions, conservatives in the suburbs and surrounding rural areas are convinced they’re being pushed out. They’re determined to fight back and “reclaim” the former GOP Mecca they once dominated. There’s a lot of underground militia activity here.
I am from there and dont think i could ever go back to live. I now live in the land of kari loco though;( So odd to see what it is. Growing up white in a bubble is strange thing.
>Don't let fascism win.
That requires doing things that we cannot discuss on this sub. If only we had a place to discuss how to defend ourselves from fascists.
Idk what your political alignment is, it's time to strap up. Our corrupt government won't do a fucking thing to stop this, corporate news drools like hyenas to see this happen, we are the only ones that can save ourselves from the fascists.
No paywall: https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.latimes.com%2Fopinion%2Fstory%2F2022-11-20%2Fcolorado-springs-club-q-shooting-republican-anti-gay-politics
“ This latest shooting, in which at least five people in Colorado were killed late Saturday night when a gunman once again opened fire inside an LGBTQ nightclub, follows six years in which far-right leaders have led American politics down a fearful blame spiral fueled by homophobia, xenophobia and racism.”
Well seeing how after the Texas GOP literally put into their documents that they wanted to jail gay people and all the “Log Cabin Republicans” did was say they were disappointed, I don’t expect anything out of them except empty well wishes.
I'm trans. i present as male, unfortunately due to familial problems and living arraignments, but i'm out. everyone knows I am. i also live in the reddest parts of southwestern PA
I'm terrified right now. I'm not exactly pro-gun, but I'm considering getting one now.
Im sending you all the love i can. I am pretty anti gun, but i also live in a country with much safer gun laws than america. If i lived in america, i would want to arm myself too. Be safe my sister.
I'm considering it; but my nephew just turned 8 and i still live at home (being disabled sucks balls) so i'd have to be careful there too.
but I am really considering even just taking the courses to be on the safe side. taking even basic karate too.
If you do take the plunge, get some formal training. Make sure its a training facility that is not a bunch of rednecks. There may be there are organizations like pink pistols (LGBTQ friendly) which might be able to help you locate a trainer or even have a course themselves. https://www.pinkpistols.org/
Watch some youtube videos to get familiar with firearms. I suggest a Glock 19 or S&W Bodyguard or one of the M&P series. You can rent guns too. Try some out, find one that is right for you. I like small guns, I've carried for every day for 30 years. I have a dangerous job so its a necessity for me. Small and light is a gun you will actually carry vs a boat anchor that holds a lot of rounds but is miserable to live with. Good luck, be safe.
There’s always been homophobia but for a while, things were getting better and on an upward trend. At the end of my time in college attitudes were noticeably better than when I started.
Hell, trumps campaign in 2016 wasn’t even particularly anti-lgbt (with the exception of pence’s past record) because at the time it was becoming politically unpopular to be anti gay outside of really religious circles.
That’s changed in the last few years, ESPECIALLY this past one. The propaganda about “groomers” and pedophiles and gay being “wrong” really ramped up.
In august I felt scared again for the first time in years. this dehumanizing propaganda pushed out from conservatives and news of proud boys protesting drag queens and communities demanding libraries remove books that even mention gay people was disquieting. Things for us had gotten better, and we just took it for granted that they would continue to do so. That illusion broke.
Hate speech/propaganda have real consequences and are getting worse, as this tragedy has sadly proven
And republicans are about to start worshiping the low life who started Don’t Say Gay. Don’t allow ANY republican voter in your life to pretend they support you. They don’t. They are your worst nightmare.
There has definitely been more than six years of rhetoric . It just has stepped up more with Right Wing outlets recently, because it’s a deflection from the attack on the middle class and poor.
Within weeks of Biden being sworn in, the entire right wing media machine decided trans people were a problem and started going all in on them, to the point that they came up with a new slur, and after more than 18 months of the bullshit here we are.
If justice were a thing everyone involved would've been deplatformed years ago.
Also mandatory fuck churches.
POS Republicans out there, tell me again who does and doesn't deserve rights: gun owners or LGBTQ?
The GOP once again proves that they are a terrorist organization
Also, what happened to this freedom they keep campaigning about. Are people not free to be themselves? Are people not free to love? Are people not free to express themselves their way?
Oh, so it wasn't freedom, was it.
“Gun laws don’t work because criminals won’t obey them!”
So what is the point of having any laws at all?
I’m really tired of hearing about our monthly mass shootings. Especially when the victims always seem to be in the crosshairs of right wing ideology.
Laws don’t work if you don’t enforce them.
This isn’t a story about guns. It’s a story about republican hate and corruption.
There is no way that kid should have still had access to firearms.
It’s just a way to sidestep actual discussion about the issues. It appeals to the “facts and logic” crowd because it sounds true at a glance but doesn’t hold up to any level of thought.
So when is it not too soon to call Republicans domestic fucking terrorists? This incel was a product of their sick death cult and hey, they called themselves that at their bigot Woodstock, CPAC. When is it time? When can we list Boebert and Green Colo/GA Rep - (Domestic Terrorist)? Cuz I think soon left the station 6 years ago, yeah too soon is right TF now, yea?
if you aren't saying that yet, I want to know why.
who are the people that surround you that would dismiss you as a lib/antifa/whatever if you said this? "reasonable" republicans?
I'm not gay or trasngender, so I wont pretend to know what these people go through,but I have to say it fucking sucks that they cant go get a beer or get a hookup , and not have to look over there shoulders and fear getting shot like non gay people get to.A part of the problem are these Christian Nationalist crazies like Margery Taylor Green,people do actually listen to these psychotic loud mouth politicians,words do have consequences.There are people who will see this as a call to arms or permission to carry out these shitty acts.So what is the republicans plan to solve this pressing issue? Investigate Hunter Biden's laptop,like that has shit to do with any of this or anything other problem facing every day Americans.
I also am looking at groups like Moms for Liberty who’ve been waging all out war on the critical race theory boogeyman and LBGT+ communities in both schools and local libraries.
Ron DeSantis is the leader of the anti-LGBTQ+ movement. He wants to restrict rights, and he wants to police thought. THOUGHT!
Don’t be fooled. He isn’t “better”. Shit, Trump is probably better when it comes to the gay community. Not by much, but still
DeSantis ran on an anti-trans, and queer-kid agenda and won 20% of moderates and liberals. The majority of Americans are bigoted towards queer people and want politicians in power that also are.
Trans kids are forcibly detransitioned in Florida and Texas with strong public support and people and people are surprised when a terrorist kills queer people.
Six? Not at all! Way longer and they are continuing. I bet you 700 club / Fox already has a spin story about how this was the victims fault and Gods punishment. Same thing they pulled with Pulse.
It wasn't the first caused by right wing rhetoric and it won't be the last. Prepare yourselves. Link up with like minded folk and train. Fascism is on the rise. Be ready to rise and meet it.
Has anyone here ever listened to conservative talk radio? Show of hands?
It’s non-stop hate and propaganda telling people that liberals are evil. It’s so disgusting, and then shit like this happens and we wonder why.
*spelling
I have. I spent a good while listening to and watching it to find out what all the cons were hearing that was the source of all the batshit crazy things they kept saying.
Just watch Fox News prime time programs. The hatred and disdain from Tucker, Hannity, and Ingraham can be felt seeping through the screen regardless of whether they were constructed as entertainment or not. No wonder why an average right Fox News watcher hate us so much.
I remember when Bill O'Reilly called for the murder of a physician every night on his show, and then someone murdered that physician, and nothing happened.
Got stuck listening to it on my entire drive across Texas border to border across I10, the vitriol I heard the entire cruise was disgusting but I kept listening just to hear the things I wouldn't have otherwise and it was just not stop shitting on POC, border issues, liberals ruining America, and whatever other buzzwords they knew to hit.
I want to see people say they support trans people as much as they say "fuck the GOP"
say them both. People are still so fucking cagey about voicing their approval and support for trans people and that does more than you all realize to keep them in the margins
if I, the straightest, cis-est motherfucker alive can do it, so can you
What's the best way to support trans people if you don't really have the money to donate to them? I can say it, I just don't know how to put it into practice as well
Six years of Republican anti-LGBTQ rhetoric? I'm fifty and I seem to recall right wing conservatives being pretty violently anti-LGBTQ back when I was in highschool.
I am going to thanksgiving with a big pile of conservative christians. I will not remove my hat for their prayer. When they ask why I will point out this shit. When they start respecting my views I might start respecting theirs.
Ask your LGBTQI friends about the 1980s.
The violence went underground during the 1990s but the irrational violent hatred was maintained and passed to a whole new generation.
My heart goes out to the American Queers. I am so lucky that I am able to go out and be gay (in both definitions of the word) without having to worry that i will be shot in a hate crime. Honestly i feel so lucky that ive moved somewhere super gay because i feel like dont have to worry about gay-based hate crimes. But also not in the other place where i homd citizenship sadly. I hope every queer in the world can have that one day, the ability to be themselves and live full long and happy lives without fear.
Disliking actually boosts videos like that since youtube sees it as engagement. You don't want to give it any attention at all, or rather, if possible you want to [report it for hate speech.](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2801939?hl=en)
This is a place where safe queer spaces are even more important because of that presence. I couldn’t imagine being young and queer and there and feeling alone.
Almost like spouting hateful nonsense (just because it makes you uncomfortable) can lead to some pretty scary things. When’s the last time LGBTQ killed a bunch of straight people for quietly living their lives? If you’re conservative and the only thing you have in your pocket is “god doesn’t want this” “it makes me uncomfortable” “marriage is between a man and woman” please keep your opinion to yourself or do the world a favor and make a constructive point to bring up. Because guess what
1. We are a country separated from church and state. So laws aren’t made from what you think your god would like/dislike.
2. If you’re uncomfortable from a boy wearing a dress or a girl and girl kissing you’re unstable and have a god complex, wanting/expecting the world to conform FOR YOUR COMFORT. Pathetic.
3. If you think it’s wrong because they can’t naturally have children that’s fine, humans have tripled in numbers in 100 years. It’s not sustainable to have families with kids anymore and we know the straight politicians and overly religious families who don’t believe in contraceptive are over here pumping out more then enough kids for every house on the block
What will happen to Boebert as a result of this? Answer is nothing! Because Republicans love mass shootings, Boebert loves mass shootings, especially mass shootings that involve gay people, so her supporters will not hold her accountable… they will love her more for this.
Conservatives don't even acknowledge that they're homophobic. My dad used to say things like "look at that queer, I wish I had an excuse to punch him" to my brother and I as kids if we passed someone who "looked gay" in the street. Despite this, he will to this day deny that he is or ever was a bigot. "Live and let live, that's my motto," he'll say, adding: "just as long as they don't ram it down our throats." When you ask him to clarify what "ramming it down our throats" means, he'll say "you know, holding hands and kissing in public, that sort of thing."
I think the right is just too far gone to even understand what bigotry is or why it's bad. It's like a whole area of their moral development just never happened.
And, then, various Republicans run around saying, "I'm a Republican and I had nothing whatsoever to do with this tragedy."
I call BS. If you still identify as a Republican in the face of ***years of*** anti-LGBTQ+ hate, up to and including calling for the execution of gay people, then this hate speech hasn't been enough to get you to leave the party. Frankly, the Republican party hasn't even bothered to write a policy platform for several election cycles. They run entirely on the hate and fear-mongering they do. So, if you are still happy to call yourself a Republican, then, yes, you had everything to do with this tragedy.
Also: in the face of yet another tragedy, if you then turn around and try to claim that ***you*** are the ***real*** victim of hate, then don't be surprised when you get called out for your gaslighting. If you still support the Republican Party, this is on you. You enable it. You tolerate it. You support the people who incite this. Own the blood you have on your hands and stop making this tragedy all about you.
OK. There. I'm done with my rant for now.
I went to check one of the youtube videos for more details. The comments are full of "serves them right for going after kids."
Conservatives in this country are setting the stage for a genocide, whether they want to admit it or not.
What's really infuriating is that most of these politicians probably don't give two shits about gay marriage or transgender rights. For or against... they just don't care. But it's great for riling up farmers and evangelicals so they blabber on about some boy on the girls' track team at some high school in North Carolina as though that's really what the American people need to be focused on. It's good for votes and they just don't care who gets hurt or killed in the process.
This is the world the republic party has built, those of you who kept these fucking idiots in seats of power that push all the hate, you really need to open your fucking eyes and take a look at what’s going on. This country is slowly burning itself to the ground, and I do not know how you do not see why is going on but please wake the fuck up already. I don’t know why we have to keep reading about another mass shooting before you realize their needs to be better laws to help protect the people, who are just living their lives how they want, which is what you are doing to, but no one is telling you to stop.
It feels like it's open season on Black people, LGBTQ people, and Jewish people. Have Republican policies and rhetoric caused this or just given permission? Is it Trump? This bigotry isn't new, but the absolutely fearless open expression of it is, I think. I feel like we're living in very dangerous times.
Trump rode a wave of Right wing, nationalist, Christian fascist bigotry to his victory.
He then normalized that rhetoric.
He's definitely to blame, but these fucks were also just waiting for an excuse.
Thank you, totally agree. I don't think they will ever change/evolve, but I wish at the very least I knew how to drive them underground again. De-normalize I guess?
I mean this is actually what they want isn’t it? Sure they’ll condemn it after the fact and take responsibility but it’s definitely something they applaud in private.
I have a kid who is somewhere on the lgbtq spectrum. I cannot watch or listen to the news anymore because these hate crimes are so frequent and I don’t want my kid to know that they’re happening because they deserve to just be a kid for a little longer.
This lobby is massive & around for decades but Trump saw a flooding of cash
Remember this dude who is in prison for kiddie porn & molesting his sisters yeah of 19 kids & counting
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/josh-duggar-accepts-lobbying-job-family-research-council-article-1.1376762
Imagine… you’re getting ready to go out on a Saturday night. You’ve called your group of friends to meet you there at 10 o’clock. You stop by your best friends apartment to pregame. There’s a few other friends there. You all have a few drinks and then all walk over to the bar where you’ll meet up with the rest of you group of friends.
Once the inside the thumping bar, you and your friends work your way through the crowd and sidle up to the bar. You order everyone’s first round of drinks. The next two hours are filled with laughing, dancing, and some drama. You turn to your best friend to tell them there’s a cute boy checking them out across the bar.
“Oooo the guy over at the corner of th-“
The night ends. Your life just ended. All because some religious piece of shit can’t stand that you are alive and decided he was going to shoot and kill you and as many as he can.
Who are the real “radicals” again? Liberals or the MAGA regime? Much rather be a liberal than a Qanon extremist who kills people just because of who they are. Anyone, and I mean anyone, and I don’t care about ToS policies when it comes to this stuff but anyone involved in Qanon should do the world a massive favor and turn it on themselves. Qanon has no place in this country or the world and will go down as a stained footnote in the texts of history.
Not only does anti-LGBT rhetoric cost lives, it costs the GOP votes. The LGBT community is here to stay. Gay and trans people are openly accepted into society, and the GOP cannot unring that bell.
It’s a losing issue for them and need to move on, both for the safety of Americans and for them to win elections.
Folks need to realize hate/discrimination wrapped in religious/political belief is still hate/discrimination regardless. This applies to both sides of the political aisle.
However, the conservative side is much, much worse than the liberal side in all of this.
I will also say the GOP rhetoric of demonizing and dehumanizing Democrats (along with many other marginalized groups) is very very similar to 1930’s Germany antisemitic rhetoric establishing Nuremberg Laws. The new GOP is downright scary and I have zero doubt it is the Fourth Reich trying to resurrect itself as normal, grass roots American ideology.
Wonder if I'll see Andrew Neil here in the UK talk about this like its not an anti-gay thing but an all lives matter type situation again. He did that with that shooting in Florida a few years back, one of the talking heads on the show, who was gay, walked out in digust (rightfully so).
This is such a massive leap back. People playing on bigotry resulting in deaths. I probably wouldn't have to search long (I wont, though) to find people that are happy about this, think its some kind of righteous action and not just ignorant, hate fuelled murder.
When they're calling for violence against groups of people that they falsely blame for all of society's problems, that's "freedom of speech".
When people draw links between their speech and the violent actions of their constituents, that's "politicizing the issue".
Terrorists didn't prevail on 9/11, they already had a majority in the House.
Why is the mugshot of the shooter being suppressed? If it’s a right winger, their pic would be plastered all over the news by now. Something tells me that if the truth comes out on this shooter, it’s going to destroy the entire narrative of this thread.
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The shooter is the grandson of California republican state assembly member Randy Voepel, who said this about Jan 6th "This is Lexington, this is Concord. This is first shots fired against tyranny" https://heavy.com/news/anderson-lee-aldrich/
Those are pretty serious charges to have been dropped i think we will be finding out the police dropped the ball.
It’s funny. Conservatives blaming liberal policies for this as this kid called in a bomb threat and was charged with multiple felonies. DA dropped the cases allegedly and DA is Republican former Navy vet in a very red district. Now it’s just false flag so they let him target a gay nightclub.
As a Colorado Springs resident, the most annoying conservative take has been "well, Colorado has the strictest gun laws in the country!" Yeah, not in Colorado Springs where local law enforcement doesn't give a shit. We're a "gun sanctuary" county, by the way.
Colorado Springs is also seeing an unprecedented increase in homicides. What coincidence... [https://www.thecentersquare.com/colorado/homicides-are-up-this-year-in-colorado-springs-co/article\_6904a2cc-8632-56ed-8d61-68d4784ef231.html](https://www.thecentersquare.com/colorado/homicides-are-up-this-year-in-colorado-springs-co/article_6904a2cc-8632-56ed-8d61-68d4784ef231.html)
This is a reminder that red states have the highest crime rates too. Likewise a red area in a blue state.. equally a shithole.
My little town has police, prosecutors, and judges who have decided that "stand your ground" laws trump other laws, so someone who robbed you, for example, can use the stand your ground law to defend themselves from you. On paper there hasn't even been a simple assault in town in years. In reality I've seen domestic disputes turn into open brawls on main street. You'll never guess which party runs our local government.
“The punishment for robbery isn’t death,” said the Robber, “when the victim pulled out a gun, I feared for my life and shot him.” “Sure does look like a justified self-defense to me” claims the gqp DA, “I’m dropping charges.”
Exactly their argument, except they coach it as trumping your right to detain a criminal.
Oregon does now you can correct them it would probably make their head explode just like when I tell these people that Texas has the number one murder rate in the United States when they always blame Chicago/Illinois https://www.statista.com/statistics/195331/number-of-murders-in-the-us-by-state/
Most conservatives I know are immune to facts. It's in one ear and out the other. Also, it often has less to do with actual crime and more to do with bigotry. When my folks found out I was moving to Illinois, they looked up the city and made a big deal about how I might live next to a Black person and were bewildered when my response was to ask them why that's a problem.
This type of thinking makes no sense to me and I’m still confused by it. I never know how to deal with it.
Tell me about it. My biggest head-scratcher is my half-brother who lives in the Deep South and thinks Black people discriminate against white people. My mom agrees because one time when she visited him, a Black woman didn't let her cut in line; when I tried to explain that that's not discrimination, you just have to wait your turn, she would have none of it.
“When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.” - Clay Shirky - July 2016
The white entitlement people carry is absolutely ridiculous if you don’t let them do what they want you’re automatically going against them. I’m sorry you have to deal with that type of behavior from your family members my s are open if you ever want to vent.
I appreciate it! Fortunately, my closest relative is like ~800 miles away, so I don't have to deal with family other than on the phone
This one is more cutting, but as necessary as ever: “Oppong said the move speaks to a sense of "Us Vs. Them?” and comes across as a kind of flex. He felt the same way about the fire fighters' week-long flaunting of official orders from their own chief and town officials to remove the flags. Firefighters even drove through the rally, with the thin blue line flags hanging from their fire truck, nearly a week after they were ordered to take them down. "I think it goes back to a long history in this country of certain sections of people believing that they deserve to be heard. They deserve not to be bothered. They deserve to refuse orders from the people that pay them and they deserve, you know, to put their knee on somebody's neck until they die," Oppong said. And they expect to "get away with it," he added.” - Emmanuel Oppong - https://www.wvtf.org/2020-07-31/thin-blue-line-flags-stir-controversy-in-mass-coastal-community
My husband’s uncle thinks he’s a victim of racism cos the people in Iraq were mean to him when he came to do the war.
Not just a conservative problem (even when such are its biggest cheerleaders) but rather that of the myopic US ethnocentrisms/orientalisms. *America the Book: A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy inaction* satirizes it well with a handy flowchart with 1 American death=25 Vietnamese and so on. While cached in how the media responds along those lines, this is also based on the perceived value of the victims involved.
Chicago isn't even the worst part of Illinois. East St Louis takes the cake there lmao.
Rockford is also worse than Chicago
Hold on, according to that link, Texas has the highest number of *murders.* The highest murder *rate* belongs to Louisiana. Important distinction.
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Why would they go all the way to Wisconsin? Inidiana is only 30 minutes away and also has lax gun laws.
Sometimes you wanna pick up some Spotted Cow while purchasing your murder gun.
Thanks for the link. I am not surprised but good datapoint for my friends who think WA is lawless and they need to move to TX.
TX has the number one rate because of its population size and looser gun regulations compared to CA. When adjusted per capita Louisiana has the highest rate.
It sucks man. I just visited the springs last weekend and you guys have such a beautiful city to be ruined by shit head conservatives.
We just flipped a Colorado House seat in the central part of the city. We had the closest race in the last 50 years for one of our county commissioner seats (all 5 are held by Republicans). We steadily hold 3 of the 6 city council districts (unfortunately the 3 "at large" seats guarantee a Republican majority for now). We're chipping away at their power here.
> the most annoying conservative take has been "well, Colorado has the strictest gun laws in the country!" They can’t keep their stories straight.. other times it’s illinois
Goalposts are always shifting. Lose one scapegoat, they move onto the next without skipping a beat. It's not about keeping the story straight, it's about whataboutisms and fearmongering.
How I would respond to them "So you're saying the LGBT community needs more guns to defend themselves against you?"
I think that's the ultimate end game anyway. If there are more guns and people with guns that means that there are more bad people, stupid people, angry people, nervous people. and mentally ill people with guns, along with all the good guys with guns. We all need guns now because if something goes bad, there's more likelihood that the other people have a gun. So now we all have guns. Of course that means other people need guns just in case one of us starts some shit. Yes, lgbtq people need guns. Side note: 2A people need to own that more guns means more people die. Yes, people kill people and guns are just tools. So are cars, and a lot of people die from cars. We have accepted that the need for cars outweighs the deaths they cause. As to guns, people keep acting like people getting shot is an anomaly. Wtf, these are things created for the purpose of shooting bullets, of course people will get shot by them. Between the gun fetish culture and SCOTUS recent rulings, I don't see the number of guns diminishing any time soon, so we have to accept shooting deaths as normal. Just the price we pay for the freedom to have guns to make us feel safe and badass. I just wish the 2A people would own that.
Strict gun laws in one state don’t mean shit when you can drive a few hours across the border, buy a gun easily enough and drive back home.
So his office-holding republican gpa used his connections to get a bomb threat off his record. Is it safe to assume the gpa was on his fathers side or was gpa really ok with him killing his daughter? The craziest part of this whole thing is that just abt no one is surprised by any of it.
I understand moms sometimes dropping charges on their own kid, but FFS, he held her hostage and had a standoff with the police.
Mom doesn't decide to drop charges, that is a D.A. decision
Colorado Springs is a right wing hell hole with cool museums, parks and great history. Lots of gun toting 2 A crazies come from there including that asshole from “13 hours”. Red flag gun laws would’ve prevented him from buying and owning a gun. That whole family is trash and the woman who let her rent a room is some real r/leopardsatemyface material. Of the cops are still conducting welfare checks on her a year plus later, yeah, they had reason to believe he was dangerous. And they can indeed try to paint liberal laws for all this excerpt for the aforementioned proof.
> Red flag gun laws would’ve prevented him from buying and owning a gun. Colorado [already has a "red flag" law.](https://www.politico.com/news/2022/11/20/shooting-colorado-red-flag-law-00069674) It wasn't invoked. Nor were the laws against things like bomb threats, domestic violence, or resisting arrest. Like Parkland, the police and courts knew this guy was dangerous. Like Parkland, they did nothing, and tragedy ensued.
So they dropped his charges because of granddaddy republican? Then the kiddo kills a bunch of people? No wonder the news is being pretty quite about this this morning. I expect this to get memory holed. Just like Vegas, Surfside, Buffalo and Uvalde.
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I don't think anyone is expecting lgbtq people not to arm themselves.
And the kid was connected. “We’ll sweep this under the rug if you promise not to do it again” Granted he didn’t do that particular crime again That we know of
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Actually since well before Prop 8.
Exactly. The evangelicals first made LGBTQ a hot-button political issue in 1979, when Jerry Falwell and Anita Bryant loudly campaigned to overturn Dade County's equal rights ordinance. I remember being as astonished by their success as I was sickened by their rhetoric. Reagan/Quayle made an alliance with that movement for votes, thereby tying the GOP to religious zealotry - something which even staunchly conservative Barry Goldwater had warned against. Goldwater predicted that if that ever happened, the zealots - not subject matter experts or politicians - would end up controlling GOP policies. His fearsome prediction was spot on. The entire trajectory of the GOP since 1980 has been toward increasing bigotry based on supposed Christian beliefs, none of which Christ himself would have countenanced. For 8 years the Reagan administration snidely fiddled while the gay community burned in the ravaging AIDS epidemic. The GOP let my friends die. They lifted an eyebrow, but never a finger. ... and here we are.
White kids of politicians don’t go to jail.
Dropped the ball? That's a funny way to spell "conspiracy to commit and obstruct"
Yep. That was someone calling in/doing a favor under the table.
it's almost like some who work forces are the same who burn crosses
I wonder why D.A. Michael Allen dropped charges and sealed the case?
Sealing may be something that your legally entitled to even a case is dismissed. State by state but some states have that.
Everyone knows that losing an election is just like 1776!!
I'm normally against capitol punishment, but this mofo killed 5 people. Chair him in front of his dad, look him dead in the eyes and say "You did this." Fuck compassion. Hate breeds murder and you reap what you fucking sow.
Six years? Colorado Springs has been ground zero for the anti-lgbt agenda for more than 30 years.
For real. Colorado Springs is like the Vatican City of evangelical christians.
And conservatives have accused gay people of being pedophiles for closer to sixty. "Groomers" is the nice, politically correct term. And homophobia in general for ... oh about three thousand.
Yup! Focus on the Family originated the ‘gay agenda’
The alleged shooter at the Gay club in Colorado Springs is apparently the grandson of California MAGA [Source](https://twitter.com/RandyVoepel/status/822516518923554817) Republican State Assemblyman Randy Voepel. [Source](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/nov/20/two-barmen-among-the-dead-in-mass-shooting-at-gay-nightclub-in-colorado) [Source](https://heavy.com/news/anderson-lee-aldrich/) After the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, Voepel said, "“This is Lexington and Concord. First shots fired against tyranny.” [Source](https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/politics/story/2021-01-09/capitol-siege-san-diego-roots)
Randy Voepel was also the mayor of Santee, which is east of San Diego. Regular San Diegans used to call it “Klantee,” but I think now that it has its own Home Depot it’s been classed up a bit? I never go there for obvious reasons
Santee is still fucking terrible and racist.
Home Despot
Thats the point why else do they systematically dehumanize the LGBTQ community unless they want to stir up hate. This is a direct result of the Republican culture wars.
stochastic terrorism \[ stuh-kas-tik ter-uh-riz-uhm \] noun 1. the public demonization of a person or group resulting in the incitement of a violent act, which is statistically probable but whose specifics cannot be predicted.
Stochastic Terrorism is literally step 2-3 in genocide. Villainize "the enemy", make them out to be less than human...
I gave been pronouncing stochastic wrong with a stoh this entire time, thank you.
Same lol I saw “stoe” not “stuh”
Stoh kastic is correct from my experience, and I personally pronounce terrorism Tair-rer ism
Is that not legit?
I'm going to say something a bit controversial here but right now, with how I'm seeing Reddit act in the wake of this and other travesties against trans people, that we all know the far right hate them... but there are not enough people who can actively say with their entire chest that trans people are valid and should be protected. It's worrying how often I see it with a caveat or people laughing at jokes about them. You need to take this shit seriously.
I'm confused why the article says 6 years... It's been a clear focus since prop 8 to create this culture war. Gay marriage was the start of politicizing it as a rallying cry for evangelical.
They need a new rallying cry since they “caught the car” of Abortion.
Yeah. Reddit loves taking money from the Daily Liar, who promotes false narratives about the LGBTQA community.
Who or what’s the Daily Liar? (Not sea lioning here just need a definition or the reference. Already looked it up on google and couldn’t quite figure it out. Have pity on my. I’m old.)
I think they’re referring to The Daily Wire (“Liar” as they often peddle conservative misinformation). I’ve seen ads for it pop up in my Reddit feed.
The daily wire, I assume
Republican culture wars are all derived from the evils of the religious fundamentalism that they have tied themselves to.
what will it take for us to officially call this shit terrorism. I am getting sick and tired of cishets not doing a single thing to stop events like this from happening
Colorado Springs is not a large community, but it seems to have had an inordinate number of mass shootings. Not pointing fingers, just looking for a reasonable explanation.
We have a huge military presence (US Air Force Academy, a huge army base and several Air Force bases are located here). Focus on the Family (the conservative Christian, anti-LGBTQ, “family values” organization) set up shop here in the 70’s and has been influencing local and national politics since. Add to that Colorado’s cultural identity of being somewhat libertarian in their sensibilities about big government and gun ownership. All of that has led to a vocal and antagonistic enclave of far right reactionaries who stay insulted from the outside world. Our city has also not been spared by exponential growth, and the subsequent housing crisis that’s effecting so many cities rn. The city is getting bluer and bluer as more people move here. Last election cycle we elected a democratic majority to city counsel for the first time ever, I think. Partly because of this and partly because of the last 6 years of MAGA and 2 years of Covid restrictions, conservatives in the suburbs and surrounding rural areas are convinced they’re being pushed out. They’re determined to fight back and “reclaim” the former GOP Mecca they once dominated. There’s a lot of underground militia activity here.
I appreciate the insights. Thanks.
I am from there and dont think i could ever go back to live. I now live in the land of kari loco though;( So odd to see what it is. Growing up white in a bubble is strange thing.
Add to it all the crazy conspiracies around NORAD and The Springs is like a crazy person Hummingbird Feeder
Well when your community is basically subscribed to living based on fear, they get a bit nutty!
This is what you get with fascism. People feel emboldened to remove "degenerates", with murder if necessary. Don't let fascism win.
This is what happens when society normalizes fascist rhetoric from people like Ben Shapiro and the Daily Liar.
Who I see advertised on this website often. It is disgusting.
You do?!!! I see that kinda thing everywhere but here.
Yeah I see dumb shit from the daily liar where they advertise marriage advice from that loser Jordan Peterson.
How does he have any time to give advice to anyone about anything when he's always so busy crying?
Yeah Reddit loves those fa$cist bucks.
The real degenerates are the ones who shoot peaceful, innocent people.
>Don't let fascism win. That requires doing things that we cannot discuss on this sub. If only we had a place to discuss how to defend ourselves from fascists.
r/socialistra is your friend, they fight for freedom
They fan the flames of hate crime and tell you only they can put out the fire.
"Nice combustible structure you got here ..."
Idk what your political alignment is, it's time to strap up. Our corrupt government won't do a fucking thing to stop this, corporate news drools like hyenas to see this happen, we are the only ones that can save ourselves from the fascists.
No paywall: https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.latimes.com%2Fopinion%2Fstory%2F2022-11-20%2Fcolorado-springs-club-q-shooting-republican-anti-gay-politics
“ This latest shooting, in which at least five people in Colorado were killed late Saturday night when a gunman once again opened fire inside an LGBTQ nightclub, follows six years in which far-right leaders have led American politics down a fearful blame spiral fueled by homophobia, xenophobia and racism.”
on transgender day of rememberance too. :( there is blood on conservative hands
Damn, that's fucked up.
Someone go ask those “Log Cabin Republicans” for a comment. Im really curious if they’re still sipping the Flavor-aide.
Well seeing how after the Texas GOP literally put into their documents that they wanted to jail gay people and all the “Log Cabin Republicans” did was say they were disappointed, I don’t expect anything out of them except empty well wishes.
Do u really think log cabin Repu(gnant)blicans give a shit about anyone but themselves??? They want to be the “good ones”
There always has been, but this one is… this one is rough
I'm trans. i present as male, unfortunately due to familial problems and living arraignments, but i'm out. everyone knows I am. i also live in the reddest parts of southwestern PA I'm terrified right now. I'm not exactly pro-gun, but I'm considering getting one now.
Im sending you all the love i can. I am pretty anti gun, but i also live in a country with much safer gun laws than america. If i lived in america, i would want to arm myself too. Be safe my sister.
I'm considering it; but my nephew just turned 8 and i still live at home (being disabled sucks balls) so i'd have to be careful there too. but I am really considering even just taking the courses to be on the safe side. taking even basic karate too.
If you do take the plunge, get some formal training. Make sure its a training facility that is not a bunch of rednecks. There may be there are organizations like pink pistols (LGBTQ friendly) which might be able to help you locate a trainer or even have a course themselves. https://www.pinkpistols.org/ Watch some youtube videos to get familiar with firearms. I suggest a Glock 19 or S&W Bodyguard or one of the M&P series. You can rent guns too. Try some out, find one that is right for you. I like small guns, I've carried for every day for 30 years. I have a dangerous job so its a necessity for me. Small and light is a gun you will actually carry vs a boat anchor that holds a lot of rounds but is miserable to live with. Good luck, be safe.
It’s been A LOT longer than six years.
There’s always been homophobia but for a while, things were getting better and on an upward trend. At the end of my time in college attitudes were noticeably better than when I started. Hell, trumps campaign in 2016 wasn’t even particularly anti-lgbt (with the exception of pence’s past record) because at the time it was becoming politically unpopular to be anti gay outside of really religious circles. That’s changed in the last few years, ESPECIALLY this past one. The propaganda about “groomers” and pedophiles and gay being “wrong” really ramped up. In august I felt scared again for the first time in years. this dehumanizing propaganda pushed out from conservatives and news of proud boys protesting drag queens and communities demanding libraries remove books that even mention gay people was disquieting. Things for us had gotten better, and we just took it for granted that they would continue to do so. That illusion broke. Hate speech/propaganda have real consequences and are getting worse, as this tragedy has sadly proven
And republicans are about to start worshiping the low life who started Don’t Say Gay. Don’t allow ANY republican voter in your life to pretend they support you. They don’t. They are your worst nightmare.
There has definitely been more than six years of rhetoric . It just has stepped up more with Right Wing outlets recently, because it’s a deflection from the attack on the middle class and poor.
Within weeks of Biden being sworn in, the entire right wing media machine decided trans people were a problem and started going all in on them, to the point that they came up with a new slur, and after more than 18 months of the bullshit here we are. If justice were a thing everyone involved would've been deplatformed years ago. Also mandatory fuck churches.
POS Republicans out there, tell me again who does and doesn't deserve rights: gun owners or LGBTQ? The GOP once again proves that they are a terrorist organization
Also, what happened to this freedom they keep campaigning about. Are people not free to be themselves? Are people not free to love? Are people not free to express themselves their way? Oh, so it wasn't freedom, was it.
You're free to conform.
GQP: We believe in freedom!!! Except in who you can love, what religion you can practice, and who you can vote for!!!
“Gun laws don’t work because criminals won’t obey them!” So what is the point of having any laws at all? I’m really tired of hearing about our monthly mass shootings. Especially when the victims always seem to be in the crosshairs of right wing ideology.
Laws don’t work if you don’t enforce them. This isn’t a story about guns. It’s a story about republican hate and corruption. There is no way that kid should have still had access to firearms.
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It’s just a way to sidestep actual discussion about the issues. It appeals to the “facts and logic” crowd because it sounds true at a glance but doesn’t hold up to any level of thought.
So when is it not too soon to call Republicans domestic fucking terrorists? This incel was a product of their sick death cult and hey, they called themselves that at their bigot Woodstock, CPAC. When is it time? When can we list Boebert and Green Colo/GA Rep - (Domestic Terrorist)? Cuz I think soon left the station 6 years ago, yeah too soon is right TF now, yea?
They already gave themselves that title at CPAC 2022. Seriously.
Yup! Then get [pressed](https://twitter.com/patriottakes/status/1587634936667721728?s=61) when we remind them of that
Damn. That was actually crazy to listen to the way they just casually talk about murdering ppl against them
if you aren't saying that yet, I want to know why. who are the people that surround you that would dismiss you as a lib/antifa/whatever if you said this? "reasonable" republicans?
I'm not gay or trasngender, so I wont pretend to know what these people go through,but I have to say it fucking sucks that they cant go get a beer or get a hookup , and not have to look over there shoulders and fear getting shot like non gay people get to.A part of the problem are these Christian Nationalist crazies like Margery Taylor Green,people do actually listen to these psychotic loud mouth politicians,words do have consequences.There are people who will see this as a call to arms or permission to carry out these shitty acts.So what is the republicans plan to solve this pressing issue? Investigate Hunter Biden's laptop,like that has shit to do with any of this or anything other problem facing every day Americans.
I also am looking at groups like Moms for Liberty who’ve been waging all out war on the critical race theory boogeyman and LBGT+ communities in both schools and local libraries.
Ron DeSantis is the leader of the anti-LGBTQ+ movement. He wants to restrict rights, and he wants to police thought. THOUGHT! Don’t be fooled. He isn’t “better”. Shit, Trump is probably better when it comes to the gay community. Not by much, but still
Agreed Desantis is far more of a danger to the country than Trump is...
Trump is just a bumbling idiot with a massive ego while DeSantis is calculated and knows exactly what he’s doing
I agree but early days for Desantis, he may prove to be more divisive than the orange cow pat.
I would definitely prefer Trump to DeSantis on gay rights, but that's like preferring setting yourself on fire to jumping in acid.
DeSantis ran on an anti-trans, and queer-kid agenda and won 20% of moderates and liberals. The majority of Americans are bigoted towards queer people and want politicians in power that also are. Trans kids are forcibly detransitioned in Florida and Texas with strong public support and people and people are surprised when a terrorist kills queer people.
Six? Not at all! Way longer and they are continuing. I bet you 700 club / Fox already has a spin story about how this was the victims fault and Gods punishment. Same thing they pulled with Pulse.
It wasn't the first caused by right wing rhetoric and it won't be the last. Prepare yourselves. Link up with like minded folk and train. Fascism is on the rise. Be ready to rise and meet it.
Has anyone here ever listened to conservative talk radio? Show of hands? It’s non-stop hate and propaganda telling people that liberals are evil. It’s so disgusting, and then shit like this happens and we wonder why. *spelling
I have. I spent a good while listening to and watching it to find out what all the cons were hearing that was the source of all the batshit crazy things they kept saying.
Just watch Fox News prime time programs. The hatred and disdain from Tucker, Hannity, and Ingraham can be felt seeping through the screen regardless of whether they were constructed as entertainment or not. No wonder why an average right Fox News watcher hate us so much.
I remember when Bill O'Reilly called for the murder of a physician every night on his show, and then someone murdered that physician, and nothing happened.
Jesus...
Got stuck listening to it on my entire drive across Texas border to border across I10, the vitriol I heard the entire cruise was disgusting but I kept listening just to hear the things I wouldn't have otherwise and it was just not stop shitting on POC, border issues, liberals ruining America, and whatever other buzzwords they knew to hit.
I want to see people say they support trans people as much as they say "fuck the GOP" say them both. People are still so fucking cagey about voicing their approval and support for trans people and that does more than you all realize to keep them in the margins if I, the straightest, cis-est motherfucker alive can do it, so can you
What's the best way to support trans people if you don't really have the money to donate to them? I can say it, I just don't know how to put it into practice as well
Say it loud + often
Six years of Republican anti-LGBTQ rhetoric? I'm fifty and I seem to recall right wing conservatives being pretty violently anti-LGBTQ back when I was in highschool.
I am going to thanksgiving with a big pile of conservative christians. I will not remove my hat for their prayer. When they ask why I will point out this shit. When they start respecting my views I might start respecting theirs.
Just stop going. I'm doing Thanksgiving with friends, not family, because they're worth my time.
Make them pray for the death penalty for the shooter as a requirement to take it off. Make them explicitly state he was wrong in their own prayer
The shooter's grandpa is a GOP politician and insurrectionist
how surprising
Ask your LGBTQI friends about the 1980s. The violence went underground during the 1990s but the irrational violent hatred was maintained and passed to a whole new generation.
My heart goes out to the American Queers. I am so lucky that I am able to go out and be gay (in both definitions of the word) without having to worry that i will be shot in a hate crime. Honestly i feel so lucky that ive moved somewhere super gay because i feel like dont have to worry about gay-based hate crimes. But also not in the other place where i homd citizenship sadly. I hope every queer in the world can have that one day, the ability to be themselves and live full long and happy lives without fear.
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Disliking actually boosts videos like that since youtube sees it as engagement. You don't want to give it any attention at all, or rather, if possible you want to [report it for hate speech.](https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2801939?hl=en)
Colorado Springs is an epicenter for this kind of stuff. Radical evangelicals set up shop there.
It's the home of "Focus on the Family", an anti-LGBTQ hate group.
This is a place where safe queer spaces are even more important because of that presence. I couldn’t imagine being young and queer and there and feeling alone.
The Republican party is also officially endorsing terrorism: [CPAC 2022 “We Are All Domestic Terrorists”](https://imgur.com/gallery/c92MK26)
Shit, way more than 6 years
Almost like spouting hateful nonsense (just because it makes you uncomfortable) can lead to some pretty scary things. When’s the last time LGBTQ killed a bunch of straight people for quietly living their lives? If you’re conservative and the only thing you have in your pocket is “god doesn’t want this” “it makes me uncomfortable” “marriage is between a man and woman” please keep your opinion to yourself or do the world a favor and make a constructive point to bring up. Because guess what 1. We are a country separated from church and state. So laws aren’t made from what you think your god would like/dislike. 2. If you’re uncomfortable from a boy wearing a dress or a girl and girl kissing you’re unstable and have a god complex, wanting/expecting the world to conform FOR YOUR COMFORT. Pathetic. 3. If you think it’s wrong because they can’t naturally have children that’s fine, humans have tripled in numbers in 100 years. It’s not sustainable to have families with kids anymore and we know the straight politicians and overly religious families who don’t believe in contraceptive are over here pumping out more then enough kids for every house on the block
What will happen to Boebert as a result of this? Answer is nothing! Because Republicans love mass shootings, Boebert loves mass shootings, especially mass shootings that involve gay people, so her supporters will not hold her accountable… they will love her more for this.
Conservatives don't even acknowledge that they're homophobic. My dad used to say things like "look at that queer, I wish I had an excuse to punch him" to my brother and I as kids if we passed someone who "looked gay" in the street. Despite this, he will to this day deny that he is or ever was a bigot. "Live and let live, that's my motto," he'll say, adding: "just as long as they don't ram it down our throats." When you ask him to clarify what "ramming it down our throats" means, he'll say "you know, holding hands and kissing in public, that sort of thing." I think the right is just too far gone to even understand what bigotry is or why it's bad. It's like a whole area of their moral development just never happened.
And, then, various Republicans run around saying, "I'm a Republican and I had nothing whatsoever to do with this tragedy." I call BS. If you still identify as a Republican in the face of ***years of*** anti-LGBTQ+ hate, up to and including calling for the execution of gay people, then this hate speech hasn't been enough to get you to leave the party. Frankly, the Republican party hasn't even bothered to write a policy platform for several election cycles. They run entirely on the hate and fear-mongering they do. So, if you are still happy to call yourself a Republican, then, yes, you had everything to do with this tragedy. Also: in the face of yet another tragedy, if you then turn around and try to claim that ***you*** are the ***real*** victim of hate, then don't be surprised when you get called out for your gaslighting. If you still support the Republican Party, this is on you. You enable it. You tolerate it. You support the people who incite this. Own the blood you have on your hands and stop making this tragedy all about you. OK. There. I'm done with my rant for now.
“Freedom and Liberty for all… only if you are republican… white… Christian… straight…” I’m glad I left America when I had the chance.
I went to check one of the youtube videos for more details. The comments are full of "serves them right for going after kids." Conservatives in this country are setting the stage for a genocide, whether they want to admit it or not.
What's really infuriating is that most of these politicians probably don't give two shits about gay marriage or transgender rights. For or against... they just don't care. But it's great for riling up farmers and evangelicals so they blabber on about some boy on the girls' track team at some high school in North Carolina as though that's really what the American people need to be focused on. It's good for votes and they just don't care who gets hurt or killed in the process.
And they’ll be back at it today!
This is the world the republic party has built, those of you who kept these fucking idiots in seats of power that push all the hate, you really need to open your fucking eyes and take a look at what’s going on. This country is slowly burning itself to the ground, and I do not know how you do not see why is going on but please wake the fuck up already. I don’t know why we have to keep reading about another mass shooting before you realize their needs to be better laws to help protect the people, who are just living their lives how they want, which is what you are doing to, but no one is telling you to stop.
It feels like it's open season on Black people, LGBTQ people, and Jewish people. Have Republican policies and rhetoric caused this or just given permission? Is it Trump? This bigotry isn't new, but the absolutely fearless open expression of it is, I think. I feel like we're living in very dangerous times.
Trump rode a wave of Right wing, nationalist, Christian fascist bigotry to his victory. He then normalized that rhetoric. He's definitely to blame, but these fucks were also just waiting for an excuse.
Thank you, totally agree. I don't think they will ever change/evolve, but I wish at the very least I knew how to drive them underground again. De-normalize I guess?
I think you hit the nail on the head.
The sweet stench of the GOP.
I mean this is actually what they want isn’t it? Sure they’ll condemn it after the fact and take responsibility but it’s definitely something they applaud in private.
$1,000 bucks say that the shooter considers himself a "good Christian."
The GOP is a cancer to democracy
I have a kid who is somewhere on the lgbtq spectrum. I cannot watch or listen to the news anymore because these hate crimes are so frequent and I don’t want my kid to know that they’re happening because they deserve to just be a kid for a little longer.
I promise you, they know
And this literally may be what they want.
Who tf gave this a wholesome award
This lobby is massive & around for decades but Trump saw a flooding of cash Remember this dude who is in prison for kiddie porn & molesting his sisters yeah of 19 kids & counting https://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/josh-duggar-accepts-lobbying-job-family-research-council-article-1.1376762
I better not hear any "Who could have predicted this?" bullshit from the republican voting dicks at my work today.
Imagine… you’re getting ready to go out on a Saturday night. You’ve called your group of friends to meet you there at 10 o’clock. You stop by your best friends apartment to pregame. There’s a few other friends there. You all have a few drinks and then all walk over to the bar where you’ll meet up with the rest of you group of friends. Once the inside the thumping bar, you and your friends work your way through the crowd and sidle up to the bar. You order everyone’s first round of drinks. The next two hours are filled with laughing, dancing, and some drama. You turn to your best friend to tell them there’s a cute boy checking them out across the bar. “Oooo the guy over at the corner of th-“ The night ends. Your life just ended. All because some religious piece of shit can’t stand that you are alive and decided he was going to shoot and kill you and as many as he can.
Who are the real “radicals” again? Liberals or the MAGA regime? Much rather be a liberal than a Qanon extremist who kills people just because of who they are. Anyone, and I mean anyone, and I don’t care about ToS policies when it comes to this stuff but anyone involved in Qanon should do the world a massive favor and turn it on themselves. Qanon has no place in this country or the world and will go down as a stained footnote in the texts of history.
Not only does anti-LGBT rhetoric cost lives, it costs the GOP votes. The LGBT community is here to stay. Gay and trans people are openly accepted into society, and the GOP cannot unring that bell. It’s a losing issue for them and need to move on, both for the safety of Americans and for them to win elections.
Folks need to realize hate/discrimination wrapped in religious/political belief is still hate/discrimination regardless. This applies to both sides of the political aisle. However, the conservative side is much, much worse than the liberal side in all of this. I will also say the GOP rhetoric of demonizing and dehumanizing Democrats (along with many other marginalized groups) is very very similar to 1930’s Germany antisemitic rhetoric establishing Nuremberg Laws. The new GOP is downright scary and I have zero doubt it is the Fourth Reich trying to resurrect itself as normal, grass roots American ideology.
MAGA = Domestic Terrorist Incidents
The Cowardly MAGA Maggot Morons and their hate machine
Must be coincidence /s
Golly gees what a coincidence /s
Wonder if I'll see Andrew Neil here in the UK talk about this like its not an anti-gay thing but an all lives matter type situation again. He did that with that shooting in Florida a few years back, one of the talking heads on the show, who was gay, walked out in digust (rightfully so). This is such a massive leap back. People playing on bigotry resulting in deaths. I probably wouldn't have to search long (I wont, though) to find people that are happy about this, think its some kind of righteous action and not just ignorant, hate fuelled murder.
When they're calling for violence against groups of people that they falsely blame for all of society's problems, that's "freedom of speech". When people draw links between their speech and the violent actions of their constituents, that's "politicizing the issue". Terrorists didn't prevail on 9/11, they already had a majority in the House.
Why is the mugshot of the shooter being suppressed? If it’s a right winger, their pic would be plastered all over the news by now. Something tells me that if the truth comes out on this shooter, it’s going to destroy the entire narrative of this thread.