"Why is the GOP escalating attacks on trans rights," when the church preaches " inclusivity and empathy"

[Fun CH]

And here is some of that fear mongering in action. Why would anyone believe this conjecture, after all what hard evidence does he present? None.

He is trying hard to trigger a person's moral outrage in hopes that the resulting anger is then directed towards trans people, ie "the others" to be feared. Don't let any politician trigger you and when they try, check to see if their hand is in your pocket.

"Donald Trump Jr.
@DonaldJTrumpJr
If the FBI continues to refuse to release the Nashville Trans Terrorist’s manifesto, the only conclusion we can make is that it is far worse than we could even imagine and that the threat of future attacks from this radical and growing group is greater than we thought!!!"

[Fun CH]

Below is one POV. Note that I don't appreciate this author's use of derogatory language to describe MTG and unfortunately that weakens his argument.However there are a few good points presented.

My own opinion is that the extreme GOP rhetoric to forment a culture War is to instill fear of "the others" in order to gain power and collect donations. This tactic has been effectively used throughout history, and unfortunately is now part of the GOP playbook.

The best defense to this fear mongering is to try and open your heart through what ever moral teachings inspire you. Don't let power hungry politicians pretending to be the faithful mess with those teachings.


https://dreamweasel.net/2023/04/23/the- ... ood-libel/

"WEASEL WORDS OF WISDOM
DREAMWEASEL EXPLAINS IT ALL
The Return of Blood Libel
April 23, 2023 Dreamweasel

Georgia Congresswoman and human brain aneurysm Marjorie Taylor Greene baselessly attacked transgender influencer and Bud Light spokesmodel Dylan Mulvaney last week, calling her “one of the biggest pedophiles in America today.”

Of course, this is a defamatory lie, which is par for the course from Marjorie Taylor Greene. She tells 17 defamatory lies every morning before breakfast; I assume this is related to her CrossFit regimen or something. But for those who wonder how such an accusation came to be, I will break down some of the core beliefs of today’s MAGA culture warriors. Because her words didn’t just come randomly out of left field, either.

To Greene and those who think like her, “pedophilia” isn’t changing the subject. It’s being redefined. We’re talking past Red America if we fail to understand what THEY mean when THEY call transgender people “pedophiles”.

Culture warriors on the Right don’t think transgender is a real thing. To them, there is no difference between drag queens (men who dress up as women for entertainment) & transgender women (people who were born male, but live as women 24-7 because of their ingrained gender identity). That makes it easier for them to portray transgender as something that you DO, rather than something that you ARE.

Thanks to Fox News and malicious propaganda sites like Libs of TikTok, conservatives are subjected to a stream of constant anti-trans propaganda which depict drag performers acting risqué in front of children. Their audience is conditioned to view men dressing as women as an inherently sexual act. Therefore, if you do it in front of children, it is being sexually inappropriate in front of them. It is pointless to try to convince them that drag queens aren’t pedophiles. Because to them, dressing in drag where children can see it *IS* pedophilia.

That’s the point of the “groomer” slur: to suggest that ANY normalization of drag or trans behavior where children can see it is predatory by definition.

“Groomer” is not an attack on child molesters; it is a slur against LGBT people and their allies. We know this is true because this attack is reserved exclusively for people in the latter category. The terminology “groomer” was chosen to equate the latter with the former. Thanks to Christopher Rufo, the modern Svengali of baseless moral panic, this is now a mainstream view of today’s Republican Party.

“If you exist, you’re grooming children.” Well, what the hell are transgender people supposed to do about THAT?

“THEY’RE FORCING US TO TOLERATE THEM!” conflates existence with an act of aggression. It is a familiar refrain used by the opponents of racial integration, of homosexuality, of transgender people. They resent having to tolerate others, so they imply “force” is involved.

The GOP war on drag is a thinly-veiled attempt to legislate trans people out of existence. To Tucker Carlson, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and all who think like them, there is no distinction between drag queens and trans women and pedophiles. To them, it’s all sexual perversion that must be kept hidden from the public. “Protecting the children” is merely an excuse; no “protection” will satisfy these culture warriors when the very existence of trans people is perceived as an attack."

[Fun CH]

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/w ... icals-vote

"When it came down to it, Rick Colby called on his spirituality in deciding how to support his transgender child, Ashton.

It wasn’t a guarantee. Colby had dedicated his life to Republican politics, starting in 1984 on the field campaign to reelect Ronald Reagan. Reagan and theRepublican Party with him and in the decades following would push anti-LGBTQ+ policies. But Colby’s Methodist church by comparison preached inclusivity and empathy, a message that conflicted with what he was hearing from Republicans."

"Survey after survey show that Americans support LGBTQ+ equality, and Republicans are no exception. Still, Republican-dominated states have seen a blitz of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation since 2020, particularly anti-transgender bills. That dissonance — between the reality of the electorate and the priorities of Republican lawmakers — may seem counterintuitive to many"