L

autistic | chronic pain | queer | socialist | has a lot of opinions about pretty much everything

[standardpoliticalsideblog]

autistic people who put down other autistic people for having "weird," "cringe," or "childish" special interests have internalized ableism

[cock-holliday]

been seeing a lot of people locked into trans discourse express disdain that "ugh the trans unity people want us to all hold hands and pretend there is no beef" and it demonstrates such an inability to see a bigger picture.

I'm nonbinary, and in recent years the people who have been the most exorsexist to me have been binary trans people. Binary trans folks, yall piss me off every damn day on this website. And if I was unable to see past short-sighted ideas that prioritized comfort above autonomy, safety, liberation, authenticity, I could conclude that binary trans people are my biggest enemy. But they aren't. Not even close.

It's not trans people following you into bathrooms, it's not trans people shouting shit when you walk past, it's not trans people killing us. If we want to play oppression olympics, I've got more reason to hate you guys than you do to hate each other, but it's such a cowardly position to take. It's so inauthentic.

Not because trans people aren't doing harm in this shit storm, the race to acceptance and assimilation comes with a body count, but the crabs in your bucket are not the ones who put us here.

This is WHY I am critical of ideology and not of groups. Reactionary movements are an attempt to take back power as a powerless group, but it only empowers you to violence over other powerless people, because your power is granted BY the oppressors. We must build power as a collective against them.

Trans unity is not a fake-smile-we-all-love-each-other bullshitfest, it is a recognition that we are not each other's enemies, even when we are not each other's friends. The shittiest trans woman deserves the things I am fighting for, the most vile trans guy MUST have access to what we are dreaming of. That is the point. And my unity extends to cis people, not just because i do not want to be another barrier to the closeted trans person finding people who will take them in, but because the gendered liberation of cis people is tied to my liberation too.

We are on lists, we are struggling to afford our care, we are abused by people and systems beyond our control, and fighting against a massive machine for our right to live. Of course it makes sense that bullying someone you think is doing transness wrong makes you feel big. Of course it makes sense that you think policing hard borders stops people from getting what you are afraid of losing. But it doesn't work like that. We are too intertwined that cutting each other off is like cutting off our own arm out of spite. Our oppressors LOVE that you have one less arm to fight them with--it doesn't do shit to them!

But it feels like control. It feels like action. When you feel stuck and hopeless, doing something, often especially out of anger FEELS like progress--like movement.

We do not preach "loving" our fellow trans people out of a naive belief that we could all just get along, but because the only way to survive is to survive together. The only way to thrive is to celebrate the wins of others. The only way to move forward is with all of us.

Because if you whittle and whittle away at "threats" and cut down on your circle until only those you can "really" trust who "fully" understands you inherently--rather than meet them and build collective understanding--eventually the only one who will be left is you, and if other trans people are your enemy, how do you think it goes when it's just you vs yourself in the end?

[cock-holliday]

been seeing a lot of people locked into trans discourse express disdain that "ugh the trans unity people want us to all hold hands and pretend there is no beef" and it demonstrates such an inability to see a bigger picture.

I'm nonbinary, and in recent years the people who have been the most exorsexist to me have been binary trans people. Binary trans folks, yall piss me off every damn day on this website. And if I was unable to see past short-sighted ideas that prioritized comfort above autonomy, safety, liberation, authenticity, I could conclude that binary trans people are my biggest enemy. But they aren't. Not even close.

It's not trans people following you into bathrooms, it's not trans people shouting shit when you walk past, it's not trans people killing us. If we want to play oppression olympics, I've got more reason to hate you guys than you do to hate each other, but it's such a cowardly position to take. It's so inauthentic.

Not because trans people aren't doing harm in this shit storm, the race to acceptance and assimilation comes with a body count, but the crabs in your bucket are not the ones who put us here.

This is WHY I am critical of ideology and not of groups. Reactionary movements are an attempt to take back power as a powerless group, but it only empowers you to violence over other powerless people, because your power is granted BY the oppressors. We must build power as a collective against them.

Trans unity is not a fake-smile-we-all-love-each-other bullshitfest, it is a recognition that we are not each other's enemies, even when we are not each other's friends. The shittiest trans woman deserves the things I am fighting for, the most vile trans guy MUST have access to what we are dreaming of. That is the point. And my unity extends to cis people, not just because i do not want to be another barrier to the closeted trans person finding people who will take them in, but because the gendered liberation of cis people is tied to my liberation too.

We are on lists, we are struggling to afford our care, we are abused by people and systems beyond our control, and fighting against a massive machine for our right to live. Of course it makes sense that bullying someone you think is doing transness wrong makes you feel big. Of course it makes sense that you think policing hard borders stops people from getting what you are afraid of losing. But it doesn't work like that. We are too intertwined that cutting each other off is like cutting off our own arm out of spite. Our oppressors LOVE that you have one less arm to fight them with--it doesn't do shit to them!

But it feels like control. It feels like action. When you feel stuck and hopeless, doing something, often especially out of anger FEELS like progress--like movement.

We do not preach "loving" our fellow trans people out of a naive belief that we could all just get along, but because the only way to survive is to survive together. The only way to thrive is to celebrate the wins of others. The only way to move forward is with all of us.

Because if you whittle and whittle away at "threats" and cut down on your circle until only those you can "really" trust who "fully" understands you inherently--rather than meet them and build collective understanding--eventually the only one who will be left is you, and if other trans people are your enemy, how do you think it goes when it's just you vs yourself in the end?

[sweetpea67]

I think the biggest root of the awful ways people talk about kink in leftist spaces is that people really, really want it to be an extension of your personal politics. It’s the whole “the personal is political” thing taken to its logical extreme. That’s why certain kinks (ex: femdom/malesub, forcefem) get put on this weird pedestal where they become necessary praxis for fighting oppression while others (ex: femsub/maledom, cnc, ageplay, detrans, raceplay, orientation kink, slavery) can get people doxxed and blacklisted for being “traitors to the progressive cause.” That’s how we got shit like that post claiming that forcemasc is bad because “it’s not subversive enough.” That’s how we get people being allowed to talk about subbing but not about domming unless the domming seems to superficially serve the cause of social justice (e.g. a woman domming a man). Like I can’t help but get the sense that a lot of you think kinks are something people consciously choose to complement their activism and not just weird brain hiccups that you can’t control…

[asteroidtroglodyte]

The thing about “folk medicine that works” is that, when it works, it… inevitably gets folded into? Regular Medicine? That’s where Regular Medicine… comes from? Like.

Tree Bark Tea that cures your headache? Yea we extracted the active ingredient and put it in a capsule because it tastes like ass. Call that Aspirin now.

Healing Salve from the succulent leaves of a strange plant that grows in desolate wastelands? Yea, we have Aloe Vera gel in pretty much every burn unit now. The leaves can be dirty which isn’t great for a fresh wound y’know so we extract it and purify it and shelf-stabilize it.

Antibiotics? Generally come from Fungi. They deal in rot y’know they gotta know how to deal. But I’d rather swallow a penicillin capsule than huff Rye Mold y’know.

Painkillers? You’d be surprised where they come from. Beautiful montane flowers. Beautiful tropical snails. White latex sap and invertebrate stinging glands. Nature, once again.

“But they’re evil chemicals that come from labs!” Look. A Lab is just a Very Clean Room. Folks make medicine in labs because if you wanna do chemistry and the room isn’t clean enough you end up with something other than what you’re trying to make. There is no location inside Reality that is not a part of Nature. Metal and porcelain and glass are all made of stardust and earth. We can make medicine in a cauldron in a cabin in the woods if you want it’s just gonna be full of living things and spores and shit and. Like. not work.

Nature isn’t your Mom. Nature regards you as little more than a Tree Propagation Engine. Nature is very disappointed in your choices; such as the choice to not go forage for large tree seeds and then shit out those seeds in shallow pits you dig. The choice to care about your Education and your Art and your Politics and your Entertainment are not choices Nature would have given you. Humans gave you those choices, by holding back the natural forces that are actively trying to check our population growth.

Nature sends gifts such as Influenza and Coronavirus to help us be more in balance.

Do you understand

The Humans in lab coats are not your enemy.

The Nature that wants to use you for fertilizer is.

Take your damn medicine.

[ahidell]

well fuck. now what am i going to do

[ayatollahsmegmafactory]

??

[what-even-is-thiss]

So I decided to read this article. I do think it's worth reading if you know a way past the paywall. It's called "The Wrong Kind of American" by Julia Curlee.

I don't like the CIA. I don't necessarily agree with her decision to keep working for them for as long as she could, but it's an interesting look into how queer people are being systematically erased in the federal government right now.

The bit about Mike Pence was a bit odd but her point seemed to be that when she was assigned to his personal staff he at the very least had the bare minimum respect for her, which is a low bar in my opinion but when you work for a conservative government, your mental bar for how you're treated might be a bit low.

I do respect how she refused until the very end to go back into the closet. Even if you hate the CIA, it seems like she and a lot of other openly queer employees have been working to make the federal government a more inclusive place to work for a long time and the current administration just reversed all of that in less than three months. She brought up at the end having to choose between her integrity and keeping her family's health insurance, which I imagine is a decision that a lot of people have had to make unfortunately.

Again, this article is one of those things that's a bit weird and maybe I don't understand all of the decisions that the author has made but it at the very least has some interesting insights into what's going on over there. They seem to be losing a lot of institutional knowledge, which is in fact likely a threat to national security.

[what-even-is-thiss]

To reiterate in case it isn't clear, I don't think you should work for the CIA or that the CIA is good. Since I know this website's reading comprehension is terrible.

[sex-hiccups]

I just think it's worth reminding ourselves that accountability doesn't mean condescension. We can disagree with one another and challenge each other's ideas and behavior without talking to each other like children or irreparably bad people.

You can be firm in your values. You can be hurt and angry, and vocal about it. You don't have to sugarcoat anything. But if our honest goal is true progress (rather than mere shame or punishment,) we at a bare minimum must fight the impulse to automatically assume bad faith/intentions and berrate people based on those assumptions to let off steam.

I've had my shittier opinions changed plenty of times before. The people who did so most successfully didn't coddle me or mince words. But they did speak to me like a human being, without alterior motive and with the capacity to see reason.

This isn't a "you catch more flies with honey" soapbox speech. Holding each other accountable as a community to mitigate unnecessary harm is a non-negotiable. It is imperative to our survival that we check each other.

Just don't be a fuckin cop about it.

[calypsolemon]

I think basically even if a trans woman is really, Really wrong about a sensitive topic, the most she deserves is a block on social media, and not like. A whole hate campaign seeking to wipe her off the face of the internet and possibly the earth. Is what I think.

[calypsolemon]

seeking to socially isolate society's most vulnerable type of person for having a poorly formed opinion probably definitely creates an environment which fosters the formation of better opinions im sure. Im sure it also makes people who have actually been hurt by any real materially harmful behavior feel safe about speaking up bc they know that the focus will be on solutions and not become the catalyst for a hate campaign that expands to even the most tangetally related parties. Certainly this must be the case.

[calypsolemon]

you could also consider for a moment that you may be the one with the bad take this time around

[girlcodedhamlet]

people got mad the last time i said this but you HAVE to stop pretending that people of the past were more intellectual and thoughtful and you need to model yourself after them because modernity pales in comparison. that's nazi shit

[towerologia-sideblog]

basically

[enba-and-luka]

Incarcerated for Life in Trump's War on the Left

Autumn Hill left a Prairieland ICE facility protest before it turned violent. She was still sentenced to 50 years as part of Trump's war on

They're sending a trans woman to prison for life over the fact that she attended an anti-ICE protest where a cop died (she had already left the protest when the 'violence' started)

[enba-and-luka]

[enba-and-luka]

[jingerpi]

please stop making stuff up to fit this nonsense separatism and read what hill actually has to say

I do not believe in 50 years. I don’t. Maybe I’m in denial but I still kind of don’t believe that I’m actually going to serve out this whole sentence and I think there’s a little reason for optimism in that regard. There is a big movement of support for a political pardon for us from the next Democratic president of the United States. My mother told me that my father said that the next time a Democratic president is in office, he’s going to write him a letter to ask for a pardon for me. And that was the first positive interaction that I’ve had with my dad in five years. And when I heard that, I just burst into tears and, like, just became hysterical for five minutes because it was just the perfection of the absurdity of the time to me. My arch-conservative father, who I can’t really stand to be in the same room as right now because of his transphobia, that he would do this thing, right, like appeal to a Democratic president on my behalf. And it really shows this bipartisan sentiment that this is obviously unjust, this is obviously political. You know, if this arch-conservative and I can find common ground over the belief that this is a political persecution, I think that there’s a very strong chance for some future good thing to come our way out of that.

...

[interviewer]: Is there anything else I didn’t ask you that you want to get out, that you wanna say in this context? Obviously, people will see this and I know you have limited connection to the outside world.

AH: I would say the same thing that I’ve said before, which is: Be brave. We’ve been accused of being terrorists, but terror is the power that this administration wants to ply in order to keep people quiet, in order to keep people content. Fear of incarceration, fear of homelessness, you know, it’s this fear, this fear that we’re going to lose our privileges, that we are going to use our comfort, that keeps people docile, keeps people from speaking the truth. Don’t be afraid.

https://www.unclosetedmedia.com/p/autumn-hill-speaks-from-jail-after

Autumn Hill Speaks from Jail After Being Sentenced to 50 Years and Labeled an ‘Antifa Terrorist’ by the White House [WATCH]

In her first video interview from Johnson County Jail, Hill says she is a “political prisoner” who has been unjustly locked up by the Trump

[greenapplegirl90]

i have to bring this up every time I see this: nobody died at the protest Autumn Hill was at. A cop suffered minor injuries. Autumn Hill wasn't even present when that happened.

as for the tweet that was screenshotted: her fellow protestors are in prison alongside her, that's why they're not protesting to demand her release. Here's a website with more information about the whole case. We're still trying to bring them all home, regardless of gender

Support the Prairieland Defendants | DFW Support Committee

The future of political freedom in America is on trial in North Texas. Learn about the case and why it matters for anyone who cares about ci

[kropotkindersurprise]

i hate constantly seeing this fucking post on my dash spreading misinformation to make trans women feel like they will be abandoned.

There has been a lot of organising and protesting and fundraising and solidarity around the prairieland defendants, and actually autumn hill has been one of the main people in the spotlights for that, out of all the arrestees.

I dont know what the original post is meant to do except spread misinformation (no cop died) and giving activist left-wing trans women a false sense of abandonment and defeatism.

[carbomcoco]

"these researchers published a paper on something that literally any of us could have told you 🙄" ok well my supervisors wont let me write something in my thesis unless I can back it up with a citation so maybe it's a good thing that they're amplifying your voice to the scientific community in a way that prevents people from writing off your experiences as annecdotal evidence

[carbomcoco]

they did the research in the first place because they believed you and wanted to tell people about it. they are not our enemies.

[aphony-cree]

people always go "Instead of spending all that time on a study they could have just listened to us when we said these thing happen"

they did listen, that's how studies work, they asked people about their experiences and put all the data together in a nice package that can be cited

[cock-holliday]

It's very interesting the gendered double-edged sword of being believed about pain. People assumed to be cis men are supposed to tough out pain, repress it, tamp it down. You're not allowed to react to pain because it's a weakness. You're not that hurt, and even if you are, you cannot show it. But then people assumed to be cis women are supposedly weaker, so if you react to pain it's a sign that you're reacting to a lower threshold of pain. You're not that hurt, you're just a woman.

And it's wild because men and women both, cis and trans alike, are so convinced that they are the only ones not believed about pain, not allowed to express certain emotions.

When disability is a connected factor, then there is even greater disbelief, backlash, lack of patience. When mental health is a factor, there is an even greater assumption of low tolerance or delusion. When race is a connected factor, then suddenly Black people are meant to have a higher pain tolerance, so they are allowed to suffer more. Self-medication is expected in some areas, and forbidden in others. Access through financial means is a barrier to care.

There's so many layers to the concept of "I'm not allowed to react to my suffering" that are all true, but every time there is someone making gendered arguments of "UNLIKE MY OPPOSITE" I have to call bullshit. Cis men and women do it to each other, they do it to trans people, trans people do it to each other, and to cis people.

Everyone's pain is being ignored, no one's needs are being met, because we are participating in a hierarchical system that tries to imply inherent superiority, and if anything dampens your assumed superiority then you're weak, and if you can do anything to challenge your assumed weakness then you're a threat.

[vulturevanity]

I think we need to kill the sentiment that people lose their right to personhood once they do something bad enough

[vulturevanity]

I don't know who needs to hear this but you need to stop dehumanising people even if those people are "abusers" or "creeps" because you need to understand that you are not immune to doing something equally as bad

Abusers and creeps are not some species of especially heinous animal or alien or monster wearing the face of a human. They're people. And you NEED to drill it into your head that they are people because you NEED to remember that people are capable of doingn heinous shit. And you are a person. And your loved ones are people.

By emotionally classifying people who have done heinous things as subhuman filth incapable of thinking and feeling and acting just like you and me, and by using that emotional dehumanization as a reason to deny those people any compassion or support on a systemic level, you risk becoming blind to abuse/violence perpetrated by someone close to you or even yourself. Because if "abusers don't deserve rights", then you won't ever want to admit or accept that you or a loved one is perpetrating abuse, and that makes stopping the abuse or preventing further abuse much harder. This is how you end up excuaing abusive behaviour on the grounds that, since you don't see someone as a disgusting subhuman pile of garbage therefore they can't possibly be An Abuser, Trademark

[vulturevanity]

And here'a the even harder pill to swallow: since the world isn't split into "abusers" and "good people", in the same way you or someone you love can inflict abuse/violence on others, the people who HAVE inflicted abuse/violence on others can, in fact, change and become better people

There is no bottomless chasm of moral uncleanliness that someone can run off and fall into and get stuck in forever. People can do better. Yes, even those people. You HAVE to accept this. Otherwise not only is there no motivation for anyone to try and do better (which is when people become stuck in a cycle of violence and abuse they don't want to escape), but your idea of a perfect justice system doesn't look any different from Literal Christian Hell. And I HOPE you understand that Literal Christian Hell is, to put it very lightly, not a good justice system.

[trickedsparrow]

Unchecked and fear-driven dehumanization is the brick foundation for fascism.

[dragon-in-a-fez]

did I REALLY just see a post using a single study of EIGHTEEN! PEOPLE! to argue there is statistical evidence that gen z college students can't read. be serious for five seconds

[parkchanwoohoo]

If you regret a permanent body alteration you got and your immediate thought is "raise the legal age for everybody who can do this" instead of "Maybe I, specifically, was a dipshit" you need to get Gotten by a mountain lion

[houndmother]

yall, sowing: haha hell yeah awesome!!!

yall, reaping: I was manipulated into sowing. sowing should be illegal for everyone under the age of 21. if you sow you were probably groomed and abused. most farmers are abusive and trying to coerce non-farmers into sowing at every opportunity

[paradoxspaceheater]

the thing about misogyny is that femininity is both devalued AND forced on women (and those misgendered as women). if you fail to meet the arbitrary standard of Womanly Charm you're ugly and unwanted and hate yourself and if you succeed you're shallow and brainless and weak. if you don't try to conform you're lazy and if you do you're vain. it is not possible to beat this system. feminism needs both "feminine doesn't mean weak or less-than" AND "women don't have to be feminine to have value", and if you are fighting for one of these the people fighting for the other are not your enemies, nor are they privileged over you.

this post is inclusive of trans people, including but not limited to trans women and transfeminine people. exclusionary sentiment is not welcome.

[alchemillaatnight]

actually as a woman I still think misandry makes you an unpleasant person and if you’re just out there saying shit like “all men should die” or “men’s mental health doesn’t matter” then you’re the type of person I want nothing to do with. also this is not what feminism is about btw, you’re not being a strong girl boss with this ideology, you’re just a bully

[zombiemollusk]

remember:

-the idea that women are less capable of abuse than men is an extension of the idea that women are weaker than men.

-the refusal to acknowledge men's mental health and emotions as valid things worthy of support comes from the idea that emotions are inherently feminine in nature and having them is, again, a sign of weakness.

-the treatment of men as generic and expendable and women as special contributes to the idea that women should have less representation because we already "have enough" and "don't need more" and we gotta "even the playing field" or some dumb shit, so any need or want for more attention, regardless of reason, is attributed to "pointless attention-seeking".

-all of this puts trans men in an even more uncomfortable position, because either they're made an exception (because they ~aren't really men~ you see) or they're viewed as self-hating misogynists because why else would you "choose" to be the Trash Gender (tm)?

all of these seemingly pro-women anti-men sentiments stem from beliefs produced and enforced by toxic masculinity; as such, misandry is often really just misogyny in disguise.

[zombiemollusk]

adding more onto this:

-the idea that men are inherently terrible only serves to excuse men for being terrible. because, hey, they can't help it, so why bother trying, right? part of holding men accountable for their awful actions is believing they can in fact be better.

-the reason "not all men" is so frustrating to hear is because it's often used in poor faith to derail much needed conversations about toxic masculinity and how it manifests, not because the phrase itself is untrue.

-continuing from the trans men thing, misandry can and does make it harder for trans men to come out, for fear of the aforementioned responses.

-yes, misandry can stem from trauma at the hands of a man. that's understandable, but trauma can reinforce a lot of prejudices, and we all have a responsibility to understand how we come to believe things and mind ourselves accordingly. that doesn't mean you need to hang around men all the time, nor does it mean you're wrong to feel the way you do about what men did to you - it just means recognizing the objective line between fact and feelings, and recognizing that you don't need to conflate the two to validate your feelings. "i am uncomfortable around men because of past experiences shared by a lot of women" is different from "men are all horrible irredeemable pieces of shit and need to die".