this post was submitted on 15 Dec 2024
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In the face of ‘eradication’, one trans activist is preparing to fight – and she’s sick of silence and neglect from her supposed allies. Raquel Willis tells Io Dodds why Republican bathroom bans are everybody’s problem

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[–] UsernameHere@lemmy.world -3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

That doesn’t work in this scenario because democrats need more than the trans community to win elections. So they have to also win over voters that are anti trans.

[–] Schmoo@slrpnk.net 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

So they have to also win over voters that are anti trans.

And there it is. Let me ask you, how exactly do you think the Democrats should appeal to "anti-trans voters" without losing the trans and trans ally vote?

[–] UsernameHere@lemmy.world -2 points 1 week ago (1 children)

There’s no easy answer to that but until the trans community and their allies have a voting majority, it is a requirement that democrats appeal to both.

[–] Schmoo@slrpnk.net 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

You're right that the answer isn't easy, but there is one and the Democrats have known it for some time, they're just not willing to do it. First, look at the driving force of anti-trans sentiment. It's economics. Trump and the like redirect the righteous anger people feel about their economic situation towards minorities by creating a narrative that is easy to understand and plays into pre-existing prejudices. The Democrats could do the same thing but direct the anger towards the wealthy instead of minorities. People have pre-existing prejudices towards "elites," and the narrative that the wealthy are the cause of your suffering has the advantage of being true. If the Democrats did this it wouldn't matter if they also go to bat for the trans community, because the average "anti-trans voter" doesn't actually care that much about trans issues, but are rather using the trans community as a stand-in to recieve their anger in the absence of a more compelling narrative.

[–] UsernameHere@lemmy.world -3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

look at the driving force of anti-trans sentiment. It's economics.

Yeah, no. Economics isnt the driving force behind the anti-trans sentiment. That’s ridiculous

[–] Schmoo@slrpnk.net 2 points 1 week ago

It's tied in to the broad cultural narrative that Republicans create and reinforce through their media, which is designed for the purpose of transforming economic anxiety into anger at minorities. The trans community can be said to be collateral, since the Republicans don't directly (keyword here) blame them for the state of the economy, but they represent the perception of "elites" who are culturally strange and different. The entire conservative narrative is about making the economic cultural. Bigotry is deliberately fueled by displaced anger. The anger must come from somewhere.