Notices by Mercedes Allen (mercedesallen@mastodon.social)

@MissGayle @inthehands I don't mean engaging in discriminatory efforts against minority groups. That hurts the wrong people.

Get in their circles and make them want things that hurt each other. "Free speech" is one area of contradiction that we can make particularly fraught for them.

@MissGayle @inthehands Maybe that's a personal limit. Sending texts like that to people of colour might make your point, but it's also a microaggression on individuals who don't need it (and probably already get plenty). Even if they're staunch Trump voters, they'll find out soon enough.

I'd rather focus on diehard conservatives and interest groups

"Going high" has failed. Want to fight fascism?

(Pass it on.)

The MAGA cult is built upon a myriad of special interests that traditionally don't play well together.

Find the fault lines. Poke at them relentlessly.

Pass it on.

"Norms" and "resistance" failed. The road to defeating fascism begins with subterfuge. Play dirty. Be as cynical as the crisis you face.

If you give people something to believe in (which, to be clear, Dems didn't), they will abandon it the moment it becomes difficult or it doesn't look how they envisioned.

If you give people someone to hate, they will cling to hatred as though it gives their lives meaning.

Shouldn't universal health care be a *plus*?!?

Trump threatens that Kamala will provide it, and she *runs* from it...

"A Harris’ spokesperson told NBC News 'The VP will not push single payer as president...'"

#NotTheOnion

Trump warns that if Kamala Harris wins, "everybody gets health care" | Salon.com
https://www.salon.com/2024/08/16/warns-that-if-kamala-harris-wins-everybody-gets-health-care/

Yet another reminder that when they talk about "parents' rights," they mean the rights of *this kind of parent* to be horrible to trans kids (not just their own, for that matter) and make their lives a living hell.

Elon Musk claims his trans daughter is dead because she transitioned - LGBTQ Nation
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2024/07/elon-musk-claims-his-trans-daughter-is-dead-because-she-transitioned/

"But after taking office and examining hundreds of pages of curriculum, Gore was shocked by what she found — and didn’t find.

"... She expected them to be as relieved and excited as she had been. But she said they were indifferent, even dismissive, because 'it didn’t fit the narrative that they were trying to push...'"

Texas school board member disavows the far-right platform she campaigned on | The Texas Tribune
https://www.texastribune.org/2024/05/15/texas-granbury-isd-school-board-courtney-gore/

"Once the threat Hitler posed... became... undeniable... he blamed his temporary flirtation with fascism not on Nazi propaganda or his faults in his own ideology but, instead, on those devious, lying waitresses at the Eldorado..."

The Panic Defense - by Gillian Branstetter - The Autonomy
https://autonomy.substack.com/p/the-panic-defense

"Except the video she mentioned doesn’t actually show a trans woman at all. The player is Papua New Guinea rugby star Joanne Lagona who is cis. But the video had gone viral recently along with the false narrative that she was a trans woman..."

Danielle Smith cites proven false video in defending trans women sports policy | Xtra Magazine
https://xtramagazine.com/video/danielle-smith-cites-proven-false-video-in-defending-trans-women-sports-policy-262768

"What we find over & over again is that people are over-relying on these search engines or their social connections. They put this blind faith in them... They think they’ve done their due diligence and checked but it makes it worse than not checking...'"

Scientists Explain Why ‘Doing Your Own Research’ Leads to Believing Conspiracies
https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7bjpm/scientists-explain-why-doing-your-own-research-leads-to-buying-conspiracies

"Overnight raids across the Russian capital saw clubs, saunas, bars and more overrun with police officers who checked documents and ID cards of attendees.

"The raids were reportedly commissioned under the pretext of searching for drugs... none found..."

Russia raids gay bars after anti-LGBTQ+ Supreme Court ruling
https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/12/02/russia-lgbtq-bars-raid/

Repeatedly, the trajectory of anti-trans politics is an immediate spike in panic / support, followed by a sharp decline.

As "parents' rights" panic collapses in the US, Canadian conservatives are setting themselves up for a losing battle. #cdnpoli

Anti-trans platforms lose elections - LGBTQ Nation
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2023/11/anti-trans-platforms-lose-elections/

"After a superficial examination, the doctor asked to speak with Tiffinny’s mom privately... 'We don’t feel comfortable with Tiffinny’s presence in our office... We don’t see transgendered patients in this clinic...'"

14-year-old trans girl says a Catholic clinic refused to treat her ADHD   - LGBTQ Nation
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2023/09/14-year-old-trans-girl-says-a-catholic-clinic-refused-to-treat-her-adhd/

"... the [Kids Online Safety Act]'s chief sponsor, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, alarmingly made a candid statement about her goals for the legislation, stating it would be used to 'protect minor children from the transgender [sic] in our culture...'"

Senator Admits "Kids Online Safety Act" Will Target Trans Content Online
https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/senator-admits-kids-online-safety

"But the revised policy grants parents an effective 'veto' on their child's identity until they're 16, and that violates children's rights to privacy, equality and accommodation...

"The parents do not have the right to a state apparatus to force their child to live by their values...'"

Advocate says N.B.'s gender-identity policy violates children's rights | CBC News
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/new-brunswick-policy-713-review-advocate-1.6935967?cmp=rss

"'A violation of the pronoun rule can lead to sanctions on an educator’s certificate up to and including revocation of the certificate...'

"... If a trans child or trans adult (including school workers) tries to use a school bathroom matching their gender identity, they could be charged with criminal trespassing and charged a fine of up to $10,000..."

Florida school district requires parent permission for teachers to use students' nicknames - LGBTQ Nation
https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2023/08/florida-school-district-requires-parent-permission-for-teachers-to-use-students-nicknames/

"... Boyce crammed himself into the back of a U-Haul with his fellow members of Patriot Front... to protest an LGBTQ pride event in Idaho and slur attendees as 'groomers...' it’s unlikely Boyce knew this would result in him eventually being sentenced to a year in prison for sexual exploitation of a minor..."

Why Do Neo-Nazis Keep Getting Arrested For Child Sexual Abuse Material?
https://www.vice.com/en/article/3akvbw/why-do-neo-nazis-keep-getting-arrested-for-child-porn

"It may seem surreal, after a half century of Pride celebrations, to be at a point where drag queens are creating safety plans ahead of their shows and Floridians are risking criminal charges just to hold a parade. Queer people are literally putting their lives on the line; meanwhile, the same companies that once put out weepy, gay marriage-themed ads have fallen suspiciously silent..."

This Pride, Forget the Brands. We Are Our Own Best Allies | Them
https://www.them.us/story/pride-month-2023-target-brands-op-ed