LogFAQs > #971491085

Natalie posted...

These are great examples of the double standard Grimlyn and Rock brought up, and something I touched on in the last thread. There's a skewed perspective put forth in a lot of media and online spaces that pins these actions on the trans community as a whole, probably related to the stereotype that trans people are mentally unstable. It's not fair to reframe the conversation in this way - to say, "Your human rights concerns are valid and all, but look at these unreasonable things your side is doing," as though that's a valid counterpoint.

I think a sentiment that's lost in translation between trans and cis people is how it feels to hear your community and human rights movement talked about in terms of optics and presentation, to hear people saying the boycott should have been staged and explained better or that those energies should have gone towards some higher, more productive mechanism instead. Hearing outsiders discuss things in this dispassionate way kind of hurts, especially when you know they're not invested in it at all. It's not really accurate to view this whole thing as an organized, planned boycott with premeditation and a game plan and clear goals: it's a natural outcome from a lot of people sharing a feeling about Rowling and her work and her activism, and no individual is going to be responsible for the entirety of how that plays out. When you argue about whether it's a waste of time or whether it's ineffective or whether it's a failure, you're applying those criticisms to people's feelings, not a political event, and that's kind of lame.

I give the same advice to trans people as I do with any group fighting for systemic change. Which is to heavily police your own, stick to the problem at hand, and dont give free ammo to the fascists.

It's pretty stupid to think anything I have said here boils down to a counter argument against human rights. Nothing that can be said here, or by any trans person, can take away their human rights in my eyes. If I can still believe Republicans deserve healthcare then it is pretty easy to keep that stance here. This includes people harassing streamers for playing a game. They get human rights too.

Also I am not even sure the person who harassed the streamer was trans. A lot of extreme views I have seen personally (so not second hand) were from trans allies which is why I never made it out to be purely on trans/cis lines in terms of thought.

But here's an unfortunate spoiler. Optics matter a lot Everything is about moving the needle of the thoughtless majority. If reason and kindness ruled the day everyone would have rights, police budgets would be cut, and everyone in my country would have Healthcare. Now at any time anyone can say fuck optics and I am down. If you want to call Everything bullshit and just fucking scream because fascists are insane jackasses then I am here for that. It won't be productive and hey as long as everyone can admit it's not productive then I find screaming to be quite fun. I do it into a pillow several times a week.

We are all fighting for our lives in different ways. My struggles are not trans struggles but I stick to the same ethos with this issue as I do any left wing position.

At the end of the day, people can do whatever they want. If trans people are happy with the results then I am happy with the results. Only time will tell if this whole thing has a net positive on how trans people are viewed. But being on the same side as someone else does mean that I am going to be critical of their actions if I think they are stupid. I am across the board on this and I am not leaving trans people out of this standard.

I try very hard not to let blown up stories or second hand sources influence me because of course there is going to be a lot of bad faith actors and media manipulation around this.

The truth is most of the issues I fight for have a lot of stupid people involved, and tbh trans rights probably has the best ratio of smart to stupid people I have seen if it makes anyone feel better...!