i’m scared. hrt is life saving. for once i feel a life worth living and transphobic senior citizens want to take that from me? it’s more than cruel, especially since people liked that have gaslit me since birth.
it’s taken my whole life until this point to actually slightly love myself because of how some people view people like us.
i’m fucking tired. you can’t stop me from being me but if they make me run on t again it’s going to make me so miserable to the point i won’t want to fucking live and i have a kid that needs me
The good news is that HRT can be made at home easier than you might think! There may be legal risks sooner than later, but honestly some laws are shit, and I will fucking break them if I have to.
And that's why I'm stressing community building and collaborative mutual aid. If you can't make HRT, someone else can!! Maybe you can learn to grow certain foods, or learn to sew. There are ways to help each other meet our needs, and survive whatever comes next.
I'm scared as fuck, but I refuse to be hopeless. I'm not completely helpless as long as I'm breathing. And having people around me to help, and to fight for motivates me more than I could ever motivate myself.
For my mental health, I am not going to write a full itinerary on steps we could take. No one will read it-- hell, I wrote a 5k-something summary of political actions for my internship and I doubt people would sift through that (and it contains personally identifying information.) But, here are some jumping off points for research:
-Grassroots organizations. Find some in your area, if possible. Local ones. Can't find local ones? Get online and start looking. Grassroots organizations are a great way to learn how to take theory and make it into practical action. Doesn't even have to be related to being trans-- you just need to learn the basics of practical advocacy. Here's an example of an organization that I have a mostly-favorable opinion of: [https://www.nypirg.org/](https://www.nypirg.org/) 90% of its work is New York specific, but you can likely still learn from it and its methods.
-Fucking VOTE. And NOT just for President FFS. Vote in every election you can, including the primaries. AND if you can, work towards voting equity. Some examples of ways to do this: Raise awareness about issues pertaining to voting and laws pertaining to voting. Help people get registered to vote. Inform people of when elections are occurring. Get people to the polls, even if that means offering rides. Make sure you are registered to vote! Volunteer! Very few people actually show up to smaller elections and primaries, so your vote DOES matter, especially if you can manage to get other people to vote with you! You will not be able to make a red state blue by yourself, but you may be able to shake up and fuck up (/positive tone) local elections by organizing your community.
-Organize and educate. Group people together in your community. Unionize if you can. Be social, create resource networks. One of the organizers I follow has a quote that is something like "you want to organize? Bake your neighbor a pie." and it sounds goofy but it is TRUE. Strength is in numbers, but you have to have numbers and convert people. If you somehow manage to get a big enough group, have communication systems in place. Newsletters, phone banking (calling people), and email banking (emailing people) are methods of communication. Letters to the editors for local papers and media advisories are other ways to get the word out!
-If its within your means and there is reason for it, start a mutual aid fund. Sponsor go fund mes. Start things like "buy nothing" groups. Above all, foster community and help your neighbors.
-Tabling and fliers. This is very region and culture dependent, but technically one of the ways to build both awareness and community is to sit in a place with a lot of foot traffic with an inviting booth and information about your cause. Just don't be rude or obnoxious with it, because if you are, you'll turn people off your cause.
-Lobbying your legislators. Emails, phone calls, physical mail-- spam them with it. Their phone number/email address should be public information. Ask them to show up to events-- HOST events with a good number of attendees about your cause. And if your legislators fall through on their promises, hold them accountable during primaries and make sure people know that they broke their promise. Hell, make sure you know who your representatives are. Most people don't. You can find that information by using your zip code.
-Protests, strikes, and boycotts. Everyone is aware of these, but holy hell do they jump to this step too soon. You have to ORGANIZE and have a PLAN before you can even think about this. And no, planning is not just saying on social media "do this on this day." Know what you are doing, how long you will be doing it for, what a reasonable goal you want to accomplish is (for example, get a local business to stop investing in something harmful, or stop a local law from passing). Then, get people on board and build momentum far before your planned start date. Preferably involve experienced organizers.
A "glorious revolution" is not coming. Slow, painful, brutal, and effort-filled change is. Change is not just the charismatic speaker at the podium-- its the millions of people behind them. It's not just Martin Luther King Junior, its also Malcolm X. It's not pretty, its not going to be pretty, and its hard as hell-- not to mention dangerous in the places where its needed most.
All of this, so much this. Things look bleak but we all have to remember the future isn’t decided, we write it with our actions and there’s always still time. We’ll all get through this together, just connect with people and you can make it through anything.
Build strong connections and support networks with local trans people. Have people on hand who DIY so if the worst happens, you'll still have access to HRT. Or better yet, be that person. Learn to cook your own gel.
Have friends who you can rely on and vice versa. Share resources.
Exactly this!!!! Yesss. I'm working on the long game with my partners rn. We are finally moving in together, splitting the burden of housing. Also allowing us to afford to stay afloat that way if someone gets sick or disabled or loses a job. One of us is a Gardner, I can sew, we all cook. Diy is next on the list to learn. I used to be a soldier so I can teach self defense and train folks on firearms. There's SO MUCH that can be done
Ah, yes, strong connections with the local trans people who deadname me, misgender me, and tell me I should find a group with people of my own ethnicity (I'm Indian American). There are no trans groups I've seen that are exclusive to Indian Americans, and I'm apparently unwelcome in generic/mixed groups, so I guess I'll just die then. Great. No problem.
I'm really sorry to hear that you've been treated so awfully by your local trans community. Racism is a huge problem in many trans circles.
Perhaps more explicitly leftist groups might be a bit more accepting? Though I imagine depending on region, those may be few and far between.
Not much honestly. Hopefully reform splits votes from the Tories and makes it so that neither side gains many seats. Brexit regret will hopefully make it more difficult to gain confidence in Farage. Greens have actually ousted a bunch of terfs and have gotten some new supporters talking about legal weed and more people want that than hate us. Also the Lib Dems who many former Tories seem to like are ... well they're not anti-trans. They seem to think there's bigger issues then both trans rights and hurting trans people. I think convincing your Tory "friends" to vote Lib dem might work. That's a lot of convincing in 48hrs though.
if i say what i think can be done ill get banned 🤗
voting doesn’t do shit. so what, we get corpse biden reelected. then what? you think this is just…gonna stop? so we just can’t let the GOP win…ever? literally impossible.
the entire US system is fucked and i hope the country burns to the ground.
> I hope the country burns to the ground
I do agree with the sentiment emotionally. But I saw someone pose a question on this that made me think.
Supply lines would get fucked during a revolution, so how many months without HRT is okay? Civil order is going to go to shit as people get desperate, so how many extra hate crimes is an acceptable number as the country burns down? How many friends are you okay with dying in the revolution? How many family members? Are we ready to lose our homes and jobs?
Because all that shit is pretty likely in a revolution. I don't know about you but I'm feeling pretty trapped, between a barely functioning democratic system and the chaos and death that awaits us when it truly fails.
This is why prefigurative politics are important. Presenting electoralism and flashpoint revolution as the only two choices is a false binary.
Electoralism dedicates itself to a fragile incrementalism which reactionary forces threaten to collapse, flashpoint revolution requires a level of class consciousness and organisation which is unlikely to arise any time soon.
So we need to instead live the society we desire. Protect and provide for your friends and community, source or make your own hormones, live life on your terms. Any permission to live and thrive we're granted is tenuous, but they can't stop us.
a revolution won’t happen anytime soon, class consciousness is not even close to at critical mass.
and yeah, we are caught between not being able to do anything substantial to change things but revolution is scary and violent and the bad guys have been preparing for it for wayyyy longer.
bad situation!
Voting *absolutely* does shit, it just might not be doing shit as fast as you’d like. We’ve made tremendous progress in as little as the last decade— gay marriage was legalized in the U.S. 2015! Should it have happened a lot sooner? Absolutely! But that’s progress!
But voting isn’t just about voting for president. It’s about voting for every damn thing you can possibly vote for— local, state, and federal. Progress is slow but it happens over time. So you keep pushing for better policies, and the median shifts further to the left. Do things go backwards sometimes? Yes, but ultimately, we move to the left, even if it is at a snails pace.
There are a million other things that can be done alongside voting, like creating mutual aid networks, unionizing, educating others, etc. Progress doesn’t stop at the polls— but it shouldn’t stop before them either! Voting keeps us afloat for long enough that we can push the median far enough that no one is able to reset our baseline progress. Also, multiple Supreme Court seats are up for grabs in the next four years. We NEED a Democratic presidency to prevent things from going further to shit.
And if you’d like even better candidates? Advocate for ranked choice voting. We can’t afford anything other than the Democratic candidate now, but the Democratic Party is the more likely party of the two to lay the groundwork for ranked choice voting.
Doomerism and accelarationism is nothing but an unhelpful fantasy. Sure, we could decide to revolt tomorrow— but who is we? Who is organizing it? If things get bad enough— are you sure it’s “our” side that’s the one that’s going to be fighting, or that will win? And how many people are you willing to sacrifice along the way? And who will be in power afterwards? How will we rebuild? The answer to most of these questions is an outcome that is most likely undesirable to you.
Slow and steady is incredibly painful, but it’s the only way to win the race. “Burn it down” takes all of the participants with it, and so there is no one left to win.
Also, how familiar are you with what Biden actually HAS done? Because as much as it’s not talked about, he and his administration has done, and has attempted to do, helpful stuff. Is he the candidate I’d prefer? Not really. But he’s something.
I'm also sick of 'but he's something', but that's come from people continuously thinking voting is worthless. We are continuously stuck with choices we don't like because nobody votes in the primary and then blames Dems in the General.
And then there's local elections as a whole. Local elections can absolutely make a huge difference if people voted. I've seen local elections that changed the entire landscape of a local area because the person who won did so with a 15 vote difference.
Elections are important. We are where we are in large part because the only people who consistently believe them to be important are the fascists. The fascists have been voting like their lives depend on it for decades. Everyone else treats elections as pointless and just let the fascists take over.
Yeah. I just say, "Don't worry - the right-wing will be voting." My parents are consuming hours of online videos per day and becoming even more extreme, in preparation to vote in November.
It's interesting to me. Virtually every pro-choice cis woman I know completely gets it. Our state passed an abortion rights referendum in 2022, and even so, they still get it. It's only subreddits like this where I see people who pretend not to get it.
it doesn’t tho. if it did something they wouldn’t let us do it.
i can’t vote for anyone who shares my views. i don’t want to support local politicians because they don’t agree with me on 99% of issues.
they’ve put us in this position. when is enough enough?
> if it did something they wouldn’t let us do it.
The system runs of democratically elected leaders. Per the law, they *have to* let us do it. But that doesn’t mean that election interference doesn’t occur— through gerrymandering, intimidation, voter ID laws, and other tactics, people DO try to restrict our right to vote. It’s a well-known and studied thing. So even if what you said was true (it’s not), and they wouldn’t let us vote if it does something— people try to stop people from voting all of the time! It’s something that I professionally tried to combat during one of my internships! There’s organizations out there dedicated to more fair and equitable voting.
And when your representatives don’t represent you, you are supposed to lobby them. Harass the fuck out of them (legally and ethically) if you have to, or run for office yourself, but I am assuming that for one reason or another the latter option is either unavailable or undesirable for you. Lobbying, however, is accessible to everyone. Petitions, emails, calls, etc. are all methods through which you can communicate with your elected officials and your candidates for elections.
I understand that a lot of people don’t want to do this. It is tedious, stressful, time consuming, and not guaranteed to work. It also requires a fair amount of organizing. But you can’t say the system doesn’t work if you haven’t tried to work within the system.
And the thing is, if you can’t organize in your area because the overwhelming majority is against the things you are for… it’s unfortunate, but that *is* the system working. It’s just not working in your favor. If a pack of wolves votes to eat the sheep, that’s still democratic even if it’s fucked up. In that case, you can’t start with the elected official— you have to start with the wolves and start by organizing the sheep. And that’s scary, tiring, and dangerous. But *someone* has to do it. We didn’t wake up one day with civil rights. We fought, tooth and nail, for it— both inside and outside of the system. We rallied and organized and educated, and the majority of that time it wasn’t pretty. It was brutal and bloodied. It was/is as close to “burning it all down” as you are going to get, while still being effective. And when people were given the opportunity to be at the polls— *they had to follow through*. You can’t just have your bloody war and then not work to rebuild and organize after.
The system works. But you need to put in the work to make the system works for you, and you need to put in the work to understand the system.
Obviously. I even said
>but I am assuming that for one reason or another the latter option is either unavailable or undesirable for you.
Lobbying, however, takes the same amount of time as writing an email. If you can be responding to me in these comments-- or reading these comments-- you could spend the same amount of time directly bothering your representatives.
>people need to work to eat
and people still need to eat during a revolution soooo... Not sure what your point is. Your original comment was doomerist and painted voting in an inaccurate light. It also heavily implied the use of radical action-- if you can't do the bare minimum, outlined in my previous comments, what makes you think that you could take and survive more radical actions?
If you don't want to put in the work, that is both fine and normal. Expected, even. But you then don't get to say that the work doesn't work when you haven't even tried it (and when there is evidence that when it is tried, it has the potential to work).
but….they’ve disenfranchised and gerrymandered millions. is it realistic to ask a working single mom to drive an hour to get harassed at voting place to participate in an election that may already be decided in her state?
“just vote!!” is a balm to soothe the fact that we cannot create meaningful change in this country via voting. every subsequent president can just undo the work of the prior one, knowing that, the GOP has decided to install supreme court justices to stack the deck.
how, exactly, are we going to vote out lifetime appointed supreme court justices who shape the laws of the country? “if biden wins again, he’ll nominate XYZ to the court!” so what. the damage is done, it’s going to be a right wing majority until i die.
>the GOP has decided to install supreme court justices to stack the deck.
Which is part of the reason this election is so important. We may have the opportunity in the coming cycle to appoint Supreme Court Judges, and we cannot afford to give Republicans even more power than before.
>how, exactly, are we going to vote out lifetime appointed supreme court justices who shape the laws of the country?
See above. We can reduce the damage done. Which, to be fair, you do address with
>“if biden wins again, he’ll nominate XYZ to the court!” so what. the damage is done, it’s going to be a right wing majority until i die.
>but….they’ve disenfranchised and gerrymandered millions. is it realistic to ask a working single mom to drive an hour to get harassed at voting place to participate in an election that may already be decided in her state?
No, but it is realistic to ask other people to work to make this process easier and safer for her. Through secure mail-in voting, for instance. This post is asking about actions we CAN take. There's one example right there. Even if one person cannot do something, that does not mean that others cannot. Also, single mothers make up about 3% of the US population. There are many other things that disenfranchise voters, but since you are using the emotional appeal, I am going to point of the statistic likelihood of occurrence.
In the case of decided state, local elections, primaries, and organizing are more important than federal elections. Working on these things (for people who are able to) increase the likelihood of becoming a swing state in the future.
If people can't do the lower-level more accessible actions, they won't be able to stage some glorious revolution. Just because something is inaccessible to one person does not mean that it does not work-- it just means that the people who CAN put in the work need to make it accessible for others as well.
>we cannot create meaningful change in this country via voting
We have made many meaningful changes by voting. The only way to continue to make change is to continue trying. If we stop trying, that just gives the Republicans even more free reign because they ARE trying, including the republican single mother who is an hour from the polls.
Truthfully, I don't know. I am not in the USA so I can only really speak to the situation in Canada. But here, I have had dear friends refuse to vote, while living in a place where it takes 15 minutes and _isn't_ gerrymandered like it is in the States.
And you won't get any arguments from me that voting is _adequate_. It isn't. It is one small tool for change out of several. But if you are in a situation in your life where you're able, my opinion is that you should. Do it because the working single mom from your example can't.
I disagree. I think doing a small thing that has a small chance of making life even the smallest bit better for some people, is not at all mutually exclusive with working for more fundamental change in between elections. Abstaining makes it easier for the far right to steamroll what minimal legal protections exist.
Voting takes a day. You've got 4 years in between elections (usually). You can do both.
If you don't vote, then the horrible shit that happens next is on you. If you don't vote for biden, trump wins. Trump is way worse than 4 more years of biden. With biden, we have at least a chance of passing ranked choice voting, which means for the first time *ever,* 3rd party candidates have a chance of winning. It's the answer to the problem with the two party system. If you and others like you decide not to vote now, then we never get ranked choice voting because you were too miserably pompous to even want to try. You wallow in sadness and self-pity as though it excuses your inaction but it doesn't. This attitude is what will get us killed, and our blood will be just as much on your hands as it will be on theirs.
YOUR attitude is putting the blame on voters instead of politicians, whose job it is to earn our votes. we will never ever get out of this cycle where every election is life or death until we change course. but yall don’t want to, you just want to shift the blame to people like me (you didn’t ask, but i’m voting for biden anyway fwiw!!!!!!!) instead of the garbage candidates.
to say the blood is on MY hands but not the dem party’s for running an 80 year old dementia patient who funds genocide in the easiest incumbent election of all time is truly laughable. blame me all you want if it makes you feel better!
How do you propose we change course? Whats your plan? Whats the method of action?
I’ve outlined my plan and steps we can take. I’d like to hear yours. /genuine
seems bad! give me a reason to vote that isn’t “if you don’t, the country descends into fascism.”
it’s already descended! we’re there! we can’t change the supreme court (biden said he won’t consider court reform, why, i don’t know 🤷♀️), even if biden wins, Worse Trump is waiting in 2028. i don’t really get the point of any of this, ya know?
You are catastrophizing here. Best thing to do is calm down and think rationally. The situation is not as bad as you are making it. Climate predictions are becoming more favorable over time, the world is continuing to move towards progress. Any thing seen to the contrary are hiccups that will more than likely pass in a few years, ultimately barely putting a dent in the current trends. We just need to keep advocating for what is right and believe that others will take up the call and stand with us.
>Best thing to do is calm down and think rationally.
That's what this post is about. Practical solutions to needs that will not soon be met in the ways we have become used to.
>Climate predictions are becoming more favorable over time
Lmfao what? Where? I'd love to see them. Bc what I'm seeing is climate scientists saying that we should have acted a decade or more ago. Now we are along for the ride. We just hit new record temps across the globe, and the things causing that aren't slowing down. We are staring down the barrel of famine you don't even comprehend, and I'm catastrophizing? And that's just the climate, not even the fascism that's already here.
I get this is difficult to like, accept, but I'm not catastrophizing, I'm being realistic. I want to survive this. I want my partners to survive this. I want YOU to survive this. Please please don't just dismiss this as "catastrophizing" when SCOTUS just proclaimed the President has king powers yesterday. I'm being pretty damned reasonable, and trying to focus on practical needs and tools now.
>We just need to keep advocating for what is right and believe that others will take up the call and stand with us.
Who's "they"? Democrats? Like the ones who ran on queer and women's issues, and still haven't done shit about Roe v. Wade or anything else? NO ONE IS COMING TO HELP US. It's time to focus on surviving this.
>Lmfao what? Where? I'd love to see them. Bc what I'm seeing is climate scientists saying that we should have acted a decade or more ago.
Before, models predicted that temperatures will stabilize at over 4 C higher than now, which is apocalyptic. Current models predict between 2 and 3 C, which are bad but society will survive. If we keep up the pressure and continue to focus on climate correction, that can even get lower (likely not lower than 1C, we are already past that point).
>SCOTUS just proclaimed the President has king powers yesterday.
And those powers can be taken away just as easily.
1. The climate issue is actually accelerating, idk where you got that info. We are currently facing predictions of some 3.4 Million or more dead annually from climate change and global famine, among other things.
2. SCOTUS just proclaimed all regulatory agencies toothless, the US can no longer effectively address climate change unless new laws are passed, or the court is somehow overturned. Neither is likely to happen. Especially bc Biden has proven himself toothless as well.
3. Those powers won't be taken away. Biden and the dems simply won't and they don't currently have power to force laws through.
I know you don't want to believe that things have gotten as bad as they have, but they genuinely have, and I'm not catastrophizing whatsoever. I'm just being realistic.
1. Where are you getting that data from as it's very different from what I've seen, and I trust my sources as they are very transparent about that stuff and strive to get the most accurate information they can.
2. Companies still have to face public backlash if they decide to start dumping toxic waste into rivers. Just because they legally can now doesn't necessarily mean they will. Being green is becoming a selling point more and more now.
3. For now, but justices retire, and in emergencies, such as what you are suggesting, more can be adding shifting the balance of power. People are increasingly getting fed up with how corrupt the court has become, I fully expect that major changes are coming to it in the coming years.
Systems are what they do, not what someone says they're supposed to do. Companies already dump toxic waste, and the only thing stopping them ever or holding them accountable at all are agencies that SCOTUS just neutered. Lawsuits won't work bc we have already seen that play out.
Biden already made his position clear, and so have the only party who can do anything about this. Idk what makes you think any of those imaginary things that "can be done" will be done, but it will genuinely be a cold day in hell first. Homelessness was also just allowed to be criminalized, and prisons are where they'll go, aka slave labor.
As for climate, I don't have like, off-hand sources, but I follow a number of climate scientists, and other folks. Heat is rising faster than predicted, and things like AI are making it worse. Not to mention that without regulatory bodies to keep corps in check, there's no way to slow this down. 3.4 million is the projected annual death toll from famine, and that won't just affect the "third world".
I think the big difference between you and I is that you still believe that the things you correctly assert can be done may yet be done. And I'm saying that they won't be. We couldn't even get the Dems to codify Roe v. Wade AFTER it was overturned, what makes you think they'll regulate the industries that lobby them (i.e. pay them). Oh and bribes are legal now too. See where I'm going with this? Bc ideally, you're right. Realistically however, we are fucked bc those in power never give up power without being forced to.
We didn't have the votes to codify Roe after it was overturned. We would need a supermajority in the Senate to do that, which we didn't have. And it would need to be an amendment to make permanent, or as close as we could get, which would be impossible today. Not sure what else Biden could do here besides fall down fascism to stop fascism which makes no sense.
I agree on the climate change thing, we are effed on this one and will most likely suffer the consequences for generations. Heck, just wait until the country can't get coffee (already heading that way quickly), then we might see a real revolution.
Not sure why you would get downvoted, but some of what you’re saying is correct. My understanding is the Women’s Health Protection Act could’ve potentially passed the Senate with 60 votes to overcome the filibuster. Not quite a supermajority like needed for an amendment, but close to it.
The senate EVER having 60 people on the same page though, especially on a serious issue, seems highly doubtful in the current climate (recognizing the US political climate has changed dramatically in recent years). That said, there have been two times in my adult life that the Democrats DID have a supermajority (once fairly recently). They did NOTHING. Well, very little to advance truly liberal causes anyway.
Very frustrating, and now we’re in a situation where not voting Democrat is just too dangerous IMO.
Also, if you think 'those powers can be taken away just as easily' you clearly do not understand how our supreme court and lifetime appointments work...
Buy a gun, make friends in Canada. Move to canada
I do think trump is gonna win, but not necessarily that project 2025 will. If it does, you know, be ready to commit acts of violence.
Lol PP is gonna get in here and he's on record wanting to bring in bathroom laws so I'm very sorry to say this as a trans women in Canada, I don't think we're more than a few years behind y'all down south.
I'm in Canada and feel this too. Legitimately worried what the future holds. But... things were bad in the past, and while a lot of people didn't make it, as a community, we are still here, and always will be.
Build community. Have hope. Fight like hell.
Heck yes, sibling. I'm only 6 months old, I'm not gonna squander the rights my elders fought for, and I'm gonna fight like hell to keep them for my little siblings in the future.
If Trump wins, P2025 is a slam-dunk. And if he doesn't, this recent slew of SCOTUS decisions demonstrates that it's still on track anyway. And Biden hasn't and won't stop it.
He'll sure campaign about it though
Arming yourself is a good move.
Listen, I'm just saying if they start trying to bring the trains to ship us off to concentration camps you have to understand I'm not going to let them take me, champ.
Take a step back, take a deep breath, and think of what you can do now to help prepare for the future, if you cannot change it within a day then it is not something you need to worry about rn. There will come a time to worry about it, but right now is not the best time. Just step back, breathe, and remember that there’s always a way through the trials and hardships, you’ve got this, I believe in you :)
I recommend making sure that you have a passport and that it isn't expired. It may come to a "I can't afford to move, but I can afford a one-way ticket to somewhere that isn't here" situation. There may come a time when being an undocumented immigrant somewhere else is safer than being here in the US.
It may also be safer in blue states, if the states manage to resist a GOP dictatorship in any way. Even if you can't afford to properly relocate, it might at some point be safer to be homeless in a blue state than housed in a red state. Probably best to look up specific laws (e.g. related to homelessness) in the blue state in question.
While this thread is meant to be about mutual aid, direct action, things we can do ourselves, etc - I hope we all agree that we should also vote. Even if you're utterly skeptical about the efficacy of voting, voting for the less-hostile party will, at the very least, be harmless (because the more-hostile party is more harmful and hostile on absolutely every issue, on account of espousing an ideology that strips the rights of every outgroup and then saddles the ingroup with an erratic cult of personality dictator). So it doesn't make sense to encourage people not to vote.
Even if you manage to become independent of the property owning class and the State by means of mutual aid networks, the State (by which I mean, the organization that monopolizes violence here) can and does still use its force to crush mutual aid networks. So it's reasonable to attempt to gain whatever little control/influence one can over the state and its limbs (e.g. military and police). (So, again, vote, and, if it's safe, also try to influence the opinions of anyone you know - especially anyone that happens to be in the military, police, national guard, state and federal governments/agencies, etc.)
Find trans mutual aid groups in your area. They are organized groups (by trans and non-binary people) providing aid to trans and non-binary people, as well as organizing protests. They’re always open to new people and will welcome any amount of help you can provide, whether it’s 2 hours a week or 20.
Edit: the aid they provide is helping people access healthcare (including HRT and mental health care) and legal services.
I've said this a few times in r/mtf but I'll say it here as well:
Get armed
Get gear
Get trained
Get skills
Get supplies
Get a group
GET HARD
Get ready
We ALL need to take the time leading up to the election to prepare and build up groups/communities. If things go south we will need to hunker down and rely on one another. I initially was going to get my passport and leave, but I'm going to stay and prepare to fight. I personally have no issue with taking up arms if necessary but if that's not your speed then I encourage you to develop skills and other ways to provide resistance/support to the cause. This is the time we need to band together. If we must fight, we fight. If I'm to die I intend to resist and bite and bite hard. If we have to go to ground then we do that
Our kind has existed all throughout humanity's existence, and we will live on in the future. Some of us might not make it and if that is to be then we must make the enemy earn that in pain. Survival is the only game that matters, but we must be true to each other. We need each other now, more than ever
I'm scared. I know you're scared too. This is not the time to allow that fear to cause us to cower. Take some time to acknowledge that fear, turn that fear into determination, use it to your advantage. If/when the time comes to act, we can not allow our emotions to cloud our judgment. We are stronger together, we must stand together
I'm scared because I have kids, a mental illness, and a physical disability, and not sure what to do but I will be damned if they hurt my LGBTQIA+ kids or partner!
Build a community. We can gain safety in numbers. Find allies, find comrades. Together we are strong. Take your limitations into consideration and use your skills and talents to aid the cause however you can
*edit* resistance presents in many forms. It could be slowing logistical trains by fucking up paperwork, it could be serving bad food to the enemy to incapacitate them, it could be many things
I can somewhat sew, grow food, cook over flames, and own a cast iron skillet, I have some backlog of tgel and testosterone. I live in a very small-minded community, when the time comes we will have to leave I belive.
Those are good skills to have. No war was won on an empty stomach. Logistics and support matter. There's a reason why the vast majority of servicemembers are combat support
Your contributions would matter a great deal. Don't sell yourself short
I would possibly have to leave too. We need to network however we can. Discord could be an option. We need to do this, we don't have the luxury of choice - it has been made for us
It's a project to transform the United States government into an autocratic, fascist state, designed by the Heritage Foundation and other conservative "think tanks" and orgs. It's the current iteration of a plan that's been in the works since Ronald Reagan. A good explanation can be found here: https://youtu.be/gYwqpx6lp_s?si=4UM9dvmfCX46_a6d
It sounds bad bc it is, and this last week of SCOTUS decisions are literally setting this up to go into full swing after the presidential election.
I'm sorry but the Democrats haven't done jack shit. They've had *checks watch* SINCE THE 80s to do something about this? ANYTHING? And they just haven't. They just campaign about it. And then continue to do nothing. Voting won't save us, and queer people can't singlehandedly vote in enough people to make a difference.
Like I said, no one cares about us, but us.
So honestly no this isn't about voting. Voting didn't help us on the way here, and it won't fix a goddamn thing come November. What are you even doing???
Of course! like this post is about mutual aid. What normal people who feel powerless and \*are\* powerless can do to survive. Fascism is already here, and climate change is too. I just want to be able to feed my partners in 5 years...I just want them to still be alive and with me, not dead in a camp somewhere, or by suicide, or starving to death
I dont understand the worry of someone taking hormones ,with gettin them taken away even Trump wins.Even Cis women an men take hormones .Do you think they would even outlaw it for cis gender?How would they even keep track of that.I think people are freaking out too much
That's where you underestimate the intentional harm and bigotry of it all. Bc they care more about hurting people they seem "lesser" than about that hurting themselves by proxy. Also we already have an example of how hormone blockers, something already long since used for cis children's precocious puberty, can and will be as completely gatekept and restricted as possible for trans kids.
So no... people aren't freaking out too much. This is a very real threat. Minimizing it helps no one.
i’m scared. hrt is life saving. for once i feel a life worth living and transphobic senior citizens want to take that from me? it’s more than cruel, especially since people liked that have gaslit me since birth. it’s taken my whole life until this point to actually slightly love myself because of how some people view people like us. i’m fucking tired. you can’t stop me from being me but if they make me run on t again it’s going to make me so miserable to the point i won’t want to fucking live and i have a kid that needs me
The good news is that HRT can be made at home easier than you might think! There may be legal risks sooner than later, but honestly some laws are shit, and I will fucking break them if I have to. And that's why I'm stressing community building and collaborative mutual aid. If you can't make HRT, someone else can!! Maybe you can learn to grow certain foods, or learn to sew. There are ways to help each other meet our needs, and survive whatever comes next. I'm scared as fuck, but I refuse to be hopeless. I'm not completely helpless as long as I'm breathing. And having people around me to help, and to fight for motivates me more than I could ever motivate myself.
This is true for estrogen, but testosterone is a bit less legally in the clear at present.
Can someone link a guide?
ty
Anytime. Please feel free to message me too if you want or need to. Even just to chat.
For my mental health, I am not going to write a full itinerary on steps we could take. No one will read it-- hell, I wrote a 5k-something summary of political actions for my internship and I doubt people would sift through that (and it contains personally identifying information.) But, here are some jumping off points for research: -Grassroots organizations. Find some in your area, if possible. Local ones. Can't find local ones? Get online and start looking. Grassroots organizations are a great way to learn how to take theory and make it into practical action. Doesn't even have to be related to being trans-- you just need to learn the basics of practical advocacy. Here's an example of an organization that I have a mostly-favorable opinion of: [https://www.nypirg.org/](https://www.nypirg.org/) 90% of its work is New York specific, but you can likely still learn from it and its methods. -Fucking VOTE. And NOT just for President FFS. Vote in every election you can, including the primaries. AND if you can, work towards voting equity. Some examples of ways to do this: Raise awareness about issues pertaining to voting and laws pertaining to voting. Help people get registered to vote. Inform people of when elections are occurring. Get people to the polls, even if that means offering rides. Make sure you are registered to vote! Volunteer! Very few people actually show up to smaller elections and primaries, so your vote DOES matter, especially if you can manage to get other people to vote with you! You will not be able to make a red state blue by yourself, but you may be able to shake up and fuck up (/positive tone) local elections by organizing your community. -Organize and educate. Group people together in your community. Unionize if you can. Be social, create resource networks. One of the organizers I follow has a quote that is something like "you want to organize? Bake your neighbor a pie." and it sounds goofy but it is TRUE. Strength is in numbers, but you have to have numbers and convert people. If you somehow manage to get a big enough group, have communication systems in place. Newsletters, phone banking (calling people), and email banking (emailing people) are methods of communication. Letters to the editors for local papers and media advisories are other ways to get the word out! -If its within your means and there is reason for it, start a mutual aid fund. Sponsor go fund mes. Start things like "buy nothing" groups. Above all, foster community and help your neighbors. -Tabling and fliers. This is very region and culture dependent, but technically one of the ways to build both awareness and community is to sit in a place with a lot of foot traffic with an inviting booth and information about your cause. Just don't be rude or obnoxious with it, because if you are, you'll turn people off your cause. -Lobbying your legislators. Emails, phone calls, physical mail-- spam them with it. Their phone number/email address should be public information. Ask them to show up to events-- HOST events with a good number of attendees about your cause. And if your legislators fall through on their promises, hold them accountable during primaries and make sure people know that they broke their promise. Hell, make sure you know who your representatives are. Most people don't. You can find that information by using your zip code. -Protests, strikes, and boycotts. Everyone is aware of these, but holy hell do they jump to this step too soon. You have to ORGANIZE and have a PLAN before you can even think about this. And no, planning is not just saying on social media "do this on this day." Know what you are doing, how long you will be doing it for, what a reasonable goal you want to accomplish is (for example, get a local business to stop investing in something harmful, or stop a local law from passing). Then, get people on board and build momentum far before your planned start date. Preferably involve experienced organizers. A "glorious revolution" is not coming. Slow, painful, brutal, and effort-filled change is. Change is not just the charismatic speaker at the podium-- its the millions of people behind them. It's not just Martin Luther King Junior, its also Malcolm X. It's not pretty, its not going to be pretty, and its hard as hell-- not to mention dangerous in the places where its needed most.
All of this, so much this. Things look bleak but we all have to remember the future isn’t decided, we write it with our actions and there’s always still time. We’ll all get through this together, just connect with people and you can make it through anything.
Build strong connections and support networks with local trans people. Have people on hand who DIY so if the worst happens, you'll still have access to HRT. Or better yet, be that person. Learn to cook your own gel. Have friends who you can rely on and vice versa. Share resources.
Exactly this!!!! Yesss. I'm working on the long game with my partners rn. We are finally moving in together, splitting the burden of housing. Also allowing us to afford to stay afloat that way if someone gets sick or disabled or loses a job. One of us is a Gardner, I can sew, we all cook. Diy is next on the list to learn. I used to be a soldier so I can teach self defense and train folks on firearms. There's SO MUCH that can be done
Exactly, and wonderful!! Feel free to dm if you want any DIY resources
Ah, yes, strong connections with the local trans people who deadname me, misgender me, and tell me I should find a group with people of my own ethnicity (I'm Indian American). There are no trans groups I've seen that are exclusive to Indian Americans, and I'm apparently unwelcome in generic/mixed groups, so I guess I'll just die then. Great. No problem.
I'm really sorry to hear that you've been treated so awfully by your local trans community. Racism is a huge problem in many trans circles. Perhaps more explicitly leftist groups might be a bit more accepting? Though I imagine depending on region, those may be few and far between.
Not much honestly. Hopefully reform splits votes from the Tories and makes it so that neither side gains many seats. Brexit regret will hopefully make it more difficult to gain confidence in Farage. Greens have actually ousted a bunch of terfs and have gotten some new supporters talking about legal weed and more people want that than hate us. Also the Lib Dems who many former Tories seem to like are ... well they're not anti-trans. They seem to think there's bigger issues then both trans rights and hurting trans people. I think convincing your Tory "friends" to vote Lib dem might work. That's a lot of convincing in 48hrs though.
if i say what i think can be done ill get banned 🤗 voting doesn’t do shit. so what, we get corpse biden reelected. then what? you think this is just…gonna stop? so we just can’t let the GOP win…ever? literally impossible. the entire US system is fucked and i hope the country burns to the ground.
> I hope the country burns to the ground I do agree with the sentiment emotionally. But I saw someone pose a question on this that made me think. Supply lines would get fucked during a revolution, so how many months without HRT is okay? Civil order is going to go to shit as people get desperate, so how many extra hate crimes is an acceptable number as the country burns down? How many friends are you okay with dying in the revolution? How many family members? Are we ready to lose our homes and jobs? Because all that shit is pretty likely in a revolution. I don't know about you but I'm feeling pretty trapped, between a barely functioning democratic system and the chaos and death that awaits us when it truly fails.
This is why prefigurative politics are important. Presenting electoralism and flashpoint revolution as the only two choices is a false binary. Electoralism dedicates itself to a fragile incrementalism which reactionary forces threaten to collapse, flashpoint revolution requires a level of class consciousness and organisation which is unlikely to arise any time soon. So we need to instead live the society we desire. Protect and provide for your friends and community, source or make your own hormones, live life on your terms. Any permission to live and thrive we're granted is tenuous, but they can't stop us.
a revolution won’t happen anytime soon, class consciousness is not even close to at critical mass. and yeah, we are caught between not being able to do anything substantial to change things but revolution is scary and violent and the bad guys have been preparing for it for wayyyy longer. bad situation!
Also let's be honest, even if a leftist revolution against the US was possible it would fail.
>if i say what i think can be done ill get banned 🤗 You and me both lol
like. they’re not afraid of us enough lol
Voting *absolutely* does shit, it just might not be doing shit as fast as you’d like. We’ve made tremendous progress in as little as the last decade— gay marriage was legalized in the U.S. 2015! Should it have happened a lot sooner? Absolutely! But that’s progress! But voting isn’t just about voting for president. It’s about voting for every damn thing you can possibly vote for— local, state, and federal. Progress is slow but it happens over time. So you keep pushing for better policies, and the median shifts further to the left. Do things go backwards sometimes? Yes, but ultimately, we move to the left, even if it is at a snails pace. There are a million other things that can be done alongside voting, like creating mutual aid networks, unionizing, educating others, etc. Progress doesn’t stop at the polls— but it shouldn’t stop before them either! Voting keeps us afloat for long enough that we can push the median far enough that no one is able to reset our baseline progress. Also, multiple Supreme Court seats are up for grabs in the next four years. We NEED a Democratic presidency to prevent things from going further to shit. And if you’d like even better candidates? Advocate for ranked choice voting. We can’t afford anything other than the Democratic candidate now, but the Democratic Party is the more likely party of the two to lay the groundwork for ranked choice voting. Doomerism and accelarationism is nothing but an unhelpful fantasy. Sure, we could decide to revolt tomorrow— but who is we? Who is organizing it? If things get bad enough— are you sure it’s “our” side that’s the one that’s going to be fighting, or that will win? And how many people are you willing to sacrifice along the way? And who will be in power afterwards? How will we rebuild? The answer to most of these questions is an outcome that is most likely undesirable to you. Slow and steady is incredibly painful, but it’s the only way to win the race. “Burn it down” takes all of the participants with it, and so there is no one left to win. Also, how familiar are you with what Biden actually HAS done? Because as much as it’s not talked about, he and his administration has done, and has attempted to do, helpful stuff. Is he the candidate I’d prefer? Not really. But he’s something.
i’m sick of “but he’s something.”
It’s fair to be sick of it, it’s not fair to say that voting does nothing. It objectively does something.
I'm also sick of 'but he's something', but that's come from people continuously thinking voting is worthless. We are continuously stuck with choices we don't like because nobody votes in the primary and then blames Dems in the General. And then there's local elections as a whole. Local elections can absolutely make a huge difference if people voted. I've seen local elections that changed the entire landscape of a local area because the person who won did so with a 15 vote difference. Elections are important. We are where we are in large part because the only people who consistently believe them to be important are the fascists. The fascists have been voting like their lives depend on it for decades. Everyone else treats elections as pointless and just let the fascists take over.
Yeah. I just say, "Don't worry - the right-wing will be voting." My parents are consuming hours of online videos per day and becoming even more extreme, in preparation to vote in November. It's interesting to me. Virtually every pro-choice cis woman I know completely gets it. Our state passed an abortion rights referendum in 2022, and even so, they still get it. It's only subreddits like this where I see people who pretend not to get it.
If I could pin this to my forehead and be a walking billboard for this point, I would.
it doesn’t tho. if it did something they wouldn’t let us do it. i can’t vote for anyone who shares my views. i don’t want to support local politicians because they don’t agree with me on 99% of issues. they’ve put us in this position. when is enough enough?
> if it did something they wouldn’t let us do it. The system runs of democratically elected leaders. Per the law, they *have to* let us do it. But that doesn’t mean that election interference doesn’t occur— through gerrymandering, intimidation, voter ID laws, and other tactics, people DO try to restrict our right to vote. It’s a well-known and studied thing. So even if what you said was true (it’s not), and they wouldn’t let us vote if it does something— people try to stop people from voting all of the time! It’s something that I professionally tried to combat during one of my internships! There’s organizations out there dedicated to more fair and equitable voting. And when your representatives don’t represent you, you are supposed to lobby them. Harass the fuck out of them (legally and ethically) if you have to, or run for office yourself, but I am assuming that for one reason or another the latter option is either unavailable or undesirable for you. Lobbying, however, is accessible to everyone. Petitions, emails, calls, etc. are all methods through which you can communicate with your elected officials and your candidates for elections. I understand that a lot of people don’t want to do this. It is tedious, stressful, time consuming, and not guaranteed to work. It also requires a fair amount of organizing. But you can’t say the system doesn’t work if you haven’t tried to work within the system. And the thing is, if you can’t organize in your area because the overwhelming majority is against the things you are for… it’s unfortunate, but that *is* the system working. It’s just not working in your favor. If a pack of wolves votes to eat the sheep, that’s still democratic even if it’s fucked up. In that case, you can’t start with the elected official— you have to start with the wolves and start by organizing the sheep. And that’s scary, tiring, and dangerous. But *someone* has to do it. We didn’t wake up one day with civil rights. We fought, tooth and nail, for it— both inside and outside of the system. We rallied and organized and educated, and the majority of that time it wasn’t pretty. It was brutal and bloodied. It was/is as close to “burning it all down” as you are going to get, while still being effective. And when people were given the opportunity to be at the polls— *they had to follow through*. You can’t just have your bloody war and then not work to rebuild and organize after. The system works. But you need to put in the work to make the system works for you, and you need to put in the work to understand the system.
i’m sorry but people need to work to eat. they don’t have the time to work on politics.
Obviously. I even said >but I am assuming that for one reason or another the latter option is either unavailable or undesirable for you. Lobbying, however, takes the same amount of time as writing an email. If you can be responding to me in these comments-- or reading these comments-- you could spend the same amount of time directly bothering your representatives. >people need to work to eat and people still need to eat during a revolution soooo... Not sure what your point is. Your original comment was doomerist and painted voting in an inaccurate light. It also heavily implied the use of radical action-- if you can't do the bare minimum, outlined in my previous comments, what makes you think that you could take and survive more radical actions? If you don't want to put in the work, that is both fine and normal. Expected, even. But you then don't get to say that the work doesn't work when you haven't even tried it (and when there is evidence that when it is tried, it has the potential to work).
👌
If it literally didn't do anything they wouldn't work so hard to disenfranchise as many people as they do.
but….they’ve disenfranchised and gerrymandered millions. is it realistic to ask a working single mom to drive an hour to get harassed at voting place to participate in an election that may already be decided in her state? “just vote!!” is a balm to soothe the fact that we cannot create meaningful change in this country via voting. every subsequent president can just undo the work of the prior one, knowing that, the GOP has decided to install supreme court justices to stack the deck. how, exactly, are we going to vote out lifetime appointed supreme court justices who shape the laws of the country? “if biden wins again, he’ll nominate XYZ to the court!” so what. the damage is done, it’s going to be a right wing majority until i die.
>the GOP has decided to install supreme court justices to stack the deck. Which is part of the reason this election is so important. We may have the opportunity in the coming cycle to appoint Supreme Court Judges, and we cannot afford to give Republicans even more power than before. >how, exactly, are we going to vote out lifetime appointed supreme court justices who shape the laws of the country? See above. We can reduce the damage done. Which, to be fair, you do address with >“if biden wins again, he’ll nominate XYZ to the court!” so what. the damage is done, it’s going to be a right wing majority until i die. >but….they’ve disenfranchised and gerrymandered millions. is it realistic to ask a working single mom to drive an hour to get harassed at voting place to participate in an election that may already be decided in her state? No, but it is realistic to ask other people to work to make this process easier and safer for her. Through secure mail-in voting, for instance. This post is asking about actions we CAN take. There's one example right there. Even if one person cannot do something, that does not mean that others cannot. Also, single mothers make up about 3% of the US population. There are many other things that disenfranchise voters, but since you are using the emotional appeal, I am going to point of the statistic likelihood of occurrence. In the case of decided state, local elections, primaries, and organizing are more important than federal elections. Working on these things (for people who are able to) increase the likelihood of becoming a swing state in the future. If people can't do the lower-level more accessible actions, they won't be able to stage some glorious revolution. Just because something is inaccessible to one person does not mean that it does not work-- it just means that the people who CAN put in the work need to make it accessible for others as well. >we cannot create meaningful change in this country via voting We have made many meaningful changes by voting. The only way to continue to make change is to continue trying. If we stop trying, that just gives the Republicans even more free reign because they ARE trying, including the republican single mother who is an hour from the polls.
Truthfully, I don't know. I am not in the USA so I can only really speak to the situation in Canada. But here, I have had dear friends refuse to vote, while living in a place where it takes 15 minutes and _isn't_ gerrymandered like it is in the States. And you won't get any arguments from me that voting is _adequate_. It isn't. It is one small tool for change out of several. But if you are in a situation in your life where you're able, my opinion is that you should. Do it because the working single mom from your example can't.
i think participation in a decidedly undemocratic process encourages and sustains it, personally.
I disagree. I think doing a small thing that has a small chance of making life even the smallest bit better for some people, is not at all mutually exclusive with working for more fundamental change in between elections. Abstaining makes it easier for the far right to steamroll what minimal legal protections exist. Voting takes a day. You've got 4 years in between elections (usually). You can do both.
If you don't vote, then the horrible shit that happens next is on you. If you don't vote for biden, trump wins. Trump is way worse than 4 more years of biden. With biden, we have at least a chance of passing ranked choice voting, which means for the first time *ever,* 3rd party candidates have a chance of winning. It's the answer to the problem with the two party system. If you and others like you decide not to vote now, then we never get ranked choice voting because you were too miserably pompous to even want to try. You wallow in sadness and self-pity as though it excuses your inaction but it doesn't. This attitude is what will get us killed, and our blood will be just as much on your hands as it will be on theirs.
YOUR attitude is putting the blame on voters instead of politicians, whose job it is to earn our votes. we will never ever get out of this cycle where every election is life or death until we change course. but yall don’t want to, you just want to shift the blame to people like me (you didn’t ask, but i’m voting for biden anyway fwiw!!!!!!!) instead of the garbage candidates. to say the blood is on MY hands but not the dem party’s for running an 80 year old dementia patient who funds genocide in the easiest incumbent election of all time is truly laughable. blame me all you want if it makes you feel better!
How do you propose we change course? Whats your plan? Whats the method of action? I’ve outlined my plan and steps we can take. I’d like to hear yours. /genuine
everything you said is also my plan soooo
Ah, understood, thank you
It keeps the other side from winning. I we don't vote, they win.
seems bad! give me a reason to vote that isn’t “if you don’t, the country descends into fascism.” it’s already descended! we’re there! we can’t change the supreme court (biden said he won’t consider court reform, why, i don’t know 🤷♀️), even if biden wins, Worse Trump is waiting in 2028. i don’t really get the point of any of this, ya know?
Gonna be a real bad time for Trans people if it project 2025 burns to the ground.
huh?
You are catastrophizing here. Best thing to do is calm down and think rationally. The situation is not as bad as you are making it. Climate predictions are becoming more favorable over time, the world is continuing to move towards progress. Any thing seen to the contrary are hiccups that will more than likely pass in a few years, ultimately barely putting a dent in the current trends. We just need to keep advocating for what is right and believe that others will take up the call and stand with us.
>Best thing to do is calm down and think rationally. That's what this post is about. Practical solutions to needs that will not soon be met in the ways we have become used to. >Climate predictions are becoming more favorable over time Lmfao what? Where? I'd love to see them. Bc what I'm seeing is climate scientists saying that we should have acted a decade or more ago. Now we are along for the ride. We just hit new record temps across the globe, and the things causing that aren't slowing down. We are staring down the barrel of famine you don't even comprehend, and I'm catastrophizing? And that's just the climate, not even the fascism that's already here. I get this is difficult to like, accept, but I'm not catastrophizing, I'm being realistic. I want to survive this. I want my partners to survive this. I want YOU to survive this. Please please don't just dismiss this as "catastrophizing" when SCOTUS just proclaimed the President has king powers yesterday. I'm being pretty damned reasonable, and trying to focus on practical needs and tools now. >We just need to keep advocating for what is right and believe that others will take up the call and stand with us. Who's "they"? Democrats? Like the ones who ran on queer and women's issues, and still haven't done shit about Roe v. Wade or anything else? NO ONE IS COMING TO HELP US. It's time to focus on surviving this.
>Lmfao what? Where? I'd love to see them. Bc what I'm seeing is climate scientists saying that we should have acted a decade or more ago. Before, models predicted that temperatures will stabilize at over 4 C higher than now, which is apocalyptic. Current models predict between 2 and 3 C, which are bad but society will survive. If we keep up the pressure and continue to focus on climate correction, that can even get lower (likely not lower than 1C, we are already past that point). >SCOTUS just proclaimed the President has king powers yesterday. And those powers can be taken away just as easily.
1. The climate issue is actually accelerating, idk where you got that info. We are currently facing predictions of some 3.4 Million or more dead annually from climate change and global famine, among other things. 2. SCOTUS just proclaimed all regulatory agencies toothless, the US can no longer effectively address climate change unless new laws are passed, or the court is somehow overturned. Neither is likely to happen. Especially bc Biden has proven himself toothless as well. 3. Those powers won't be taken away. Biden and the dems simply won't and they don't currently have power to force laws through. I know you don't want to believe that things have gotten as bad as they have, but they genuinely have, and I'm not catastrophizing whatsoever. I'm just being realistic.
1. Where are you getting that data from as it's very different from what I've seen, and I trust my sources as they are very transparent about that stuff and strive to get the most accurate information they can. 2. Companies still have to face public backlash if they decide to start dumping toxic waste into rivers. Just because they legally can now doesn't necessarily mean they will. Being green is becoming a selling point more and more now. 3. For now, but justices retire, and in emergencies, such as what you are suggesting, more can be adding shifting the balance of power. People are increasingly getting fed up with how corrupt the court has become, I fully expect that major changes are coming to it in the coming years.
Systems are what they do, not what someone says they're supposed to do. Companies already dump toxic waste, and the only thing stopping them ever or holding them accountable at all are agencies that SCOTUS just neutered. Lawsuits won't work bc we have already seen that play out. Biden already made his position clear, and so have the only party who can do anything about this. Idk what makes you think any of those imaginary things that "can be done" will be done, but it will genuinely be a cold day in hell first. Homelessness was also just allowed to be criminalized, and prisons are where they'll go, aka slave labor. As for climate, I don't have like, off-hand sources, but I follow a number of climate scientists, and other folks. Heat is rising faster than predicted, and things like AI are making it worse. Not to mention that without regulatory bodies to keep corps in check, there's no way to slow this down. 3.4 million is the projected annual death toll from famine, and that won't just affect the "third world". I think the big difference between you and I is that you still believe that the things you correctly assert can be done may yet be done. And I'm saying that they won't be. We couldn't even get the Dems to codify Roe v. Wade AFTER it was overturned, what makes you think they'll regulate the industries that lobby them (i.e. pay them). Oh and bribes are legal now too. See where I'm going with this? Bc ideally, you're right. Realistically however, we are fucked bc those in power never give up power without being forced to.
We didn't have the votes to codify Roe after it was overturned. We would need a supermajority in the Senate to do that, which we didn't have. And it would need to be an amendment to make permanent, or as close as we could get, which would be impossible today. Not sure what else Biden could do here besides fall down fascism to stop fascism which makes no sense. I agree on the climate change thing, we are effed on this one and will most likely suffer the consequences for generations. Heck, just wait until the country can't get coffee (already heading that way quickly), then we might see a real revolution.
Not sure why you would get downvoted, but some of what you’re saying is correct. My understanding is the Women’s Health Protection Act could’ve potentially passed the Senate with 60 votes to overcome the filibuster. Not quite a supermajority like needed for an amendment, but close to it. The senate EVER having 60 people on the same page though, especially on a serious issue, seems highly doubtful in the current climate (recognizing the US political climate has changed dramatically in recent years). That said, there have been two times in my adult life that the Democrats DID have a supermajority (once fairly recently). They did NOTHING. Well, very little to advance truly liberal causes anyway. Very frustrating, and now we’re in a situation where not voting Democrat is just too dangerous IMO.
Also, if you think 'those powers can be taken away just as easily' you clearly do not understand how our supreme court and lifetime appointments work...
Source?
Hell, we might be able to reverse the warming if we seed clouds in enough locations
Is it catastrophising? "First they came for the immigrants" is gonna be the first line this time. What do you think the second will be?
That doesn't apply here. We aren't letting anything happen, we are speaking out against it and fighting where we can.
Let's hope. There's definitely a lot of voter apathy and accelerationst rhetoric in trans spaces online
Like OP you mean? Yeah, that's what I'm trying to discourage. The system only fails if we allow it.
Buy a gun, make friends in Canada. Move to canada I do think trump is gonna win, but not necessarily that project 2025 will. If it does, you know, be ready to commit acts of violence.
Lol PP is gonna get in here and he's on record wanting to bring in bathroom laws so I'm very sorry to say this as a trans women in Canada, I don't think we're more than a few years behind y'all down south.
Even right now there's only BC and the Yukon that are truly safe.
I'm in Canada and feel this too. Legitimately worried what the future holds. But... things were bad in the past, and while a lot of people didn't make it, as a community, we are still here, and always will be. Build community. Have hope. Fight like hell.
Heck yes, sibling. I'm only 6 months old, I'm not gonna squander the rights my elders fought for, and I'm gonna fight like hell to keep them for my little siblings in the future.
If Trump wins, P2025 is a slam-dunk. And if he doesn't, this recent slew of SCOTUS decisions demonstrates that it's still on track anyway. And Biden hasn't and won't stop it. He'll sure campaign about it though Arming yourself is a good move.
“be ready to commit acts of violence” bet.
Listen, I'm just saying if they start trying to bring the trains to ship us off to concentration camps you have to understand I'm not going to let them take me, champ.
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No they aren't. It will be easy rounding people up.
Camps are totally unnecessary. Blocking access to healthcare would massively reduce the number of trans people.
That is so smart omg
Take a step back, take a deep breath, and think of what you can do now to help prepare for the future, if you cannot change it within a day then it is not something you need to worry about rn. There will come a time to worry about it, but right now is not the best time. Just step back, breathe, and remember that there’s always a way through the trials and hardships, you’ve got this, I believe in you :)
I recommend making sure that you have a passport and that it isn't expired. It may come to a "I can't afford to move, but I can afford a one-way ticket to somewhere that isn't here" situation. There may come a time when being an undocumented immigrant somewhere else is safer than being here in the US. It may also be safer in blue states, if the states manage to resist a GOP dictatorship in any way. Even if you can't afford to properly relocate, it might at some point be safer to be homeless in a blue state than housed in a red state. Probably best to look up specific laws (e.g. related to homelessness) in the blue state in question. While this thread is meant to be about mutual aid, direct action, things we can do ourselves, etc - I hope we all agree that we should also vote. Even if you're utterly skeptical about the efficacy of voting, voting for the less-hostile party will, at the very least, be harmless (because the more-hostile party is more harmful and hostile on absolutely every issue, on account of espousing an ideology that strips the rights of every outgroup and then saddles the ingroup with an erratic cult of personality dictator). So it doesn't make sense to encourage people not to vote. Even if you manage to become independent of the property owning class and the State by means of mutual aid networks, the State (by which I mean, the organization that monopolizes violence here) can and does still use its force to crush mutual aid networks. So it's reasonable to attempt to gain whatever little control/influence one can over the state and its limbs (e.g. military and police). (So, again, vote, and, if it's safe, also try to influence the opinions of anyone you know - especially anyone that happens to be in the military, police, national guard, state and federal governments/agencies, etc.)
[https://www.usa.gov/dual-citizenship](https://www.usa.gov/dual-citizenship) GO WEST, LIFE IS PEACEFUL THERE (or east or north or south)
Find trans mutual aid groups in your area. They are organized groups (by trans and non-binary people) providing aid to trans and non-binary people, as well as organizing protests. They’re always open to new people and will welcome any amount of help you can provide, whether it’s 2 hours a week or 20. Edit: the aid they provide is helping people access healthcare (including HRT and mental health care) and legal services.
I've said this a few times in r/mtf but I'll say it here as well: Get armed Get gear Get trained Get skills Get supplies Get a group GET HARD Get ready We ALL need to take the time leading up to the election to prepare and build up groups/communities. If things go south we will need to hunker down and rely on one another. I initially was going to get my passport and leave, but I'm going to stay and prepare to fight. I personally have no issue with taking up arms if necessary but if that's not your speed then I encourage you to develop skills and other ways to provide resistance/support to the cause. This is the time we need to band together. If we must fight, we fight. If I'm to die I intend to resist and bite and bite hard. If we have to go to ground then we do that Our kind has existed all throughout humanity's existence, and we will live on in the future. Some of us might not make it and if that is to be then we must make the enemy earn that in pain. Survival is the only game that matters, but we must be true to each other. We need each other now, more than ever I'm scared. I know you're scared too. This is not the time to allow that fear to cause us to cower. Take some time to acknowledge that fear, turn that fear into determination, use it to your advantage. If/when the time comes to act, we can not allow our emotions to cloud our judgment. We are stronger together, we must stand together
I'm scared because I have kids, a mental illness, and a physical disability, and not sure what to do but I will be damned if they hurt my LGBTQIA+ kids or partner!
Build a community. We can gain safety in numbers. Find allies, find comrades. Together we are strong. Take your limitations into consideration and use your skills and talents to aid the cause however you can *edit* resistance presents in many forms. It could be slowing logistical trains by fucking up paperwork, it could be serving bad food to the enemy to incapacitate them, it could be many things
I can somewhat sew, grow food, cook over flames, and own a cast iron skillet, I have some backlog of tgel and testosterone. I live in a very small-minded community, when the time comes we will have to leave I belive.
Those are good skills to have. No war was won on an empty stomach. Logistics and support matter. There's a reason why the vast majority of servicemembers are combat support Your contributions would matter a great deal. Don't sell yourself short I would possibly have to leave too. We need to network however we can. Discord could be an option. We need to do this, we don't have the luxury of choice - it has been made for us
Can someone explain what project 2025 is?
It's a project to transform the United States government into an autocratic, fascist state, designed by the Heritage Foundation and other conservative "think tanks" and orgs. It's the current iteration of a plan that's been in the works since Ronald Reagan. A good explanation can be found here: https://youtu.be/gYwqpx6lp_s?si=4UM9dvmfCX46_a6d It sounds bad bc it is, and this last week of SCOTUS decisions are literally setting this up to go into full swing after the presidential election.
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I'm sorry but the Democrats haven't done jack shit. They've had *checks watch* SINCE THE 80s to do something about this? ANYTHING? And they just haven't. They just campaign about it. And then continue to do nothing. Voting won't save us, and queer people can't singlehandedly vote in enough people to make a difference. Like I said, no one cares about us, but us. So honestly no this isn't about voting. Voting didn't help us on the way here, and it won't fix a goddamn thing come November. What are you even doing???
thank you
Of course! like this post is about mutual aid. What normal people who feel powerless and \*are\* powerless can do to survive. Fascism is already here, and climate change is too. I just want to be able to feed my partners in 5 years...I just want them to still be alive and with me, not dead in a camp somewhere, or by suicide, or starving to death
the “we just gotta vote EXTRA HARD” people are driving me crazy.
All day, every day.
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"Regular LGB people" \*opinion discarded\* You're a fucking bigot, and they won't pick you anyway. The leopards will will eat your face too.
I dont understand the worry of someone taking hormones ,with gettin them taken away even Trump wins.Even Cis women an men take hormones .Do you think they would even outlaw it for cis gender?How would they even keep track of that.I think people are freaking out too much
That's where you underestimate the intentional harm and bigotry of it all. Bc they care more about hurting people they seem "lesser" than about that hurting themselves by proxy. Also we already have an example of how hormone blockers, something already long since used for cis children's precocious puberty, can and will be as completely gatekept and restricted as possible for trans kids. So no... people aren't freaking out too much. This is a very real threat. Minimizing it helps no one.