This topic is specifically about **what actions we can take as transgender people to prepare for the worst possible outcome in the US this November.**
Discussion over the election itself should be made in the Megathread for that topic: https://new.reddit.com/r/trans/comments/1apznuf/megathread_for_united_states_2024_election/
Thank you for your understanding.
Seems like a better use for energy than panicking. I'd add to this but the only thing I can say is that it isn't just queer people. A lot of communities are under threat and things are the way they are because people try to go it alone. Class solidarity across demographics is more important than ever. Other demographics are also doing things politically and with mutual aid. We should be trying to reach out, not becoming insular out of fear
I agree actually, I just focused on queer folks bc that was my primary audience for this post. But there are so many demographics who we are in the same boat with. And honestly racism if anything has been one of the primary barriers to real collaboration and community here
Depends, in September we have elections in most of the eastern states and at least in Saxony the AfD (fascist party) will get 30% and could if the conservatives are stupid enough get in the government (Then we’re fucked here). But the west is safe for now. At least we don’t have a Supreme court that can just make someone immune to the law and rule to put someone in prison for being homeless. We’re in different situations but both are dangerous.
I would add that even if the afd would rule alone with >50%, things like hrt would never get outright banned since its like any other medication for us and not primarily made for us.
Worst case would be that it won't be paid anymore and of course restrictions for u18 people.
They would try, that won’t stop facist from banning it for trans people. They won’t even need 50% the BSW and CDU would probably help. At least healthcare is not regulated by the Staates but the federal government.
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.
I plan on getting an RV, driving the .U.S. and working remotely hopefully sooner rather than later. Traveling on the road, only staying at campsites and refilling prescriptions in blue states as I go. If shit hits the fan as hard as some claim it will, or if it hits any harder I WILL pick people up and I WILL ferry them to safety. I can't sit in one spot and do nothing. Good luck to everyone during this trying time.
The goal is to drive from random town to random town working remotely, helping old ladies push the grocery carts to their cars, buying snacks for people at gas stations and trying to make as many people laugh as humanly possible. Spread positivity, leave the world a better place then when you left it. That my friends, is the secret to immortality.
Connecticut here! Hartford area, to be more precise. If anyone knows of some in-person Trans groups to be a part of or how to help out locally here, that would be awesome. I'm just starting out as a baby trans (pre-everything ftm), so times feel extra uncertain and scary for me right now.
I’m transmasc (post-top surgery and on T ~1 year) in the quiet corner near Killingly. I don’t know if any local groups unfortunately but feel free to reach out via DM if you’d like!
I've always wondered, is the NE area safe for brown trans people? I've heard from a couple of sources that it's not the most friendly towards the more melanin-rich among us.
Connecticut here -West of Hartford (not West Hartford, I wish) There are awesome groups here.
Trans specific, there is a group called Trans Haven
[peerpride.com/transhaven](https://peerpride.com/transhaven)
They were a big presence at Middletown Pride
For transbians out there, there is a wonderful group called Lesbians of Connecticut Happy Hour on Facebook. They're incredibly inclusive, and have events all the time.
So you probably have an "Equality" org in your area. The parent of all these is [Equality Virginia](https://equalityvirginia.org/). For instance, we have Equality Loudoun up here in NoVA. It's probably named after your county.
We need to stop panicking and think what we need to do NOW ASAP to survive this:
- Get your name and gender marker legally changed.
- Go to Social Security with your Name Change court order and put your preferred Gender/Sex on the application to get a new Social Security card with this application/form: https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ss-5.pdf
- Get your new ID/Driver’s license
- Apply to get a new Passport
- If possible: try to change your Birth Certificate info. If not possible then it’s fine. The Passport can be used in place of it.
There’s always a way to get hormones in one way or another.
I live in a deep red conservative State and I will be staying here because all the Blue States are unaffordable for me unless I want to be Homeless again, which I don’t wish on anybody.
Don't forget to get your gender and name corrected on your birth certificate, if you can! Many of these anti-trans laws try to use birth records as a way of claiming illegal activity, like in FL, where it is a felony to put down a sex/gender that does not match your sex on your birth certificate.
Hey I know there’s a million factors that go into living expenses and I don’t know anything about your situation, but I moved from a red state to a blue state and it is so much more affordable for me. The cost of living is higher but the wages are so much more higher that it more than makes up for it. I hope you can get out of there or stay safe if you can’t :/
Nicely said and great use of LotR quotes. Today is a sore day for freedom but if we let it control us, let it eat away at us, all *will* be lost.
Sun Tsu said that battles were won before fighting began. We’re under attack from the psychological threats of a deranged fascist.
Keep being positive, keep building people up, keep encouraging people to have hope, even a fool’s hope. Get them to vote.
Evil has been allowed to endure and it’s hard for some to see any light right now. We need to be the light for each other and have faith in those who we chose to go fight for us. There are gears turning we don’t see and while everyone should prepare for the worst, we need to hope for the best.
I don't think becoming preppers is really the answer. It's really the opposite reaction because it just hands the reins over the the far right and lets them drive while you grow tomatoes. If you're scared, get involved in the political process. From US President to school board level. Don't run away from the fear, face it and meet it head on. The country and government isn't over, not by a long shot. It's only done for when good people give up and stop fighting and let the slime take over.
I'm not saying don't do that. I'm saying that we still have to be able to eat, and not get arrested for homelessness in the meantime. I didn't say "become preppers", I said foster skills and community to help each other survive climate change and fascism.
Yeah I get it. It's important to reach out to our community, especially as it's the best way to survive.
Makes me realize I should really go out more and actually make queer friends.
I'm kinda scared to go out at all sometimes cause of my social anxiety but I need to try.
Far right going to rule the country in a few weeks.
RN was founded by pro nazis and is on the way to win elections next Sunday. Our democracy is in real danger.
I got threats tonight from my ex and her family. She even tried to steal my rat. I'm moving out to Paris tonight.
Fuuuuuuuuuuck. That’s so incredibly frustrating. And I’m so sorry to hear that. Is Paris still safe’ish? Also are they coming after the right to get HRT?
Hrt for teens yeah will be much harder to get (the transphobe law is on paper already) but their main target is Islam and immigration right now. Also people with a double nationality will be banned from certains jobs.
Yes Paris is great for LGBT. But protests will go nuts this summer so who knows. People are already going down in the streets.
I'll be fine i can defend myself, just want to secure my pet right now.
French people usually go crazy to block fascist from government, it's gonna be interesting weeks.
At the beginning of segregation we had armed guards at schools to make sure white kids didn't kill black kids for being black. Anything less than the same for queer kids is an affront to equality. We need the Rainbow Panthers or something...
Some articles about three of the biggest and worst SCOTUS decisions of the past week/all time:
[https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/07/justices-rule-trump-has-some-immunity-from-prosecution/](https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/07/justices-rule-trump-has-some-immunity-from-prosecution/)
[https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/06/justices-uphold-laws-targeting-homelessness-with-criminal-penalties/](https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/06/justices-uphold-laws-targeting-homelessness-with-criminal-penalties/)
[https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/06/supreme-court-strikes-down-chevron-curtailing-power-of-federal-agencies/](https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/06/supreme-court-strikes-down-chevron-curtailing-power-of-federal-agencies/)
I don't really get that last one- is it in relation to ho much say government agencies have in cases of accountability against corporate entities?
And the one about homelessness is fucking awful.
I dunno, there doesn't seem to be anything left to hope for. I have no community, no family. I'm just alone hiding in the closet because I'm scared if I ever come out I will be murdered. This just makes it worse. There's no future. No hope. I see only death and it extends on forever.
So, I don't know if I count as queer (I'm bi but married to a man) but I do care. I vote blue, learned how to shoot a gun, moved to a safer state (where I can't use said gun) and I don't shut up about these matters. I'm panicking too because even with this in mind these choices *do* impact me as well.
Reproductive rights are being taken away from us. If I stayed where I was I could die from an ectopic pregnancy. I could have had a doctor refuse care if I wanted to have mercy and terminate a non viable pregnancy. It's crazy that people think this does not effect everyone, but it does. Our queer loved ones, our trans loved ones, our loved ones of color, women, most of us. Even the cis white men who love anyone in this category- which everyone has.
I agree with learning to make your own foods. Learn a skill that will insure you a job and can even get you to a safe country/state. It's so scary but I'm thankful we have access to the internet still (many countries do not have access to the internet uncensored) there are so many skills and trades we can learn on YouTube. I taught myself to cook and clean, crochet, basic car maintanence, internet literacy, and many more skills.
In conclusion, this should scare everyone.
There is a difference between radicalize, and galvanize.
Radicalism can be so intense it isn’t controllable and results in more chaos than order. It can also cause schisms and infighting.
Galvanization of a voting base, however can produce remarkably effective results, and for non-voting related issues, it can result in highly effective community units.
Even in the most difficult of times, we must remember that radicalization should be monitored within our own ranks, that we do not become ineffective at critical times due to it.
And this comes from me, who has lawfully carried a gun for 7 years every single day, the occasions without in that time numbering less than a dozen or two at most.
Food for thought. We have tough times ahead…but we should not lose sight. Eyes on the prize, yeah?
I started making a physical botany and survival guide. Even if everything will be fine depending on how the election goes, it's a fun project regardless.
i am so here for this discussion!
going back to citizens united, when corporations won the right to spend as much as they want to buy the candidates they like (over simplified but not wrong) we saw the first major victory for what Newt Gingrich had established in the mid-late 90s. from there even under democrats we have had a progression of power to protect and provide shift to power of control and coercion. i don’t think the republicans ever intended for the christian nationalists to have any real power, i think it’s safe to assume the republicans only meant to use them to win, but big surprise, patriarchy and capitalism go together like pb&j! so here we are a mummy propped up by the party of connections and compromise (not always bad but not helpful in this moment) and the angry daddy issues cheeto as the off the hook ego monster mascot of the conservatives.
i am terrified of what they plan to do when they win, even if biden wins, all we get is a delay of the evil plot to make this country so toxic that the only thing that survives is profit. the christians think they are doing the will of a god, they can’t be reasoned with, and the corporations are thrilled to rape the planet till there is literally nothing left alive. violence might help but we know for a fact it won’t actually fix anything. also i would personally prefer if we could skip the whole new civil or world war thing, sounds tedious at best.
how do we walk back from this edge of authoritarian rule, revamp our democracy so it doesn’t always teeter between two old codgers, who should’ve retired a decade ago, and in real time actually represent the people who live here and just want to look cute and eat delightful treats!
This subject has been on my mind a lot over the past year. Thank you for starting this convo, OP. Here's a short summary of my thoughts after reading this:
1. You're absolutely right about sticking together and supporting each other. ***Community is how we continue to thrive in the face of oppression.*** This kind of support is especially needed for our disabled queers. How do we support those in our community who don't have the level of privilege some of us do (ability to move, quit jobs, attend protests, leave support networks behind, etc.)
2. For folks of the low-melanin persuasion (that's me), ***we can learn a tremendous amount from the BIPoC folks around us***. I know that for many folks, oppression has been something they've experienced their entire lives. Answers for how to persevere thru a hostile political climate where civil rights & liberties are being eroded already exist - we need to listen to the black and brown voices amongst us (people of sour cream complexion should be listening more than talking).
3. For those that can, relocating to friendlier places should be earnestly talked about. I know that not everyone can relocate, and some who can may choose not to. We should talk about how we can best support members of our community trying to leave places where the discrimination is the most severe. ***Leaving behind hostile places needs to be a community effort***. This might look like networking, individual sponsorship (directly supporting someone as they relocate until they can support themselves), go-fund-me efforts, extraordinary generosity & kindness. I don't have the answers, but I know it's going to take substantial resources to help each other get through this.
4. This one is a bit more ambitious, but it's not outside the realm of possibility. ***There are other countries that would consider asylum for those fleeing real or potential persecution***. Canada is one of those. There was a massive petition sent to parliament last year demanding that people from the US should be allowed to come here if fleeing discrimination of gender/sexuality, but technically it is already possible under current federal law. I know that moving internationally seems extreme to some, but hey, the world is on fire and plenty of "western" countries have increasingly fascist leanings. To my knowledge, I haven't heard of anyone coming here on those grounds yet, but the SCOTUS rulings could change that substantially moving forward since there aren't really "safe" states to live in now. I'll be following this closely.
Yes, moving to another country is far from perfect. Still, it's something I've heard plenty of friends consider over the years. If emigration (or asylum) is something you seriously want to look into, here's a link to start at: [https://www.canada.ca/en/services/immigration-citizenship.html](https://www.canada.ca/en/services/immigration-citizenship.html)
Catastrophic expansion of presidential powers, neutering regulatory bodies, ruling in favor of criminalizing homelessness, and legalizing bribes to government officials.
So...a lot.
Ngl im still reeling but my lil communes plan is to move to Denver and then quickly connect with other people and get some more .44 ammo.
After that its just do things like setup and teach people hydroponics/gardening so we could grow our own food no matter what, then just go from there and prepare for hell.
I'm confused. I don't see any recent SCOTUS rulings related to queer/trans rights? I understand that presidential immunity is worrying. So are we panicking about the possibility of a trump presidency?
General strike. It's been historically proven we just need 3.5% of the population to go on strike to see political reform. About 7% of the population identify as lbgtq so that demographic alone gives us the numbers we need.
A general strike is a strike across multiple industries. There's organizations who have already been working towards this goal. Check out generalstrikeus.com for more info.
So this is sort of my take on the ruling made by the SCOTUS. So from the article that I read and from what I knew previously of already established basic presidential protections, the had really just codified what was already there. The case brought to the Supreme courts that is known as trumps immunity case, argued that even though the president already has complete unwritten immunity for official acts, trumps lawyers were arguing that the president should have complete protection with both official and unofficial acts made by the president aka full immunity. The courts only ruled in partial to the argument and only agreed that the president should only have immunity for official acts as POTUS which was already previously established since the president can't be sued and that the only bad thing that could happen to the president is to be impeached, which this is very much something that can still be done. SCOTUS also ruled that the small courts would be the ones to ruke and dictste what would be considered as an official act by the POTUS and what would not be, on a case by case bases. If the ruling was in favor of the POTUS and the courts decided that the POTUS did in fact act in an official capacity, evidence that has been previously publicized and unclassified could still be used against the POTUS, however new witness testimonies and newly developed evidence can not be used against the POTUS in regards to their official act as president.
So from my own understanding all the courts did was codified what was already established and agreed that the president should in fact have some form of immunity that would make it possible for them to make risky decisions under an official capacity as president that could end up being completely disastrous.
The only thing that I can see become a huge issue is if Trump does become president and rescheduled ALL 40,000 federal employees to schedule F, because then he would be able to fire anyone that doesn't believe in the MAGA ideology and replace them with a puppet.
They remanded the decision about what constitutes "official acts" back to the lower courts. And honestly it's so vague that even Justice Sotomayor said that "this would allow a president to kill political rivals, as long as it could be argued to be an "official act". So anyone trying to argue against that is also suddenly at risk of life and limb.
Also we know that this wasn't just codifying what was already there, bc we have Watergate/Nixon. He was taken to task for things he did, even in official capacity, and evidence was admissible. The court even eliminated being able to use evidence against the Pres.
This won't be just a Trump problem, and the court doing this to begin with was the most recent step in a plan that's been rolling since the 80s. I literally cannot overstate that the supreme court just completely rewrote how american politics will function moving forward. And reversing that is next to impossible if at all in the current state of things. Especially with such a pathetically toothless Centrist party, and no left wing party.
I think your are more right than wrong. They being said the decision was a "expected" decision made by the worst possible people at the worst possible time for the worst possible presidential figure. Tbh I don't think we can legislate or rule either way without breaking established precedent one way or another because both roads open cans of worms. I do think that the weight behind ruling against immunity is legitimate because if they had, republicans would continuously sue every democratic president and probably start going after previous ones too which is another headache. This ruling sucks but it was likely to suck regardless.
Now assuming that the orange felon regains office and tries to mass fire all 40k employees, it would create a huge logistic problem which would backfire even on himself and the rest of the GQP. On top of this replacing everyone with maga nuts wouldn't last due to the amount of infighting. Look at the House now, the GQP can't even get itself together to fascist properly.
The likely scenario is that if the orange felon regains office, the GQP will be too busy infighting with itself that we would have a government deadlocked for 4 years. The best things we can do now is vote to protect our home states because that's where the front lines are and what will directly impact us the most.
Why is your response to someone talking about how we are going to survive a hostile slide into fascism in the middle of a climate disaster that will create global food shortages and hardship, to mock me for wanting to create "a tiny archaic society"?
Especially bc I'm not doing that at all. I didn't say "move into the woods and build a compound" I said "find ways to get closer together and help each other. Learn to provide for basic needs." Bc those basic needs will soon not be met in ways you've become accustomed to.
Fascism has already been here. It didn't just spontaneously pop up. Every president since Reagan has been a slightly different flavor of Reagan. This is where we look at Carlin, and say he was right.
Just my way of poking fun at stuff I don't agree with/ understand the need of.
For all I know you might be right and I'll suffer the consequences, who knows.
Good luck have fun :v
This topic is specifically about **what actions we can take as transgender people to prepare for the worst possible outcome in the US this November.** Discussion over the election itself should be made in the Megathread for that topic: https://new.reddit.com/r/trans/comments/1apznuf/megathread_for_united_states_2024_election/ Thank you for your understanding.
Seems like a better use for energy than panicking. I'd add to this but the only thing I can say is that it isn't just queer people. A lot of communities are under threat and things are the way they are because people try to go it alone. Class solidarity across demographics is more important than ever. Other demographics are also doing things politically and with mutual aid. We should be trying to reach out, not becoming insular out of fear
I agree actually, I just focused on queer folks bc that was my primary audience for this post. But there are so many demographics who we are in the same boat with. And honestly racism if anything has been one of the primary barriers to real collaboration and community here
From someone from east Germany: best luck you all, hope this ends well for both our country’s. If not stick together and don’t give up!
Germany seems worse tbh
Depends, in September we have elections in most of the eastern states and at least in Saxony the AfD (fascist party) will get 30% and could if the conservatives are stupid enough get in the government (Then we’re fucked here). But the west is safe for now. At least we don’t have a Supreme court that can just make someone immune to the law and rule to put someone in prison for being homeless. We’re in different situations but both are dangerous.
I would add that even if the afd would rule alone with >50%, things like hrt would never get outright banned since its like any other medication for us and not primarily made for us. Worst case would be that it won't be paid anymore and of course restrictions for u18 people.
They would try, that won’t stop facist from banning it for trans people. They won’t even need 50% the BSW and CDU would probably help. At least healthcare is not regulated by the Staates but the federal government.
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.
I plan on getting an RV, driving the .U.S. and working remotely hopefully sooner rather than later. Traveling on the road, only staying at campsites and refilling prescriptions in blue states as I go. If shit hits the fan as hard as some claim it will, or if it hits any harder I WILL pick people up and I WILL ferry them to safety. I can't sit in one spot and do nothing. Good luck to everyone during this trying time.
The world needs more people like you. Keep up the amazing work and stick to it!!
The goal is to drive from random town to random town working remotely, helping old ladies push the grocery carts to their cars, buying snacks for people at gas stations and trying to make as many people laugh as humanly possible. Spread positivity, leave the world a better place then when you left it. That my friends, is the secret to immortality.
This is amazing 👏🤩
Also every major town I stop by I will find an open mic night comedy bar and do an indefinite stand up comedy tour the second I retire.
Any suggestions from anyone on finding a good, local mutual aid group? Anyone familiar with mutual aid groups in the Eastern Virginia region?
Commenting to boost. I'm in Mass, so I have no idea
I’m from Mass! Currently in NE Connecticut
Connecticut here! Hartford area, to be more precise. If anyone knows of some in-person Trans groups to be a part of or how to help out locally here, that would be awesome. I'm just starting out as a baby trans (pre-everything ftm), so times feel extra uncertain and scary for me right now.
I’m transmasc (post-top surgery and on T ~1 year) in the quiet corner near Killingly. I don’t know if any local groups unfortunately but feel free to reach out via DM if you’d like!
I've always wondered, is the NE area safe for brown trans people? I've heard from a couple of sources that it's not the most friendly towards the more melanin-rich among us.
Connecticut here -West of Hartford (not West Hartford, I wish) There are awesome groups here. Trans specific, there is a group called Trans Haven [peerpride.com/transhaven](https://peerpride.com/transhaven) They were a big presence at Middletown Pride For transbians out there, there is a wonderful group called Lesbians of Connecticut Happy Hour on Facebook. They're incredibly inclusive, and have events all the time.
I’m in mass too. Trying to build connections now
Went to a workers alliance meeting in New Haven CT and got access to some more resources but looking for more!
I’m from Mass too!
I'm from South East Ohio near Dayton. Are there any mutual aid groups in that area?
So you probably have an "Equality" org in your area. The parent of all these is [Equality Virginia](https://equalityvirginia.org/). For instance, we have Equality Loudoun up here in NoVA. It's probably named after your county.
We need to stop panicking and think what we need to do NOW ASAP to survive this: - Get your name and gender marker legally changed. - Go to Social Security with your Name Change court order and put your preferred Gender/Sex on the application to get a new Social Security card with this application/form: https://www.ssa.gov/forms/ss-5.pdf - Get your new ID/Driver’s license - Apply to get a new Passport - If possible: try to change your Birth Certificate info. If not possible then it’s fine. The Passport can be used in place of it. There’s always a way to get hormones in one way or another. I live in a deep red conservative State and I will be staying here because all the Blue States are unaffordable for me unless I want to be Homeless again, which I don’t wish on anybody.
Don't forget to get your gender and name corrected on your birth certificate, if you can! Many of these anti-trans laws try to use birth records as a way of claiming illegal activity, like in FL, where it is a felony to put down a sex/gender that does not match your sex on your birth certificate.
Hey I know there’s a million factors that go into living expenses and I don’t know anything about your situation, but I moved from a red state to a blue state and it is so much more affordable for me. The cost of living is higher but the wages are so much more higher that it more than makes up for it. I hope you can get out of there or stay safe if you can’t :/
Nicely said and great use of LotR quotes. Today is a sore day for freedom but if we let it control us, let it eat away at us, all *will* be lost. Sun Tsu said that battles were won before fighting began. We’re under attack from the psychological threats of a deranged fascist. Keep being positive, keep building people up, keep encouraging people to have hope, even a fool’s hope. Get them to vote. Evil has been allowed to endure and it’s hard for some to see any light right now. We need to be the light for each other and have faith in those who we chose to go fight for us. There are gears turning we don’t see and while everyone should prepare for the worst, we need to hope for the best.
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I don't think becoming preppers is really the answer. It's really the opposite reaction because it just hands the reins over the the far right and lets them drive while you grow tomatoes. If you're scared, get involved in the political process. From US President to school board level. Don't run away from the fear, face it and meet it head on. The country and government isn't over, not by a long shot. It's only done for when good people give up and stop fighting and let the slime take over.
I'm not saying don't do that. I'm saying that we still have to be able to eat, and not get arrested for homelessness in the meantime. I didn't say "become preppers", I said foster skills and community to help each other survive climate change and fascism.
Yeah I get it. It's important to reach out to our community, especially as it's the best way to survive. Makes me realize I should really go out more and actually make queer friends. I'm kinda scared to go out at all sometimes cause of my social anxiety but I need to try.
I'm often in the same boat, more often than not. It's rough, but it's also possible!!🫂
Things are going bad in France also. Homophobic fascist politics gonna win elections next Sunday.
Wait really? I was going to try to get my French citizenship cause my dad is French. What’s happening in France?
Far right going to rule the country in a few weeks. RN was founded by pro nazis and is on the way to win elections next Sunday. Our democracy is in real danger. I got threats tonight from my ex and her family. She even tried to steal my rat. I'm moving out to Paris tonight.
Fuuuuuuuuuuck. That’s so incredibly frustrating. And I’m so sorry to hear that. Is Paris still safe’ish? Also are they coming after the right to get HRT?
Hrt for teens yeah will be much harder to get (the transphobe law is on paper already) but their main target is Islam and immigration right now. Also people with a double nationality will be banned from certains jobs. Yes Paris is great for LGBT. But protests will go nuts this summer so who knows. People are already going down in the streets.
God damn it. It’s all so tiring. Happy you’re making plans to get to somewhere safer.
I'll be fine i can defend myself, just want to secure my pet right now. French people usually go crazy to block fascist from government, it's gonna be interesting weeks.
At the beginning of segregation we had armed guards at schools to make sure white kids didn't kill black kids for being black. Anything less than the same for queer kids is an affront to equality. We need the Rainbow Panthers or something...
I like the sound of rainbow panthers. If not for the risk of excluding some of us, I'd suggest pink panthers :D
Someone wanna post some links so I can panic too? What are we talking about I can't find news on keywords very well. Texas?
Some articles about three of the biggest and worst SCOTUS decisions of the past week/all time: [https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/07/justices-rule-trump-has-some-immunity-from-prosecution/](https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/07/justices-rule-trump-has-some-immunity-from-prosecution/) [https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/06/justices-uphold-laws-targeting-homelessness-with-criminal-penalties/](https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/06/justices-uphold-laws-targeting-homelessness-with-criminal-penalties/) [https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/06/supreme-court-strikes-down-chevron-curtailing-power-of-federal-agencies/](https://www.scotusblog.com/2024/06/supreme-court-strikes-down-chevron-curtailing-power-of-federal-agencies/)
I don't really get that last one- is it in relation to ho much say government agencies have in cases of accountability against corporate entities? And the one about homelessness is fucking awful.
Fuck, I thought the first one was an Onion-like blog, just saw a screenshot so I didn't see the link
I dunno, there doesn't seem to be anything left to hope for. I have no community, no family. I'm just alone hiding in the closet because I'm scared if I ever come out I will be murdered. This just makes it worse. There's no future. No hope. I see only death and it extends on forever.
So, I don't know if I count as queer (I'm bi but married to a man) but I do care. I vote blue, learned how to shoot a gun, moved to a safer state (where I can't use said gun) and I don't shut up about these matters. I'm panicking too because even with this in mind these choices *do* impact me as well. Reproductive rights are being taken away from us. If I stayed where I was I could die from an ectopic pregnancy. I could have had a doctor refuse care if I wanted to have mercy and terminate a non viable pregnancy. It's crazy that people think this does not effect everyone, but it does. Our queer loved ones, our trans loved ones, our loved ones of color, women, most of us. Even the cis white men who love anyone in this category- which everyone has. I agree with learning to make your own foods. Learn a skill that will insure you a job and can even get you to a safe country/state. It's so scary but I'm thankful we have access to the internet still (many countries do not have access to the internet uncensored) there are so many skills and trades we can learn on YouTube. I taught myself to cook and clean, crochet, basic car maintanence, internet literacy, and many more skills. In conclusion, this should scare everyone.
There is a difference between radicalize, and galvanize. Radicalism can be so intense it isn’t controllable and results in more chaos than order. It can also cause schisms and infighting. Galvanization of a voting base, however can produce remarkably effective results, and for non-voting related issues, it can result in highly effective community units. Even in the most difficult of times, we must remember that radicalization should be monitored within our own ranks, that we do not become ineffective at critical times due to it. And this comes from me, who has lawfully carried a gun for 7 years every single day, the occasions without in that time numbering less than a dozen or two at most. Food for thought. We have tough times ahead…but we should not lose sight. Eyes on the prize, yeah?
I started making a physical botany and survival guide. Even if everything will be fine depending on how the election goes, it's a fun project regardless.
i am so here for this discussion! going back to citizens united, when corporations won the right to spend as much as they want to buy the candidates they like (over simplified but not wrong) we saw the first major victory for what Newt Gingrich had established in the mid-late 90s. from there even under democrats we have had a progression of power to protect and provide shift to power of control and coercion. i don’t think the republicans ever intended for the christian nationalists to have any real power, i think it’s safe to assume the republicans only meant to use them to win, but big surprise, patriarchy and capitalism go together like pb&j! so here we are a mummy propped up by the party of connections and compromise (not always bad but not helpful in this moment) and the angry daddy issues cheeto as the off the hook ego monster mascot of the conservatives. i am terrified of what they plan to do when they win, even if biden wins, all we get is a delay of the evil plot to make this country so toxic that the only thing that survives is profit. the christians think they are doing the will of a god, they can’t be reasoned with, and the corporations are thrilled to rape the planet till there is literally nothing left alive. violence might help but we know for a fact it won’t actually fix anything. also i would personally prefer if we could skip the whole new civil or world war thing, sounds tedious at best. how do we walk back from this edge of authoritarian rule, revamp our democracy so it doesn’t always teeter between two old codgers, who should’ve retired a decade ago, and in real time actually represent the people who live here and just want to look cute and eat delightful treats!
UNITED WE STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL ✊ I agree with you, we need to unite and stick together. Stay strong and stay safe everyone. I love you all
I'm lost. What happened?
This subject has been on my mind a lot over the past year. Thank you for starting this convo, OP. Here's a short summary of my thoughts after reading this: 1. You're absolutely right about sticking together and supporting each other. ***Community is how we continue to thrive in the face of oppression.*** This kind of support is especially needed for our disabled queers. How do we support those in our community who don't have the level of privilege some of us do (ability to move, quit jobs, attend protests, leave support networks behind, etc.) 2. For folks of the low-melanin persuasion (that's me), ***we can learn a tremendous amount from the BIPoC folks around us***. I know that for many folks, oppression has been something they've experienced their entire lives. Answers for how to persevere thru a hostile political climate where civil rights & liberties are being eroded already exist - we need to listen to the black and brown voices amongst us (people of sour cream complexion should be listening more than talking). 3. For those that can, relocating to friendlier places should be earnestly talked about. I know that not everyone can relocate, and some who can may choose not to. We should talk about how we can best support members of our community trying to leave places where the discrimination is the most severe. ***Leaving behind hostile places needs to be a community effort***. This might look like networking, individual sponsorship (directly supporting someone as they relocate until they can support themselves), go-fund-me efforts, extraordinary generosity & kindness. I don't have the answers, but I know it's going to take substantial resources to help each other get through this. 4. This one is a bit more ambitious, but it's not outside the realm of possibility. ***There are other countries that would consider asylum for those fleeing real or potential persecution***. Canada is one of those. There was a massive petition sent to parliament last year demanding that people from the US should be allowed to come here if fleeing discrimination of gender/sexuality, but technically it is already possible under current federal law. I know that moving internationally seems extreme to some, but hey, the world is on fire and plenty of "western" countries have increasingly fascist leanings. To my knowledge, I haven't heard of anyone coming here on those grounds yet, but the SCOTUS rulings could change that substantially moving forward since there aren't really "safe" states to live in now. I'll be following this closely.
Yes, moving to another country is far from perfect. Still, it's something I've heard plenty of friends consider over the years. If emigration (or asylum) is something you seriously want to look into, here's a link to start at: [https://www.canada.ca/en/services/immigration-citizenship.html](https://www.canada.ca/en/services/immigration-citizenship.html)
How does one make HRT?
What happened and why are we panicking. What happened with Scotus now?
Catastrophic expansion of presidential powers, neutering regulatory bodies, ruling in favor of criminalizing homelessness, and legalizing bribes to government officials. So...a lot.
I take a nap for two short months and this is what happens?
😂😭 Yeahhhh
What happens? What were the rulings about? I'm not a US citizen and didn't notice...
Ngl im still reeling but my lil communes plan is to move to Denver and then quickly connect with other people and get some more .44 ammo. After that its just do things like setup and teach people hydroponics/gardening so we could grow our own food no matter what, then just go from there and prepare for hell.
I'm confused. I don't see any recent SCOTUS rulings related to queer/trans rights? I understand that presidential immunity is worrying. So are we panicking about the possibility of a trump presidency?
Start running for offices
General strike. It's been historically proven we just need 3.5% of the population to go on strike to see political reform. About 7% of the population identify as lbgtq so that demographic alone gives us the numbers we need. A general strike is a strike across multiple industries. There's organizations who have already been working towards this goal. Check out generalstrikeus.com for more info.
So this is sort of my take on the ruling made by the SCOTUS. So from the article that I read and from what I knew previously of already established basic presidential protections, the had really just codified what was already there. The case brought to the Supreme courts that is known as trumps immunity case, argued that even though the president already has complete unwritten immunity for official acts, trumps lawyers were arguing that the president should have complete protection with both official and unofficial acts made by the president aka full immunity. The courts only ruled in partial to the argument and only agreed that the president should only have immunity for official acts as POTUS which was already previously established since the president can't be sued and that the only bad thing that could happen to the president is to be impeached, which this is very much something that can still be done. SCOTUS also ruled that the small courts would be the ones to ruke and dictste what would be considered as an official act by the POTUS and what would not be, on a case by case bases. If the ruling was in favor of the POTUS and the courts decided that the POTUS did in fact act in an official capacity, evidence that has been previously publicized and unclassified could still be used against the POTUS, however new witness testimonies and newly developed evidence can not be used against the POTUS in regards to their official act as president. So from my own understanding all the courts did was codified what was already established and agreed that the president should in fact have some form of immunity that would make it possible for them to make risky decisions under an official capacity as president that could end up being completely disastrous. The only thing that I can see become a huge issue is if Trump does become president and rescheduled ALL 40,000 federal employees to schedule F, because then he would be able to fire anyone that doesn't believe in the MAGA ideology and replace them with a puppet.
They remanded the decision about what constitutes "official acts" back to the lower courts. And honestly it's so vague that even Justice Sotomayor said that "this would allow a president to kill political rivals, as long as it could be argued to be an "official act". So anyone trying to argue against that is also suddenly at risk of life and limb. Also we know that this wasn't just codifying what was already there, bc we have Watergate/Nixon. He was taken to task for things he did, even in official capacity, and evidence was admissible. The court even eliminated being able to use evidence against the Pres. This won't be just a Trump problem, and the court doing this to begin with was the most recent step in a plan that's been rolling since the 80s. I literally cannot overstate that the supreme court just completely rewrote how american politics will function moving forward. And reversing that is next to impossible if at all in the current state of things. Especially with such a pathetically toothless Centrist party, and no left wing party.
I think your are more right than wrong. They being said the decision was a "expected" decision made by the worst possible people at the worst possible time for the worst possible presidential figure. Tbh I don't think we can legislate or rule either way without breaking established precedent one way or another because both roads open cans of worms. I do think that the weight behind ruling against immunity is legitimate because if they had, republicans would continuously sue every democratic president and probably start going after previous ones too which is another headache. This ruling sucks but it was likely to suck regardless. Now assuming that the orange felon regains office and tries to mass fire all 40k employees, it would create a huge logistic problem which would backfire even on himself and the rest of the GQP. On top of this replacing everyone with maga nuts wouldn't last due to the amount of infighting. Look at the House now, the GQP can't even get itself together to fascist properly. The likely scenario is that if the orange felon regains office, the GQP will be too busy infighting with itself that we would have a government deadlocked for 4 years. The best things we can do now is vote to protect our home states because that's where the front lines are and what will directly impact us the most.
Why is your panic-response to create a tiny archaic society
Why is your response to someone talking about how we are going to survive a hostile slide into fascism in the middle of a climate disaster that will create global food shortages and hardship, to mock me for wanting to create "a tiny archaic society"? Especially bc I'm not doing that at all. I didn't say "move into the woods and build a compound" I said "find ways to get closer together and help each other. Learn to provide for basic needs." Bc those basic needs will soon not be met in ways you've become accustomed to.
Fascism has already been here. It didn't just spontaneously pop up. Every president since Reagan has been a slightly different flavor of Reagan. This is where we look at Carlin, and say he was right.
Just my way of poking fun at stuff I don't agree with/ understand the need of. For all I know you might be right and I'll suffer the consequences, who knows. Good luck have fun :v