Right, and therein lays the rub: it’s open to interpretation, and things will get interpreted differently by different people in different places and times.

Most medieval Christians believed that transgender people (not how they would have been labeled at that time, but they frequently didn’t have a specific word for such people, so we’ll make do) were created by God as the gender they identify as BUT were changed by the devil to the opposite gender in the womb. Gender transition was therefore putting things back they way that God intended and was fighting against the devil.

Anti trans Christians today believe it’s the other way around.

And this is why evidence based policy making is so important for a successful government.

Can’t lose something you never had.

These people were always fascists, they just didn’t know it or knew to hide it.

The people responsible for the firing weren’t punished at all. Florida tax payers were. In a functional democracy this would lead to the people responsible for the firing to be held accountable, but… well…

It’s worth noting that “blue no matter who” is just a bandaid, just a drive to get fascists out of power long enough to enact voting reform. The two party system is an organic result of First Past The Post voting; we have to move to some form of Rank Choice if we’re ever to see any progress. Thankfully voting regulations are on the local level, where change is still possible. This is one of the many reasons Trump is trying to federalize elections.

Until we get voting reform, there will only be Two Parties, and they will always drift to the right.

I love your optimism.

And, to be clear, we achieve that by changing local election laws to use some form of Rank Choice instead of First Past The Post.

The two party system is an organic result of FPTP voting. If we change to Rank Choice, the two party system will crumble.

It’s worse than that. Any historian will tell you that the work of historians is basically gathering clues and hints to piece together a coherent story that fits all the data. Which is fine, except when you’re using that story to interpret legal doctrine. The very foundation of originalist philosophy, that we should interpret law according to history, is flawed because history can never be perfectly known or understood. We might have extremely good data and knowledge, we might have a NEARLY perfectly accurate story of what happened. But “nearly” isn’t enough, and it’s that very flaw that fascists use to exploit originalist philosophy to push their own agenda.

Exactly. Fascists very rarely operate in good faith.

Yeah well, it’s not their job to keep fascists out if power. It’s OUR job. Us, the voters.

Voting works. If it didn’t, they wouldn’t be trying so hard to stop us from doing it. And once we have Rank Choice we’ll be able to move beyond the “an actual fascist/not an actual fascist” dichotomy. But until then, for fucks sake, vote “not an actual fascist” even if you don’t like the person you’re voting for. I don’t care how terrible they are, if they’re not an actual fascist then you vote for them. THAT’S how you keep fascists out of power.

This is why I’m giving up on changing the DNC and refocusing my efforts on changing the voting system from First Past The Post to Rank Choice.

But we also need the fascists out of power, and kept out of power.

These two things have to be achieved in parallel. That’s why I vote Democrat, but only until I have Rank Choice at which point the Democrats will become my second pick (and then eventually third pick, and hopefully someday not one of my picks at all)

actual gender

Trans people are born trans and are biologically the get they identify as.

Here are a number of studies that show the biological reality of transgender people. It’s important to note that although some of these studies suggest causation (ie, HOW a person is born transgender) we can’t know if there’s more than one cause, and therefore using any one test to see if somebody is “biologically trans” is impossible.

Sex vs Gender and the role of the SRY gene specifically (as opposed to the Y chromosome generally) in the development of each, as well as the possible role of AR (androgen receptor) gene https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6505576/

A correlation is found between AR allele repeat length and a person being transgender https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3402034/

The brains of trans people more closely resemble those of their chosen gender identity than their natal sex https://www.ese-hormones.org/media/1506/transgender-brains-are-more-like-their-desired-gender-from-an-early-age.pdf

A trans person’s brain more closely resembles their chosen gender as demonstrated by their brain’s response to olfactory stimulation with androstadienone https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fendo.2014.00060/full

Estrogen signaling pathways identified which tell the brain to develop as one gender or the other, as well as mechanisms by which physical development can happen in one way while brain development can happen in the other https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-53500-y

Cornell University summarizes 72 studies regarding the effect of gender transition on transgender well-being (with links to all 72 studies) https://whatweknow.inequality.cornell.edu/topics/lgbt-equality/what-does-the-scholarly-research-say-about-the-well-being-of-transgender-people/

So no, you’ve got it backwards: they’re being forced to turn in their id with their actual gender in exchange for one with the incorrect gender marker.

Your right to self identify doesn’t exist under fascist rule. Identify as you’re told, or face the consequences.

Today it’s gender. I wonder what facet of identity they’ll seek to control tomorrow. Sexual orientation? Religion? Political affiliation?

Your right to self identify doesn’t exist under fascist rule. Identify as you’re told, or face the consequences.

Today it’s gender. I wonder what facet of identity they’ll seek to control tomorrow. Sexual orientation? Religion? Political affiliation?

The mirror test is frequently cited as a means of testing sentience.

OP I think you hit the nail on the head.

This is why the rumors of there being a Department of Remigration is so alarming. It really looks like they EVENTUALLY want to get rid of all non-white people.

Which won’t come as a surprise to anyone paying attention, but there’s a depressing number of people who insist on keeping their heads in the sand.

They think they can bribe fascists for favorable outcomes, but what they’re still in denial about is that fascists do whatever they fuck they think will get the m them the most power in any given circumstance, including going back on promises (money paid, money taken), extorting for more money, and throwing anybody they want Uber the bus.

There’s no making deals with fascists, there’s only getting scammed by fascists.

it’s reasonable to suggest you find another

If it’s “just a job” like working retail at Target, sure, that’s a respectable take. It’s still blaming the victim, but it’s also advocating for the victim to address the issue themselves.

But if it’s not “just a job”? If it’s your life’s work, your calling, something you love more than anything else?

That idea is very likely what drove her to the brink. You really have no fucking clue what you’re talking about.

I’ve been there and I almost didn’t survive. Choosing to live isn’t always so easy.