On existential threats to trans & gender diverse people [Note: Content Warning - links to reports on oppression/bigotry/hate/violence/abuse. Reader discretion is advised]

Note: CONTENT WARNING - some of this content is about upsetting, disturbing or triggering events & attitudes. Seek competent help - including professional - if you need it. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that linked articles may contains names and/or images of deceased people. READER CAUTION IS RECOMMENDED! For anyone distressed by anything in this post, or for any other reason considering seeking support, resources are available in Australia here, here, and here. In other nations, you will have to do an Internet search using terms such as “mental health support - <your nation>” (which, for instance, may lead to this, this, and this, in the USA, or this, this, and this, in France [biased towards English-language - my apologies]), or perhaps try https://www.befrienders.org/. 

Note: in my “from the news” posts, quotes are shown italicised and blue, my comments are in a different shade of blue, and “good” items are shown in green. I have loosely grouped the posts where such seemed reasonable, but that is subjective (i.e., my opinion - others are free to disagree), and challenging, as some posts belong in multiple “groups”.

From this week’s coming human rights news posts: 

• “Protestors And Police Clash At Anti-Trans Rally In Melbourne”   https://www.starobserver.com.au/news/protestors-and-police-clash-at-anti-trans-rally-in-melbourne/229484   “Tensions reached a boiling point when pro-trans activists attempted to breach police lines attempting to get closer to the speakers, triggering a forceful response from law enforcement.   ...   The rally, attended by approximately 100 people was advertised as an event for the #WomenWillSpeak movement, however many spotted supporters of the crowd sporting Nazi insignia”   “Self-described ‘nationalist’ speaks at anti-trans rights rally on Victoria parliament steps”   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/26/victoria-anti-trans-rally-parliament-neo-nazi-allegations-matthew-trihey-organiser-michelle-uriarau-ntwnfb   “Matthew Trihey, former member of the Lads Society, opened the #WomenWillSpeak event in Melbourne on Saturday”      “Police defend using pepper spray at #WomenWillSpeak rally on Victoria parliament steps”   https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/24/police-defend-using-pepper-spray-at-womenwillspeak-rally-on-victoria-parliament-steps   “Melbourne Activist Legal Support (MALS) sent a team of seven legal observers to the rally.   They said they had concerns about what they described as “dangerous crowd control tactics” by police, including the use of OC spray against protesters and “the use of police horses in crowded conditions”.   ...   The organisation said it raised similar concerns regarding “biased and discriminatory policing” a year ago at the “Let Women Speak” event”            First off, fascists/neo-n_z_s are NOT peaceful: their ideology is inherently violent - they want power of the “strong man” type at any cost, which may ultimately lead to the sort of violence seen in the USA on 6^th January, 2020; to get duped by that raises questions about the professional judgement and competence of police.            Secondly, the police reaction appears to have been triggered by pro-trans protestors - and, while I can understand pro-trans protestors’ anger, as I feel it myself, I note that effective protest requires self discipline - and the behaviour of protestors when being beaten at the Dharasana salt works in 1930 is an example of what may sometimes required, and what can come from it. (Too extreme an example? At the moment, yes ... down the track after the neo-n_z_’s stochastic t_rr_r_sm has had its full impact ... ?.) However, having said that, the police response was egregiously violent in my opinion, and will continue to erode the little remaining trust in police.           Thirdly, a protest that is making vile accusations of child abuse against people is NOT peaceful - it is highly likely to lead to the killing of a trans person by one of them - or by one of the sock puppets who has been triggered by the neo-n_z_’s stochastic t_rr_r_sm ... and there has already been one mass attack on trans people (in NSW). When that happens, police will share moral culpability for that death.            On stochastic t_rr_r_sm, see:   “How Stochastic T_rr_r_sm Uses Disgust to Incite Violence”   https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-stochastic-t_rr_r_sm-uses-disgust-to-incite-violence/      “Stochastic t_rr_r_sm”   https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stochastic_t_rr_r_sm&oldid=1215158171      “Stochastic t_rr_r_sm appears to be on the rise globally. Extremism experts explain how this form of violence has gone mainstream”   https://www.businessinsider.com/stochastic-t_rr_r_sm-meaning-definition-form-of-extremist-political-violence-2022-11      “Jargon Watch: The Rising Danger of Stochastic T_rr_r_sm”   https://www.wired.com/story/jargon-watch-rising-danger-stochastic-t_rr_r_sm/      “Stochastic t_rr_r_sm: critical reflections on an emerging concept”   https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17539153.2024.2305742      “An atmosphere of violence: Stochastic t_rr_r in American politics”   https://www.vox.com/2022/11/5/23441858/violence-stochastic-t_rr_r-american-politics-trump-pelosi  
  

• I came across a video during the week from a major US newspaper on the increasing threats to LGBTQIA+ children, developed around a recent killing of a nonbinary student. I haven’t posted any details here as the hate in the comments - especially the ones which tried to use a veneer of alleged concern for LGBT children (often expressed as denial that the murdered student was LGBT) - was completely unmanaged by that newspaper. Hate speech is illegal in many decent nations - and even in the USA there are some (inadequate) limits on speech, but to be so grossly uncaring as to allow those comments to remain shows that (a) their video failed (unless it was intended to trigger more online hate speech), and (b) newspaper is still as effectually homophobic/biphobic/generally anti-LGBTQIA+ as it has seemed in recent years, and I am right to continue avoiding them and avoiding giving them publicity. 

• “The Year the Commonwealth Government Went MIA on LGBTIQ Issues | Alastair Lawrie”   https://alastairlawrie.net/2024/03/24/the-year-the-commonwealth-government-went-mia-on-lgbtiq-issues/   This person is one of Australia’s leading advocates; my experience is that many others in the LGBTQIASB+ communities share his opinion  

 

Assumptions / basis 

In writing this, I have assumed / started from the following: 

• this blog states quite clearly that it is about political and human rights matters, including lived experience of problems, and thus I will assume readers are reasonable people who have noted the content warning in the post header;

Possible flaws 

Where I can, I will try to highlight possible flaws / issues you should consider:

• there may be flawed logical arguments in the above: to find out more about such flaws and thinking generally, I recommend Brendan  Myers’ free online course “Clear and Present Thinking”; 
  
• I could be wrong - so keep your thinking caps on, and make up your own minds for yourself.
  

 

If they are of any use of interest, the activism information links from my former news posts are available in this post. 

 

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Remember: we need to be more human being rather than human doing, and all misgendering is an act of active transphobia/transmisia that puts trans+ lives at risk & accept that all insistence on the use of “trans” as a descriptor comes with commensurate use of “cis” as a descriptor to prevent “othering”.

Copyright © Kayleen White 2016-2024     NO AI   I do not consent to any machine learning aka Artificial Intelligence (AI), generative AI, large language model, machine learning, chatbot, or other automated analysis, generative process, or replication program to reproduce, mimic, remix, summarise, or otherwise  replicate any part of this post or other posts on this blog via any means. Typo’s may be inserrted deliberately to demonstrate this is not an AI product.     Otherwise, fair and reasonable use is accepted under Creative Commons 4.0 on an Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike basis   https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/