Trans

You know, I agree with you, but we're already on the same team. Keep in mind though, we aren't trying to change the minds of the few powerful and evil motherfuckers who want us all dead. It can't be done. We want the average person to side with us, and the average person builds logical arguments around their emotions, not the other way around.

The average person is not a murderous freak and being made out to be one simply because they aren't on board with something they don't understand will absolutely harbor negative sentiment. They aren't going to be discerning and they are going to take this to be about them. And like I said, then the logical arguments get built around that negative sentiment. Then they start voting, and so on.

I'm not saying calm down, because you shouldn't. But red-hot messaging does not help. Turn the temperature down and you'll see more people agreeing with you who, importantly, didn't already agree with you BEFORE they read your message.

I think this is definitely part of it, but there's a key point that you're both missing: Conservatives need someone to hate.

In the past it was gay people, abortion, that sort of thing. But gay rights are now very much supported by a majority of people, and abortion is either illegal federally in the US, or well supported in places it's legal (which was also true of the US). So, they needed a new scapegoat to whip up furore against and, unfortunately, we happen to be it. I think especially because we're so much more visible these days, that it's easy to point to us as a problem. Back in the 90s, when we were much more hidden, most people wouldn't have cared. But these days, most people have met (or at least seen) a trans person. The unfamiliar can be uncomfortable for people, and some choose not to address that, letting themselves be easily taken advantage of. As various conservative parties across the world have seen this to be an effective method of sowing division, they've adopted these policies for themselves.