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Donald Trump had recently finished a familiar riff about banning gender transition surgery for children when the former president, speaking to an audience of Evangelical voters, moved on to something new: a policy that would affect transgender adults.

“I will ban all taxpayer funding for sex or gender transitions at any age,” said Trump, receiving thunderous applause at the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference in Washington last month. The Republican leader, who moments earlier had also pledged to reinstate a ban on transgender men and women serving in the military, paused for several seconds to soak in the crowd’s adulation.

It’s the kind of moment — and the type of policy — increasingly common on the GOP presidential campaign trail this year.

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[-] dojan@lemmy.world 158 points 1 year ago

Well obviously. It was never about children, because gender affirming care doesn't involve surgeries or hormones for children. Those were all lies feeding into an anti-trans narrative so they could push for more drastic changes.

Start with children, because no one in their right mind would want to see children suffer, and then move on to the rest. After all the trans people are dealt with, they'll come after the gays, and then the women and people of colour.

[-] LetMeEatCake@lemmy.world 25 points 1 year ago

Only thing I'd dispute here is the "after that" part — republicans and conservatives in general are already coming for LGB, women, and minorities. Transphobia is their smokescreen / highest priority, rather than a first step. If they succeed (I hope not!) that will result in more of their energy going into attacking the other marginalized groups, rather than starting to attack those groups.

[-] Nightwingdragon@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago

If they succeed (I hope not!) that will result in more of their energy going into attacking the other marginalized groups, rather than starting to attack those groups.

They already have. They were largely successful in their crusades against Target and Bud Light, which has emboldened them to use their thinly veiled threats of violence to push their agenda even more. I mean, we now have Republicans criticizing the Barbie movie because of they way a map is drawn in one of the background scenes. Or something.

The Barbie movie. Barbie. You know, the plastic children's doll. Yes. That one. According to Republicans, the Barbie movie is a secret vessel to indoctrinate children with CCP propaganda. I wish I was joking.

This is what the Republican party has come down to. Everything they don't like is a conspiracy theory that needs to be eradicated.

[-] lynny@lemmy.world 89 points 1 year ago

What is their fixation on this? Why does this issue matter out of all the other issues that they could be bringing up right now?

[-] ZooGuru@lemmy.world 62 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Hate disguised as truly held belief is a helluvah drug.

Edit: Also, fuck assholes that think this way and fuck Donald Trump.

[-] Skray@kbin.social 22 points 1 year ago

It's utterly bizzare. Spend 10 minutes browsing YouTube shorts and you'll see an absolute torrent of transphobia, with many users outright calling for violence and murder, and YouTube does nothing.

[-] Ensign_Crab@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago

If shorts are any indication, youtube actively promotes such content.

[-] macarthur_park@lemmy.world 59 points 1 year ago

They’d like to hate on gays like in the good old days, but that’s no longer socially acceptable. Trans folks are the next best thing.

[-] growsomethinggood@kbin.social 30 points 1 year ago

They're going to get back to hating the gays publicly soon too/have already started. Just look at what they did around Pride Month and what the Supreme Court is up to. It's a matter of time if we don't push back hard against their transphobic shit now.

[-] evatronic@lemm.ee 35 points 1 year ago

The "dog caught the car" in the Supreme Court abortion ruling. The GOP can no longer use abortion as a wedge issue, because the issue is, essentially, resolved. They got what they said they wanted.

But the GOP always used abortion as a wedge issue, to drive people to polls to vote against their otherwise best interests because "Democrats will kill babies!" or similar.

The GOP is desperately looking for a new wedge issue and an enemy. And like most fascists do, they look to a marginalized group to demonize that doesn't have the ability or numbers to fight back. They appear to have settled on trans people for the moment.

It's not about actual trans people, it's about making their base mad about something so they'll vote ( R ).

[-] Stern@kbin.social 25 points 1 year ago

They don't have the abortion debate anymore, the gay debate is a bit too mainstream to end well, the gun control debate is always there but not particularly in focus, and they don't have the states (yet) to repeal the 13th.

So what to rile their base up with? Transphobia and calling their enemies pedophiles, the latter of which is kinda par for the course, but the former is a relatively new patch on the ol' hate quilt.

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[-] apis@kbin.social 17 points 1 year ago

Nothing is more delicious to conservatives than a small, powerless group who do not fit into the so-called social norms to attack as a scapegoat. Perfect for distracting their supporters from all of the fuckery and wanton neglect that conservative parties pursue, and perfect for whipping up emotional fervour in the mind of those who cling to conservatism out of fear of difference.

Other groups & causes which conservatives tend to target may willing to jettison the needs of a tiny group for their own ends if they can get their own ends met, and fracturing solidarity is incredibly useful, if not essential, to conservative goals.

As such, people who are seeking treatment for gender dysphoria are the perfect target for the GOP to rail against.

[-] tryptaminev@feddit.de 9 points 1 year ago

Why does this read word by word like the way the Nazis came to power in Germany?

Ohh, because it is the standard facist playbook.m on how to get people to follow you despite working against their interests.

[-] LetMeEatCake@lemmy.world 8 points 1 year ago

The modern republican electoral ecosystem is sustained through rage and hatred. Their entire campaign strategy is built around the assumption of having a target of some form. Republican voters are simply not able to be activated to go vote (and to stay voting republican) in sufficient quantities without a rage-hate target.

Republicans fundamentally need something to target and hate and be rage filled about. Whether it's gay marriage, Obamacare, abortion, ebola (remember that in 2014? forgotten the day after the election), immigrants, mask mandates, critical race theory... They need something, anything, no matter how illogical, unethical, or completely incoherent it might be. They do not care about any of those negative details.

Trans people became the conservative rage-hate target of the moment. They throw everything at the wall and this was the target that stuck for the present day.

Republicans are fueled by hate. Issues do not matter to them. Hate and anger matter to them.

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[-] Gabadabs@kbin.social 8 points 1 year ago

It's the same thing they did to black people and indigenous people, then gay people, and now it's trans people. It was never about protecting anyone, it's about maintaining their own power by targeting others.

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[-] ME5SENGER_24@lemmy.world 71 points 1 year ago

It was never about the children.

[-] Cethin@lemmy.zip 26 points 1 year ago

Not just it never was, it never is. Anytime you hear anyone saying something should be done to protect the children, they're almost certainly not being honest. It's the oldest play in the book, and it still works.

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[-] BeeGandersLuck@lemmy.world 60 points 1 year ago

Your religion does not prohibit me from anything, it prohibits you. Learn the difference.

[-] Canopyflyer@lemmy.world 35 points 1 year ago

And it's not even about Trans Adults, or Trans Kids, or other LGBTQA+ groups, or any other small marginalized group that really doesn't have a real political power.

What it is about are sociopathic assholes that want political power and money, who are using the bigotry of simple minded assholes to create "boogie men" that only the sociopaths can "fight" to protect the bigots' children. When the last "boogie man" has been defeated, there WILL ALWAYS BE ANOTHER that requires the bigoted to vote for the sociopaths to "protect them" yet again. These groups, LGBTQA+, are targeted because there are not enough of them, or they are so marginalized already, that they are unable to push back effectively in the political arena (actually don't think that is true for LGBTQA+ as a whole, as long as they fight together).

It's LGBTQA+ now, next it will be some other group that poses a "threat to society". In 1930's Germany, this marginalized group were the Jews and, if you read your history, you know how that went. With 4,000,000 Jewish men, women, and children killed. All so that some sociopathic assholes could have power and money.

If you really want to see this in action, read about Germany's history in the 1930's.

It is sick, it is disgusting and it is happening in the United States RIGHT NOW.

There are no appropriate apologitics for this type of behavior, PERIOD THE FUCKING END.

How to fix what is going on? If you are of age (18 in the U.S.) to VOTE, then make sure you go to EVERY FUCKING ELECTION you are eligible to vote in. There are a LOT more elections going on, than the Presidential and and mid-terms. You are on the internet, the list for all elections you are eligible to vote in is easily available with a simple search with your favorite search engine.

Tl,Dr: If you are over 18 in the US... GET OUT AND VOTE! It may not be cool, or rad, or whatever the current thing to say is, but if you do not want a future where politicians are living in your uterus and bedroom, VOTE. Especially if you are in the younger generations (Gen Y and Z). Full disclosure, I am a Gen X'er with Silent Generation Parents (pre-Boomer generation).

[-] YoBuckStopsHere@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago

Voting in Red States is extremely difficult for anyone that has a job and family. That is by design to make sure only the Conservatives vote.

[-] CoderKat@lemm.ee 10 points 1 year ago

It's difficult, but not impossible. The GOP counts on making it just difficult enough to add a barrier that will discourage the least interested voters (and particularly in locations where their voter base isn't located). We still can combat those barriers. Eg, if your state has passed voter ID laws, spread the word well ahead of time and help people get ID. If your state has shitty placement of polling stations, help arrange transportation. Make sure people know about legal protections afforded to them for taking time off work to vote.

And above all, simply encourage voting and dispel misconceptions about "mY vOTe dOeSn'T MattER". Most people who don't vote are eligible, have means to do so, and aren't working the full stretch of polling station hours. They don't vote because they simply don't care or are discouraged.

[-] ProfessorZhu@lemmy.blahaj.zone 12 points 1 year ago

But it is about those groups, it was us first targeted by the Nazis and now it's us first on the chopping block again

[-] PorkrollPosadist@lemmy.ml 15 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Institut_f%C3%BCr_Sexualwissenschaft

In the state of Florida, it is illegal for school teachers to tell their students WHICH books the Nazis chose to burn first.

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[-] cultsuperstar@lemmy.ml 34 points 1 year ago

Evangelicals hang onto this chump's every word. They have zero credibility. Funny how they're supposed to love everyone and be tolerant, but they're the most hateful intolerant people I've ever known.

[-] Techmaster@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago

It's thanks to Trump and the churches' not only acceptance, but adoration, that has made me completely dismiss religion. These people are completely full of shit and have zero credibility.

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[-] irkli@lemmy.world 30 points 1 year ago

They find a lot of joy in making people hurt.

[-] Tyfud@lemmy.one 14 points 1 year ago

There's no hate quite like Christian love.

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[-] MinusPi@pawb.social 28 points 1 year ago

If anyone's surprised by that, they haven't been paying attention.

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[-] kitonthenet@kbin.social 27 points 1 year ago

It doesn’t stop with trans people, folks! Pretty soon you’ll need a priest to say you can get heart surgery!!

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[-] rockSlayer@lemmy.world 25 points 1 year ago

This is my shocked face. This was always the goal

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[-] Saneless@lemmy.world 25 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

As long as these dipshit ugly republican women can freely make their face look like they're allergic to bees yet stuck their face in a hive, how about we just let people take hormones, which only affects themselves, to feel better?

Children getting treatment or not is a legitimate debate and it's not my call

But we let adults drink themselves to death, watch Fox news, gain 600 pounds, box each other, avoid brushing their teeth, get Botox, get plastic surgery, get tattoos on their faces, use antidepressants, decide to be Christian, damage their hearing at concerts, avoid working out, and any number of hundreds of things that some people find harmful.

But suddenly they draw the line if someone they never associate with wants to take medicine or alter themselves, affecting only themselves. Why? You never have to deal with them. Just let them live

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[-] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 24 points 1 year ago

Well yeah they’ve been mad ever since we started demanding to be treated as equals and stopped pretending it was ok to shovel us all into roles of their shameful prostitute.

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[-] some_guy@lemmy.sdf.org 23 points 1 year ago

“I will ban all taxpayer funding for sex or gender transitions at any age,” said Trump

Who the fuck thinks taxpayers are paying for people to transition? I mean, if we had medicare for all, that'd be the case. But no one is getting a government handout to transition. And yet the hate continues to fester.

[-] pterencephalon@lemmy.world 16 points 1 year ago

It is possible to get transition care while on Medicaid in some states, at least. Because it's healthcare! So that would qualify at "taxpayer funded." I know some states explicitly ban it, and not sure what Medicare covers. There are also government employees who can get transition care through their insurance, so could be considered taxpayer funded?

In any case, I'd much rather have all trans people be able to get taxpayer funded transition related care.

[-] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

They are. Namely for poor people, veterans, government employees. Basically people who the government provides healthcare for. My bottom surgery was partially subsidized through the ACA as I was unemployed at the time and because it’s a medically necessary procedure (according to the AMA and APA) that I’d been pursuing for years.

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[-] Col3814444@lemmy.world 22 points 1 year ago

First they came for the trans people…

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[-] okbin@kbin.social 16 points 1 year ago

i wish the left could just pass a law banning harmful religion

i personally don’t care what you believe nor should freedom of religion go away, but this is exhausting

it’d be nice if we could just split into different countries; tired of dealing with these people. let them have their own fascist christian everyone-that’s-not-a-cishet-white-man-phobic country with zero taxes and fucked up roads and people realizing they have no choice but to hang themselves by their bootstraps when shit hits the fan. the rest of us will have a country where we take care of each other and don’t engage in harmful, childish drama.

[-] LegionEris@lemmy.world 27 points 1 year ago

let them have their own fascist christian everyone-that’s-not-a-cishet-white-man-phobic country

Gay and trans people would still be born there.

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[-] Nevoic@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago

This was essentially our approach for slavery, but it's fundamentally flawed. Allowing exploitation and bigotry in some other location isn't a fix.

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[-] snailtrail@lemmy.world 15 points 1 year ago

So they want to ban taxpayer funding.

I'm not an American, but how much tax funding goes into regular healthcare, and where the fuck does that money go? Because we hear horror stories over here in Europe that an ambulance callout in the US costs thousands of dollars, giving birth costs thousands of dollars, moderately wealthy people with health insurance have been bankrupted by cancer. In many European countries stuff like that doesn't really cost you anything. In the UK for example, a visit to your GP is free, as is most medication. In other EU countries a GP is about €65, unless you're on social welfare, in which case it's free. And if your GP refers you for a scan or procedure, you generally don't pay anything. The issue with free healthcare is the waiting time. You can choose to go private to cut the waiting time (in which case you need health insurance, because an MRI + overnight in hospital + procedure + plus drugs might cost €5k). But where a condition is considered an emergency (heart attack, road accident, possible cancer diagnosis) there isn't a long wait for life-saving treatment. If a car runs you over, an ambulance brings you to the hospital and they treat you - no money change hands. My older sister had terminal cancer, and throughout the entire thing she paid €0 for various operations, scans, drugs and 2 ambulance callouts. She had health insurance, but with cancer, regular healthcare kinda supercedes it. Healthcare gives your more options, but she found that the "best of the best" oncologists and cancer treatment were available for free at the public hospital.

So, a very long run up to my question: WTF healthcare actually gets taxpayer funding in the US, and how are basic things like an ambulance or insulin insanely expensive?

[-] Tar_alcaran@lemmy.world 17 points 1 year ago

I've lived in the US, the UK and the Netherlands, so I have a little info here.

WTF healthcare actually gets taxpayer funding in the US,

Yes, quite a lot, but not for everyone. There's a program for people over 65 (Medicare), and a program for low-income people (Medicaid). Then there are several other programs, such as Veteran's healthcare which comes from the Defence budget, and a crazy number of other programs.

and how are basic things like an ambulance or insulin insanely expensive?

Lack of collective bargaining.

Lets say I'm selling a pill that cures the deadly disease papercutitis, and I want to sell it in the US and the EU. I fill a shipping container with my pills costing me 50 bucks per pill, and I go the USA. I send my representatives to doctors and hospitals, and I find out that I can sell more than I make. So, I simply increase my prices. I end up selling my cure for 5000 bucks a pill, because people are going to die otherwise. Some people have insurance, some people have the government pay, and some people pay it privately, but they all pay.

Now, I go the UK, and take my 5000 dollar papercutitis pill, and the NHS goes "Hahaha, no. We'll pay 85 quid per pill, take it or leave it." And well, these pills cost me 50 bucks, and I make 85 quid, and there's 65 million british people, so I'll take the 85 GBP per pill. The same in the Netherlands, which had private insurance, but the insurance companies will very happily come together and with the government's backing say "Your choice, we can either buy asprin form Company X at 5 euros, OR we can a million asprins from you at 4,50, but you have to sell your papercutitis pills at 80 euros". And since I make a profer there too, I'll say yes.

So, in why is the US so expensive? Because the healthcare industry can make it so expensive. It's literally free profit (if you don't count the dead and bankrupt, but they don't).

[-] RocksForBrains@lemm.ee 9 points 1 year ago

The thing is, it aint polyjuice potion. Drugs rarely have one specific use, and a law like this can easily bleed over into other treatments drugs being banned.

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[-] Poob@lemmy.ca 8 points 1 year ago

Was there ever any doubt?

[-] Strayce@lemmy.sdf.org 8 points 1 year ago

It's almost as if this was the plan all along.

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this post was submitted on 17 Jul 2023
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