Some people are so fragile. Fox News of course is saying feds have banned non US flags, of course lying to their viewers about what is actually happening.

  • I think I agree but from a different perspective.

    The LGBTQ community and trans people in particular(among other minorities) are being targeted because they need something to rile people up in order to manipulate voters. Same goes for abortion. But this doesn’t mean these issues don’t matter. In small, big or very big ways, these issues still can affect people.

    I think it’s possible to do both: defend our rights while not losing sight from the other issues, like proper taxation, delaying global climate change, reducing poverty, achieving free health insurance, etc. And besides, this is anecdotal evidence but the people in favor of LGBT rights, IME, tend to also favor the other issues mentioned.

    • In no way did i mean to suggest, imply, or otherwise push the stance that the LGBTQ/Trans issues don’t matter. They absolutely do. I fully recognize and complete support equality for all. Those communities are absolutely under attack by these closed minded conservative bigots. My phrasing was intended to convey that these communities pose no direct threat, of any kind, to the folks frothing at the mouth for their continued marginalization.

      As you pointed out, they make easy targets to be lambasted in order to distract from the real issues of the day and conflating their cause with anything having to do with social, environmental, or economic responsibility or reform is an easy way to get the electorate to vote against their own self interest. So long as we’re made at each other for things we can’t change and the majority of us don’t understand, we don’t have time or resources to be mad at those actually making life hard for the rest of us.

      • To put your point slightly different: These issues don’t matter to those who aren’t affected by them.

        The ones opposing these issues are almost exclusively not people who have any first-hand (or second-hand) experience with the topic at hand.

        It’s a pure moral panic that is used to distract, at the expense of people who are seriously affected by these moral panic attacks. So of course these people fight back, because it’s their existance that is threatened. And that gives a really nice distraction about the issues that really should be changed (power structures, corruption, screwed election systems, …)