Sadly, I’ve had far too many liberal and Democratic-voter friends over the past years share their fear, loathing, and revulsion towards trans people even though none of them could ever tell me when they’ve actually encountered a trans person in their life. In Virginia, I saw first-hand how the GOP deftly exploited people’s existing bias and ignorance of trans people, who make up only 1% of the population, as the latest dog whistle to advance a hateful right-wing agenda.
Republicans like Gov. Youngkin dressed up the hate as “parental rights” and spread stories about children being “indoctrinated” by woke ideology. Unfortunately, it worked like gangbusters and far too many suburban parents fell, yet again, for the tried and true Republican scare tactic. In the 2024 Presidential election, the GOP spent more than $215 million attacking trans people which tilted some communities of color to vote for a man who quotes Hitler and believes they come from shithole countries.
In the past week, Trump has tried to erase the existence of trans people, attacked DEI initiatives, and targeted 15,000 transgender soldiers who honorably serve our country. But if anyone has been paying attention, the right-wing project doesn’t begin and end with trans people. They’re also going after immigrants, Muslims, women, Jews, Black people, the press, doctors, teachers, Democrats, and anyone who doesn’t bend the knee to Trump.
The attack on gender, specifically, is a foundational piece of the global white supremacy project that has mainstreamed “the replacement theory” conspiracy which believes the rest of us are seeking to weaken and replace white, straight, Christian men, who are allegedly God’s chosen masters of this Earth.
Activist and host Imara Jones, creator of TransLash Media, joins me to connect the dots and explain how the attack on transgender communities is just the beginning of a larger project that seeks to target and oppress every community that is willing to stand up to white supremacy and fascism both here and abroad.
Grab a chai and give us a listen!
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