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Arthur Benson's avatar

Wonderful piece. You are always terrific. But this one nailed crazy hateful Republicans who find themselves in a spiral where they try to out-outrage all the other hateful nuts in the same spiral. Just as anti-gay marriage politics in 2002 quickly lost its footing to an increasingly tolerant nation, so too will anti-trans hate. Unfortunately a lot of vulnerable people will be injured in the meantime.

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Eli's avatar

Really good piece! When it comes to "what about the children" and drag queen story hour or stuff like that, I think the comparison to letting your kids eat fast food every day is really apt. Everyone knows there are some parents with really strict rules about what food they'll serve or even allow in their house. Those parents are definitely acting out of strongly felt moral conviction, and probably do think less of other parents for letting their kids eat fast food. But if those parents tried to legally define it as child abuse to give your kids fast food, everyone, including conservative Republicans, would understand that as outrageous government overreach and violation of parents' rights. Bringing your kids to a drag show is no different! Lots of people out there might personally believe that it's bad for children, but the idea that it's harmful on the level of actual abuse or requires government intervention is ridiculous. Whenever marginalized demographics are involved, Republicans can't seem to understand there's a world of difference between "well, I'd never let *my* kids do that" and "call the authorities".

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