I've seen a depressing trend of Democratic politicians embracing anti trans talking points and compromising gender affirming care for young people. This is extremely concerning as states and the federal government are undermining access to care now more than ever. Democrats standing by trans people has far more dire consequences now than ever, yet we're being treated as politically disposable by people who used to campaign on lgbtq issues like Gavin Newsom and Pete Buttigieg.
I can't say I'm surprised. Liberal papers like the New York Times has been uncritically promoting unscientific transphobia for years that claims alternatives exist to gender affirming care. My guess is that people see a person transitioning as an unfortunate thing, desperately wishing there was another way. They ignore the fact that gender affirming care is both the best treatment for dysphoria, and one of the most successful treatments for any mental condition ever discovered.
To put it simply, making gender affirming care harder to obtain for kids will kill many of them. Kids being kept from care by their parents already drives people to suicide, and a slimy politician preventing supportive parents from helping their kids will do the same. Every time I see people claim these guys are our best shot at beating fascism, I die inside. I have no doubt that they'll eventually axe care for all adults like everyone who was originally "worried about fairness in sports" is currently pushing for. The only way they won't is if we make it a costly issue for them.
Democrats should really just embrace pro-gun politics and win over both right-wingers and left-wing gun owners.
Right wingers will never, ever, under any circuimstance shift left. Pandering to them is exactly why the turnout for Harris was millions less than Biden.
Voter turnout was at a record high in 2020, because the Covid-19 pandemic and BLM protests, made the then administration unpopular. It was a relative anomaly, and the next presidential race would have had lower turnout regardless of the candidate.
Prior to 2024, Harris had always presented herself as more left than Biden, she only claimed to tow the line in 2024 due to how unpopular she was in the 2020 DNC primary.
Guns are still, nevertheless, a good thing for antifascists. Democrats literally are trying to empower the fucking cops to arbitraily deny people of color the constitution right to own guns (via denying gun permits under so-calles "may issue" laws, ironically, were struck down by the 6 fascist-alligned judges in the supreme court)
Armed minorities are harder to oppress.
I just don't see full auto rifles being more useful to us than semi-autos.
Unless we use it to spray crowds of people it has more drawbacks than benefits.
Why in the world would anyone in his right mind buy a tool they'll never use?
I'm always amazed at the idea that we left leaning don't have guns. I've got a range a few miles away. While yes, i don't have a basement full of guns. The number is definitely not zero. I think there are more left gun owners than is given credit.
They deliberately made things like guns and flags our contention issues so that the left remains weak and neutered. I can't imagine more than the slimmest margin of Lemmy lefties would dare fly an American flag or open-carry and that's one of many reasons we never succeed at policy or lasting social change.
Force and patriotism are political capital which is the currency of politics and policy and elections, and this is why Trump's base has so much more value and are courted more than say, Bernie's base or whatever mythical, fantasy leftist leader everyone is hoping will show up next.
Everyone here thinks we're just a one good candidate away from some kind of absurd post-scarcity civilization with holodecks and food replicators. We are barbarians with iPhones, we have to treat our world as a much less fair and far more hostile place.
It has nothing to do with leaning right or left. The odds of having to use a gun are smaller that having to repair a 15th century submarine. There are better places to spend that kind of time and money.
I've had to use guns many times, never needed it for self defense in a human confrontation, so far. Like most people, I'm not trying to create confrontation, I try to live at peace with people.
But I have several outbuildings that have been invaded by destructive animals multiple times. By local law, I am not allowed to relocate them. Sure I could pay $100 a critter or more for a professional to kill them, but a bullet is a lot cheaper. Also, the 2nd amendment wasn't written for self defense. It was written for tyranny.
Would you like me to guess your sex and race? I've never repaired a 15th century submarine, twice the former though. I must just be an outlier.
I bought my crappy little gun for 80 bucks.
I guess I need to find out what tools I need to repair a 15th century… ohhhhh.
Haha
liberals won't use them, leftists would
Now that's a good answer. And i guess the distinction gets more relevant bybthe day.
I pray I'll never have to pull a plunger on someone. But if that day comes, I'll be real glad I already have a plunger.
"I'd rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it."