i had the idea for this last tdov but it didnt come together until now π₯π· though i'm not religious, this quote is beloved to me
michael jackson dying how he did when i was 8 years old really did a number on my psyche because now I'll be taking 2 medications for my mental health paired with tylenol and cough medicine because i'm sick and I'm like i am going to get. michael jacksoned and die
Trans women are assigned gender out of convenience for those who wish to control or abuse us.
One moment, we're a woman who can be spoken over, overlooked, and ignored. The next, (often when we have the gall to stand up for ourselves) we're men who are violent angry and abusive.
We have so little control of our own identities, we're a third sex to twist and transform to your convenience. No wonder we're so often scapegoated.
remove brain
Yesterday, I moderated this discussion with some Palestinians from the occupied west bank who have been resisting the zionists in their own little town. It was a strong mix of emotions to hear them speak - on one hand, very painful hear what they are put through daily, on the other, very invigorating to hear how much they value the protests in the universities to force them to divest. It is easy to fall into this trap of thinking "what are we doing apart from screaming free free Palestine??" But always remember that they are watching us, and if nothing else it gives them strength to see millions out there still supporting them.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/it-s-the-perfect-storm-doctors-urge-measles-vaccinations-as-alberta-case-counts-rise-1.7486200
so long as we're back to social justice 101 on this stupid website, u need to be aware of the feedback loop that emerges from disproportionate scrutiny: any social group that is placed under extra scrutiny, regardless of the actual prevalence of any particular behaviour, will appear to engage in that behaviour more often.
you see this most blatantly with racialised groups (more cops in black neighbourhoods = more arrests in black neighbourhoods = "omg look at all the crime in these neighbourhoods!" = more cops in black neighbourhoods etc). even if the rate of crime is the same (putting to one side the criminalisation of poverty which is also an important related factor), one group gets away with it way more often and a new generation of racists is indoctrinated with the crime statistics which "prove" that some groups are simply more criminal in nature. we see a similar phenomenon online with particular groups (trans women being a huge example) being subjected to mass stalking, their every move documented by weirdos and broadcast as representative of the group as a whole.
tl;dr - overscrutinising groups based on existing bigotries creates a recurring feedback loop, reproducing those bigotries across generations and nominally justifying them. this is bad, and you need to remember that you are not immune to it.