The tide may be turning.

 

The more I watch the news, the more I get worried.  The other day, I spoke with one of the regular attendees of game nights and he has similar concerns to me - even though I am much more at risk than he is.  Even with my fears, I see signs that the GOP coalition that elected the snowflake may soon fall apart.

- - - - - -

Every time the Orange Snowflake makes a demand, it seems like he gets shown to be a paper tiger.  He has been shown to be a liar or an incompetent by the leaders of France, Ukraine, and now Canada.  As I write this, he is about to announce some kind of deal with the UK.  Dollars to Donuts the deal will not accomplish much more than allow the snowflake to claim some sort of success with his tariff threats.

The judicial branch of government is also putting a stop to the snowflake's excesses.  However, they have yet to force him to bring back the man who was wrongfully sent to a Salvadoran prison.  He has said that he doesn't want to make the phone call to bring this man back to the USA.  I wonder: Why?  To me, the answer is just as simple - he can't admit a defeat or that he makes mistakes.  Instead, he keeps doubling down on his bogus claims that "justify" his actions.

Look at his recent appointments, and how several nominations have been retracted in favor of someone even more loyal (and less competent) than the person s/he replaced.  Many of his appointments are only temporary, such as his "nominee" for Attorney General. Congress is feeling the heat, as the GOP members keep trying to support the snowflake's unpopular actions.  It's only a matter of time that they will turn on him, as they are creatures that depend on being reelected every so often.  The other day, my "Moderate" (yeah, right!) congress critter had a hard time controlling the people who attended a recent town hall.  (Finding out when they'd be held in advance is virtually impossible - he's afraid of the people in his district - NY-17.)  Like many people here, I can't wait to vote against him, as he supports the snowflake's anti-transgender actions.  Given that this is a swing district, I hope that the Democrats have a strong candidate to run against this example of human garbage.

On the subject of tariffs, I doubt that China will do much of anything to help the snowflake.  He overplayed his hand from the beginning, and they will not react warmly to being bullied as part of his "negotiation" process.  Soon, the first ships will come in with post-tariff goods.  Sites like Temu (which I hate for reasons unrelated to anything I've discussed in this post) will be showing how much tariffs add to the cost of each item.  As much as it will cost me, I can't wait to see how this all plays out.

Recently, Palmer Report discussed the price of Trumpism for the USA.  Sadly, after #47 is 86'd, there will be many cultural injuries which need to be dealt with. It is very easy for people to be turned against their neighbors and into shells of who they once were.  I can see that tendency in myself, and have to resist letting the anger the snowflake generates take over my soul.  Hopefully, I will be able to retain most of my humanity when this sorry state of affairs ends.

- - - - - -

Years ago, someone came up with what is called the "Chinese Curse":

May you live in interesting times.

Please start boring me to death soon.  I need a rest from all of this.

 

What does anger and hatred get us?

I read the following in a Facebook post the other day, and it is just as valid now as when it was originally posted:

Feminist News

The question was posed, "Why do people continue supporting Trump no matter what he does?" A lady named Bev answered it this way:

“You all don't get it. I live in Trump country, in the Ozarks in southern Missouri, one of the last places where the KKK still has a relatively strong established presence. They don't give a shit what he does. He's just something to rally around and hate liberals, that's it, period. He absolutely realizes that and plays it up. They love it. He knows they love it. The fact that people act like it's anything other than that proves to them that liberals are idiots, all the more reason for high fives all around.

If you keep getting caught up in "why do they not realize this problem" and "how can they still back Trump after this scandal," then you do not understand what the underlying motivating factor of his support is. It's fuck liberals, that's pretty much it.

Have you noticed he can do pretty much anything imaginable, and they'll explain some way that rationalizes it that makes zero logical sense? Because they're not even keeping track of any coherent narrative, it's irrelevant. Fuck liberals is the only relevant thing.

Trust me; I know firsthand what I'm talking about.

That's why they just laugh at it all because you all don't even realize they truly don't give a fuck about whatever the conversation is about. It's just a side mission story that doesn't matter anyway. That's all just trivial details - the economy, health care, whatever.

Fuck liberals.

Look at the issue with not wearing the masks. I can tell you what that's about. It's about exposing fear. They're playing chicken with nature, and whoever flinches just moved down their internal pecking order, one step closer to being a liberal.
You've got to understand the one core value that they hold above all others is hatred for what they consider weakness because that's what they believe strength is, hatred of weakness. And I mean passionate, sadistic hatred. And I'm not exaggerating. Believe me. Sadistic, passionate hatred, and that's what proves they're strong, their passionate hatred for weakness. Sometimes they will lump vulnerability in with weakness. They do that because people tend to start humbling themselves when they're in some compromising or overwhelming circumstance, and to them, that's an obvious sign of weakness.

Kindness = weakness. Honesty = weakness. Compromise = weakness.

They consider their very existence to be superior in every way to anyone who doesn't hate weakness as much as they do. They consider liberals to be weak people that are inferior, almost a different species, and the fact that liberals are so weak is why they have to unite in large numbers, which they find disgusting, but it's that disgust that is a true expression of their natural superiority.

Go ahead and try to have a logical, rational conversation with them. Just keep in mind what I said here and be forewarned.”

So, what does this mean for the rest of us?  Do we give in to our hatred and anger and become just like these losers?  Or, do we find ways of disconnecting ourselves from them in all ways and let them stew by themselves in their own anger?  I feel sorry for these cult members, but I won't forgive them.  They have choices they can make, and they keep making bad ones.  The best I can do is to put myself in positions where they can do as little harm to me as possible, for as long as possible.  But what do I suggest for civilized people as a whole?

I suggest total disengagement.  Advocate policies that protect our communities from their hatred, even if it hurts them in the long run.  Let them destroy their states as long as we can protect ourselves from them and their politicians.  Boycott their states, as the Canadians are boycotting America.  If it's easy to avoid doing business with firms such as Hobby Lobby and Chick Fil A, do so.  But this will not always be possible.  Many of the biggest firms are managed by people who benefit from targeting the weakest in our society.  So do business with them as little as possible.  

Right now, I have friends in Texas who I will not visit until their state recovers its sanity.  Since that isn't happening soon, all I can do is meet with them over a Zoom link.  It's not good, but it's better than visiting them as an unauthentic self to avoid persecution in that state.

 

 

Happy Elvis Day!

 

No, I am not a big Elvis fan.  Yet, I enjoy most of his music.  It's a shame that his life was cut short by excess.  But this post is not going to be about Elvis, other than it will be public on the anniversary of his birthday.

- - - - - -

Most of my readers know that I write things one day and publish them around 2 weeks later.  I do this, so that I can travel and not let people I'm away from the house until I've returned home.  This means that I rarely post on cruise-specific travel forums, as I don't want thieves to have the knowledge that I'll be away for a given period of time.  However, I just left the following post (from a different blog I occasionally write for people new to cruising) covering the cruise I took on December 9-16.

MSC Meraviglia - Florida and Bahamas Cruise (12/09/23 - 12/16/24)

It's written differently from the journal of the trip covered in successive entries in this transgender related blog, as no mention is given to any transgender issues.  Shortly after posting, I got a lot of people reading the blog, as it was of interest to a wider group of people.

- - - - - -

Why do I mention the unexpected popularity of my other blog?   Simple.  It's to remind our community that we are small and not on the minds of most people.  We are under attack by many,  But most people are inclined to let us be, as I was on this cruise.  I simply blended in to what people were expecting from a fat 66 y/o woman.  And for most of us, that's what we want - to be treated with the respect normally shown to a person of our identified genders.

We must not forget that we are under attack from some quarters.  When my ship made an unplanned stop in Miami, I refuse to spend any time or money helping the economy of that state as long as that homophobe/transphobe governor is in office.  (Yes, I broke down and spent $2.00 on some soda, as I was thirsty.)   I'm not as self righteous as I was practical - why take any last minute shore excursions in the rain?  If I have to pass through Florida, I will spend some money there.  But I won't plan a vacation that involves me staying there, save to visit a friend or to visit family.

- - - - - -

I've said before that living as a transgender person has a lot of mundane issues that are common to most people.  When I see transgender people like Danica Roem get elected to office, they don't focus on being different, save that they will do more for their constituents than their opposition.  We are part of a larger society. Maybe our goals of acceptance from the larger society should focus on how much alike we are to the rest of society instead of focusing on our differences....

We are under attack!

 

Now that the GOP has lost its war against Homosexuals and "Gay Marriage", they have turned their sights directly onto us, the Transgender Community.  If one looks carefully at the bills that have been passed which ban gender related treatment, we see an underlying hatred for things "Conservatives" don't understand, are fearful of, and want to rid the world of because of that fear.

I see homosexuality and being transgender as part of a greater intersex spectrum, something that happens when one part of a fetus's development (brain and body) does not happen according to typical gender lines. This is different from many people see intersex, as I include the wiring of the brain as part of the definition of intersex.

When people are not able to classify something into something they can understand and manage, their fears go out of control.  Rationality is lost, as primeval instincts kick in.  When people live under constant threat due to their inability to escape poverty, they turn to bombastic populist leaders. When people remember "the good old days" without seeing how bad they were for others, they want simple answers to complicated problems.  We now see all of these issues and more in the people who support the radicals in today's GOP.

We are under attack.  There are a large number of places in this country where I am afraid to travel as Marian because of being transgender.  My rights to be treated with dignity and respect are being taken away by the likes of the governors of Florida and Texas, all for political gain.  The people of their states (and other "Red States" as well) need scapegoats to punish for their misfortune.  Even though I blend in well with cisgender women, I would not feel safe in entering a public washroom in these states.  If I were to enter a place of public accommodation, I could be discriminated against without reason.  And, if I were to deal with law enforcement authorities, I could be treated in a way that puts my life at risk.  Is this right?

There is a culture war going on right now, and large swaths of the population who have retreated into political tribalism. There are large areas of this nation which are one party states.  In the past, even the dominant party in these states could reasonably be expected to be voted out if it didn't do a good enough job for their states.  This is not the case anymore.  People such as Florida's governor are trying to ban the opposition political party for actions many of its leaders took over 160 years ago. This is not democracy in action.  This is an authoritarian government in waiting that is trying to do this.

I'm not sure of what we can do next.  Strangely enough, I would take (the lunatic) Marjorie Taylor Greene's suggestion that we have a Red and Blue State divorce, and run with it a little. I'd suggest something a little bit more dangerous to the Red States: a requirement that the US Federal Government spend no more than 5% more or less in every state than it collects in tax revenue.  Since the Blue States contribute more to the government in tax revenues than they receive, this would be a net benefit to these states.  We could also set a federal minimum level for social spending in every state as a requirement for new federal projects to be placed in the Red States.  This would slow down the "Brain Drain" from Blue to Red states, caused by the poor education standards (as a whole) in those states. 

In my opinion, what we're seeing are the things that happen when there is a great difference in living standards between the rich and poor in a society.  Like the people of Brazil, America's people fell out of love with democracy and elected a bombastic and ineffective leader as it moved to the right, and then moved to the left as a backlash against the right.  Until we can force government to do its job, people at the margins of society are at great risk, as we are the pawns in a larger game of power.  

So what can we do to change things?  As a species, we do not like rapid or radical change. Progress can only come slowly.  In the case of politics, our leaders are in a continual battle to be reelected, so that they can gain power.  Not solving  problems is their best way to have things to rally against, and get votes.  As the parties become more extreme, the more likely one will pick a minority group (Jews, Muslims, Homosexuals, Transgenders, Political Opponents, etc.) as demons to obliterate.  But the question remains: How do we enact simple, long term changes to fix this?  To me, the answer is amazingly simple - term limits for all politicians.  Years ago, a friend told me that death gives meaning to life.  Without death, we'd have no reason to finish anything.  The same goes for elected leadership.  If a leader knows that s/he has only a limited amount of time to achieve anything, they will focus on getting important things done.  By that subtle change alone, there will be no need for scapegoats, as politicians would only be judged by what they supported, and not what they opposed.

Yes, I am proposing a subtle change to nudge the system in a way that benefits us.  This prevents the opposition from labeling this in a derogatory fashion.  And, if we were to "grandfather" all currently serving officeholders from these same term limits, we might get the support needed to make an important change in the system whose effect could be seen in a single generation.

What do you think?