WEBVTT - Texas' War on Trans People 0:00:04.960 --> 0:00:07.400 That's that's that's the thing. Just take photos of his 0:00:07.520 --> 0:00:10.720 children walking into the door of their public school. Yeah, 0:00:11.400 --> 0:00:14.840 send him to him with the pro pro protonomail account. 0:00:20.720 --> 0:00:22.439 Don't let him know what he did to provoke this. 0:00:22.760 --> 0:00:27.320 Just just frighten him. I do like that. Els is 0:00:27.440 --> 0:00:30.440 very recorded. Yeah, that's that's how you do it. With 0:00:30.520 --> 0:00:33.440 the episode has begun. We're improuding all of that, Sofie, 0:00:33.760 --> 0:00:36.760 all of that Welcome today could happen here the podcast 0:00:36.840 --> 0:00:39.080 where we will take pictures of your children entering a 0:00:39.159 --> 0:00:41.960 public school and send them to you as a threat. 0:00:42.040 --> 0:00:43.880 But we won't tell you what you're we're threatening you 0:00:44.000 --> 0:00:48.400 over because that's I don't know what that is, probably 0:00:48.520 --> 0:00:56.800 terrorism technically speaking, speaking of child abuse. Great Garrison very 0:00:56.840 --> 0:01:01.400 proud nailed it. Yeah. Yeah, So we're gonna be We're 0:01:01.400 --> 0:01:05.679 gonna we're doing an episode to talk about the recent 0:01:05.880 --> 0:01:08.680 kind of letter and opinion piece that the Governor of 0:01:08.760 --> 0:01:13.560 Texas and the Attorney general wrote relating to trans kids 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:16.120 in Texas. We're we're also planning like a like a 0:01:16.160 --> 0:01:18.640 more like a week long worth of stuff kind of 0:01:18.720 --> 0:01:21.480 going into this issue across not not just the States, 0:01:21.560 --> 0:01:24.600 but also like like internationally as well in terms of 0:01:24.680 --> 0:01:27.440 like the growing kind of war on trans people. But 0:01:28.120 --> 0:01:30.200 because this thing happened, we we do want to kind 0:01:30.240 --> 0:01:33.000 of talk about it now as well before we you know, 0:01:33.200 --> 0:01:35.760 spend a lot of time making a week long is 0:01:35.760 --> 0:01:39.000 the worth of of of scripted pieces on it. So anyway, 0:01:39.040 --> 0:01:42.800 we're gonna be talking about what happened last last weekend 0:01:43.400 --> 0:01:46.240 or last week at time of recording, UM when the 0:01:46.600 --> 0:01:50.440 Texas Attorney General, Kent Paxton released an opinion piece UM 0:01:50.760 --> 0:01:53.640 on I think it was it was Monday the twenty one, 0:01:54.160 --> 0:01:57.800 declaring gender affirming medical care for transgender children to be 0:01:58.400 --> 0:02:02.080 child abuse UM. In response, the next day, UH, the 0:02:02.200 --> 0:02:05.440 Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, directed the Texas Department of 0:02:05.520 --> 0:02:11.160 Family and Protective Services UM to investigate these practices UM 0:02:11.280 --> 0:02:14.320 and then kind of on that following Wednesday, the letter 0:02:14.400 --> 0:02:18.280 that Greg Gabbott wrote went viral, detailing both the Attorney 0:02:18.320 --> 0:02:21.040 general's kind of opinion that a number of the so 0:02:21.160 --> 0:02:24.480 called quote sex change procedures constitute child abuse under existing 0:02:24.560 --> 0:02:29.480 Texas law UM and directing the Family and Protective Services 0:02:29.840 --> 0:02:33.320 to protect these to quote unquote protect these kids from abuse. 0:02:33.639 --> 0:02:36.280 And I hear by director agency to conduct a prompt 0:02:36.320 --> 0:02:40.760 in through investigation to any reported instances of these abusive procedures. UM. 0:02:41.120 --> 0:02:43.600 And what's really insidious is that like it's not even 0:02:43.919 --> 0:02:47.320 it's like, of course, like there is not gender affirming 0:02:47.400 --> 0:02:50.680 surgery done on minors anyway, that does not happen. Um. 0:02:51.160 --> 0:02:55.120 But the but this letter actually does UM go into 0:02:55.800 --> 0:02:59.480 UM says uh. It's it says uh. According according to 0:02:59.480 --> 0:03:01.840 the general in general opinion, it's already against the law 0:03:01.840 --> 0:03:04.160 to subject Texas children to a wide variety of elective 0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:08.559 procedures for gender transitioning, including reassignment surgeries that can cause sterilization, 0:03:08.960 --> 0:03:12.560 removals of otherwise healthy body parts, and administration of puberty 0:03:12.639 --> 0:03:16.480 blocking drugs or doses of testosterone or estrogen. So it's 0:03:16.520 --> 0:03:20.359 not it is also including HRT, including puberty blockers, which 0:03:20.400 --> 0:03:23.960 again we already give to sis gender children all the time. UM. 0:03:24.560 --> 0:03:27.040 Puberty blockers are given to kids who have early onset 0:03:27.080 --> 0:03:31.280 prebuty who assists UM. But it's now including puberty blockers 0:03:31.440 --> 0:03:34.639 inside like constituting that in its in and of itself 0:03:34.720 --> 0:03:38.000 as child abuse, which is an escalation of things that 0:03:38.040 --> 0:03:42.640 we've seen before. UM. Yeah, And then it's also talking 0:03:42.680 --> 0:03:47.720 about how Texas law imposes reporting requirements upon all licensed professionals, um, 0:03:48.080 --> 0:03:52.080 including doctors and nurses, teachers, therapists, and provides you know, 0:03:52.160 --> 0:03:54.760 criminal penalties for failure to report things. So like it 0:03:54.920 --> 0:03:58.120 is that that was that was that was the that 0:03:58.240 --> 0:04:00.080 was the main part of the of the letter, that 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:04.520 one viral detailing the different different ways that they're trying 0:04:04.600 --> 0:04:10.600 to harass, intimidate, and um introduce possible legal legal repercussions 0:04:10.640 --> 0:04:14.600 to parents and um, you know, caregivers who support transgender 0:04:14.680 --> 0:04:23.520 youth inside the state of Texas. Oh yeah, um it is. 0:04:23.720 --> 0:04:26.040 It is like the perfect example of the thing these 0:04:26.080 --> 0:04:29.520 people always do when they make laws based on their bigotry, 0:04:29.600 --> 0:04:33.880 which is like reflexively make a law based on whatever 0:04:34.080 --> 0:04:36.520 is like the fucking Twitter talking point that they've been 0:04:36.600 --> 0:04:39.080 yelling about, and then don't consider all of the different 0:04:39.160 --> 0:04:41.120 things that it's going to do that have nothing to 0:04:41.200 --> 0:04:42.880 do with the group of people they're trying to hurt. 0:04:44.240 --> 0:04:46.840 And lots of cases, this is just gonna it's it's 0:04:46.839 --> 0:04:48.600 not even gonna it's it's gonna impact a lot of 0:04:48.720 --> 0:04:50.800 like queer people in general, right because it's it's in 0:04:50.960 --> 0:04:53.839 terms of like reporting things that seem outside the mainstream 0:04:53.880 --> 0:04:56.520 so not even necessarily transer, not even necessarily transgender people, 0:04:56.960 --> 0:04:58.680 not even necessarily queer people as well. Like there's a 0:04:58.720 --> 0:05:00.960 lot of like you know, I ice and if definitely 0:05:01.000 --> 0:05:02.320 when I was growing if there's a lot of like 0:05:02.440 --> 0:05:06.600 cis girls who enjoyed dressing more like butcher tomboy. Um. 0:05:07.000 --> 0:05:08.600 You know, there's a there's a and there's a whole 0:05:08.640 --> 0:05:11.600 bunch of stuff that will just affect like kids in general. 0:05:12.240 --> 0:05:14.720 Um with all of this reporting and all of this 0:05:14.960 --> 0:05:19.839 like and making making these like procedures and like hormone 0:05:19.920 --> 0:05:22.720 treatments like you know, to trying to make them seem 0:05:22.800 --> 0:05:25.120 like they're legal. Because that because again, like the actual 0:05:25.160 --> 0:05:27.920 Texas law has has not changed. It is it is 0:05:28.240 --> 0:05:31.400 the it is. This is an opinion piece investing directing 0:05:32.040 --> 0:05:35.880 the child Protective Services to investigate these things. So the 0:05:35.920 --> 0:05:37.720 actual law in the books doesn't change. What it has 0:05:37.760 --> 0:05:40.520 done is caused a whole bunch of like possible legal 0:05:40.640 --> 0:05:43.640 danger um and a massive headache and just a whole 0:05:43.640 --> 0:05:46.520 bunch of like legal harassment against parents and kids. And 0:05:46.560 --> 0:05:48.400 that that's what it's gonna that's what's gonna result in 0:05:48.440 --> 0:05:51.160 because it's it's unclear what this what the Governor's directive 0:05:51.200 --> 0:05:54.680 is going to actually practically look like UM because in 0:05:54.760 --> 0:05:57.280 the in the in a tweet on last Tuesday, he 0:05:57.360 --> 0:06:00.160 said that he's directing the Child Protective Services is to 0:06:00.360 --> 0:06:03.920 enforce this ruling and investigate and refer for prosecution for 0:06:04.080 --> 0:06:07.880 instances of miners receiving affirming care UM, and then to 0:06:08.400 --> 0:06:11.680 the Texas Protective Services told Time magazine on Wednesday that 0:06:11.760 --> 0:06:14.520 it was going to comply with the Governor's directive UM, 0:06:15.040 --> 0:06:17.680 but in terms of like directing them for prosecution, there 0:06:17.760 --> 0:06:20.960 has been like five Texas digitit attorneys UM, including the 0:06:21.040 --> 0:06:24.479 d as of Dallas County and Houston's Travis County. They 0:06:24.520 --> 0:06:27.360 issued a statement to the day after h condemning the 0:06:27.520 --> 0:06:30.760 directive UM and saying that they plan to enforce the 0:06:30.800 --> 0:06:33.240 constitution to quote their quote unquote that's what they said, 0:06:33.560 --> 0:06:36.400 and that they are quote deeply disturbed by Governor Abbots 0:06:36.440 --> 0:06:41.440 and Attorney General Paxton's cruel directives treating transgender children's access 0:06:41.480 --> 0:06:43.920 to life saving gender firm and care as child abuse. 0:06:44.560 --> 0:06:47.679 We will not irrationally and ajustifiably interfere with medical decisions 0:06:47.720 --> 0:06:50.880 made between children, their parents, and their medical physicians to 0:06:51.040 --> 0:06:54.400 ensure the safety of transgender youth, adding that we will 0:06:54.440 --> 0:06:57.120 not allow the governor or turn general to disregard Texas 0:06:57.839 --> 0:07:00.960 children's lives in order to score political points. So in 0:07:01.120 --> 0:07:02.720 terms of you know, there's many certain parts of the 0:07:02.760 --> 0:07:05.440 certain parts of the state where even even if protective 0:07:05.440 --> 0:07:08.960 Services does investigate reports of this, they're not gonna get prosecuted. 0:07:09.360 --> 0:07:10.840 But there will be other parts of the state where 0:07:10.880 --> 0:07:13.600 these they probably will like and because like it's because 0:07:13.720 --> 0:07:16.160 because it is just because it is just an interpretation 0:07:16.240 --> 0:07:19.280 of the law, you can still you can still get 0:07:19.400 --> 0:07:21.480 lots of legal trouble and it's going to be up 0:07:21.520 --> 0:07:24.080 to juries and other people to decide on what interpretation 0:07:24.120 --> 0:07:27.720 of the law is going to be enforced and enacted upon. Um, 0:07:28.200 --> 0:07:29.880 So you're seeing a lot of people being like, oh, no, 0:07:29.960 --> 0:07:32.280 it's actually okay because the law is not changing, it's 0:07:32.320 --> 0:07:34.840 just the interpretation. And we're like, well, no, it actually 0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:37.160 gets a big problem. Like it's like and it's not 0:07:37.240 --> 0:07:40.840 even it's just the overall like it's saying the things 0:07:41.400 --> 0:07:44.640 that have been gone unsaid for a long time, like it' 0:07:44.800 --> 0:07:46.680 it's it's it's making the things that everyone kind of 0:07:46.720 --> 0:07:49.800 assumed or was kind of the unsaid bigotry, putting it 0:07:49.880 --> 0:07:52.840 into writing and making it concrete, and it's like the 0:07:52.960 --> 0:07:56.760 overall escalation of this thing, which is which is is deep, deep, 0:07:56.880 --> 0:08:08.880 deeply concerning. I mean, it's it's the thing that happened 0:08:08.880 --> 0:08:12.720 with like COVID restrictions to like masks and stuff, where 0:08:13.560 --> 0:08:15.960 you've got the cities and stuff where you have kind 0:08:16.000 --> 0:08:18.560 of more rational leadership are saying like we're not we're 0:08:18.600 --> 0:08:20.960 not paying attention to this directed from the governor. We're 0:08:21.000 --> 0:08:23.040 gonna keep having letting people mask or we're not going 0:08:23.080 --> 0:08:27.040 to let you, you know, go after businesses that require masks. 0:08:27.720 --> 0:08:32.200 But with the added dimension of like the rather than 0:08:32.280 --> 0:08:35.560 it being sort of targeting businesses and schools, it's it's 0:08:35.600 --> 0:08:38.920 targeting individuals, and it's allowing individuals to target other individuals, 0:08:39.000 --> 0:08:42.360 like the Texas abortion law exactly. And the primary purpose 0:08:42.440 --> 0:08:46.720 of this is going to be too basically gradually erode 0:08:46.800 --> 0:08:50.520 the areas in which which trans kids can can live 0:08:50.720 --> 0:08:53.360 in Texas. Like, yep, they'll be able to live in 0:08:53.440 --> 0:08:55.760 some of the cities for a while at least, well 0:08:55.800 --> 0:08:57.920 and even even in the cities. Right, it's like, yeah, okay, 0:08:57.960 --> 0:09:00.440 so maybe the the doesn't prosecute but that doesn't mean 0:09:00.480 --> 0:09:03.520 that CPS can't just can't investigate you, and like that 0:09:03.960 --> 0:09:07.520 that's gonna be traumatic, a lot of legal harassment because 0:09:07.920 --> 0:09:12.199 like DFPS cannot remove any child from their parents or 0:09:12.240 --> 0:09:15.240 guardians without a court order, and no court in Texas 0:09:15.400 --> 0:09:18.920 or anywhere in the country has yet found gender affirm 0:09:19.000 --> 0:09:21.640 and care to be considered child abuse. So it has 0:09:21.679 --> 0:09:24.240 not happened yet, but they sure wanted to happen, and 0:09:24.360 --> 0:09:26.079 this is these are the next These are the next 0:09:26.120 --> 0:09:29.320 steps that can make it happen. Right, They are trying 0:09:29.360 --> 0:09:33.120 to get there um with this like incremental like these 0:09:33.200 --> 0:09:35.839 incremental things, you know, starting off with like legal interpretations 0:09:35.880 --> 0:09:38.199 and the law. Eventually they would want to change the 0:09:38.240 --> 0:09:41.120 law just to reflect this opinion, right, Like they want 0:09:41.200 --> 0:09:44.760 this to happen. They're just they're trying to slowly, slowly, 0:09:45.000 --> 0:09:49.480 slowly get at it um and it needs to be 0:09:49.600 --> 0:09:52.720 pushed back upon because yeah, any any slow incremental thing 0:09:52.760 --> 0:09:54.480 that they're going to try to do to make it 0:09:54.600 --> 0:09:57.679 basically be impossible to live as trans in Texas, the 0:09:57.960 --> 0:09:59.839 UH and lots of other states as well. It's not 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:02.520 it's not just Texas. There's things like this happening across 0:10:02.840 --> 0:10:06.440 all of the United States, basically especially especially you know, portions, 0:10:06.720 --> 0:10:12.360 portions of the South. Um. And it's yeah, it does 0:10:12.400 --> 0:10:14.920 play into this kind of overall in the past five years, 0:10:15.280 --> 0:10:18.640 you know, once they lost the gay marriage issue, they're like, Okay, 0:10:18.720 --> 0:10:21.199 the next line of defense for these people is making 0:10:21.280 --> 0:10:24.040 it be impossible to be trans. So it is that 0:10:24.120 --> 0:10:26.240 it's like the new that's the new thing they're gonna 0:10:26.280 --> 0:10:28.760 be really focusing on. And it's we've seen so many, 0:10:28.960 --> 0:10:33.040 so many new bills against against like being trans over 0:10:33.120 --> 0:10:34.839 the course of the past five years. Again, it's it 0:10:34.960 --> 0:10:37.800 is more so putting into writing the things that have 0:10:37.920 --> 0:10:41.400 been always kind of unconscious bigotry or even concious bigotry, 0:10:41.640 --> 0:10:44.280 but it's putting that into actual stone and making it 0:10:44.360 --> 0:10:47.559 like cemented. Um. You know, just at just at the 0:10:47.559 --> 0:10:49.280 start of this year, there was new restrictions put in 0:10:49.400 --> 0:10:52.800 place for Texas is transgender student athletes playing on K 0:10:52.920 --> 0:10:56.840 through twelve school sports teams UM that that went into 0:10:56.840 --> 0:10:59.680 effect on January eighteenth. It was it was a house 0:10:59.760 --> 0:11:06.320 built twenty five authored by Representative Valerie Swanson. UM requires 0:11:06.400 --> 0:11:10.079 student athletes to complete in interslastic competition to play on 0:11:10.160 --> 0:11:12.360 sports teams that correspond with the sex listed on their 0:11:12.360 --> 0:11:15.440 birth certificate at or near their time of birth, which 0:11:15.480 --> 0:11:18.680 means that the legislation went further than the previous rules 0:11:19.120 --> 0:11:22.000 from the University of Slastic League UM, which governs the 0:11:22.000 --> 0:11:25.559 school sports in Texas, in which the students gender is 0:11:25.600 --> 0:11:28.840 determined by their birth certificate, but that that can also 0:11:28.920 --> 0:11:32.040 be legally modified, like you can change these sex assigned 0:11:32.080 --> 0:11:34.760 at birth on on on your birth certificate. The new 0:11:34.960 --> 0:11:36.880 ruling is that it needs to be it needs to 0:11:36.920 --> 0:11:38.880 match the one that it was at or near your 0:11:38.920 --> 0:11:41.400 time of birth. So again, like they're finding all these little, 0:11:41.480 --> 0:11:45.280 these little small like things to like pry um that 0:11:45.520 --> 0:11:49.560 just makes things overall be harder to live in UM. 0:11:49.640 --> 0:11:51.760 And at this point, like ten ten other states have 0:11:51.880 --> 0:11:55.240 put in very similar laws relating to like relating to 0:11:55.880 --> 0:12:00.960 to school sports and like bathroom bills, and yeah, yeah, 0:12:01.040 --> 0:12:03.880 I mean it's it's the it's the same thing that 0:12:03.960 --> 0:12:06.680 authoritarians always do, which is they're just kind of edging 0:12:06.760 --> 0:12:10.640 further and further and and continuing to proceed as they 0:12:10.679 --> 0:12:13.840 do not meet resistance, and the goal is to make 0:12:13.920 --> 0:12:17.520 it illegal and impossible to exist as a transgender person 0:12:17.600 --> 0:12:19.520 in society. You know, part of what they're doing with 0:12:19.880 --> 0:12:22.520 with the wording of how this change in Texas has 0:12:22.559 --> 0:12:26.079 been announced, as they're trying to frame being trans is 0:12:26.120 --> 0:12:29.360 a contagion that threatens children, and step one of that 0:12:30.200 --> 0:12:33.240 under the is going proceeding under the ages if we 0:12:33.320 --> 0:12:35.760 are protecting children by making these kind of surgeries and 0:12:35.800 --> 0:12:39.720 stuff illegal. But the steps beyond that are eventually banning 0:12:40.160 --> 0:12:42.840 and restricting the ability of trans people to be around 0:12:42.960 --> 0:12:45.440 children and eventually be in civil society at all because 0:12:45.440 --> 0:12:48.600 they're a threat to children. That that that's the logical 0:12:48.720 --> 0:12:51.120 procession of the arguments that they're making, and I think 0:12:51.160 --> 0:12:57.599 they're proceeding in a fairly um um logical way in 0:12:57.960 --> 0:13:01.199 terms of achieving that as a goal, and they're not 0:13:01.320 --> 0:13:06.400 going to stop until they are stopped by probably force, 0:13:07.200 --> 0:13:09.280 if anything stops it. At this point, that's that's what 0:13:09.400 --> 0:13:12.520 it's going to have to be, because the local government 0:13:12.640 --> 0:13:17.599 has realized that that's how you get elected because you 0:13:17.679 --> 0:13:20.040 can't you can fix the power grid in Texas, you 0:13:20.120 --> 0:13:22.600 can't provide people with anything that makes their lives easier, 0:13:22.640 --> 0:13:25.960 but you can hurt trans people. Um and Republicans are 0:13:26.240 --> 0:13:29.240 are well are always down with that. It's it's it's 0:13:29.280 --> 0:13:31.120 it's it's the thing fascists to where they introduce a 0:13:31.160 --> 0:13:33.640 false crisis. They introduce a false crisis that they can 0:13:33.800 --> 0:13:38.800 actually take steps to to, you know, um, make changes about. 0:13:39.280 --> 0:13:40.959 But all that ends up doing is hurting more of 0:13:41.000 --> 0:13:43.000 the population. It doesn't actually solve any issue that actually 0:13:43.080 --> 0:13:46.079 hurts people. Um. It's it's one of the core things 0:13:46.160 --> 0:13:48.599 in the fascist playbook. And I think it's even in 0:13:48.640 --> 0:13:50.719 the States where there aren't just like blanket bands on 0:13:51.360 --> 0:13:54.240 kids being able to participate in sports teams. Um, there's 0:13:54.240 --> 0:13:57.440 other horrifying things happening. Um. Like in the beginning of February, 0:13:57.520 --> 0:14:02.640 it came out that the Utah Republicans propose a pros 0:14:02.800 --> 0:14:07.560 Commission to analyze trans kids bodies. Um, you're talking about 0:14:07.559 --> 0:14:10.880 the firstman's kind anti transit sports bill that would form 0:14:10.920 --> 0:14:14.439 a commission to determine a student athletes eligibility on a 0:14:14.559 --> 0:14:17.360 case by case basis. The commission would have authority to 0:14:17.440 --> 0:14:20.360 establish a baseline range for various attributes including height, weight, 0:14:20.440 --> 0:14:24.280 body mass, wingspan, hiptoony ratio another physical characteristics affected by 0:14:24.320 --> 0:14:27.880 puberty bearing trans athletes um, who do not fall within 0:14:27.920 --> 0:14:31.480 the established limits to from from participating engendered sports um. 0:14:32.080 --> 0:14:35.600 And yeah, asking like a government appointed panel to analyze 0:14:35.640 --> 0:14:38.560 the bodies of transminers. It does sound like a giant 0:14:38.640 --> 0:14:41.160 recipe for disaster. Um and there is some even more 0:14:41.360 --> 0:14:45.600 like horrifying details. The bill would render the commission quote 0:14:45.800 --> 0:14:49.440 immune from suit like lawsuits with respect to all acts 0:14:49.560 --> 0:14:52.560 done and actions taken in good faith in carrying out 0:14:52.600 --> 0:14:56.680 their purposes. Uh so, yeah, you can't sue anybody for 0:14:56.840 --> 0:14:59.680 what happens under the guise of this commission. So yeah, 0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:03.880 they're just going to be investigating trans youth bodies and yep, 0:15:04.080 --> 0:15:08.840 you can't. There's no lawsuits allowed. Let's let's let's let's 0:15:09.040 --> 0:15:12.640 let's give the let's give the trans child abuse phrenology 0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:19.280 panel just immunity from lawsuits like, yeah, qualified extend qualified 0:15:19.280 --> 0:15:23.680 immunity to citizens hurting the group of people that, uh, 0:15:24.200 --> 0:15:28.160 we don't think are human. Like, this isn't the only 0:15:28.240 --> 0:15:30.600 way place we're going to see that logic extended towards 0:15:31.000 --> 0:15:33.160 You're already seeing it in places like Louisiana with these 0:15:33.200 --> 0:15:35.800 bills to make it legal to kill protesters if you 0:15:36.400 --> 0:15:40.840 feel threatened. Um, Like, it's it's the same playbook, and 0:15:40.920 --> 0:15:43.280 it's going to be the same playbook because there's no 0:15:43.440 --> 0:15:46.920 way to fight it without some sort of force. You 0:15:47.040 --> 0:15:51.000 can't vote these people away. The courts are packed for 0:15:51.120 --> 0:15:55.520 the time being. There's there's only there's not a solution 0:15:55.840 --> 0:15:58.080 that isn't some kind of force. Now we can discuss, 0:15:58.160 --> 0:16:00.200 is it like the force of getting the Fed to 0:16:00.240 --> 0:16:03.600 intervene or whatever, But like, there's no there's no solution 0:16:03.840 --> 0:16:08.560 that is just like democratic I mean, and like Biden's 0:16:09.040 --> 0:16:13.320 office made a statement on this recent Texas like a 0:16:13.400 --> 0:16:16.880 law opinion interpretation thing, and they're like, yeah, this seem 0:16:16.920 --> 0:16:21.080 was bad anyway, good luck could You're like, yeah, oh cool, Yeah, 0:16:21.440 --> 0:16:24.440 it's that that meme of like the person drowning with 0:16:24.520 --> 0:16:29.320 their hand out and they high. You're thinking, yeah, that's 0:16:29.360 --> 0:16:32.040 exactly what's happening. And I think the situation is like 0:16:32.560 --> 0:16:34.320 is it's worse than that too, because you know, in 0:16:34.520 --> 0:16:36.600 the past couple of weeks, what's something we started seeing 0:16:36.640 --> 0:16:40.160 as we started seeing democratic journals and democratic strategists openly 0:16:40.240 --> 0:16:41.880 talking about how we need to make as sessions to 0:16:41.920 --> 0:16:43.440 the right and the culture wars Like okay, well, what 0:16:43.480 --> 0:16:45.160 what does that mean? Is like, yeah, throw pro trans 0:16:45.200 --> 0:16:49.080 concert the bus, right, Yeah, because they can't vote, they're 0:16:49.080 --> 0:16:52.360 already freaks, So yeah, they're the easiest person to pick 0:16:52.440 --> 0:16:56.360 away at the rights for UM. And because overall, just 0:16:56.480 --> 0:16:58.120 in the past year alone, more than a hundred bills 0:16:58.160 --> 0:17:00.240 designed to restrict the rights of transgender people have been 0:17:00.280 --> 0:17:03.920 introduced at least thirty three states. Um, it's a it's 0:17:03.960 --> 0:17:07.320 a it's a record breaking year for anti trans legislation 0:17:07.400 --> 0:17:10.280 that's been that has been introduced. UM. In Arkansas, the 0:17:10.320 --> 0:17:14.080 state legislator recently banned gender affirming treatment for minors, UM, 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:19.160 including hormotherapy like like puberty blockers and similar treatments. Again, 0:17:19.240 --> 0:17:21.600 this is the thing that like that could not happen 0:17:21.640 --> 0:17:24.240 for a long time anyway, just because like culturally and 0:17:24.320 --> 0:17:27.000 medically doctors would never do that. But now at the 0:17:27.000 --> 0:17:29.280 point where that started starting to change, it is this 0:17:29.680 --> 0:17:33.880 it is this like um reactive, reactive effect that people 0:17:33.880 --> 0:17:35.359 are doing. And like now now that now that these 0:17:35.400 --> 0:17:38.240 cogs are turning, people are putting the massive brakes on 0:17:38.320 --> 0:17:40.240 it and putting the thing that used to be just 0:17:40.400 --> 0:17:43.760 unsaid now into actual legal writing. So now this actually 0:17:43.920 --> 0:17:46.280 is like just not allowed as opposed to it just 0:17:46.359 --> 0:17:49.640 not happening because doctors were assholes. So yeah, in Arkansas, 0:17:49.800 --> 0:17:53.480 you can't even receive hormone treatment or beauty blockers. The 0:17:53.560 --> 0:17:58.640 bill was called the Save Adolescence from Experimentation Act. Yeah, 0:17:58.840 --> 0:18:01.480 so referring to medical treatment of one of affirming one's 0:18:01.520 --> 0:18:04.480 gender identity as experimentation. Um, which is not great. I 0:18:04.520 --> 0:18:07.800 mean that is that is how I view it for myself, 0:18:07.880 --> 0:18:10.879 because I like being a freak. But as an overall trend, 0:18:11.280 --> 0:18:13.320 that is that is horrible. Like, that is a horrible 0:18:13.359 --> 0:18:15.520 way to to phrase this type of thing for a 0:18:15.640 --> 0:18:19.679 lot of people, especially the people who who know specifically 0:18:19.760 --> 0:18:22.600 what gender they want to be and and are like 0:18:22.720 --> 0:18:25.320 that is that affects them so differently. I mean, I'm 0:18:25.720 --> 0:18:28.720 I'm lucky enough just to be more gender queer, is 0:18:28.760 --> 0:18:32.280 ish um And but yeah, it's all of these bills 0:18:32.280 --> 0:18:35.280 are gonna affect so many people in different ways, and 0:18:36.640 --> 0:18:40.400 it's it's real bad. Like shortly after the Aukranstar bill 0:18:40.640 --> 0:18:44.720 prohibiting transforming medical practices was signed into law last April, 0:18:45.000 --> 0:18:48.200 reports of suicide attempts among trans youth in the state. Uh, 0:18:49.760 --> 0:18:55.040 we're going up, um. And the doctor Michelle Hutchinson, who 0:18:55.119 --> 0:18:57.280 runs the largest provider of hormo therapy in the state, 0:18:57.560 --> 0:19:01.280 called the ap that just just into office alone. During April, 0:19:01.520 --> 0:19:04.680 she saw an uptick in suicide attempts from from from 0:19:04.800 --> 0:19:08.919 trans youth. And this is, this is it's gonna keep happening, 0:19:08.960 --> 0:19:11.159 and like there is you can't trust a lot to 0:19:11.160 --> 0:19:15.720 stop it. Like the Arkansas Governor um uh Issa Hutchinson, 0:19:15.840 --> 0:19:19.560 a Republican, did veto this bill, citing potentially dangerous consequences 0:19:19.920 --> 0:19:22.440 for trans youth and telling it that telling reporters that 0:19:22.520 --> 0:19:25.560 it was a vast government overreach and a byproduct of 0:19:25.640 --> 0:19:28.720 the culture war in America, and her veto was vetoed 0:19:28.760 --> 0:19:31.080 by the state legislator. So like it's gonna be a looping, 0:19:31.240 --> 0:19:35.520 endless problem of legal issues. So it's there's there's needs 0:19:35.560 --> 0:19:37.920 to be other things, Like I've been on Twitter the 0:19:37.960 --> 0:19:39.880 past week just watch looking at all the go fund 0:19:39.960 --> 0:19:43.480 means by parents of trans kids in Texas who are 0:19:43.520 --> 0:19:46.320 trying to move out of state so that their kid 0:19:46.480 --> 0:19:49.399 can receive like hormone treatment and just like be allowed 0:19:49.400 --> 0:19:53.200 to be a person without being harassed by protective services 0:19:53.280 --> 0:19:56.880 and teachers and the school system. And it's it's it's 0:19:56.960 --> 0:20:00.159 it's horrifying, like watching all these people like asking for 0:20:00.320 --> 0:20:02.119 help so they can move out of state so that 0:20:02.160 --> 0:20:03.760 they can let their kid be it just a kid. 0:20:04.480 --> 0:20:09.280 Um and it's it is. It is really rough, um 0:20:10.080 --> 0:20:11.760 And a big part of why, part of why it's 0:20:11.800 --> 0:20:15.080 so horrifying is that like obviously, if you're in that situation, 0:20:15.240 --> 0:20:17.600 you can get your kid out there, of course, but 0:20:18.040 --> 0:20:21.480 it also means the more people who move out of 0:20:21.560 --> 0:20:24.399 places like that, the less resources there will be in 0:20:24.480 --> 0:20:26.960 the future for kids whose parents can't get them out, 0:20:27.200 --> 0:20:28.879 you know, and the less support there will be, the 0:20:29.000 --> 0:20:32.040 less and like there is just there is no real 0:20:32.200 --> 0:20:34.960 escape from it, like you cannot get fully away. It 0:20:35.119 --> 0:20:38.119 is that you cannot ever fully escape that type of 0:20:38.480 --> 0:20:43.240 fascist um thought and creep within the state. Letis later 0:20:43.320 --> 0:20:46.000 on specifically around you know how it's going to affect 0:20:46.320 --> 0:20:51.520 different different classes of minorities. UM. I will direct people 0:20:51.520 --> 0:20:53.639 if you want to kind of learn more about this 0:20:53.760 --> 0:20:55.879 sort of thing and if you, you know, can you 0:20:56.000 --> 0:20:58.840 can find some some stuff around that. There's an organization 0:20:58.920 --> 0:21:01.960 Texas called TENT which is uh the UH I just 0:21:02.000 --> 0:21:04.159 want to make sure I say it right. Oh no, 0:21:04.520 --> 0:21:08.840 it's it's the Texas Educational Network, the trans Educational Network 0:21:08.880 --> 0:21:11.600 of Texas. UM. It's one one of those, but it 0:21:11.720 --> 0:21:13.080 is it is a. It is a. It has a 0:21:13.119 --> 0:21:16.080 whole bunch of like mental health resources, guides for trans 0:21:16.160 --> 0:21:19.480 youth in Texas for how to make things slightly less shitty. 0:21:20.000 --> 0:21:22.680 Um and yeah they do. They do some advocacy work 0:21:22.720 --> 0:21:25.400 in Texas. There's also a Quality Texas which is another 0:21:25.480 --> 0:21:30.320 organization that does that does some assistance for transgender people. 0:21:30.359 --> 0:21:33.440 Look in schools. Um and just you know, try again 0:21:33.520 --> 0:21:38.040 trying to make life slightly less, slightly less shitty. Um, yeah, 0:21:38.520 --> 0:21:41.120 I kind of the last the last thing I wrote 0:21:41.200 --> 0:21:44.400 is the is just fix your hearts or die, which 0:21:44.520 --> 0:21:48.520 is the kind of overall overall message that you can 0:21:48.640 --> 0:21:50.680 really only give to people who want to do this 0:21:50.800 --> 0:21:53.560 type of thing, is that Yeah, there's really no arguing 0:21:53.640 --> 0:21:56.840 with them. Um, you have to either they need to 0:21:56.880 --> 0:22:00.240 fix their hearts or not be around any are like 0:22:00.320 --> 0:22:02.359 they're they're just like whether that be like the just 0:22:02.560 --> 0:22:05.920 secluded to your part of society. But it's like it 0:22:06.080 --> 0:22:08.600 it needs to be actually like resisted upon because these 0:22:08.640 --> 0:22:10.240 people are never going to back down on their own. 0:22:20.200 --> 0:22:21.920 The other part of the problem here again is just 0:22:22.880 --> 0:22:26.520 with how you know, like this this is sort of 0:22:26.600 --> 0:22:28.520 kind of this is an inherent problem that you have 0:22:28.840 --> 0:22:31.760