The Republicans and their allies take an eliminationist turn

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

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https://archive.ph/CQtgP

Supporters of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law have dusted off the vintage lie that gay men, trans folks and their allies are child molesters.

The word of the day is “grooming.”

Much has been written about how dangerous this rhetoric is to LGBTQ communities (see John Stoehr’s interview with Gabriel Rosenberg), but the threat extends further. Republicans have opened a new front against political opponents, insinuating or downright alleging that all Democrats and even dissenting Republicans are pedophiles.

Falsely labeling one’s enemies as pedophiles is a tacit incitement to violence. If a campaign is waged from huge platforms over a long time, as we’re seeing now, it crosses the line into stochastic terrorism.

Actual grooming is a form of manipulation.

Abusers ingratiate themselves into the victim’s life and wear down their defenses so they submit to sexual abuse. Proponents of these anti-gay bills claim that teaching kids about sex and gender is the same as grooming them for abuse, if not child abuse in itself. That’s preposterous, as are allegations that supporting a trans child’s identity or providing gender affirming medical care is child abuse.

*snip*

[littlemissmartypants]

1. Thank you. ❤

[Ilsa]

2. At first, I thought it was an anti-GOP sticker until

I saw "bringammo.com."

[IngridsLittleAngel]

4. Very much a threat

And the people selling those shirts need new "jewelry"... Namely, handcuffs.

Welcome to Terrorist America.

[IngridsLittleAngel]

3. They've always been on an "eliminationist" turn

They're just getting louder and more blatant about it, along with more dangerous.

They know shit like "Don't Say Gay" and targeting trans teens is going to lead to self-harm, or having the second amendment terrorists target them.

They know using loaded words like "grooming" is going to lead to vigilante justice and get allies hurt, if not killed.

But they've been doing this for decades. Push bigoted bills. Watch the bigotry lead to self-harm or targeting. Give us "tots and pears" or "how could we have known?!" when they knew it would do this. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

It's just meaner in 2022. Why? Because their patience is gone? Because their bloodlust is screaming for blood? Because they're throwing a tantrum because Drumpf isn't president?

This is why I keep saying the response from the Democrats cannot be silence. They need to get louder, even loudest. Shout louder than the QOP that, yes, LGBTQ's are humans. Yes, LGBTQ rights are human rights. No, there is no "grooming" (Gaetz is not one of ours). And make it clear we're not going to take this shit.