Whats with the transphobia and the defense of transphobia on du today?

[Fearless]

6. Let's keep the discussion civil...

(Not that anyone hasn't so far, but remember the walls have ears and we should all be careful to say only exactly what we mean.)

Here is what I believe the blocked poster's perspective is...

I think that the problem here is similar to an issue that our community had during and after the women's rights movement. I'm sure many of our members are familiar with the LGBTQ sentiment that we were "left behind" or "ignored" by women during the civil rights movement, that they overshadowed us in a sense. Whether or not that is explicitly true, the evidence in the outcome is unfortunately one-sided. Women gained a lot of ground, whereas we did not, at least not to the same extent. There has been bitterness that I've seen go back and forth over that over the years, not explicitly and not by the majority of either group, IMHO. I think that is why we got the issues that came up this week.

The poster in question, while unknowing of the inner workings of the LGBTQ movement, an opinion I base solely on their posts this week and also in LGBT in the past, is an ardent and proud women's rights supporter. They probably lashed out because of how power was used to control them in the past. We, in a sense, control their destiny in this group. I was one of a few hosts who discussed this at large, both with each other and with the poster themselves before they were blocked from LGBT. The poster seems sore about the block. Hell I would be too. That's about all I can guess about their position.


And here is my position...
They do not have the right to alienate, denigrate, or otherwise bash any group of DUers REGARDLESS of how they feel they are being treated by them. An eye for an eye is NOT DU policy. Quite the opposite thankfully. None of our members, to my knowledge, have attacked the poster in question. Defended points and debated, yes. Attacked, absolutely not.

I don't think that the poster in question really has any clue whatsoever regarding LGBTQ issues. I believe they support equality, in a sense that they think it would be a good idea, maybe even attended a few rallies. But I don't believe they are as intimately involved with the movement as we are. Certainly they don't have as much an investment in it as us. Justification of phrases like "the queers" is all the evidence I need of this. As a gay man, I understand the nuance of the statement, of the quotations, and of the overall lack of understanding of our culture. You would never call Black people "the niggers" or its equivalent. We may be queer (some of us do identify as such), but I'm certain that none of us would identify as "queer" (with quotations around it) or of "the queers". It is a disrespect made out of ignorance of the terminology IMHO. I don't know if in that word choice they meant any harm, but I do know that the overall opinion of trans people was so ill-informed to make the "the queers" comment look downright sensible! (Though of course it isn't.)

Overall, I think that the poster and their affiliated supporters, are (1) simply lacking a foundational knowledge of the LGBTQ culture/cultures and (2) unable to differentiate between or see the hypocrisy in (a) feeling as though one group hates them and then (b) hating groups of their own.



I think I've gone on long enough, I hope it makes sense.


EDIT TO ADD: I think it's important to address also the block this poster received from LGBTQ... I personally reached out to them in the minutes/hours after the offending comment was made in the LGBT group. It came down to the poster saying something to the sort of... I don't care about your rules (in LGBT) I have a right to say what I want to say... that led me to agree with their block from the group. They had no desire to accept that we found their statement in our group unacceptable. I think this has come out again, in spades, in the last few days.

AND: In case any trans people are reading this, I hope there are... As a host of LGBT, I will do my utmost to ensure that you have a safe haven here if you choose to use it. If I have to fight back and block every single person who comes to our group to cause you harm, I will. Such disparaging comments are unwelcome on DU (as we have seen on the thread in question) and they are certainly unwelcome in the LGBT group so long as I (and I believe all of our hosts) sit here. Unlike with the poster in question, I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that fighting for equal rights for all people is the ultimate goal, even if gay rights in particular affects me.