Look, I know I'm an idiot, but after gay marriage was legalized nationwide, I kind of figured the US was done with official bigotry on a widespread level. Obviously, I underestimated the number of us that have a desperate need to fear and hate. The current anti-trans panic is incredibly horrifying. Obviously. I don't need to say that, but I feel I ought to say it, so I am. Solidarity is important even if individually it doesn't seem likely to do much.
I try to fathom transphobia, and I'm not going to say I can't do it. It's easy to see how trans people would seem threatening to some, threatening as they do the stability of our gender norms. Still, it's not THAT hard to get over--is it? I'm not even sure when I first became aware of the very concept. I vaguely remember a friend in grade school saying something about "sex changes;" that was probably it. I likely thought this was a sort of silly idea, but I definitely didn't have any violently adverse reaction, and when I realized that this was a serious thing and not just a joke, I took it in stride. As anyone would, if they haven't been carefully taught.
Well, obviously, many people have been, and many people who may or may not have been are all too willing to exploit their hatred for power. The first thing I always wonder when the topic comes up is, is it really possible that you lack the metacognitive awareness to realize that people who spread fear and hatred of marginalized groups are never looked back on as the good guys by history? Unfortunately, I then am forced to concede that this is a naive question. Homophobia remains, and the legal status of gay marriage is not nearly as set in stone as I'd thought. Anti-Semitism is resurgent (look, or rather don't look if you don't want to be profoundly depressed, at junior neonazi Nick Fuentes and his fanbase). Islamophobia never even temporarily abated. And as for good old-fashioned racism against black people...just look at Ron DeSantis and his merry band of fascist thugs. So...yeah, they don't realize that history always judges bigotry harshly because they don't judge bigotry harshly, or at all. Well, that's true for many of them, at least. For others, it may just be "sure, racism et al is bad, but this is different." Sure, sure, it's always different, innit? Blech.
Gawd, we are SO proficient at hating one another. Look, if you have ingrained bigotries, that's okay as long as you recognize them for what they are and make an honest effort to overcome them. But if you're just wallowing in them, you are officially The Worst, and society would be better off if you would fling yourself off an embankment and lie there until you're eaten by vultures.
