TZUTC: -0500   
   MSGID: 13991.fidoallpolit@1:129/165 2419be2a   
   REPLY: 4515.fido_allpolit@1:124/5016 24035257   
   PID: Synchronet 3.16a-Win32  Nov 27 2014 MSC 1800   
   TID: SBBSecho 2.27-Win32 r1.256 Nov 27 2014 MSC 1800   
     Re: Re: Weakling   
     By: Dennis Katsonis to Angela Walker on Mon Oct 19 2020 06:25 am   
      
    > -=> Angela Walker wrote to Dennis Katsonis <=-   
    >    
    >  AW>   Re: Re: Weakling   
    >  AW>   By: Dennis Katsonis to Lee Lofaso on Tue Sep 08 2020 09:16 am   
    >    
    >  AW> I can list a few ways that Trump being president has tangibly and   
    >  AW> negatively affected my life in a real way!   
    >  AW> Under Obama, LGBT individuals such as myself had federal legal   
    >  AW> protections against discrimination. LGBT students could feel safe in   
    >  AW> public - they could use public restrooms without fear of legal action   
    >  AW> being taken against them - something that should be a basic human right   
    >  AW> for all Americans. LGBT employees had federal non-discrimination   
    >  AW> protections. Transgender persons could participate in the Armed   
    >  AW> Services.  I could go on. Thanks to Trump, all of that has been   
    >  AW> reversed and then some. He's actually gone as far as to legally   
    >  AW> "disappear" transgender people by redefining gender in the legal   
    >  AW> context as an un-changeable binary determined by a doctor's glance at   
    >  AW> birth that can never be changed or modified on any legal documents   
    >  AW> recognized by his government.  While I haven't been arrested for using   
    >  AW> a public restroom nor have I been discharged from service or fired   
    >  AW> because of who I am, knowing that those are the rules of the land has   
    >  AW> profoundly affected my psyche and self-esteem. I feel vastly less-safe   
    >  AW> as an LGBT American than I did under Obama - I feel at-risk when I go   
    >  AW> to work, when I go shopping, when I pay my bills, when I fill out   
    >  AW> forms, and very much so when I see a doctor or seek any sort of medical   
    >  AW> care. When Trump was elected, I knew it would be bad for LGBT Americans   
    >  AW> but he's done more to hurt us than I'd even imagined. His words when he   
    >  AW> asked the Supreme Court to rule that LGBT Americans have no legal   
    >  AW> protections against discrimination - and lost the case - "It's   
    >  AW> unfortunate. It's very unfortunate." So I have to live with knowing   
    >  AW> that the leader of my country believes it's very unfortunate that he   
    >  AW> couldn't officially legalize discrimination against people like myself.   
    >  AW> ... and now that he's installed his pet, Amy, into the Supreme Court,   
    >  AW> that decision is likely to be overturned - along with dismantling the   
    >  AW> Affordable Care Act that protects 30 million Americans with health care   
    >  AW> in the middle of a pandemic, not to mention women's rights. Roe vs.   
    >  AW> Wade? Gone, just a matter of time. Regardless of how you feel about   
    >  AW> abortion, I submit that taking away the right of every woman to make   
    >  AW> that decision for herself after decades of the status quo represents a   
    >  AW> monumental step backwards in terms of personal rights and freedoms -   
    >  AW> well, rights not pertaining to straight white men, that is. But I'm   
    >  AW> getting off-topic so I'll return to my premise and conclude that yes,   
    >  AW> my life is much worse than it was when Obama was in charge. I think   
    >  AW> that actually applies to the vast majority of Americans, as COVID does   
    >  AW> not represent an anomoly - it's not an external event that has nothing   
    >  AW> to do with Trump's leadership as he'd like you to think - it's a direct   
    >  AW> result of his empowerment! Consider this: China tried to hide the SARS   
    >  AW> outbreak of 2008 just as they tried t hide COVID but American agents   
    >  AW> and the CDC played a major role in exposing the truth in time to stem   
    >  AW> the spread. However in 2019, the president of the United States was   
    >  AW> praising China's leadership and even in early 2020 he was on TV   
    >  AW> commending China's efforts in dealing with the virus - assuring us it   
    >  AW> was not threat to America.  Forget everything he's done to hamper the   
    >  AW> efforts to get the virus under control since it exploded in America...   
    >  AW> I submit that it's the fault of himself and his global influence that   
    >  AW> this thing ever got out of control worldwide in the first place! He's   
    >  AW> done a 180 on China by calling it the "China virus," well I say we call   
    >  AW> it the "Trump virus!"  To that end, Trump has made all of our lives SO   
    >  AW> much worse, worldwide! --- SBBSecho 2.27-Win32   
    >    
    > I worry greatly that people will use their feelings to impact others.   
    > We see people being cancelled, being fired because of how people "feel".   
    > I have a real problem with this.  I have a problem with action taken   
    > against others because some people think that this or that could happen.   
    >    
    > That is why I asked for tangible and real outcomes.  Because its easy to   
    > say that this or that changes makes me feel bad.  But does it impact   
    > you?  Is there anything more to it than you fear and how you feel about   
    > it?   
    >    
    >    
    > If as a result of Trump, you were fired, denied a job, attacked, lost   
    > out financially, whatever, I can understand.  That is what I wanted to   
    > know, and why I asked.   
    >    
    > You yourself admitted that these things you fear haven't actually   
    > happened.   
    >    
    >    
    > ... MultiMail, the new multi-platform, multi-format offline reader!   
    > === MultiMail/MS-DOS v0.29   
      
   I've had a few days to think about this, and I'd like to revise my reply -   
   because the truth is I've been incredibly lucky compared to so many of my LGBT   
   brothers and sisters.   
      
   Suggesting with "these things you fear haven't actually happened [to you]"   
   somehow invalidates or reduces the legitimacy of the original concern is not   
   valid.  In the case of a government ruling that amounts to institutionalized   
   discrimination, the ruling itself constitutes (legitimate) injury to the   
   individual!  These are situations in which fear and disgust on the part of the   
   citizens is the correct response.  Something is wrong when one side is saying   
   "Don't pay attention to how you FEEL. If it hasn't happened to you personally,   
   don't think about it - and don't consider it when going out and making   
   decisions."  This really amounts to "disregard your conscience," or in the   
   words of so many Trump supporters, "F*** YOUR FEELINGS."  Perhaps if it doesn't   
   feel right, if that part of you that knows right from wrong is clawing at the   
   back of your mind, PERHAPS IT REALLY IS WRONG.   
      
   Dr. Martin Luther King said - and I paraphrase because I don't have the quote   
   in front of me, "We all begin to die on the day that we remain silent on that   
   which matters to us."   
   --- SBBSecho 2.27-Win32   
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