I do think some younger people approach our current moment without totally appreciating how much this is history repeating itself. Reactionary backlash sure ain't nothing new, as you note!
But, yeah. Some things are definitely new about the scale/scope/intensity of all this. Maybe that's just the mirror image of how fast all these progres…
I do think some younger people approach our current moment without totally appreciating how much this is history repeating itself. Reactionary backlash sure ain't nothing new, as you note!
But, yeah. Some things are definitely new about the scale/scope/intensity of all this. Maybe that's just the mirror image of how fast all these progress has been — like, I've been gobsmacked at just how quickly trans rights went from marginal to mainstream to normalized. (Which is, obviously, great!) We were always going to have the pendulum swing back. But, again, it's galling at just how intense, immediately, well-organized, and insidious it's become. Depressing, for sure.
But I try not to be fatalist about this stuff. We *can* push back against the grievance merchants and win — and, hopefully, wind up with a more positive and productive discourse as a result. We just have to be smart about it.
I do think some younger people approach our current moment without totally appreciating how much this is history repeating itself. Reactionary backlash sure ain't nothing new, as you note!
But, yeah. Some things are definitely new about the scale/scope/intensity of all this. Maybe that's just the mirror image of how fast all these progress has been — like, I've been gobsmacked at just how quickly trans rights went from marginal to mainstream to normalized. (Which is, obviously, great!) We were always going to have the pendulum swing back. But, again, it's galling at just how intense, immediately, well-organized, and insidious it's become. Depressing, for sure.
But I try not to be fatalist about this stuff. We *can* push back against the grievance merchants and win — and, hopefully, wind up with a more positive and productive discourse as a result. We just have to be smart about it.