And So It Ends...

Oh wait, that was supposed to be begins. And so it begins.

Doesn't really feel that way right now.

Last night the news leaked that one of his first Executive Orders was going to be stripping rights from trans people. Taking away the protections they have and forcing them to detransition if they want freedom of employment, freedom to find housing, freedom of movement. It won't happen immediately. Executive Orders don't work instantly. But they do put the ball in motion.

I don't know if Katie will be able to fly, for instance. She has a passport and a state ID that both identify her gender as female. Her name was legally changed to Katie. But because she was born in Idaho she couldn't get the gender marker on her birth certificate changed. So his ruling that your ID has to match your birth certificate will affect her. Flying is handled by the TSA, which is federal. So...

I don't know if she will be able to fly.

He stripped her of her rights because she's trans. She owns her house so she should be okay there, but the bank could decide to call her loan because she's trans. The insurance company could refuse to cover her, because she's trans. Her job could fire her, because she's trans.

I don't know if any of that will happen. I know it will all be fought in court, but if they can get the argument all the way to the not so Supreme Court she will lose all of her rights to not be discriminated against solely because she's trans.

What I do know for sure is that he just made her life more dangerous. He just announced to the United States that she is unprotected so go ahead and fuck with her. Life as a trans person, as a trans woman especially, is already incredibly dangerous. But he made it worse. He gave permission to the worst people out there to do their worst to some of the most vulnerable.

And if you think trans people are the last that are going to face this, I've got a Project 2025 you should read.

So, yeah, today feels like the first day of the end.

I've read a couple think pieces from people who I agree with that have the basic message of, you need to do whatever is necessary to survive. Whatever it takes for you to make it through the next stretch of however long this lasts, you do it. Survive. I've talked about trying to make sure we find the joy this year. That I refuse to let them take that from me. But I also want to stress that survival is necessary and whatever it takes you do that.

I believe we will see people detransition. Not because they are suddenly not trans anymore, but because they have to do what it takes to survive. And if you do see that, and you do see the trash on the Right try to use those stories as a "see? there isn't any such thing as trans" I want you to remember, those people are still trans. They have just been forced back into a closet. And if that's where they need to be to be safe and to survive then you don't judge them. You just fight to make sure there is a day they can come back out.

I grew up in the 70s and 80s in a conservative church. Where you were taught you could pray away the gay. Conversion therapy was a thing. And people did say they were straight after going to camp or counselling. They weren't. They were just scared. When they got to a point where they either had the freedom to come out, or were outed by someone else, you saw that. The gay didn't go away. They just hid it to survive.

I'm just sick right now, honestly. I knew it was coming but I thought he might nibble around the edges first instead of going full swoop, first day. And there is going to be so much more to come. Not just this one, that is deeply personal to me, but so much more. The cruelty is the point. The profit is the only motive. The rest of us are fucked.

So here you go, I want you to survive. How ever you have to do it, whatever it takes, I want you to survive. And part of that survival is to not let them steal your joy. You find those moments of happiness and you soak them in.

Tux is currently laying in a sunbeam on the office desk. Purring slightly when I reach out and pet him. His contentment makes me happy.

Find those moments and soak them in.

Survive.