“Today, I think lasting change happens differently. It happens one woman at a time deciding that the cost of silence has finally become greater than the cost of speaking.”
Thanks so much for this essay. I hope the path you’ve followed, the trajectory of your thinking is reflective of a pattern of growth we’ll see become increasingly public— the sooner the better.
authoritarian systems work by creating a sufficient climate of fear that people police themselves. There has always been an authoritarian element on the left , as on the right , but social media has effectively increased it’s weaponization; it takes fewer brownshirts to complete the capture.
There is something else worth noting about Lindsey Graham: his Party, the Republican Party, is now the defender of women's rights in every way, except for abortion.
The opposing Party, the Democratic Party, is now completely opposed to women's rights. EVERY Democrat in Congress, both House and Senate (and including Bernie), is a CO-SPONSOR of a gender self-ID bill, the so-called "Equality Act". As Kara Dansky explains,
>The Equality Act is a terrible piece of legislation that would shred women’s sex-based rights by redefining sex to include “gender identity” throughout US civil rights law, including in places of public accommodation. To put it bluntly, it would mean the end of single-sex spaces such as bathrooms and locker rooms all over the country. It would also redefine sex to include “gender identity” in education (and I think an argument can be made that it would undo the recent Supreme Court win in the sports cases, but I would have to do more research to be sure).
No further research is needed, it absolutely would undo that decision, which was made on the basis of the definition of "sex" in existing law. There is no question that Congress has the power to change existing law.
And once again, EVERY DEMOCRAT IN CONGRESS WANTS GENDER SELF-ID TO BE THE LAW NATIONWIDE. There are NO exceptions.
So while speaking out is important, there is more that we can do. We can work to defeat Democrats and elect Republicans to every possible office, from school board to Congress to POTUS.
There is no other realistic option for preserving women's rights in this country.
Pleading with Democrats in office to change their minds has completely failed. I wish that wasn't true, but it is. There is no point in pretending otherwise.
And I say all this as a registered Democrat for over 50 years.
Republicans do not fight for women’s rights. They do not respect women and do not recognize women’s equality or humanity. They do acknowledge that men are not women, but they do not advance women’s legal status. Do not vote Republican.
“Today, I think lasting change happens differently. It happens one woman at a time deciding that the cost of silence has finally become greater than the cost of speaking.”
So very true. This is quite simply all we can do.
Thanks so much for this essay. I hope the path you’ve followed, the trajectory of your thinking is reflective of a pattern of growth we’ll see become increasingly public— the sooner the better.
Love this! I like especially the framing of the issue: whether we should no longer recognize sex.
authoritarian systems work by creating a sufficient climate of fear that people police themselves. There has always been an authoritarian element on the left , as on the right , but social media has effectively increased it’s weaponization; it takes fewer brownshirts to complete the capture.
Why the quibble? There are people who call themselves transgender, for a variety of reasons.
Very good essay, thank you.
There is something else worth noting about Lindsey Graham: his Party, the Republican Party, is now the defender of women's rights in every way, except for abortion.
The opposing Party, the Democratic Party, is now completely opposed to women's rights. EVERY Democrat in Congress, both House and Senate (and including Bernie), is a CO-SPONSOR of a gender self-ID bill, the so-called "Equality Act". As Kara Dansky explains,
>The Equality Act is a terrible piece of legislation that would shred women’s sex-based rights by redefining sex to include “gender identity” throughout US civil rights law, including in places of public accommodation. To put it bluntly, it would mean the end of single-sex spaces such as bathrooms and locker rooms all over the country. It would also redefine sex to include “gender identity” in education (and I think an argument can be made that it would undo the recent Supreme Court win in the sports cases, but I would have to do more research to be sure).
No further research is needed, it absolutely would undo that decision, which was made on the basis of the definition of "sex" in existing law. There is no question that Congress has the power to change existing law.
And once again, EVERY DEMOCRAT IN CONGRESS WANTS GENDER SELF-ID TO BE THE LAW NATIONWIDE. There are NO exceptions.
So while speaking out is important, there is more that we can do. We can work to defeat Democrats and elect Republicans to every possible office, from school board to Congress to POTUS.
There is no other realistic option for preserving women's rights in this country.
Pleading with Democrats in office to change their minds has completely failed. I wish that wasn't true, but it is. There is no point in pretending otherwise.
And I say all this as a registered Democrat for over 50 years.
Republicans do not fight for women’s rights. They do not respect women and do not recognize women’s equality or humanity. They do acknowledge that men are not women, but they do not advance women’s legal status. Do not vote Republican.
Why was my reply hidden?
Yeah…those were oversights. Thanks for letting me know.
Bonnie Atwood was my friend for 27 years. I grieve her death every day. 🥺
I’m so sorry for your loss. She seemed like a fierce and lovely lady.
Ah, you courageous woman! So many of us are on your side and your essay may inspire more of us to speak up.
Imitating the opposite sex forecloses dignity.
Thank you for your willingness to write an honest account of your about turn in thinking and taking action. True courage and humility.
There are profound reflections here.
These people all perform an ego defence called Category Error Projection.
https://rawnathan.substack.com/p/category-error-projection-a-very
I didn't know that Bonnie died. That's very sad news.