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fuuuuck i just realized that the future idealized version of myself cant exist without current me being the catalyst for change and doing hard things. has anybody heard about this

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As , the United States, potentially heads into another forever war I can only think of this quote.

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I don't actually want to pass as cis, I want to be visibly a trans woman and be gendered correctly because people see trans women as equally women as cis women

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this feels like a bit. i know it’s not but this is so absurd that it feels like it’s right out of arrested development

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when the subject of "why do people believe things that are seriously wrong and harmful" comes up it feels like you kinda hear one of two perspectives:

"oh, that's easy! it's because they're fundamentally Bad people who want to hurt others and choose their beliefs to justify that! :) hope this helps"

or

"they just don't have access to the same information we do. look at this person who was raised in a cult! don't you feel sorry for her?"

and like, yes, fine, some people were in fact raised in cults, but what i wish people would understand is that the bulk of it is just normal human flaws, like:

they want to believe stuff that makes them feel smart and cool and like they've figured everything out (you also do this)

they want to believe stuff that makes them feel like their emotions are justified and grounded in reality, and that the people they want to hurt deserve to be hurt (you also do this)

they form conclusions before they've processed all the relevant information, and cling to that first impression even when new info comes to light (you also do this)

they pick up beliefs from the people around them because they want to be liked and fit in, not because the beliefs are good or true (you also do this)

they come up with reasons that the stuff that benefits them (and the people they like and identify with) is actually overwhelmingly best for everyone and obviously the right thing to do (you also do this)

they pay more attention to stuff that supports what they already believe and avoid looking in places that might show them otherwise (you also do this)

they listen to people who talk like 'one of them' and ignore others (you also do this)

they come up with reasons to dismiss people with conflicting viewpoints as obviously in bad faith or ignorant or a shill or evil (you also do this)

they fail to take their own beliefs seriously sometimes, and take their beliefs way too seriously other times, in a selective way that lets them do the things they already wanted to do (you also do this)

the very ways they construct the ideas of 'knowledge' and 'wisdom' and 'belief' and 'understanding' are biased so that what they don't want to believe comes under lots of scrutiny and what they do want to believe receives less (you also do this)

you, dear reader, are presumably right about everything and were correct to die on every hill you've ever died on, but the difference between you and someone who's wrong about important stuff doesn't look like "well they're inherently evil and i'm not", it probably looks like a combination of:

natural environment (they would have been exposed to different information than you regardless of their choices)

being in the right place at the right time (your particular profile of flaws and virtues happened to be what was needed to lead you to the right conclusions, they had the opposite experience)

random luck (you doubled down on what felt right to believe but wasn't, but it turned out to be inconsequential, or even right for different reasons, while they doubled down on what turned out to be a horrible mistake distorting their entire worldview)

you do less of the things in the previous list, and over time the difference between you and them adds up

and, look, i also do these things. the nicest and most thoughtful people i've ever met do these things. if you meet someone who never does any of these things, i dunno, give them a fucking medal or something.

i know you're doing your best. we're all doing our best.

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Rating the versions of "thank you" I get as a transfem bus driver in Australia

"Thanks mate" 9/10 the classic Australian gender neutral term

"Thanks Miss,,, ohh sorry, Sir" 7/10 being read as a girl on an instinctual level is nice even if they fell over at the last step

"Thanks Sir,,, ohhh sorry, Miss" 7/10 being read as a guy sucks but it's still nice that they got it right in the end

"Thanks *looks at me for a moment* Miss?" 8/10 you get a smile and a nod

"Yrra mad cunt" 100/10 highest possible praise from one Aussie to another

"Thanks *looks at me for a moment* dude" -1000/10 thousand hammer car explosion

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drag = great. trans women = great. associating the two = hate crime

"oh, you're a trans woman? omg you're gonna love this then, it has like, sooooo many drag queens in it!"

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i forget who made the post but "if you would transition in a heartbeat in a more accepting society then you are in fact trans" really helps me when i need it

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extremely cool article you should read if you haven’t already

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I tap the mic. “Most people don’t want to crawl down your chimney and steal your dog.”

the crowd murmurs uncertainly.

“If someone wants to steal your dog,” I continue, “there are easier ways to do that. They don’t have to crawl into a chimney.”

Murmuring intensifies. People stand in their seats and begin to boo.

“People disguising themselves as chimney sweepers and stealing dogs is not a rational fear,” I shout. “Literally anyone could steal your dog. Why make sweeping chimneys illegal?”

“I have a list of chimney sweeps who stole dogs from parks!” Someone yells, throwing a shoe.

“You seriously think no chimney sweepers could possibly ever steal from a home?” Another cries.

“Only a dog thief would even want to crawl into a chimney to begin with!” Says a third.

A single tear rolls down my cheek. They are all so fucking stupid

This is a metaphor

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*guy who is very clearly going through. something* oh yknow. just a little tired haha

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Rachel Corrie, an American citizen, was murdered, repeatedly run over by a bulldozer as she stood in defense of Palestinians.

Her family was threatened and anyone who spoke about her was smeared as an antisemite including Alan Rickman who wrote and directed a play about her.

To this day she is remembered and honoured as a martyr in Palestine.

While, at the time, her death was mocked in Israel by putting her face on pancakes.

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That trans woman doesn't go outside? She's chronically online? Hmm I wonder if there's a reason she doesn't feel safe or comfortable in the outside world? Nah, she's just a loser and we should all make fun of her.

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day barely even started and I already had to hear "thank you for being our wives, sisters, aunts" and "keep being women and giving birth and being delicate unlike us men" as compliments for international women's day

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I have a transfem friend who’s dating a cis guy and said cis guy recently changed his pfp from a picture of his face to some anime girl. So I’m probably gonna check back on my friend in a month or so and see how her lesbian relationship is going.

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Nobody wants to admit ageism is a real thing but if you like look around at how (capitalist) society treats the elderly it's kind of insane actually. Especially if you take into account intersections of misogyny and racism & how nearly all of them are disabled in some way. Some ostensibly progressive white kid will be talking about "ugh I hate old people" cause they think they're all bigots or whatever but you gotta stop projecting your issues with, like, uncle dale being weird at thanksgiving dinner. Yknow. Old people are just people who got older