Echoes of history in today's GQP in book burnings of the past

We all know about the infamous book burnings, but nobody ever asks WHAT books they were burning.

On the morning of the raid a BRASS BAND accompanied the thugs who broke into the institute. Parents bought their kids. They made a day of it. There were flags, speeches, singing.

Next time you see a right-wing 'protest' on the news, remember 1933. Remember.

LGBTQ+ people were called 'child groomers' by the nazis, accused of perverting the youth (OK, not actually 'child groomers' as it was in German and one of those German compound words). Sound familiar?

Nowadays we have bomb threats to hospitals that provide care to trans kids, massacres at places where LGBTQ+ people gather.

Why? Because we are easy to 'other'. Because the far-right has so little going for it that pointing out that the underpinnings of their death/forced-birther cult are built of thin air is an existential threat to them, especially when it comes to trans people.

For a 'man' to reject that label and embrace womanhood and be happy cuts the legs away from their misogynistic worldview, for a 'woman' to reject that and embrace healthy masculinity destroys their fertility cult worldview. I'm a trans woman, and I'm happy, and people like me blow their toxic little minds.

When I sought therapy prior to being allowed to access hormones I had to ask my therapist questions about how they keep their patient records, how they would deal with government requests, etc. Because this sort of thing is in the back of every trans person's mind. It happened before, we are seeing it happen again. I don't know a single trans person who doesn't have some sort of get-out-of-dodge plan.

It can sometimes feel like everything is dark, like we are all up against a dark wave of resurgent hatred. This is happening because now, more than ever before, people like me are able to come out. The last time this happened was in 1930s Berlin.

Last time we reached this stage it was met with right-wing violence, a suppression and destruction of art and culture and even basic information. Last time we didn't have the internet to organize (which is why LGBTQ+ people are aghast at a right-wing oligarch taking over a vital means of community organization, banning groups which help us organize to protect ourselves while unbanning & promoting far-reich hate groups and anti-trans influencers).

So what can YOU as an ally do?
1. Vote. That is obvious.
2. Run for local office. School board elections especially are vital grass-roots positions, and you don't have to be a parent to run for a school board position.
3. Listen to LGBTQ+ people, especially in this current moment trans and non-binary people.
4. Look out for those spouting far-right talking points ('child mutilation', 'just a phase', 'both sides', 'fairness in sports', etc.) and shut that shit down. If you have the time and energy to do so, point them towards stuff that can educate them, but remember that trolls love to 'debate'. There is no 'trans debate' any more than there was a 'negro problem' in America or 'jewish question' in Germany. If you don't want to engage, just add your voice to the chorus of others telling them that they are wrong. Remember that report buttons exist.

What can YOU as a member of the LGBTQ+ community?
1. Organize locally. This could be as small as getting to know your neighbours.
2. If you are not out, and it is safe for you to do so, consider coming out. Living openly is a radical act of defiance. The more of us that are out together, the harder it is for the far-right to attack us. If you cannot come out where you are, if it is not the right time for you to come out yet, consider coming out online and let your light be seen.
3. Live your best life, if for nothing else than to spite those that would see us vanish or perish.

When you see these headlines, when you hear talking heads spout lies about genital mutilation, when you see a right-wing anchor talk about 'fighting back', remember that we literally had a war about this already. A war some of us have been forced to keep fighting for almost a century. It is time for nazism to die.

Why the selfie at the end? Because it is important to remember what we are fighting for. This is me. I'm a regular person. I'm a mum, a geek, a neighbour, a wife, a lesbian, a transgender person, a woman. I'm happy.

Despite the constant negative covfefe, for the most part people like me live normal ordinary boring lives. We have families, pay taxes, have complicated opinions on dice-rolling techniques. We eat turkey, hug extended family, and bitch about our conspiracy theorist aunts and uncles.

This year we saw a repudiation of far-right politics at the polls (though still too many voted far-right), the bravery of the Ukrainian people (though it would have been better had they not been forced to be brave) and billionaires losing money (though not nearly enough). Lots to be thankful for, lots of shit still to fix.

Remember, that despite it all, light always defeats darkness.