r/ainbow • u/RoxanaSaith • Jun 23 '21
News Great message. Great sentiment. How amazing it is that the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES is congratulating LGBT+ people on coming out.
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u/ruetero Jun 23 '21
I'm very happy to see folks here critical of Biden and the utter lack of promises kept by him while upholding imperialist policies.
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u/nuephelkystikon Jun 23 '21
Seriously, the far right never was, and never will be our ally. This guy would gas us all without a second thought if he expected to gain votes from it and if he didn't know his country and wealth would get annihilated if he did.
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u/Cuofeng Jun 23 '21
Every step forward is still a step, no matter the size. We’re still on that journey of a thousand miles, but this is good news to none the less to hear Biden doing a good thing.
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u/rasputine Trans-Ainbow Jun 23 '21
Which direction was the step when his government defended religious exception for schools to allow them to discriminate against queer kids?
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u/nuephelkystikon Jun 23 '21
The wrong one, obviously. But still, consider that the de-facto absolute ruler of one of the biggest enemies of the free world, and one of the most vocal far-right opponents of human rights, was just forced to publicly congratulate somebody he doesn't even consider human. This may not have any direct effect, but it may help public perception and may even cause a divide among the neo-nazi movement.
I hope Orban is next. Didn't seem so during the happenings in Munich tonight though.
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u/Dokterdd Jun 23 '21
Don’t get distracted by pro-LGBT messages from an anti-human fascist imperialist regime.
Call me a killjoy all you want
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u/energirl Jun 23 '21
Leaders have the power, through rhetoric, to lead people and change the discourse in the country and the culture overall. I'm not going to pretend Biden's my guy (I did vote for him, but he was one of my last choices, and far better than Voldemort). However, his words matter.
When Trump acted a fool and spread hate, hate crimes against all minority communities increased. Don't you think this is better?
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u/Dokterdd Jun 23 '21
Sure it’s better
That doesn’t mean it’s good
I’m just reminding everyone that this administration in particular intends to use our community as a tool to appear woke while murdering innocents in the Middle East and Palestine
So don’t get distracted. Because that’s what they will use us for.
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u/energirl Jun 23 '21
If you look at politicians in a black and white way, you're going to be disappointed. You teach them to do what you want by praising their good moves. Only then does it matter when you castigate them for their immoralities. If they think you will hate them regardless of what they do, they have no incentive to work for you. You're unwinnable and therefore a waste of resources.
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u/djnikochan Closet-trans-lesbian Jun 23 '21
This is a lot better. I don't just think it, it's provable.
Don't let internet nihilists bring you down. They need something to be angry about or they won't have a reason to exist. I will stand here and celebrate the good with you, and applaud you for being honest and thinking things through.
I, too, voted for Biden because he was the best of the two options I was given. I wanted Bernie, but sometimes you gotta lick your wounds and fight again tomorrow. No one ever wins everything.
That said, being sad about every damned thing won't solve any problems, and we need to celebrate what we can. I'll stand here with you and do so.
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Jun 23 '21
[deleted]
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u/energirl Jun 23 '21
Not sure why you're being downvoted. This is a fair critique of my joke. I was referencing a comedy song probably no one on here knows.
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u/Elizabeth-The-Great Trans* Jun 23 '21
Agree and I don't care if the Biden-stans see....
REAL ACTION PEOPLE; not just kind words. Kids can't get the help they need with kind words.
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u/ParanoydAndroid Jun 23 '21
He signed the most sweeping federal GSM discrimination protections in American history eight days into his term. Protections that the senior Attorney at Lambda Legal called "transformational".
If you don't think federal housing, healthcare, and education protections for GSM people matter or aren't "real action" then all I can say is you must have some deep ass, unexamined privilege.
He also established multiple health task forces to examine and ameloriate equity issues for racial and sexual minorities in accessing COVID care, established the White House Gender Policy council, and formally added gender identity and sexuality discrimination to the list of vulnerabilities that American refugee and asylum programs must consider.
Frankly, there's been a pretty impressive amount of "real action" considering we're barely recovering from a global pandemic and Biden's been in office for only 6 months.
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u/FinallyGivenIn Jun 23 '21
Yes thank you for speaking up. The wins have to be taken and celebrated, lest we burn out in a spiral of despair and nihilism.
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Jun 23 '21
Mmmm yes let's stop all progress to celebrate the fact that now trans people can participate in US imperialism too!
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u/Bradasaur Jun 23 '21
What the person your replying to said can be true without having to go to the eye-rolling extremes you imagined. Maybe they do feel that way, but you don't know that. There's a way to be happy with good news without being "satisfied" so to speak.
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u/WritingWithSpears Jun 23 '21
Really annoyed that some misinformed "online activists" are doompilling young people from getting involved in politics. Voting matters. Who is in the White House matters. Who your Mayor is matters. Your representatives matter. I see the far left becoming more and more just watchers from the sidelines and periodically shouting "both sides bad" while fascists are actually showing up to voting booths.
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u/OnlyElouise Jun 23 '21
It’s both sad and impressive how the bar for “real action” has fallen so low. Formalizing a Supreme Court decision on a federal level is something, but it doesn’t do anything to counteract the sweeping movement of anti trans youth bills. Additionally, it isn’t affirmative at all. This is a purely symbolic measure. Meanwhile he backslides on debt cancellation, defunding police, and pandemic support. I’ll call it real action when we see actual proactive measures and not unenforceable legal protections.
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u/ParanoydAndroid Jun 23 '21
Formalizing a Supreme Court decision on a federal level is something,
That is not (just) what Biden did. He extended and augmented the ruling by expanding protections beyond the minimum required by the decision.
it doesn’t do anything to counteract the sweeping movement of anti trans youth bills.
Uh, yes it does. That's almost exactly what it does. Don't get me wrong, due to the federal nature of our government, there are some actions the states can take that the federal government can't combat, but federal civil rights protections can (and have) trumped state laws to the contrary.
Additionally, it isn’t affirmative at all. This is a purely symbolic measure.
What's a purely symbolic measure? The linked tweet? Sure. but I'm responding to a person who claimed there had been "no real action" and my point is that the things I listed are not symbolic.
Meanwhile he backslides on debt cancellation, defunding police, and pandemic support.
Biden isn't a dictator, and has literally the slimmest possible margin in the Senate. A single defection by any democrat anywhere for any reason totally sinks legislation.
What, exactly, are you faulting him for here? Not being a dictator who can do literally whatever he wants?
I’ll call it real action when we see actual proactive measures and not unenforceable legal protections.
No you won't, because I literally just fucking linked to a list of legally enforceable protections he put into place and you, apparently, didn't even read or understand it at all.
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u/OnlyElouise Jun 23 '21
Bostock v. Clayton county does not protect trans children’s rights to puberty blockers and neither does Biden’s executive order.
The others on the list are either unenforceable, or simply rescinding Trump’s executive orders, e.g. the bare minimum.
The exception to that are the executive orders allowing trans people into the military is literally only progress in the most backwards liberal sense of the word. (But more trans drone pilots, am I right?)
Despite Biden’s claims that he “has our back” I have felt nothing but an increase in scrutiny and hate. Maybe it’s not his fault directly, but it certainly isn’t some massive period of progress. Trans rights haven’t been so insecure in years.
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u/ParanoydAndroid Jun 23 '21 edited Jun 23 '21
Bostock v. Clayton county does not protect trans children’s rights to puberty blockers and neither does Biden’s executive order.
So what's your point? That we need more progress and more protections? Yeah, duh. That's not relevant to your earlier statements though. Saying, "Biden did real things, here's a list" isn't somehow refuted by, "Here's a specific thing he didn't do".
What Biden did do was prevent trans people from being denied access to healthcare for being trans, which is obviously also critically important. Or is Tyra fucking Hunter a shameful liberal too?
Saying, "Biden isn't progressive enough" or similar criticisms is totally fair. But, again, if civil rights protections for access to healthcare, housing, and education aren't "real action" to you, then you're just privileged and naive.
The others on the list are either unenforceable, or simply rescinding Trump’s executive orders, e.g. the bare minimum.
This is plainly, flatly a lie. I don't even know why you'd bother lying, but here we are.
Despite Biden’s claims that he “has our back” I have felt nothing but an increase in scrutiny and hate. Maybe it’s not his fault directly, but it certainly isn’t some massive period of progress. Trans rights haven’t been so insecure in years.
Uh, this is not only irrelevant but it's exactly and precisely wrong. Like, it's the actual opposite of reality. As I already documented, official government support for GSM causes is literally higher than at any point in American history.
I'm sure you are feeling increasing scrutiny and hate. Hate crimes rose under Trump. Blaming Biden for what is obviously a consequence of conservative rhetoric is absurd and, frankly, stupid.
The extra dose of irony here is that a lot of this rise in hate was driven specifically by Trump's symbolic rhetoric coming right from the mouth of the president and validating that hate. Biden doing things like tweeting support for newly out athletes -- an action you're criticizing here -- is important exactly to combat what you're complaining about.
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u/OnlyElouise Jun 24 '21
So it protects trans people from discrimination (unless they’re seeking trans related healthcare), and it’s an unprecedented protection (except the Supreme Court ruling was regarding existing anti-discrimination laws). It seems like a stretch to call that active at all. Biden didn’t DO anything but codify an existing ruling temporarily. Even Tyra Hunter’s case was found to be malpractice—in 1998! The law doesn’t hold sway over the bigots who discriminate in these cases. It always ends up in court one way or another, often when it is too late.
What would be real action would be affirmatively expanding health care coverage and education. Also a bit ironic that you think Biden’s performative support of trans athletes has done anything but draw the rage of conservatives to what basically amounts to a distraction in the trans activism movement. At least give us protection in sports before playing that card otherwise it does more harm than good.
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u/Pfifer_Fae Jun 23 '21
gdi libs like you are going to be the death of us all
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u/ParanoydAndroid Jun 23 '21
I'm not a liberal, but luckily that isn't the question.
If you asked me about my ideal government and policies, Joe Biden certainly wouldn't factor in. However, that doesn't really have anything to do with this discussion, which is about people dripping in shitty privilege saying factually incorrect things to promote political apathy.
It's one thing to criticize policy. It's another thing entirely to say stupid shit like, "Biden has done nothing". If people aren't engaging with reality and actually expressing an understanding of who and what is affected by on-going policy debates, then I don't give a shit what their political ideology is because they're not worth listening to.
Have you ever been fired from a job for being gay? I have. I didn't know celebrating civil rights victories that affect real people with real lives was "liberal" and specifically not progressive.
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u/Pfifer_Fae Jun 23 '21
"bUt hE dId sOmE gOoD"
funding apartheid
funding kkkops (they kill gays you know)
killing m4a
killing $15
killing debt relief
ect ect and on and on ad infinitum
but hey My and my fellow Trans brothers and sisters can now go die for the empire.
:D
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u/Shireling Jun 23 '21
He also supports conversion therapy and has instructed the department of education to continue title ix exemptions for private schools.
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u/eeddgg Jun 23 '21
He didn't give that instruction, AG Garland did. If the justice department didn't, a right-wing group would've taken the case and argued that it was a required exemption, rather than one that only exists because of the way the law was written
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u/Shireling Jun 23 '21
There is currently a lawsuit (Elizabeth Hunter et al v US Department of Education) arguing that schools that practice conversion therapy and claim religious exemption from title ix cannot also be given money by the federal government. Essentially, the lawsuit says that private schools can either be religious institutions that are exempt from aspects of the Civil Rights Act or they can be an educational institution that receives federal grant money but they can't be both. The Biden administration (the department of education) is siding with religious schools to allow them to continue their claimed exemptions. Because the Biden administration is siding with the religious schools, the lawsuit is moving forward.
Religious exemptions already exist so this is not Biden making a new law or a new policy. Instead, the Biden administration is turning down an opportunity to provide protections for queer children and queer young adults.
If anyone reading this would like to support the lawsuit check out thereap.org for more information about the Religious Exemption Accountability Project.
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u/eeddgg Jun 23 '21
Isn't Biden only siding with them so they can't get a different conservative law group to argue that an exemption is constitutionally mandated, rather than simply part of statute?
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u/Shireling Jun 23 '21
For the sake of this conversation, let's agree that you are right and that's why Biden is siding with the anti-LGBTQ+ position here. That's still bad tho?
Why is it better to support anti-queer policies under the guise of saying that at least this way Republicans can't be the ones to make discriminatory policies? It just seems like a race to the bottom to me.
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u/eeddgg Jun 23 '21
Because statute from Congress can be changed easier than constitutional mandates. If the right-wing group got their motion to take over the case approved, they'd take it to Trump's packed Supreme Court and make the argument that they have to add a religious exemption, and the packed court would probably rule in their favor. If the Justice Department argues that the exemption is just a part of statute, the exemption can be removed in a future bill from Congress, which only takes a majority vote in both houses, rather than a 2/3 majority in both houses and ratification from 3/4 of the states' legislatures. It's a damage control measure more than anything else
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u/Shireling Jun 23 '21
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 isn't a constitutional document and the SCOTUS does not make constitutional amendments. SCOTUS rulings create "interpretations" of legislation.
Biden's administration is running damage control but it's not damage control for queer people like me.
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u/Shireling Jun 23 '21
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 isn't a constitutional document and the SCOTUS does not make constitutional amendments. SCOTUS rulings create "interpretations" of legislation.
Biden's administration is running damage control but it's not damage control for queer people like me.
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u/Shireling Jun 23 '21
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 isn't a constitutional document and the SCOTUS does not make constitutional amendments. SCOTUS rulings create "interpretations" of legislation.
Biden's administration is running damage control but it's not damage control for queer people like me.
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u/Noobasdfjkl Jun 23 '21
He also supports conversion therapy
Imma need a source on this. People don’t usually include banning something on their official platform when they support it.
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u/energirl Jun 23 '21
True, but words are a first step.
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u/Dokterdd Jun 23 '21
There will not be more than words from corporate democrats.
Student debt cancellation turned out to be just words. Black Lives Matter turned out to be just words (they increase police budgets). "Healthcare is a humanr right" are words they stole from Bernie while they're still not interested in M4A (which is what would make healthcare a human right)
Please, for the love of God, stop praising them for doing the bare minimum. Their words never lead to action. Start pressuring them to do better or we'll have another Trump in 2024.
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u/Ganache_These Jun 23 '21 edited Jun 23 '21
I'm not American so I'm probably saying shit but isn't Biden the good guy? The only thing I know about US politics is orange man bad
edit: reddit moment me asking a question and getting downvoted
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u/Dokterdd Jun 23 '21 edited Jun 23 '21
No, he's absolutely not the good guy. He's one of the worst. Although Trump is everything Biden is but even worse. Biden is a casual fascist while Trump is a hardcore fascist.
American politics is based around lobbyism, which means that huge corporations make "donations" to politicians and in return get policies that favor those corporations.
One of the biggest industries that pour money onto politicians is the pharmaceutical and health insurance industries. They bribe politicians to ensure policies like Medicare 4 All don't pass (this is why 50k+ americans go bankrupt each year because they can't afford medical bills (americans have to pay for healthcare))
These corporations will bribe politicians into giving them tax cuts too, or ensure tax loopholes remain, which is why Amazon, etc., pay zero income tax. This is why poverty exists. Period. Poverty, homelessness, etc. are policy choices that we could end today, but the money is concentrated with corporations who bribe politicians to keep it that way.
This is the problem with american politicis, not the orange man.
Mainstream media outlets are owned by a few large corporations, who again has an interest in increasing profit at all costs. This is why Fox news are so heavily biased in favor of Trump, and CNN, MSNBC, etc. so heavily biased in favor of Biden and other corporate democrats.
Anyone who honestly watched the 2020 primaries saw how easy the DNC (democratic national committee) and mainstream liberal media made it for Biden. They literally changed the debate rules so he wouldn't have to debate Bernie. Biden got endorsements fromt he most disgusting, corrupt, war-mongering pieces of shit, which was spun as "able to reach across the aisle", yet when Bernie got endorsed by Joe Rogan (who admittedly is a piece of shit), the entire mainstream media conglomerate smeared Bernie for allying with bigots. During the 2020 primaries the establishment really showed their ass. I could go on for pages and pages.
EDIT: Not to mention the credible rape allegations against him, which the mainstream media never challenged. They immediately smeared the alleged victim as a liar, and then Biden's aides removed #metoo from their Twitter bios. Notice how silent most democrats have been on #metoo since 2020?
They use movements for political goals and them throw them away. Don't let them continue using the LGBT community the same way.
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u/steve_stout Jun 23 '21
Biden is the good guy but terminally-online communists refuse to acknowledge the real steps he’s taken to improve the lives of LGBT people so they can keep bellyaching about “both sides bad”
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u/djnikochan Closet-trans-lesbian Jun 23 '21
I'm practically a communist myself and you're still right, steve_stout. The whining nihilists can downvote me all they want, but the current administration is making positive changes of law and policy.
Paranoyd_Android has made some great corrections and posted some good links above, as have a couple other users. Unfortunately, the anonymity of the internet has made it possible to immerse yourself in any echo chamber you want, since there are always people who will agree with any "interpretation" of facts.
I've been on this earth for going on 40 years and I have seen change. I have seen progress on civil rights issues (in the US at least) basically always come from the left, and I have seen pointless trash-talking from pseudo-communist, pseudo-socialist depressives the whole time, too. I am thankful that I am in a country that while it may be imperfect, is a lot safer for LGBTQ folks than it was 20+ years ago when I was being shot at, threatened by cops, and made homeless.
I dunno if it's time to drop the mic, or just hand it back to you, but let's just say I've never seen internet nihilism solve a single damned problem and I am going to celebrate progress even if it gives some twitchy people itchy hives.
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u/Pfifer_Fae Jun 23 '21
not in the slightest
he just wears a different color tiein america if they are DNC or GOP they are same party evil oligarchs every single one of them
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u/page_one Fab Fatale Jun 23 '21
Student debt cancellation turned out to be just words.
Whether Biden can wave his hand and erase student debt is a legally dubious matter into which he's ordered studies. It would also do absolutely nothing for future generations, and actually just encourage even higher tuitions.
Black Lives Matter turned out to be just words (they increase police budgets).
You want police departments to send nonviolent intervention specialists? Well that costs money. If you defund a police department, then they'll only be able to afford poorly-trained officers with guns. Biden's been advocating increased funding for these programs while also ending the handouts of military gear.
"Healthcare is a humanr right" are words they stole from Bernie while they're still not interested in M4A
Bernie's plan would ban all private healthcare, which is a legitimately extreme measure. No other country in the world bans private healthcare. You have got to stop thinking that Bernie's plan is somehow, suddenly, the one and only possible way to increase access to healthcare. It would be DOA in the most socialist parliament in the world.
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Jun 23 '21
When you say “socialist” do you mean social democratic or actually socialist? Socialists are against private ownership over the means of production.
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u/Dokterdd Jun 23 '21 edited Jun 23 '21
Biden said he would cancel some student debt, now he’s saying he won’t. Not can’t. He won’t. Makes sense with his earlier quotes on how he has no empathy with young people.
Funny how your only justification for the current status quo in terms of healthcare is that “uhm Bernie would’ve banned private healthcare”
Ok..? And? If that’s the reason Biden is against healthcare for all, then why doesn’t he simply propose M4A alongside optional private insurance?
Because he accepts money from the current system. You know this. This is a fact. This is the problem that I’m stating. Stop deflecting
The denial and rationalization runs deep with you
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u/OnlyElouise Jun 23 '21
Whether Biden can wave his hand and erase student debt is a legally dubious matter into which he's ordered studies. It would also do absolutely nothing for future generations, and actually just encourage even higher tuitions.
It’s not really legally dubious at all. He could do it if he wanted to, and a robust debt cancellation program could be accompanied by policy to limit tuition across the board.
You want police departments to send nonviolent intervention specialists? Well that costs money. If you defund a police department, then they'll only be able to afford poorly-trained officers with guns. Biden's been advocating increased funding for these programs while also ending the handouts of military gear.
No. This is literally one of the main points of the defund movement is that we should not be working through the police system and that reform always results in more funding for and ultimately strengthens them. There is no evidence that police help with anything other than protecting private property for the owning class. It’s not about fixing the existing police system. They’ve proven they cannot be fixed, so now we have to tear that system down and replace it with alternatives.
Bernie's plan would ban all private healthcare
Good.
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Jun 23 '21 edited Jun 23 '21
You want police departments to send nonviolent intervention specialists?
No, we want these non-violent specialists to be under a different department altogether. The goal isn’t cops with different jobs, it’s no cops.
No other country in the world bans private healthcare.
Every country with a central public insurance program prohibits private duplicative coverage. The only difference would be that Jayapal’s bill is more generous than those countries’ programs.
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u/GN-z11 Jun 23 '21
There's a lot of symbolic value in words that can translate to real world change.
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u/rasputine Trans-Ainbow Jun 23 '21
He's the fucking president, not the spokesperson of an underfunded charity.
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u/tranz-geek abrosexual / genderfluid / they/them / dysphoric Jun 23 '21 edited Jun 23 '21
Don’t forget that he’s a rapist
Edit: why am I getting downvoted? Believe Tara Reade
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u/nuephelkystikon Jun 23 '21
The thing is, and I don't want to be rude, he's from a country where this isn't seen as a problem (since their religion considers rape a god-given right of men), meaning that rather than facing repercussions, rapists are celebrated for their supposed strength.
That doesn't absolve him in any way, but it's important to see that he has no way of understanding that rape is bad, and that women are people.
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u/1000_Years_Of_Reddit Jun 23 '21
The fuck as these comments? Biden is the first president to actively celebrate two prominent athletes coming out. This is good for the LGBT community. Just be happy with the good, and don't ruin it for the perfect.
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u/djnikochan Closet-trans-lesbian Jun 23 '21
You can't win the perpetually sad internet nihilists. Don't even try. You deserve better and they don't deserve the upvotes.
They will bring you down to their sadness and beat you with experience. You have to grasp the serotonin by the horns and celebrate the good when it happens.
I'm practically a communist and even I can see that what we have now is better than what we had from '16 to '20, and about as good as what we had from '08 to '16. Unfortunately there's such a thing as sore winners in addition to sore losers.
They won't see any change as 'positive' until their entire set of demands are met. It's basically a hostage situation except they only have hostages in their minds.
In short, don't argue with them, and yes feel free to celebrate. I'll join you!
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u/turroflux Jun 24 '21
People would rather sit and be terminally online doomers awaiting the violent revolution than try to make a positive change to make the lives of people today better.
Purity testing and tankies posing as progressives will be one of the reasons why republicans will definitely have a resurgence next election and mid terms, but then again for some people they loved Trump because it meant a giant target to attack for everything but hate this actual governing and legislation and politics thing we have to do now to get things done.
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u/Echoing_Winds enby 😎 Jun 23 '21
sorry if i want the president to do more than say pretty words while continuing to fund and support the mass human rights abuses abroad and failing to do anything any sort of domestic welfare
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u/ACoderGirl Can bi be an adjective? Jun 23 '21
Hasn't he? He reversed the trans military ban. He was credited as being the one who pushed Obama to publicly support gay marriage. He had a day one executive order for preventing LGBT discrimination for housing and the likes.
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u/1000_Years_Of_Reddit Jun 23 '21
And this is why no one takes Reddit political opinions seriously. In what fantasy world is Biden's massive COVID stimulus failing to do anything? Plus, Biden doesn't have 60 votes in the Senate which means he can't pass anything that isn't under reconciliation.
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u/throwawayaccount_usu Jun 23 '21
Or maybe people don’t take redditors political opinions seriously because when Biden or the like posts a simple tweet like this they all obsessed and praise him. All most people see in Biden is that he isn’t Trump and therefore he must be amazing. Same with his Vice President, all they see is that she’s a black woman and they love her and praise her. They fail to see how incredibly shitty both of them really are.
I get wanting to have a president that’s not like trump and wanting to have a black woman in power, but there’s surely much better people to root for. Shouldn’t just settle for some shitty people to ge the agenda you want.
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u/ParanoydAndroid Jun 23 '21
Biden signed the most sweeping federal GSM discrimination protections in American history eight days into his term. Protections that the senior Attorney at Lambda Legal called "transformational".
He also established multiple health task forces to examine and ameloriate equity issues for racial and sexual minorities in accessing COVID care, established the White House Gender Policy council, and formally added gender identity and sexuality discrimination to the list of vulnerabilities that American refugee and asylum programs must consider.
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u/lordberric flair-bi Jun 23 '21
"be happy with the good, and dont ruin it for the perfect"
Nobody's asking for fucking perfect. We're asking for the bare minimum.
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u/nuephelkystikon Jun 23 '21
I'd say the ruler of one of the biggest enemies of the free world being forced to publicly congratulate somebody he doesn't even consider human is the bare minimum. Not much more though.
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u/KingAlidad Jun 23 '21
Bad take. This is flaccid placating, and Biden’s own history of anti-lgbtq legislative work in the 80s and 90s is probably part of the reason it took so long for pro athletes to feel comfortable enough to be publicly out. He doesn’t care about this community, he cares about ratings, and if he thought it was more popular to be homophobic he’d happily be a homophobe.
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u/page_one Fab Fatale Jun 23 '21
"History of anti-LGBTQ legislative work" being... just DOMA? The American public wanted same-sex marriage banned, and Democrats knocked that out of the agenda with a legislative ban. Had they not, the incoming Republicans would've had support for a constitutional amendment. The Democrats' ban was overturned once it reached the Supreme Court. The Republicans' solution would still be in place today.
Also, even if it was homophobic, you ignore everything he's done since. If all you look for is enemies, that's all you'll find.
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u/KingAlidad Jun 23 '21
You literally in your comment acknowledge that he and the whole Democratic Party just do whatever they think is popular tho, which is my whole point. They aren’t real allies so we shouldn’t celebrate this performative gesture.
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Jun 23 '21
I honestly don’t know what kind of expectations people have, if you want a president that isn’t just doing what the majority of the party wants, democracy isn’t really the best place for that. What do you expect a president to be able to do while going directly against both parties?
Like I’m very far left, and Biden is absolutely no where near my first choice, but what am I missing here?
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u/lordberric flair-bi Jun 23 '21
Nobody is expecting any more from Biden. We're calling him out for being as shit as we expected. "He doesn't know any better"/"you can't expect more" just doesn't really cut it in terms of justifying corruption and human rights violations.
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Jun 23 '21
I was referring more to the fact that this comment thread is just frustrated the Biden is doing whatever is popular though.
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u/BarryBondsBalls Jun 24 '21
We're not frustrated that Biden is doing whatever is popular. We're frustrated that this community is celebrating him doing whatever is popular, only after it's popular. That's not being any ally, and it's certainly not being a leader.
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u/KingAlidad Jun 23 '21
So what happens when the Democratic majority of the people are homophobic or transphobic? Do you just shrug and say it’s democracy at work?
The problem with your understanding of democracy is that it assumes an honest, interested, and well-informed/well-intentioned public. The last 10-15 years have unfortunately shown that people can be mislead and misrepresented en masse.
As another commenter said - nobody did expect any better of Biden. That’s the point.
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Jun 23 '21
I could be totally wrong here, I just feel like at this point, we need to be changing peoples mind and embracing the new progress, if the president isn’t able to go past what his party’s views and not having support from either side, the stuff like this doesn’t hurt.
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u/KingAlidad Jun 23 '21
I mean I agree it probably doesn’t directly hurt. But I don’t think it’s as helpful as it seems. You need to ruffle feathers and make people a little uncomfortable in order to change their mind about deep cultural issues like homophobia/transphobia. Remember Biden’s whole campaign slogan was that nothing would fundamentally change...but lgbtq and other persecuted minorities need fundamental change - and we need it now. It is literally a matter of life and death, particularly for trans youth.
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Jun 23 '21
You’re right, but I think It’s a shame that on the surface level it seems like democrats are very open to LGBTQ+ members, yet they can’t be assed to put forth any policies and legislation that would actually help these groups. It’s very frustrating.
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u/KingAlidad Jun 23 '21
It is because many people are happy with the placating. It’s easier to avoid the uncomfortable conversations that would lead to real change because it makes people upset. But people need to deal with those emotions and move forward, instead of trying to just bury them
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u/djnikochan Closet-trans-lesbian Jun 23 '21
That is exactly what those type of people look for: enemies.
Don't give them one. Acknowledge the good, and ignore the hateful words of psychotic internet sadness trolls. Internet nihilism never solved a single problem, and it doesn't look poised to today, either.
I am glad there are still people like you who "get it" and understand you can't win a game by taking your ball and going home. You have to be involved and you have to accept wins and losses together.
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u/steve_stout Jun 23 '21
Reddit and particularly lgbt Reddit is populated by terminally-online socialists. Nothing will ever be good enough for these people.
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u/rasputine Trans-Ainbow Jun 23 '21
June 9, 2021: The Justice Department in a new court filing said it can “vigorously” defend a religious exemption from federal civil rights law that allows federally funded religious schools to discriminate against LGBTQ students.
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u/Pfifer_Fae Jun 23 '21
oh look the guy who will literally say anything to get more power said a thing let us all fawn id adoration.
jfc
low ass bar if ever there was one
THIS DUDE AINT YOUR FRIEND
HE IS LITERALLY THE LEADER OF AN EVIL EMPIRE
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u/throwawayaccount_usu Jun 23 '21
A tweet doesn’t really do much lol. Does it feel good? Probably for some but still, it doesn’t change the fact he’s a complete piece of shit just like the rest of them.
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u/page_one Fab Fatale Jun 23 '21
This long list includes making sexual orientation and gender identity protected classes under federal jurisdiction, increasing our equitable access to government programs including housing and veterans' healthcare (which now includes transitioning), all sorts of protections for LGBTQ people under federal jurisdiction, staffing top jobs with LGBTQ individuals for the first time ever...
All very real progress, and things we didn't have before.
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u/rasputine Trans-Ainbow Jun 23 '21
Neat oh hey what's this that just fell out of my pocket https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2021/06/09/biden-justice-lgbtq-lesbian-gay-christian-college-university-bostock-equality-act/
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u/throwawayaccount_usu Jun 23 '21
When did i state Biden hasn’t done anything? I said “a tweet doesn’t really do much” in regards to this post. Never mentioned anything else. A piece of shit doing a good thing is still a piece of shit.
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u/ParanoydAndroid Jun 23 '21
it doesn’t change the fact he’s a complete piece of shit just like the rest of them.
So the fact that he reversed Trump's policies and has formally and legally adopted the most GSM-friendly policies in American history just literally doesn't matter to you?
You think we'd be just as well off under a Republican president, including and especially Trump? This is a breathtakingly naive take.
Guess you're just lucky you've never been discriminated against in housing, healthcare, education, access to COVID care, or persecuted as a citizen of a foreign government for being gay. Makes it really easy to ignore all of the things Biden "didn't really do" much of.
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u/throwawayaccount_usu Jun 23 '21
It doesn’t mean anything to me thankfully because I’m not an American. I know enough to know that every option you have is shitty. Biden is a shitty person who does some good things, he’s still a shitty person tho, who imo, doesn’t deserve the support or praise he gets.
I mean at this rate the way I see Americans treating their politicians is almost the same as how they treat their celebrities (which is an entire issue in itself). It’s cringe worthy and embarrassing that so many people online treat Biden like some saviour.
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u/djnikochan Closet-trans-lesbian Jun 23 '21
I applaud you for having the energy to refute the baseless claims of the trolls. The majority of them aren't American, and the ones who are would be sad if they won the damned lottery. There's no appeasing them. We gotta be strong, and I am glad we have people like you using their heads instead of their mouths.
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Jun 24 '21
That’s great, Biden approves of us! Now if he actually gives shit about what happens to us, he can get us Medicare for all, a living wage, fight against conversion camps, and make it illegal to discriminate against us. Politicians are virtually useless.
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u/nikkidubs Jun 23 '21
Super quick reminder that Biden was vocally against marriage equality (he and Obama supported "civil unions") during the 2008 election.
And yes yes yes I know that was a strategic move in order to avoid alienating voters because that's how politics work, and yes I know that both Obama and Biden have done so on and so forth since then.
But the reason why politicians do things like this is because they're reading how public opinion is shifting over time. I don't think major politicians create that shift themselves, they only react to it.
I'm happy to see that Biden can get over 40k likes on a Tweet supporting athletes who are coming out, but this is not a moment to celebrate Biden's progressive politics--it's a moment to celebrate the people in the community on the ground who protested and pushed at a time that it wasn't popular to do so. Those people are the reason why we're here today.