William Lindsey 
“Watching as professional crybabies like Ben Shapiro tried to get people to boycott 'Barbie' because one of the actresses in the film (Hari Nef, who played Doctor Barbie) is trans, and seeing that has absolutely no effect on the film’s success demonstrates that the Bud Light and Target controversies and capitulations only became big deals because Bud Light and Target responded to the outrage as though it were genuine.”
#Barbie
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John Shirley@wdlindsy The thing is, death threats were involved with Bud Light and Target. It's not as if the right wing isn't scarily armed and dangerous. I *guess* it would have been better if they'd stood up and just kept on with the pro LGBT work they'd been doing, but if a major bomb killed a hundred employees, people would question their judgment, to say the least. It's really a hard thing to figure when we have these overarmed nuts out there. It's a miracle no congressperson was killed Jan 6.
Evelyn@JohnShirley2023 @wdlindsy When my mother received death threats in her capacity as a high school teacher, her bosses called the police. They didn’t shut down the high school, or even stop teaching math.
@gorfram @wdlindsy I'm glad she (I'm guessing) wasn't attacked. Was that recently? Target got, in effect, death threats to everyone working there. Target and Budweiser made police reports too. And they didn't shut down. But they did remove some LGBT material and probably they shouldn't have but it's easy to judge from the cheap seats.
@JohnShirley2023 @wdlindsy Yes, it’s very easy to judge from the cheap seats. &, at the time- 40 years ago- my judgement was that they should indeed have shut down the high school.
Mom was not physically attacked. The threat came from her encouraging certain students not to drop out of school for a career selling drugs; & while they didn’t back off entirely, the drug dealers found the police involvement clashed with their business plan.
Mom did stop working late at school, though.
@JohnShirley2023 @wdlindsy This was a gang-related thing in an inner city area, which I think was even more dire 40 years than it is now. Mom started hauling all her papers home to grade, instead of staying late to get some of them done at school, when there was a gang member standing out by her car, or watching her from across the street every night when she left the building.
It wasn’t a nationwide politically-induced violent mass hysteria, but it was pretty f*cking scary.
It wasn’t a nationwide politically-induced violent mass hysteria, but it was pretty f*cking scary.
@gorfram @JohnShirley2023 I’m very grateful to you for sharing this important and inspiring story.
@wdlindsy @JohnShirley2023 Thanks. 😊
Every once in a while, a teacher like my mom really is able to make a difference in a kid’s life.
@gorfram @JohnShirley2023 My hat is off to your mother. As a teacher myself by vocation, I know the strong urging to make a real difference, and the opposition and even outright hate you can face in trying to make that difference. We need heroes to inspire us, and your mother was one of them.
@wdlindsy @JohnShirley2023 Thanks. I am proud of her.
I taught for a few years myself, as a grad student TA; and I learned how hard & exhausting it can be to try to teach the students as opposed to just teaching the material. Massive kudos to you.
@gorfram @JohnShirley2023 Teaching done well is definitely a vocation. I grew up with two teacher aunts (primary school) and an uncle and his wife who taught in college, and had good examples with them, since they put themselves into the teaching and made an effort to push against prejudices that affected how other teachers dealt with some students. They set a good example for me as a teacher-to-be.