About trans rights:

They're a wedge issue. If you think it's okay to deprive trans people of the right to exist in the public sphere then you're saying human rights are conditional and/or can be withdrawn. Which puts you on a slippery slope to no human rights for anyone.

When you trace the roots of the modern anti-trans movement they boil down to some combination of bigotry and billionaire bullshit— the oligarchs think rights are for the rich.

So: trans-rights are human rights. No exceptions.

@cstross

I'm just sad that "this group deserves to exist" is a wedge issue, and not just something most people can agree on 😞

@smattymatty Agreed, but also it's a manufactured wedge issue designed to ease the trans-ignorant into taking a series of that will lead them into a reprehensible position that they would mostly direct if they were confronted with it cold.

"Hi! We are your leaders and we want the right to dehumanize you and strip you of your rights at will!"—who'd say yes to THAT? Much easier to start by targeting a small minority nobody knows. Could have been left-handers or germophobes: but they picked trans.

@cstross @smattymatty refugees, too