Where We Stand And What To Do

[PhoenixGeoff]

One of the most alarming things about the raft of abortion laws coming out of the red states has been their desire to criminalize things like crossing state lines to procure an abortion (i.e. that Highway Patrol officer pulls you over as you're driving from Texas to New Mexico if your pregnant and he thinks you might be going to get an abortion), or "aiding and abetting" abortion (which could be anything from donating to abortion funds to driving that pregnant friend to merely putting them up for the night along the way).  On top of that, we're also seeing laws originally designed to evade Roe that enable private causes of action against those  assisting in an abortion (i.e. it's not just the cops coming after you but well-funded private anti-abortion groups and individuals can sue you civilly; as far back as the 16th century the common law has generally determined that this is a terrible idea because it's so easy to exploit for profit and to settle scores).

One only needs to look at very recent Irish history to see just how crazy this can get.

And while Alito and Kavanaugh JJ. were at great pains to say that Dobbs doesn't strictly imply the end of Griswold, Lawrence, or Obergefell, given how they both flat-out lied to Congress about their positions of Roe, let's just say I take such assurances with a pillar of salt.

We also know that Congress is hostile to pretty much anyone sex positive; viz. FOSTA-SESTA (i.e. the sex worker endangerment act) and have their eyes on going after porn as well (and First amendment guarantees from this Supreme Court don't exactly inspire much confidence, 

And, of course, let's not forget our events are being targeted by fascists.  Though the cops did do their job.  This time. 

So what can we do?

• It is absolutely unacceptable and indeed dangerous for our personal information to be beyond our own control online.  Pinkwashing notwithstanding, total surveillance capitalism contains within it all the tools that radical right wingers and fascists need to identify us, locate us, impose their will on us, erase us, and kill us.  Should they come to power, these corporations will have no problem with selling us out.  Look at how they've acted in China.  Ditch them.  Ditch the internet as much as possible.  Learn how to protect your private data and follow through and do it.  
   
• Be politically engaged and active.  If you're American, of course you should be enraged by what Republicans and right wing radicals and fascists are doing.  But you should also be enraged by the Democrats, who have been exploiting this situation to fundraise and cement themselves in political office.  Hold their fucking feet to the fire.  Because, time and again we've elected them and time and again they've caved.  Fight for those things that no-one else will.  Porn.  Sex workers.  Fight to get rid of vice squads.  Fight for drug decriminalization and harm reduction.  Fight for all those things that make "normal" and "moral" people uncomfortable.  Be willing to be the guy speaking up for unpopular causes.  This is exactly what Pride is supposed to be about.  So don't be embarrassed.  Our motto should be WWLFD? (What Would Larry Flynt Do?)
   
• We need more out-of-the-box thinking.  The Satanists using a form of legal aikido to convert religious freedom laws from attacks on us to assets?  That kind of thing.  Find a church that's dying and take it over in the name of Venus/Aphrodite and Cupid/Eros.  A lot of our events are damn near religious experiences anyways.  Let's formalize the process and do it out in the fucking open.  Let's make pulling out your dick and rubbing one out a sacrament and demand that the high school football team engage in our kind of prayer, or go and pray for the souls of those poor benighted heathens.  For that matter, why shouldn't Molly or K or whatever be part of our sacred rituals?  There are already precedents for this elsewhere.
   
• Acquire and learn how to use a firearm. We are just as entitled to AR-15s as the bullies are.  And guns ain't going away anytime soon in the US.  So we've got to make the fascists afraid of us.  We cannot count on the cops.  Some of them are fascists and/or homophobes themselves.  And even if they aren't, if you learn nothing else from Uvalde, it's that when push comes to shove, cops will save their own skin before going out on a limb to save you or me.

I'm sure there's more.  I'm sure this is controversial for some of you. Or maybe you've got more ideas.  But one thing is clear:  the radical right is out to get us and no-one else is coming to the rescue.  We've got to look to ourselves.

[Guest]

Not sure about the firearms but love the way you think and turn this around from people complaining about it, to action.

 

[barefootboy]

9 hours ago, PhoenixGeoff said:

One of the most alarming things about the raft of abortion laws coming out of the red states has been their desire to criminalize things like crossing state lines to procure an abortion (i.e. that Highway Patrol officer pulls you over as you're driving from Texas to New Mexico if your pregnant and he thinks you might be going to get an abortion), or "aiding and abetting" abortion (which could be anything from donating to abortion funds to driving that pregnant friend to merely putting them up for the night along the way).  On top of that, we're also seeing laws originally designed to evade Roe that enable private causes of action against those  assisting in an abortion (i.e. it's not just the cops coming after you but well-funded private anti-abortion groups and individuals can sue you civilly; as far back as the 16th century the common law has generally determined that this is a terrible idea because it's so easy to exploit for profit and to settle scores).

One only needs to look at very recent Irish history to see just how crazy this can get.

And while Alito and Kavanaugh JJ. were at great pains to say that Dobbs doesn't strictly imply the end of Griswold, Lawrence, or Obergefell, given how they both flat-out lied to Congress about their positions of Roe, let's just say I take such assurances with a pillar of salt.

We also know that Congress is hostile to pretty much anyone sex positive; viz. FOSTA-SESTA (i.e. the sex worker endangerment act) and have their eyes on going after porn as well (and First amendment guarantees from this Supreme Court don't exactly inspire much confidence, 

And, of course, let's not forget our events are being targeted by fascists.  Though the cops did do their job.  This time. 

So what can we do?

• It is absolutely unacceptable and indeed dangerous for our personal information to be beyond our own control online.  Pinkwashing notwithstanding, total surveillance capitalism contains within it all the tools that radical right wingers and fascists need to identify us, locate us, impose their will on us, erase us, and kill us.  Should they come to power, these corporations will have no problem with selling us out.  Look at how they've acted in China.  Ditch them.  Ditch the internet as much as possible.  Learn how to protect your private data and follow through and do it.  
   
• Be politically engaged and active.  If you're American, of course you should be enraged by what Republicans and right wing radicals and fascists are doing.  But you should also be enraged by the Democrats, who have been exploiting this situation to fundraise and cement themselves in political office.  Hold their fucking feet to the fire.  Because, time and again we've elected them and time and again they've caved.  Fight for those things that no-one else will.  Porn.  Sex workers.  Fight to get rid of vice squads.  Fight for drug decriminalization and harm reduction.  Fight for all those things that make "normal" and "moral" people uncomfortable.  Be willing to be the guy speaking up for unpopular causes.  This is exactly what Pride is supposed to be about.  So don't be embarrassed.  Our motto should be WWLFD? (What Would Larry Flynt Do?)
   
• We need more out-of-the-box thinking.  The Satanists using a form of legal aikido to convert religious freedom laws from attacks on us to assets?  That kind of thing.  Find a church that's dying and take it over in the name of Venus/Aphrodite and Cupid/Eros.  A lot of our events are damn near religious experiences anyways.  Let's formalize the process and do it out in the fucking open.  Let's make pulling out your dick and rubbing one out a sacrament and demand that the high school football team engage in our kind of prayer, or go and pray for the souls of those poor benighted heathens.  For that matter, why shouldn't Molly or K or whatever be part of our sacred rituals?  There are already precedents for this elsewhere.
   
• Acquire and learn how to use a firearm. We are just as entitled to AR-15s as the bullies are.  And guns ain't going away anytime soon in the US.  So we've got to make the fascists afraid of us.  We cannot count on the cops.  Some of them are fascists and/or homophobes themselves.  And even if they aren't, if you learn nothing else from Uvalde, it's that when push comes to shove, cops will save their own skin before going out on a limb to save you or me.

I'm sure there's more.  I'm sure this is controversial for some of you. Or maybe you've got more ideas.  But one thing is clear:  the radical right is out to get us and no-one else is coming to the rescue.  We've got to look to ourselves.

I fear that you are correct. This has been coming for some time and the tides of “their justice” have turned against us. I think we need to brace ourselves for a tough road ahead. While we do get some support from people who are not like ourselves, in the end it’s going to be up to us. 

[evilqueerpig]

Will the radical Right inspire a new Stonewall?  They call us the QUEER Mafia and maybe we need to act like one.  As the month of Pride is coming to an end, we must inform younger generations of how it came to be, that night in June of 1969 when the QUEER community, mostly black drag queens, rose up and literally took on the NYPD.  Sitting idle gets us nothing and if we don't have a QUEER MLK, a QUEER Malcolm X should suffice.  They'd like to see us wiped out and we can't allow that.  I'm finding it more difficult to remain a pacifist lately.  As a child of the 60's, Abbie Hoffman was my idol and if I can be half the man he was, I'd gladly take on his role.

[Bruce999]

We know some of these Right-wing people in Congress are in the closet, maybe putting some light on them. Remember that Senator who was caught in a bathroom asking for a BJ? We'll he is gone.