A new poll released in the Virginia governors race shows that the anti-trans attack ads led by Republican Earle-Sears is failing: Spanberger is up 10, and people don't care about trans issues.
Trans people do, people who know trans people care, and people that love them do too. But they’re so few in numbers. To be so unfairly defamed and disparaged… characterized in dehumanized, used merely as a political punching bag is a travesty.
Trans Rights are human rights, it’s inhuman to abandon them.
Unfortunately for us, the agenda for instance is a two-edged sword. The public won't get whipped up by anti-trans hysteria. But neither will they take into account how there vote my harm trans people. We need to overcome their apathy to win them over as true allies.
The gold standard for trans politics, IMHO, is what Zohran Mamdani is doing in NYC. It's not just that he's not fearmongering about us; he's including us in his coalition and appealing to our economic well-being as a kitchen table issue. He's even going further and proposing an office of LGBTQ+ affairs (now, whether he keeps his promises is a whole other ball game, but we have to push him!)!
Eric Adams did fear-monger about trans boys in girls' restrooms in public schools, but you know what? He dropped out of the race so his positions on us trans peeps are moot AF.
Thanks, Erin, for this report. I'm glad to hear that Virginia voters are proving more intelligent than voters in the 2024 presidential election.
Someone needs to ask former Virginia Lt. Governor Bolling why, if trans women are so dangerous when using women's bathrooms, the data from states where it is legal shows that assaults by trans women in women's bathrooms is non-existent, which explains why voters and politicians in states where it is legal have not reversed allowing trans women to use women's bathrooms.
Of course she's going all-in on anti-trans stuff. Republicans are CAUSING most of the problems in Virginia right now, especially NoVa. The federal employees who still have their jobs are being actively tortured by this admin. Funding for everything is drying up, tons of people are losing their jobs (private as well as public), no one is hiring, AI causes more problems than it solves, tariffs are making prices explode, and ICE is running around beating people up and disappearing them. Earle-Sears has nothing to say about any of that. All I've heard from her is that trans people are evil, black people are whiners, and Jesus hates gay people. On top of that, she's done so little campaigning, and refuses to answer so many questions from the press, that a good chunk of the low-info Republicans in this state think she's the Democratic candidate due to being a black woman. It's insane.
I am sad that the reason is people don't care about "trans issues" and also glad that people don't consider this a reason to vote for Earle-Sears. I live in Virginia and of course I'm voting for Spanberger! Also, I knew her and her family, as her mother-in-law is a member of the congregation I served for 11 years before I retired in 2018. Thank you for your work, Erin, and for this space. I am an ally and advocate for transgender people and their loved ones, and writing a memoir about my transgender sister, who would be 71 if she had not died at the age of 29. Discovering our family's lack of information, denial, secrets and silence in 2018 set me on this journey to devote myself to educating myself as much and as fast as I can. Here to learn and use what influence and voice I have to support trans rights.
Spanberger, to my knowledge, is not talking about trans issues. That doesn't mean she supports trans people. Her website says she supports "same-sex" marriage and that "no Virginian should face discrimination based on the color of their skin, where they are from, how they choose to worship, what disability they have, or whom they love." (https://abigailspanberger.com/issue/protecting-the-rights-of-every-virginian/) Notably, gender is not mentioned. In her section on gun rights, she says that, "Abigail will support efforts to strengthen Virginia’s safe storage laws and keep firearms out of the hands of kids or those who pose a threat to themselves or others." (https://abigailspanberger.com/issue/keeping-virginias-communities-safe/) What happens if, at the federal level, trans people are deemed a threat? Who will she protect then? She's milquetoast; her values are run-of-the-mill democrat, at best. As a VA resident, I'm not comforted by my options. But I will vote for Spanberger because she's not Sears. And fuck does that feel bad.
I’m a Mama in Virginia as well and agree that Spanberger is keeping a low profile and avoiding trans issues. I can only hope that privately and in office she will be supportive—we have organizations here like Equality Virginia - and LGBTQIA-positive legislators - who can assist her and the trans community once she is elected. I am not saying that I condone Spanberger’s avoidance of trans and LGBTQ+ issues (if that is what she is doing); I do understand if she is hoping for some solid swing votes in this election. I worry more about the contesting of the election by Trump-enabled MAGA if she wins. I think one step at a time - get through the election and get her in office, hope for a Democratic majority in both houses, then continue the Work.
I agree - I think we are in the position of needing to hope that her current silence on trans issues means that she'd rather not get dragged into something most people in VA don't seem to care about. ((fingers crossed))
I know that our state representatives have been making moves to protect rights for people and I do find that encouraging. However, the general capitalist bent of the Democratic party doesn't give me the warm and fuzzies b/c ultimately they protect the market not the marginalized.
I very much hope that, if elected, she will roll up her sleeves and continue the work that our state reps have been doing, and that she will (like some governors (not Newsom)) take a definable stand against what is going at the federal level.
Wow, I hope Spanburger wins this one. Virginia always seems like it is right on the precipice of going either way on trans rights. A definite swing state in more ways than one. Of course, trans rights are human rights and should never be up for debate.
Youngkin won because Terry Schilling - total pos that he is - and his Americas (no) Principles Project leaned in. Although well funded Schilling is a one trick pony and his days are numbered. Sadly he has no compunction in destroying as many lives as he can to prop up his own petty insecurities. And for people like Spanberger and Youngkin its just grist for their egos. They will all be consigned to the garbage dump where they belong.
I've argued for a long time now that our best vote to reduce harm to our community is to vote Democratic. I'm changing my mind. Unless a Democratic candidate stands up against the attacks and forthrightly defends us, I will no longer vote for them. Why should we if it just means bus wheels anyway?
Spanberger also had ads up ready to go. Her messaging isn’t perfect but is strong enough. We need to educate more candidates that fighting back wins votes and respect.
This not unexpected people put healthcare and costs first which directly effect their pocketbooks. Yet when these areas are addressed I believe and hope than lgbtq rights will surface as important issues
Just leave those folks alone to live their lives and be their authentic selves. Please!
Donald Trump is an evil thing (not a man but a “thing”) to bring up the subject of transgendered people and then encourage his followers to persecute them.
It’s the same old tactic of all despots: demonize “the other” and make them the enemy so that people don’t see the real enemy right before their very eyes.
It is my fervent hope that more and more Americans come to see that Donald Trump and his regime are the true enemy of our democracy, our freedoms, and our Republic.
I certainly share the view expressed by others that "not caring" is not a beneficial public position. Apathy towards trans dignity means the public will turn a blind eye to expressed bigotry if they like the rest of the platform. It also means they are not inoculated against the disinformation of any other right wing demagogue that they're exposed to which may affect their behaviour even without a legislative agenda. I'd settle for tolerance: not as a synonym of "acceptance" but merely as "benign indifference" rather than "neglectful indifference." Anything less offers no lasting basis for safety. Neglectful indifference of the sort that seems to be driving this Virginia polling is preferable only to persecution.
“people don’t care about trans issues”
Trans people do, people who know trans people care, and people that love them do too. But they’re so few in numbers. To be so unfairly defamed and disparaged… characterized in dehumanized, used merely as a political punching bag is a travesty.
Trans Rights are human rights, it’s inhuman to abandon them.
Remember that we’re a facet of existence. Bigotry must be taught, but trans people are born every day naturally. We’ve already won the long war. 💞
Yes, so true!
Unfortunately for us, the agenda for instance is a two-edged sword. The public won't get whipped up by anti-trans hysteria. But neither will they take into account how there vote my harm trans people. We need to overcome their apathy to win them over as true allies.
The gold standard for trans politics, IMHO, is what Zohran Mamdani is doing in NYC. It's not just that he's not fearmongering about us; he's including us in his coalition and appealing to our economic well-being as a kitchen table issue. He's even going further and proposing an office of LGBTQ+ affairs (now, whether he keeps his promises is a whole other ball game, but we have to push him!)!
Eric Adams did fear-monger about trans boys in girls' restrooms in public schools, but you know what? He dropped out of the race so his positions on us trans peeps are moot AF.
My thoughts too. We are the only ones who care about us, it seems.
Jeez, it’s almost like WE’RE JUST NORMAL PEOPLE LIVING OUR LIVES among people who don’t have hormonal issues!!! 🤷🏻♀️
Thanks, Erin, for this report. I'm glad to hear that Virginia voters are proving more intelligent than voters in the 2024 presidential election.
Someone needs to ask former Virginia Lt. Governor Bolling why, if trans women are so dangerous when using women's bathrooms, the data from states where it is legal shows that assaults by trans women in women's bathrooms is non-existent, which explains why voters and politicians in states where it is legal have not reversed allowing trans women to use women's bathrooms.
Of course she's going all-in on anti-trans stuff. Republicans are CAUSING most of the problems in Virginia right now, especially NoVa. The federal employees who still have their jobs are being actively tortured by this admin. Funding for everything is drying up, tons of people are losing their jobs (private as well as public), no one is hiring, AI causes more problems than it solves, tariffs are making prices explode, and ICE is running around beating people up and disappearing them. Earle-Sears has nothing to say about any of that. All I've heard from her is that trans people are evil, black people are whiners, and Jesus hates gay people. On top of that, she's done so little campaigning, and refuses to answer so many questions from the press, that a good chunk of the low-info Republicans in this state think she's the Democratic candidate due to being a black woman. It's insane.
I am sad that the reason is people don't care about "trans issues" and also glad that people don't consider this a reason to vote for Earle-Sears. I live in Virginia and of course I'm voting for Spanberger! Also, I knew her and her family, as her mother-in-law is a member of the congregation I served for 11 years before I retired in 2018. Thank you for your work, Erin, and for this space. I am an ally and advocate for transgender people and their loved ones, and writing a memoir about my transgender sister, who would be 71 if she had not died at the age of 29. Discovering our family's lack of information, denial, secrets and silence in 2018 set me on this journey to devote myself to educating myself as much and as fast as I can. Here to learn and use what influence and voice I have to support trans rights.
Spanberger, to my knowledge, is not talking about trans issues. That doesn't mean she supports trans people. Her website says she supports "same-sex" marriage and that "no Virginian should face discrimination based on the color of their skin, where they are from, how they choose to worship, what disability they have, or whom they love." (https://abigailspanberger.com/issue/protecting-the-rights-of-every-virginian/) Notably, gender is not mentioned. In her section on gun rights, she says that, "Abigail will support efforts to strengthen Virginia’s safe storage laws and keep firearms out of the hands of kids or those who pose a threat to themselves or others." (https://abigailspanberger.com/issue/keeping-virginias-communities-safe/) What happens if, at the federal level, trans people are deemed a threat? Who will she protect then? She's milquetoast; her values are run-of-the-mill democrat, at best. As a VA resident, I'm not comforted by my options. But I will vote for Spanberger because she's not Sears. And fuck does that feel bad.
I’m a Mama in Virginia as well and agree that Spanberger is keeping a low profile and avoiding trans issues. I can only hope that privately and in office she will be supportive—we have organizations here like Equality Virginia - and LGBTQIA-positive legislators - who can assist her and the trans community once she is elected. I am not saying that I condone Spanberger’s avoidance of trans and LGBTQ+ issues (if that is what she is doing); I do understand if she is hoping for some solid swing votes in this election. I worry more about the contesting of the election by Trump-enabled MAGA if she wins. I think one step at a time - get through the election and get her in office, hope for a Democratic majority in both houses, then continue the Work.
I agree - I think we are in the position of needing to hope that her current silence on trans issues means that she'd rather not get dragged into something most people in VA don't seem to care about. ((fingers crossed))
I know that our state representatives have been making moves to protect rights for people and I do find that encouraging. However, the general capitalist bent of the Democratic party doesn't give me the warm and fuzzies b/c ultimately they protect the market not the marginalized.
I very much hope that, if elected, she will roll up her sleeves and continue the work that our state reps have been doing, and that she will (like some governors (not Newsom)) take a definable stand against what is going at the federal level.
Agree 100%!!
Glad that voters are not falling for the crap.
Wow, I hope Spanburger wins this one. Virginia always seems like it is right on the precipice of going either way on trans rights. A definite swing state in more ways than one. Of course, trans rights are human rights and should never be up for debate.
Youngkin won because Terry Schilling - total pos that he is - and his Americas (no) Principles Project leaned in. Although well funded Schilling is a one trick pony and his days are numbered. Sadly he has no compunction in destroying as many lives as he can to prop up his own petty insecurities. And for people like Spanberger and Youngkin its just grist for their egos. They will all be consigned to the garbage dump where they belong.
I've argued for a long time now that our best vote to reduce harm to our community is to vote Democratic. I'm changing my mind. Unless a Democratic candidate stands up against the attacks and forthrightly defends us, I will no longer vote for them. Why should we if it just means bus wheels anyway?
What does "bus wheels" mean?
Damn right.
Spanberger also had ads up ready to go. Her messaging isn’t perfect but is strong enough. We need to educate more candidates that fighting back wins votes and respect.
This not unexpected people put healthcare and costs first which directly effect their pocketbooks. Yet when these areas are addressed I believe and hope than lgbtq rights will surface as important issues
Just leave those folks alone to live their lives and be their authentic selves. Please!
Donald Trump is an evil thing (not a man but a “thing”) to bring up the subject of transgendered people and then encourage his followers to persecute them.
It’s the same old tactic of all despots: demonize “the other” and make them the enemy so that people don’t see the real enemy right before their very eyes.
It is my fervent hope that more and more Americans come to see that Donald Trump and his regime are the true enemy of our democracy, our freedoms, and our Republic.
I certainly share the view expressed by others that "not caring" is not a beneficial public position. Apathy towards trans dignity means the public will turn a blind eye to expressed bigotry if they like the rest of the platform. It also means they are not inoculated against the disinformation of any other right wing demagogue that they're exposed to which may affect their behaviour even without a legislative agenda. I'd settle for tolerance: not as a synonym of "acceptance" but merely as "benign indifference" rather than "neglectful indifference." Anything less offers no lasting basis for safety. Neglectful indifference of the sort that seems to be driving this Virginia polling is preferable only to persecution.
Economy and Healthcare--bread and butter issues.