ANA: One Alabama town has taken the anti transgender movement to extreme levels
by using extreme penalties for anyone
who uses the bathroom that doesn't identify with what's written on their birth certificate.
"The city of Oxford will now make it illegal for people to use a public bathroom
that does not align with their birth certificate,
punishing those who violate the law with a $500 fine
and up to six months in jail."
So, this drives me insane.
Obviously there have been all sorts of anti-LGBT
laws proposed, and passed in various states
a lot of them focus specifically on transgender individuals
and how they want to use the bathrooms that they identify with
Now the fear mongering by conservatives regarding this issue
has driven me crazy
because there's no evidence indicating that these people are making up their gender identity
in order to go into the bathroom to molest women or girls.
That's just not happening.
In fact, "in two investigations
Media Matters confirmed with experts and officials in 12 states and 17 school districts
with protections for the LGBTQ people that they had no increases in sex crimes
after they enacted these protections,
which generally let trans people use the bathroom that they want."
So this is all a myth, right?
And this whole idea that people are gonna go through the torment and torture of today's society
Just to go to a bathroom to see girls peeing
is insane to me.
JOHN: You could just on the internet if you want to see that.
ANA: If you're a sexual predator, there is no law that's gonna stop you from doing what you want to do. JOHN: Yes.
ANA: Okay. And so, this is just ridiculous fear mongering by the right.
"Trans Alabamans can change the gender marker on their birth certificate though
if they get approval from a court,
which must verify that the trans person underwent gender-affirming surgery."
Okay! So now we're living in this day and age where we are gonna allow people to violate our privacy
and make sure that we are post-op, in order to use the bathroom that we wanna use.
JOHN: So you have to go to the judge, and the judge has to certify that you're "girl enough" for him.
ANA: It's insane! This is insane. Okay?
We talk about all these violations of privacy.
We talk about how we're living in a police state.
We talk about how big brother is watching.
And at the same time we sit back and we allow these things to happen.
Okay?
We allow people to fear monger to the point where we're in favor of discriminating against certain groups of people.
and we're in favor of allowing officials to check our kibbles and bits to make sure we're not using the "wrong bathroom."
JOHN: Yeah,
I realize that when I say this I'm going to be demonstrating again "a smug style of liberalism" I've been reading online.
Uh, people on the right are out of their minds
ANA: Mm-hmm.
JOHN: They think, I mean when you look at what they think about trans people
and what they think about gay people.
They apparently think that the only reason everybody isn't gay and trans is because they exercise self control
and just don't make that choice.
As if like, that people are like, "You know what? Today? I'm a girl."
"Imma go into that bathroom."
"You know what, I think I'm gonna start sleeping with men today. Because that's my choice!"
They think that it's all just a big popcorn machine of thoughts randomly going around and any given day
who you are is just randomly determined.
ANA: There was never a day in my life, where I made a decision to be straight. Okay?
I just realized-- JOHN: Or a woman!
ANA: Or a woman, exactly.
It just kind of happened, right?
It just, it's what I identify with.
I knew that I straight when I was in kindergarten, and I was attracted to the Indian kid named Somyajit.
JOHN: Yeah.
ANA: That's what I remember.
And so, there-- that wasn't a conscious decision.
That was just, my identity, my personal preference, what I was attracted to.
And so, to demonize these people as these predators is so sickening. JOHN: Yeah.
ANA: And so disgusting. And I'm so tired of it, right? I'm tired of the fear mongering. I'm tired of all this misinformation
about certain groups of people that don't want to do anything wrong.
They just want to use the bathroom that they identify with.
Because, you know what? That probably makes them feel safer.
So let me ask you something. If you are dealing with a trans woman
Okay? Someone who was born a male, but now appears to be a female
And that person has to go to a men's bathroom because that's what the law in the state says she has to do
Well then, I mean, what about the safety of that person? JOHN: It's a terrible idea.
ANA: Right? I'm not saying that "men are predators" and if someone appearing to be a woman
goes into a men's bathroom, she's gonna get assaulted.
But I am saying that if you're going to use that type of logic
regarding women being threatened by what appears to be a man in a woman's bathroom
Well then, you have to be consistent with what could happen in the men's bathroom
JOHN: Yeah, and even if that trans woman doesn't get attacked
What about their personal comfort? Are they not the same sort of human as you who deserves to be comfortable in their own skin
and again, thankfully people have been spreading these images in trying to make it so we all look the same in the bathroom
these laws will make it so that we will not all look the same in the bathroom--
It's just, it's crazy. Like it's fine for them to have the views and to have
crazy conspiracy websites where they spread it.
It's that they have political power that's the big problem.
And that's why we need to, not just on a national level, get sane people in office
but also at a state level, too.
ANA: Absolutely.