Graham Platner welcomes attacks from 'fascists and bigots' over his support for trans rights
“No one, whether you’re trans or not, wants the federal government digging through your identifiable patient information and figuring out what they like and don’t like,” Hack said. “It’s an absolute overreach, and people are really scared.”
Asked whether Hack’s priorities were measures he could support, Platner agreed. “Yes, indeed. They most certainly do,” he said.
https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/graham-platner-trans-rights-endorsementOpen linkView original on lemmy.world351
Comments43
rainbow drones with lesbian pilots
I understand that Platner can be divisive, but that aside, I seem to recall some unpopular, four-term President declaring that he welcomed that hate from his adversaries. Probably a bad idea to do the same; he might win with that kind of messaging, and winning is against the Democratic ethos.
It was a bit weird when we found out FDR had a Rebel Flag tramp stamp. But you can't argue with good policies.
Only to those with either thin skin, a sense of entitlement about what kinds of people should be allowed access to political power, or who don't have a coherent theory of change.
Look. I'm a veteran. I drank that kool-aid and won the poverty draft lotto. I literally signed up for tacos. Understanding the imperialist machine from the inside changes you. And veterans have been representative in the fight against fascism in the US the whole time. And I've worked with every one in those links. Many of them were raised as conservative assholes. And for some of them it took their buddy getting blown up in the humvee next to them to wake up to the consequences of imperialism. And you should have the grace to allow people to change.
I believe in redemption and I think everyone should. We all grow as people, that should be celebrated.
I think that it is okay to be entitled to wanting better representation than him. He's definitely not perfect, not by a long shot, and there are certainly warning signs about him. You're right in that people change. They can be better. He may very well be much better than he was, and he definitely looks like he is so far. But, his changing for the better doesn't have to put him in a position of power, either. Because it is also entitlement that he wants to be Senator with the type of baggage he has. But, I can't say there is currently a better candidate than him right now.
That's the way I see it, anyway. I will hope he continues to be a progressive force, and that my doubts are unfounded!
The "he deserved to die" outrage over Platners reddit comments literally solidified every veterans vote in Maine for Platner.
It's kinda funny. They (media and the establishment) are so out of touch that they tried to make outrage around a comment literally every veteran would universally understand. Mocking someone in the military for their own stupidity and incompetence that should have gotten them killed.
I'm not a veteran myself. But, I have enough veteran friends to know that that is exactly how they talk about people they served with. It's like military banter 101. The fact that they tried to form a "he wants troops to die" story out of it. It makes literally everything else they bring up useless.
I'll just be happy when I have to stop hearing about this guy. Hope he wins. But, holy shit, he's not worth this much attention.
If Platner loses, you'll hear the odd "This is why the Left Lost" op-ed for a few more years before he fades into obscurity.
If he wins... It's going to be Scandal of The Month with Platner for six whole years or until they can get him to resign early. Imagine the endless shit Al Franken got and then ratchet that up a peg. CBS is going to reinvent #MeToo just to monster him out of office.
It is looking good for him so far. Even with the cynics shouting.
https://www.realclearpolling.com/polls/senate/general/2026/maine/collins-vs-platner
Hah, joke's on me. I threw that in to head off the complaining from his haters, so we could focus on the good things he's doing. Can't please everybody, I guess.
I mean your not wrong to have included it. But so much of the reaction is from a place of cynicism and bad faith. I think everyones hackles are raised, and legitimately so, around characters like Sinema and Fetterman. But what Planter is doing is clearly different and has been different since they started. I got to meet them when one of my volunteer groups were trying to make the decision around endorsing him. This was back in September & October.
And there has been a lot which has happened between August and now. Anything that can happened in this race basically did. If they had more powder to set off, they needed to set it off weeks ago, because at this pace Platner is looking to schelack Collins.
Its time to coalesce as a party. Schumer and Jefferies just threw the best two years we had to fight fascism to a pit and lit it on fire. But now, now Woke is back baby!, and Woke 2 gonna make your head spin. We need to see Platner, Mandami, Al Sayed (inshalah), Chris Rabb, All three of Mamdani's endorsees on one stage. Schumer and Jefferies spoiled our ability to present a coherent front of resistance against fascism. That changes in November.
I do. That doesn't mean I'd take the risk of voting for someone like you. No offense. But I don't believe you or trust you and I never will.
Or that I wouldn't openly question massive red flags like Nazi tattoos.
And to pretend that the US military has been anti fascist at all since the end of WW2 is a joke and I'd say I'm surprised people here are upvoting it, but then again I'm familiar with how desperate people on here are for literally anyone to even pretend they're a leftist.
Thanks for demonstrating the "lacks a coherent theory of change" in practice. Nothing better than a worked example to make the point.
Thankfully this kind of opinion is relegated to the terminally on line and is basically non-existent in the real world. No positive social change could happen if we don't give people space to change.
I can't tell you how long I've been waiting for someone to say exactly this statement.
I want to revisit this topic after the election. Until then FETTERMAN
I think they should be forced to duel the day he's sworn in. David and Goliath style, in that arena they built in front of the White House.
Bro literally who cares about sports? They're games, why do we have to keep pretending that they're so important society balances upon them? Jesus Christ just let whoever wants to play the dumb game play the dumb game and stop making me hear about it
Woof woof. Bow-wow.
I'm not sure which is worse. The naked TERF language or the very weird explicit omission of the opposite case.
You have been brain washed by the dumbest people in your country. This isn't a real problem. Its an imaginary morass of hate you are too gullible to pull yourself out of.
Well, according to this headline, you're welcome to attack Platner over it.
Even if trans athletes do have an advantage over cis athletes, why is it the job of politicians to regulate that? There are athletic leagues at every academic level who are supposed to determine what constitutes fair competition and regulate their programs accordingly. Why should federal legislators, who have less expertise than these organizations, be writing their rules for them?
There is no expertise in knowing that boys are stronger than girls. The purpose of legislation is to prevent girls from getting injured and protect girls' sports. Boys who are transgender breaking girls' records would ruin the sport.
Every male athlete should be put on estrogen if they want to play co-ed sports. Out of... UwU... fairness.
Tennis mixed doubles. Rec League volleyball. All of it.
In fact, I think we should require everyone in the NFL to be on estrogen, just in case someone snuck in.
Oh, so now it's a safety issue? Alright, well then how far do we take this? Should children be segregated by gender in case the boys accidentally hurt the girls during recess? Should including girls in a pickup game of basketball be considered reckless endangerment? I mean, if professional and academic sports organizations can't be trusted to make these decisions,.why should we trust educators or parents?
As for breaking records, well, if trans girls/women have such a huge advantage (and what little evidence we do have on the subject indicates they don't), again, why is that the government's job to regulate that instead of the athletic institutions? Why do you want the government dictating the rules surrounding this? You know, some schools let upperclassmen playi on the junior varsity team. Should the government be regulating that as well?
It comes down to this; if you trust these athletic institutions to make all of these other determinations about fairness and safety, but feel the government needs to mandate their decisions on trans athletes, it doesn't seem like your issue is fairness and safety. It seems like it trans people.
I agree with the idea but it should be up to the institutions to decide, not the federal or state government. I'm sure it would be a contentious issue as some schools would allow it while others wouldn't. But let those institutions spend time and money figuring it out, not the government.
The only argument they have is that we need to "protect biological females" but even that is performative bull shit since the right doesn't actually care about women like that. The same way they are "pro-life" until the baby is actually born and they strip any kind of welfare benefits or school lunch programs.
Politicians love this shit cuz they don't have to address actual issues like affordability or taxes etc.
You're right, transmen shouldn't play in women's sports. They should play in men's sports.
Who in their right mind would let this guy compete in women's wrestling?
Ken Paxton, apparently.
Really focusing on the important issues there aren't you buddy.
Other issues such as the economy are more important but Republicans will certainly bring up the issue of trans right.
Who gives a fuck? In 45 years of my life the only issues they have every brought up are red like them. Specifically, red herrings. Repulicunts can be ignored as the lying traitors they are.
...and?
Good thing they don't then
In the year of our lord sweet baby Jesus fucking Christ two thousand and twenty six, how is sport your biggest political concern?
It's sufficiently important that Republicans bring it up.
Oh right, they only bring important matters to the American people. Like snowballs brought in during climate discussions, that was sufficiently important.
It's sufficiently engagement bait for their voters, you mean.
So you're a Republican?
There are like 10 trans athletes in the u.s.
Most are in sports that wouldn't be dependent on gender. Like billiards. Archery.
Also I saw recently a bonafide xx chromosome woman beat all the men in a strong competition.
Something a lot of people don't know is that trans women often have partial bottom surgery. Removal of testicles. And they take female hormones.
They might have male bone structure but they no longer get the male hormones that increase their muscle mass.
I acknowledge it's a complex issue with different arguments to be had.
But it's really important to note this is literally a handful of people. A handful.
And it's not like trans women are beating the cis women at everything.
They aren't.
There doesn't really seem to be any advantage beyond what a cis woman with good athletic genes also has.
Most trans women aren't athletic. So it's not even that they all have this matched advantage.
Just some
Just like how some women have it.
It's not really predicted by being trans, is my point.
Archery requires arm strength which gives the advantage to males. Sports which are seemingly not dependent on gender might be. Note that most chess players are male.
There exists XX male syndrome. Such a person is not really female.
Even if trans women athletes take female hormones, she would still have an advantage over biological women. Male hips are small in relation to their shoulders whereas female hips are wide. This gives males an advantage in running since their hands can efficiently move up and down.
We are only discussing males who are transgender competing in female sports not other trans rights.
Accuracy of archery isn't as dependent on arm strength beyond what a trained woman can provide.
Sure some sports like running should be separated.
But it's not that many. We can look at scores to determine which sports actually need separated. Instead of assuming they need separated.
Even billiards and golf is separated. For no biology reason.
Most separation came about because men wouldn't allow women into their sports so women formed their own.
Chess, like many male-centric activities has historically excluded women. This is why women are in lower numbers for many professions and hobbies. They arent welcome. The men are hostile to them. It's not easy to stay in a hobby/profession where you aren't respected and everyone gives you the cold shoulder.
The fact that biological women can and do perform at mens levels proves it's a social exclusion, not a biological one.
It's kind of why men are lower in numbers in women's hobbies/professions. Except that it isn't necessary exclusion by women but mocking by other men and having their masculinity challenged.
There are plenty of men who are great at sewing, design, cooking, and even child rearing who are cis hetero men. Only in the last 15 or 20 years has it became more acceptable for men to have baking as a hobby. Before then, cooking was women's work. Most men could barely use a microwave and would brag at their incompetence in the kitchen as an indicator of their masculinity.
I know it all gets so old so fast but these things still occur. Think of all the men who might be amazing seamstress or clothing designers. Or maybe could come up with new tasty foods to eat. Yet our society says they aren't real men if they venture out into these areas. And often they are mockes mostly by other men but even women are part of the problem and are known to mock men or ask them "are you gay or something?" When they tell you they love knitting in their free time.
How is knitting related to sexual preferences? I don't know but many people seem to think it is.
These gender role trends take a long time to change. And take specific interventions to change them. They don't change on their own.
Gordon Ramsey probably had a big role in changing the baking one. As crazy as that sounds. ( And other male chiefs and cooks on TV. )
Yeah your point about genetics proves my point.
Genetic Sex isn't binary in the first place.
That's why trying to make hard rules based on chromosomes or what genital parts are visible is invalid.
It's important to remember that all these activities we say are "for men" or "for women". Were invented long long after sexes existed and even 40,000-50,000 years or more after humans evolved into who we are today.
(estimate based on unknown age of humans).
I mean chess. Making clothes. Knitting. Archery even.
How could humans possibly evolve so that one sex is good at those things and the other isn't. ?
That's just silly. It's much more likely we are all cognitively capable and have similar dexterity with variations in genetics accounting for differences between individuals. Not between sexes.
Obviously some physical strength differences. Men have upper body strength and women have lower body for carrying babies.
But that's almost all of the difference there is. Just those related to reproduction.
Glad to see your electoral priorities are straight.../s what does this have to do with anything? Also no, sports are not based on anything to do with build or physique 😂
Sports is based on physique. That's the reason in boxing there are weight classes. Trans rights are not a priority issue but an issue that Republicans will certainly bring up.