Trigger Warning: Get a pack of Kleenex and load your favorite Daily Wire playlists to have handy, because this is not going to be a light read for a self-proclaimed intelligent centrist.

The left is getting killed on the trans sports issue

Do you have any data backing this? And what analysis goes with the data?

Don't let me be misunderstood: Rights are not defined by majorities, otherwise you could have a white majority voting on the humanity of black people, and wolves voting on the right of sheep not to be eaten.

On the other hand, the public's views are heavily conditioned by misanthropic, anti-democratic propaganda, that shifts the window of acceptable discourse, and excludes people from a set of fundamental freedoms that cisgender people take for granted. As a consequence, the ubiquitous genocidal discourse against trans lives, if left unchecked leads (and this is by now not a prediction but a historical fact) to erosion of rights of women, blacks, indigenous, disabled, and every other citizen. Because these freedoms are not "special" to trans people, but are mere extension of legal scholarship and the rule of law. The ongoing American fascism is not an overreach of "legitimate concerns" but it is profoundly, structurally embedded in challenging the legitimacy of trans people. This is why TERFism was initially deemed "unworthy of respect" by British courts: because it goes against TONS of legal precedent.

Long story short, in the times of "Der Stürmer" you could have said that the majority of German did not think Jews should be married to Germans. So what? So much for the argument that we should sacrifice human rights of ANY group because they are unpopular.

ALL protections exist so that UNPOPULAR groups enjoy the rights that the majorities take for granted. Outside that logic there is only fascism.

It is much like segregation (which, surprise, is coming back again) and apartheid: The Feelings of uneasy white people sharing bathrooms and sports with black people, are of no importance whatsoever, because, simply, segregation is dehumanizing and unjust.

By extension, what you suggest is morally corrupt and inhumane, and it is deeply fascist in its very conception.

Now, we are arriving at the data. Bear with me.

You people hand-wave a fucking lot when you suggest that trans rights are so unpopular that they have lost you elections, when there have been multiple arguments that Democrats barely touched on the topic, apart from being loosely against killing trans people in pogroms and LUKEWARM at that. So your argument amounts to little more than "Fascist discourse is more trendy so let's do that instead", which is not JUST the Ratchet effect: it is "being complicit to actual genocide".

So you HAND-WAVE about an IMAGINARY regular person (who is that fucking nazi?) to whom we must bow under all circumstances? Fuck that populist tactics, and fucking educate people.

But does this IMAGINARY nazi-enabling regular Joe even exist?

And what studies you cite for him not being able to revise being a shit person

Views differ even more widely along party lines. For example, eight-in-ten Democrats say they favor laws or policies that would protect trans individuals from discrimination, compared with 48% of Republicans. Conversely, by margins of about 40 percentage points or more, Republicans are more likely than Democrats to express support for laws or policies that would do each of the following: require trans athletes to compete on teams that match the sex they were assigned at birth (85% of Republicans vs. 37% of Democrats favor); make it illegal for health care professionals to provide someone younger than 18 with medical care for a gender transition (72% vs. 26%); make it illegal for public school districts to teach about gender identity in elementary schools (69% vs. 18%); require transgender individuals to use public bathrooms that match the sex they were assigned at birth (67% vs. 20%); and investigate parents for child abuse if they help someone younger than 18 get medical care for a gender transition (59% vs. 17%).

Which is from Pew which others like you like to point to as a general "trans rights unpopular with our voter base", but if you actually read you will see that you can even find a small percentage of Republicans that are not vehemently against trans rights. And let's not forget that the percentage of Democrats against trans rights would be very much different if Democrat's media outlets weren't fucking complicit in amplifying genocidal "gender critical" misanthropy, and there weren't a score of fucking "leftist" intellectuals adopting their talk points, when there was ZERO voice given to the marginalized trans scholarship. So, this consent you talk to is manufactured by complicit Democrats to start with.

You would not make this argument unless you wanted to appeal to the Republican voter base, but doing so only shows that it is voter trends that guide your politics and not principles, and in fact, you are willing to enable crimes against humanity to appeal to a fascist voter base. This is unscrupulous and misanthropic.

Instead of succumbing to extremely well-funded racist and nazi propaganda, a principled political advocate with such means and resources as the Democrats could help alleviate what is a systematic attack to decent society and inclusive democracy. Therefore, your advocacy ultimately paints the Democrats as a manufactured opposition, and essentially a fascist party, once it does not stand for human rights, as it never were.

Centrists should be actively considered agitator agents for fascism at this point. Like, have you clowns even considered that your voter base might want you to grow a fucking spine and stand up for human rights, with trans rights front and center? Because I only see your democratic voter base being alienated by your flirt with fascism.

Who gives a shit about what is happening in non-professional sports anyways? It's kids having fun. Puppies chasing a ball. It is the least important thing on the planet.

Jesus Christ, just let private sports organizations sort it out between themselves, their participants, and their audience. Why should this be the government's problem when everything's on fire and there's microplastics in our brains and lungs? I mean really, this isn't hard stuff. People are people, let them have their rights. If you don't want them to have their rights because you don't like one of several groups they're a part of (likely without any say in the matter)? You might be a shitbag.

You don't like that the NHL decides not to be trans inclusive (fuck idk, did they)? Write em a nastygram and pull your subscription. You don't like that they decided to be trans inclusive? Maybe stop being such a fucking piece of shit, but nobody's holding a gun to your head, unsubscribe and send them your tear-stained letter about how it ruined your life. This is a niche issue that people can work out between themselves without the stupid government inserting itself into the middle of things.

I think the issue is just a distraction to split people. It reminds me of that one episode from IASIP. It also reminds me of bikeshedding. Like how many people are even trans athletes who rank high enough for this to even matter? Like 1 or 2? It feels like a disproportionate amount of interest to discuss something so trivial.

It's a non issue. Professional and high level competitive sports like international council and Olympics addressed this YEARS ago. With data and research to support their current positions and recommendedations.

You can’t give an inch is the issue. Not only because we’re talking about fundamental human rights (trans people should just accept not being permitted to engage in sports?) but because it only shifts the Overton window onto the next thing with arguments now strengthened by capitulation.

If you permit transphobes the position that trans women are dangerous in sports it becomes easier to point to that and say “see, they are also dangerous in [new domain of contention], the progressives even agree!

I usually point out that the Olympics have allowed trans contenders since 2004, and if it was the cheat code it's asserted to be, the entire Chinese and Russian teams would be trans people. That usually gets people thinking "huh, maybe this is some bull"

You can't logically argue your way out of bigotry. They don't care whether they're actually correct or not about trans issues. They already wanted to harm us and remove us from society where possible, and will find any reason to do so. See: the bathroom debates.

I'd rather people just stood up for us at all than act like they need to make good points in order for us to exist. You're all playing kickball and we're the ball.