For being
In interviews with Mother Jones, queer and trans workers who hold wide-ranging roles in the federal government, some with more than a decade of public service, say they have been living and working in fear since Trump regained office—afraid of being targeted or even fired for their gender identity, sexual orientation, or past efforts to support other LGBTQ employees. All eight federal workers interviewed for this story requested anonymity to protect themselves or their colleagues from workplace retaliation.
Transgender workers, in particular, tell Mother Jones they’re afraid of being fired every day simply for being who they are.
Hang on. Hang on. It’s not for “being who they are.” It’s the very opposite of that. It’s for claiming to be who they are not. Unless of course you translate “who they are” as “people who claim to be who they are not.” Endless spiral. That’s the core of trans ideology, and there’s no escaping it, because that’s all there is.
I know! It’s so terrible to have to live in fear of losing your livelyhood! I mean the thing that happened to Maja Forstater, just appalling! Or Kathleen Stock, or Carol Hooven, or…. Wait… Who are we talking about again…?
Guess what. MILLIONS of your civil service colleagues are being threatened with termination
for no reason but Trump & Musk’s desire to trash the government. But you’ve managed to convince Mother Jones to tell us that everyone is supposed to drop everything and “centre” your needs and your fears?
@ #2: YNnB: It’s the squeaky wheel that gets the oil.
I don’t know if it was intentional or not, but that’s an excellent metaphor when one knows about the Indiana pi bill.
This kind of ad hoc description sounds nice, but it’s less than informative. Virtually anything about an individual can be described as a part of who that individual is. If you like the color green, liking the color green is “being who you are.” If you’re a serial killer, killing people is “being who you are.” Fighting against climate change, insisting that women are inferior to men, believing that Prince Philip is a god, drinking water with a straw… all those are being who you are, if you do them. Being who you are is not an intrinsically good or bad thing. You can’t just paint it as something that’s automatically legitimate and permissible. Yet that’s exactly what Mother Jones decided to do.
I don’t believe that employees should be fired on the sole basis of being transgender. Things have been taking an ugly direction under Trump (what a surprise). However, I could certainly understand that a public employee would get fired for interfering with the proper functioning of an office/workplace, or acting in a way that is inappropriate. That’s something that spurious beliefs in gender identity can lead to. The issue, then, is not just about you being who you are – it’s about other people being who you expect them to be.
Seriously. I’ve worked with people who considered being rude and grumpy “who they are.” It’s a very popular way of looking at things, but it’s also very American individualistic take it or leave it self-centered crap. I for one despise it.
Drinking water with a straw? How…awful. Yer fired! (Just kidding – but drinking water with a straw – gross.)
#5, I consider being rude and grumpy as being who I am, but I leave it at home. My job involved human interactions, so being rude and grumpy (i.e. being who I am) didn’t fit. Why can’t the trans get this? Fetishes for home, appropriate behavior for work.
One of the most hideous of memes is “if you don’t love me at my worst you don’t deserve me at my best” – which puts the onus on the other person, not on yourself – who should shape up, behave better and stop being rude to waiters and kicking dogs.
Ew. I’ve never seen that one. Hideous indeed.