fighting for a place

But here’s the thing, when the FBI needs location data on someone, they need a WARRANT to get that information from that company, or that company’s cooperation. Back in the early 2000s, there were a number of companies that simply handed over data to letter agencies like the NSA or FBI, and they got roasted for it by their customers. Don’t fool yourself, the only reason why backdoors weren’t coded into your phones by companies like Apple is because they did the math and realized that the cost of cooperating and alienating their customer base was too high, not because these companies have ethics.

So we live in a climate where companies are promising users security and privacy, and when they don’t it’s a scandal that loses them customers and money. They aren’t playing nice with the FBI, so what is the FBI to do? Easy. Circumvent silicon valley.

There is exactly zero reason for the FBI, as an organization, to make entertainment apps. Educational is maybe in line with past practices, but even when they did stuff like that in the 90s, we called it out for the propaganda it was. This app is absolutely a trojan horse. This is so they can get the data you would normally give to a 3rd party company without a warrant.

A Wisconsin mall Santa decided to handle one of the naughty list members early this year when a young girl told him her Christmas wish was for her stepdad to stop molesting her. He and four of his elves attacked the guy, who was waiting nearby, and pummeled him unconscious.

this is a limited perspective from young, non or only partially-passing trans men, probably who live in urban areas.

I’m never mistaken for a girl in boys clothing. I am “mistaken” for a man. I have been slapped (not too big a deal), jumped and BADLY beaten by a group of men (way bigger deal), and seriously threatened with rape (one of the more terrifying moments of my life) to prove to me that I can’t “pretend to be a man” and “lie to people” and “get away with it”.

I have seen more than one post (and there’s one going around right now) promoting this idea that trans men are comparatively safe.  

are we safer than trans women? Usually. But we are by no means safe. Trans women are in IMMENSE danger, the fact that we’re in less danger than them does NOT make our real risk invalid or not as important to talk about. 

Here’s a radical idea: stop telling other trans men how at risk they are or aren’t. Your experience is NOT everyone’s experience and I am exhausted with the implication that trans men are safe. Safer, when we pass, but the same is true of trans women who pass, they are comparatively safer than trans women who don’t pass. That doesn’t make them SAFE. 

Regardless, this isn’t a “who’s in more danger” race, y’all. Trans people are at risk. Trans women can talk about being at risk without implying that trans men aren’t. And trans men can talk about being at risk without somehow detracting from the risk trans women experience. 

the person that i tried to talk to about this refused to accept that people who are or appear to be women that dress/”look like” men (ie non passing trans men in this instance, but that also obviously has implications for butch women) are in danger.

i am often mistaken for a girl in mens clothing, as only recently have i started (conditionally) passing. this makes life difficult, as this very often prompts homophobic or transphobic harassment. im lucky that i live in the area that i do, or else it may have turned to violence (and it has gotten close).

most people dont realize im trans and assume im a butch lesbian, and yes, butch lesbians and trans men face violence and other negative things for being gender non conforming. several people said “well, im afab and masculine, and i appear to be a tomboy, and im safe all the time!” that’s great for you and i hope that doesnt change. that hasn’t been my experience, and anecdotally, it hasnt been the case for most gnc women and trans men.

Claimed that the only difference between a trans* woman and a drag queen is “$25,000 and a good surgeon” 

“T****y, it’s ridiculous! It’s ridiculous!… I love the word “t****y”…And I hate the fact that he’s [Lance Bass] apologized. I wish he would have said, ‘F-you, you tr****y jerk!’“

”Of the ABC sitcom, “Work It,” in which two straight men dress in drag in order to get jobs and which has been criticized by gay and transgender activists for mocking transgender women, RuPaul implores the activists: “Don’t take life so seriously… We live in a culture where everyone is offended by everything.”“

Claims the t word is not a slur aimed at trans* women

Quote: “I’ve been a t****y for 32 years. The word t****y has never just meant transsexual #TransvestiteHerstoryLesson “It’s not the word itself, but the intention behind the word “The absurdity! It’s as if Jay Z got offended by Kanye using the word “N*****”

Did a mini-challenge on RuPaul’s Drag Race titled “Female or She-Male” which was later edited out of the episode due to the controversy surrounding it. This also led to the end of the catchphrase “You’ve got She-Mail”

The catchphrase “You got She-Male” used on RuPaul’s Drag Race

Supports Shirley Q. Liquor who is known for doing blackface. Stating, “Critics who think that Shirley Q. Liquor is offensive are idiots. Listen, I’ve been discriminated against by everybody in the world: gay people, black people, whatever. I know discrimination, I know racism, I know it very intimately. She’s not racist, and if she were, she wouldn’t be on my new CD.” (x) (x)

Uses the term “serving fish” in reference to a drag queen that is very feminine, some say this is a referral to the scent of a vagina and can be considered gynophobic.

“Does the word ‘t****y’ bother me? No. I love the word ‘t****y.’ … It’s not the transexual community who’s saying that. These are fringe people who are looking for storylines to strengthen their identity as victims. That is what we are dealing with. It’s not the trans* community. ‘Cause most people who are trans* have been through hell and high water… But some people haven’t and they’ve used their victimhood to create a situation where, ‘No! You look at me! I want you to see me the way you’re supposed to see me!’ You know, if your idea of happiness has to do with someone else changing what they say, what they do, you are in for a fucking hard-ass road… I dance to the beat of a different drummer. I believe everybody — you can be whatever the hell you wanna be, I ain’t stopping you. But don’t you dare tell me what I can do or what I can’t — say or can’t do. It’s just words, like, ‘Yeah, you hurt me!’ Bitch, you need to get stronger. If you’re upset by something I said you have bigger problems than you think.”” - in an interview on WTF with Marc Maron in response to activists who have labeled RuPaul’s Drag Race as problematic