62 Comments
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Signme Uplease's avatar

OMFG, it's trans ideologues who are the most hateful, spiteful, violent, despicable people on the internet today. This is diabolical. The letter you wrote is extremely tame considering how vile, cruel and ignorant they've been.

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Sara Bush's avatar

What I would like to know, seriously, is how the Left gets away with labeling any idea that conflicts with their’s as hate and harmful? This is so very, very unconstitutional and anti-societal.

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Joe Brennan's avatar

And what's terrible about Etsy and companies like them is they have money power they can use against people who don't. They use that power to shut people up.

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Gabby Mouse's avatar

Because they keep hammering on it, and aren't afraid of being called names. Calling someone on the right a 'racist' or a 'bigot' or a 'transphobe' is enough to send most of them kowtowing to the bullies. If they call you a bigot, just own up to it, what can they say then? And you can never crawl or apologize enough anyway, you'll always be a pariah.

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Kyle Reese's avatar

throw it back to them. gender affirming care is bigoted against gays, dysphoric and gnc ppl. it harms them by tricking them into meds that evidence shows doesnt work and causes severe harm

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Lauren Smith's avatar

I read a good statement the other day.

"Baseless insults are vitamins to me."

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Eugine Nier's avatar

Look up the legal concept of a "hostile work environment". Basically if any employee member of a "protected class" is made uncomfortable by something a coworker does, that member can sue the employer over it and get a big payout. Thus employers are forced to police their employees' speech to protect themselves.

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Romi Elnagar's avatar

The problem is that "transgender" is a "protected class," but IN MANY STATES,

W-O-M-E-N are NOT.

Attacks against women are NOT "hate crimes" as are attacks against transgender people are.

What sort of justice is THAT?

AND WHY IS IT OKAY TO PEDDLE MERCHANDISE THAT SAYS "F--- TERFS," "TERF REPELLANT," "NO TERFS AT THIS RODEO," "NO TERFS, NO PROBLEM," "A TRANS PERSON PEED HERE. YOU SURVIVED," OR a button saying, "RESPECT PRONOUNS OR I WILL IDENTIFY AS A PROBLEM," showing a cat wielding a very large Knife.

And how about the threats, "DEATH BEFORE DETRANSITION," "RESPECT PRONOUNS OR GET THROWN DOWN," "RESPECT PEOPLE'S PRONOUNS OR YOU WILL BE WAS/WERE"?

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Lynn Edwards's avatar

I agree. I understand the case against compelled speech, but I'm curious if a platform that says it does not discriminate against gender can legally discriminate/withhold services against detransitioners? Is there a similar court case?

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Sandra Pinches's avatar

There is a precedent being established in legislation. The legislature and governors of Oregon, for example, have put into action laws that expand access to medical gender transitions for adolescents claiming trans status. Adolescents as young as 15 can seek services on their own, without parental consent. The state of OR requires private and public medical insurers to cover "gender affirmative care" for adolescents. When advocates argued for provision of funding for detransitioners, on the other hand, there was stiff resistance against it by the Democrat dominated legislature. Arguments against funding detransitioners' medical expenses included the claim that detransitioners' expenses would be funded by medical insurance without requiring any further legislation. This is generally not true: For example, breast reconstructions in the absence of a cancer diagnosis might be regarded as cosmetic surgery and not medically necessary.

Medical facilities cannot even bill for services without using officially accepted diagnoses for a condition as well as officially accepted procedure codes. Typing the term "detransition" on a claim form will not result in insurance reimbursement unless there is an official medical code for the condition that is to be corrected by specific procedures.

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Kyle Reese's avatar

thats why gender critical speech needs its own category of protection. otherwise our freedom of speech is impinged and negated. i think UK has this right but in the US we dont. my employer has 23 protected classes. none of them are gender critical

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Eugine Nier's avatar

No, what we need is to eliminate the whole notion of a "protected class".

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Margot Ohlfearnain's avatar

I used to be a huge Etsy shopper but I will no longer purchase anything from them. I am angry and upset about what they have done to detransitioners like Laura and the people who support her.

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BeadleBlog's avatar

I'm torn on that one as there are many other people on Etsy trying to make a living, people that have nothing to do with this.

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Orwell’s Rabbit's avatar

Agreed. Is it okay to punish all the small independent craftspeople, artists, and resellers for a policy that they probably don’t know about (and likely don’t agree with)?

This is not a Budweiser/Target issue, where the boycott will penalize the corporation and its shareholders; this will penalize small businesses who don’t have a ton of options to get their products out to the general public.

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Sandra Pinches's avatar

Not only is Etsy hurting the financial well-being of people who advertise on their site, but they are also damaging people emotionally. It is hurtful to be characterized as a hateful person when one is simply trying to survive, get along and build a sense of community. I am constantly surprised by the extent to which trans activists and other critical theory activists project their aggressive, judgmental intentions onto others.

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Karen's avatar

We can flood their content moderators with reports on the specific items that promote violence against women. I've reported several today. Just keep flooding them with reports of violent material.

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MarkS's avatar

This is a great idea! I am starting now …

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Lauren Smith's avatar

Yes, that seems like a good "activist" action. I am not against "hate terf" pins because I consider that free speech...And people could have their I hate "hate terf" pins...And Laura, should have her free speech too...etc.

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Karen's avatar

I agree- free speech is free speech, but there are a few with violent images and those are the ones I reported. Knives, hatchets etc.

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John Murphy's avatar

"Hate Terfs" can be legal to say but that mean's by extension it needs to be legal to be able to boycott, complain, criticize, condemn and tear apart their bogus narrative. Not respond with silence.

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Nick's avatar

I closed my account with Etsy last year when I discovered they had any number of Hate TERF pins, badges and other items. I'm not using a platform that encourages hate. Even if it's deemed the 'right sort' of hate. I feel sorry for the sellers, but I'm not lining the pockets of biology deniers.

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Sara Bush's avatar

Not just biology deniers, but “haters”. I have a truly negative reaction when the term haters is used to describe those who simply disagree with each other, but the difference here is taking ACTION to baselessly hurt those who differ ideologically. That is the exact legal description of hate speech, for which those on the left are held guiltless, and even “celebrated”.

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Jeffery Yates's avatar

If genitalia doesn't assign gender, how does removing genitalia affirm gender? As long as the Medical Industrial Complex can make a buck, this will not stop. Children are to be protected, not defiled.

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John Murphy's avatar

Jeff, Stop being so logical! ;-)

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Ines Moorhouse's avatar

I've been wondering that, too.

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DJ's avatar

Advocates Protecting Children made a little meme asking if “gender is a spectrum” then why is transition only valid in one direction (towards the drugs)?

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Sandra Pinches's avatar

Good question!

And the drugs reflect the binary of biological sex, which the trans activists claim to not accept or be interested in.

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Saturnine's avatar

God. They are literally everywhere, pulling the strings of everything! And yet they scream oppression and being the most marginalised. My arse! 😡

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Jeremy Wickins's avatar

If I recall correctly, Etsy has been offering sex dolls in the form of children. How does that square with this treatment of people with perfectly legal opinions?

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Lauren Smith's avatar

It doesn't square at all. I just figure so many people have lost their freakin' minds, I am certainly not going to be able to make any sense out of any of it...because they DON'T make sense. It's like trying to understand someone who has a PhD in Paleontology saying the devil put dinosaur bones on earth to screw with your head.

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Jeremy Wickins's avatar

👍👍

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Ines Moorhouse's avatar

Post modern zany hipness has turned out to destroy civilization like an earthquake high on the Richter scale.

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Lilith Weiss's avatar

Hi Christina,

I clicked on the Etsy link from Laura's web site and it took me to her Etsy shop which DID include all her de-transitioner awareness items. Is it possible that they have reconsidered? Or have they just not pulled it all down? Hoping the first is true!

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Orwell’s Rabbit's avatar

The link worked for me, too. Maybe Christina’s letter won the day! 😎

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Lauren Smith's avatar

Good to know!!!

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J.S. Kasimir's avatar

I don't know why people think it's "cute" or "cool" to wear explicitly or implied violent messages on their bodies for the whole world to see.

But then again, I guess I'm the lunatic because I don't identify as a slice of cake 🦎🦎🦎

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Lauren Smith's avatar

"I identify as a slice of cake. I taste, very, very good."

😱

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Ruth's avatar

Thank you for writing this! I messaged Laura through Etsy and ordered directly from her- screw Etsy! Those terf items infuriate me.

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Frank Lee's avatar

Just crossed Etsy off my list. And I was about ready to spend some good cash on objects for my home remodel.

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Jessica's avatar

Sounds a lot like they don't want them to exist...where have I heard that before? Hmmm..

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Andrea Rand's avatar

I don’t know much about it, but an app called Public Square is supposed to be supportive of vendors with conservative values.

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