Published November 13, 2024

Women are to blame for all the trouble in the world. The bible tells us so. That’s how Sheldon B. Kopp begins a chapter in his 1972 book on psychotherapy, “If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him!”

If he were alive today to write a revision, it could say, Trans women are to blame for all the trouble in the United States. Everyone — Republicans, Democrats, right-wing media, left-wing media, male columnists, female columnists — tells us so.

Everybody hates us now. Everybody.

Before I proceed, let me assure you that Kopp did not believe women were to blame for all the trouble in the world. That was his way of starting a chapter about a woman, a patient, who had been through a lot, much like most women of her generation and, truly, every woman since the beginning of time.

Everything’s scarier now. You don’t or won’t need me to tell you. It’s happening so quickly, there will soon be no way to avoid it. We may already be there.

Unless you live in that world that hasn’t been in touch with reality for two decades and swallowed the lies and disinformation that got us here. In that world, everything’s coming up roses (and, surprisingly to some, tariffs).

The photo above is from a week before the election. The pharmacy at my clinic, which has been the target of bomb threats and other harassment, has been beefing up security. All because they help people like me.

But the scariness is everywhere. Pick a news organization, a network, a pronouncement, a friend to ask, and you can see it. Things will get ugly much faster this time.

(Will the administration that’s soon to take office outlaw the word “pronouncement” because it has “pronoun” in it? Let’s keep an eye on that.)

Terrible people are mobilizing

The exodus from X, formerly known as Twitter, has been ongoing since Elon Musk bought it and turned it into a Nazi bar. Another wave of departures began late Tuesday night. People are landing in different places, including Bluesky Social. It is similar to the old Twitter, with ever-increasing safety measures and controls available.

Block lists, such as this one, are essential tools.

You can easily block a whole bunch of awful people with one click. Trust me: People earn their blocks. Taunting trans people about the impending peril to our health and Hormone Replacement Therapy easily merits a block. Many other terrible people are proud to let you know what they are about. I cropped the list, but it goes on and on and on and on.

In no way are they making America great.

Many of them are moving over to Bluesky because so many of my kind of people, decent people, vulnerable people, gentle and kind people, are no longer at Elon’s place. I guess it’s no fun when the people you hate can’t see your daily, bigoted displays of hatred.

As usual, John Scalzi nails it.

I am blocking them into the void. Also, these guys. This scary uncertainty we are in now is also on the men that someone brilliantly called the inceligentsia.

Meanwhile, I hope to keep a promise to myself and not post every piece of bad news I see. I’ve done a lot of that in the past decade, and it didn’t do any good.

Not any fucking good.

Musk turned X into Twitter without guardrails, part of a strategy all along to create a country without guardrails. Here we go. And most of the writing I see by the big names is getting it so wrong about what really happened.

I reserve the right to change my mind and turn this site into a clearinghouse for keeping up with the most terrible people in the world. Here’s a starter tip for you: If they say or write “transgenderism,” they are not our friends.

For now, as long as I can hold off posting daily “how to spot the anti-trans people in the wild” tips, I am going to try to spotlight the beautiful souls working hard to save this country and its future.

If that makes you cry, please be my friend. If it makes you laugh or roll your eyes, stay out of my life.

And remember:

Terrible people are mobilizing. Protect your peace. Protect yourself. Please, protect us. They’re coming for us. We are an easy target now. No one wants to publicly defend us.

And maybe they are coming for some of you — even if you voted to put them in power. I think a lot of people don’t realize what they’ve enabled.

Still timely.