Every trans person I have ever known just wants to exist in peace.
Come to think of it, every LGBTQ+ person, every migrant, every minority, every fucking poor person that I have ever known just wants to exist in peace.
I don’t have to ask why simply wanting to exist in peace is so difficult, because I already know. When you have people whose ambitions require the exploitation of others, then peace cannot be an option, at least no peace for the people who so desperately want it.
The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition state that “war is good for business,” but also that “peace is good for business.” The idea being that both war and peace can be exploited for maximum profit, and that’s what we see.
There is peace for the wealthy, and war for the poor. There is quiet, gated communities for the rich, and heavily policed, systemic violence in and out of the homes of the poor.
That is intentional, because it’s good for business. It’s good for profit.
There doesn’t have to be a shadowy cabal controlling the world making life miserable for billions, it literally is as simple as war is good for business, it is profitable for a few, and the lives of the many that are lost, the homes destroyed, the cultures wiped off the face of the Earth, that’s a detail that carries no interest when profit is in play.
It’s why I tell people most of your politicians don’t give a fuck about you, because they’re trying to become wealthy and influential enough that they will never be at risk of experiencing war and poverty firsthand.
In the US, there is much talk of the middle class, working class, upper class, and all of that, but in truth there are only two classes: the people who work to live, trading their bodies and time for money (doctors, lawyers, plumbers, cashiers, et. al), and the people who benefit from the work of others for their income (landlords, CEOs, et. al).
So I was talking about trans people, LGBTQ+, people, and other minority and oppressed groups just wanting to exist. All of this is tied together.
In the US, social and economic factors intersect. It’s funny to me when people say “LGBTQ+ rights aren’t important, we need to focus on the economy,” because they don’t realize these things are intertwined. They don’t understand that the people who are seeking to exploit others are absolutely involved in both the social and economic spheres, taking full advantage of the systemic racism and imperialism that has been baked into the foundation of the country.
That is why trans people can’t just exist.
It’s why other oppressed groups can’t just exist.
See, they have to be used as cudgels, as levers, and as bargaining chips for those who have massive wealth and influence. It’s no coincidence that when the economy is tanking, you’ll find conservatives blaming LGBTQ+ people, migrants, women’s rights as social ills, because they need to distract people from them robbing the treasury.
They are why you don’t have money.
They are why women in the US are fighting for their rights.
They are why LGBTQ+ people are experiencing draconic legislation against them.
They are why black folks are still being denied basic human rights in the legal system.
All of this is because our existence represents the opportunity for exploitation. Look at people like JD Vance, who once had a trans friend he seemed to support, until the right wing machine offered a lot of money and power, and suddenly he became openly and viciously anti-trans.
Do I think he believes what he says? Probably not. It doesn’t matter, though, because he has convinced himself that if he follows this path he will gain money and influence, and that kind of ambition is dangerous for all of us.
We live in an age where information is malleable, where facts are no longer desirable, and where winning an argument just involves being more clever, funnier, than the opposition. You don’t have to be correct, you just have to sound “right.”
We live in a system that would gladly crush us in order to maintain the status quo of the white supremacist ownership class. They will never let us exist as long as they hold any kind of power and influence.
It’s why when I see a politician like Kamala Harris claim she will put a Republican in her White House cabinet, I roll my eyes, because you might as well say you’re putting a Nazi in your cabinet in the interests of “fairness.”
That is what I mean when I talk about the white moderate wanting a negative peace over actual justice. They want order, they care little for justice except that “justice” always leads to more wealth and privilege for them, and less for those they deem too dangerous to exist.
.Red
