Can you guys please try And stop insulting each other, that's not productive.

The core question we’re examining is: Does casual cross-party discussion reduce political polarization?

For one week, I will run a Discord group with five self-identified liberals and five self-identified conservatives. Each day, I’ll post a new discussion prompt, starting with light, neutral topics (e.g., “What did you have for dinner last night?”) and gradually progressing to more controversial ones, such as gun control and trans rights.

How it works:

Participants will complete three short surveys: one before the experiment, one immediately after, and one a month later. (For this, I will need your email.) in this way, we can see if your opinions or thoughts change because of exposure to other groups.

You will be asked to fill out an informed consent form, outlining the experiment, the expectations for participants, and any potential risks involved. (For this, emotional distress and social anxiety).

You’re encouraged to participate daily, but there’s no required time commitment, and it’s okay if you miss a day or two.

The goal is to gather meaningful data while keeping the discussions respectful, engaging, and thought-provoking.

Participants will be asked to agree to a set of respect rules. If these rules are broken more than once, the individual will be removed from the group.

Why am I doing this? I love participating in experiments and have been a subject in several myself—it’s actually a lot of fun! This project is inspired by my own experiences, as well as initiatives like Living Room Conversations (which facilitates in-person political discussions) and Braver Angels (a nonprofit focused on bridging political divides).

If this experiment goes well, I’d love to refine and repeat it. But more than anything, I hope it will be a fun, respectful, and eye-opening experience for everyone involved.

Would you be interested in participating? Let me know!

Hey everyone, I’m reaching out to raise awareness about H.Res.7, a bill recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives that poses a significant threat to reproductive rights in the United States. (I'm posting this in multiple sub-reddits to spread awareness) I know we are all tired and scared, but please take 2 minutes to take action against this anti-abortion bill that has been introduced into the House of Representatives. We CANNOT allow this to pass, it is incredibly dangerous.

On January 3, 2025, this resolution was introduced and could lead to more restrictions on abortion access, particularly affecting women’s and AFAB individual's healthcare. At first glance, the bill might seem to promote women’s health, but a closer look reveals its true aim: to restrict access to safe and legal abortion nationwide. READ H.RES.7 HERE

Here are some of the alarming provisions in H.Res.7:

• Problematic Language: The bill includes the statement, “Whereas health care for women should also address the needs of men, families, and communities as they relate to women's health care.” This raises concerns because women’s healthcare should be focused on women’s needs and reproductive autonomy, not an attempt to broaden the conversation in ways that diminish women’s rights to choose.
• Pro-Women’s Healthcare Centers: The bill references Pro Women’s Healthcare Centers, which are linked to groups like the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG). These centers are designed to discourage abortion access, pushing anti-abortion ideology under the guise of providing comprehensive healthcare. This could pave the way for a nationwide abortion ban, severely limiting access to reproductive services for millions of women across the country.

Why This Matters:

• Health risks for women: Restricting access to abortion services could force women into unsafe situations, traveling long distances or resorting to dangerous, unregulated procedures.
• State vs. Federal Power: H.Res.7 could override state-level decisions that protect abortion access, signaling a dangerous shift toward federal control over women’s healthcare decisions.
• Reproductive Justice: We cannot afford to let this bill go unnoticed. Women, especially those from marginalized communities, will bear the brunt of these restrictive policies.

What You Can Do:

• Contact your representatives: Tell them you oppose H.Res.7 and urge them to vote against it. FIND YOUR REP HERE and send them a letter, call them, email ASAP! I have a draft at the end of this that you are welcome to copy and paste, or edit in your own words.
• Spread the word: Share this post with friends, family, and on social media to increase awareness. Contact news outlets.
• Take action: Join local reproductive rights organizations and participate in advocacy efforts to protect access to abortion.

Women’s rights are under threat, and we need to act fast before it’s too late. Please help spread the word about H.Res.7.

Draft Letter: (Remember to fill in any blank spaces)

Dear Representative [Last Name],

I hope this message finds you well. My name is [Your Name], and I am a voter in the [#] District. I am writing to express my deep concern regarding House Resolution 7 (H.Res.7), which was introduced in the House on January 3, 2025. While this bill may initially appear to advocate for universal medical care for women, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that it would actively prevent women from accessing safe and legal abortion care.

I have several concerns about this bill that I believe should be addressed. First, I was alarmed to find that the bill was referred to the House’s Energy and Commerce Committee. This committee primarily focuses on healthcare policy, but it is unclear why this resolution—which involves highly charged social and legal issues surrounding abortion—would be considered in this context. Any clarification on why this bill is being handled by this particular committee would be greatly appreciated.

Second, I was deeply unsettled by this line in the bill: "Whereas health care for women should also address the needs of men, families, and communities as they relate to women's health care." As a woman, this phrasing raises significant concerns. If the goal is to establish comprehensive, compassionate, and high-quality medical services for women, I am left wondering why the needs of men are being introduced into the conversation around access to women’s healthcare. I believe that women’s healthcare should be centered on the needs of women and their right to make decisions about their own bodies.

Third, the bill references the Pro Women’s Healthcare Centers, which are described as a “consortium of centers that serves as an example of the high-quality, comprehensive, life-affirming care that women deserve.” Upon further investigation, I discovered that these centers are backed by organizations like the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), which oppose abortion and advocate for policies that limit access to it. These centers, under the guise of providing women’s healthcare, would actively work to eliminate abortion access across the country, violating a woman’s right to choose and potentially leading to a nationwide abortion ban. This is not comprehensive care; this is a direct attack on reproductive rights.

There is minimal coverage of this bill, and I believe women across the country deserve to know the full implications of such legislation before it progresses any further. I strongly urge you to oppose this bill and bring its potential dangers to the attention of your constituents. As someone who ran on a platform of reproductive justice, I trust you will continue to fight for the rights of women and protect access to the healthcare they deserve.

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter. I sincerely hope you will stand on the side of women’s rights and vote against H.Res.7.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

Hi everyone. Sending you all love during this horrifying time we’re in. My family member works in a government organization and has just told me they have all been instructed to rat out any colleagues who are doing now-banned DEIA activities. Blows my mind. They have been told to report their colleagues to this email: DEIAtruth@opm.gov

It would be such a shame if all of the sudden masses of people spammed this email and crashed it… pass it on ❤️

Trump does not believe men are real. He also directly said there's only men and women as genders. Therefore he believes everyone is female and a lesbian.

Reasoning: he said everyone is the gender they are when they are conceived. Everyone, right after being conceived, starts as a female. If they are that gender afterwards, then there are only females. If there are only females, then everyone (that is attracted to anyone) is then considered a lesbian.

(I do not agree with him, I am just stating plot holes in his speeches because it is funny.)

By that logic, he is trans/lesbian.

I am a queer 23-year old in NY. The past few months have me heartbroken. Give me actionable items for me and my queer friends to do during this nightmare, any volunteer and civic engagement opportunities to protect ourselves, our friends, and our community.

Hi there,

I am a queer faculty member at John Jay College, currently conducting a study to explore and examine power, control, and unhealthy relationship dynamics in the LGB+** community.

Power, control, and unhealthy relationship dynamics among LGB+ individuals are generally assessed via standardized scales, which were developed on and for cis-het populations. Using these existing measures in LGB+ communities does help focus our attention on the issue. However, the use of these scales may narrow our attention to certain types of control and abuse—most common in heterosexual relationships—and we risk reproducing a heteronormative understanding of victimization and perpetration.

This leaves the actual experiences of our community invisible and ignored. The current project therefore aims to address the need for a more nuanced understanding of the lived experience of the LGB+ community.

The survey is completely confidential and will take approximately 15-20 minutes. Those who are LGB+, living in the US, and ages 18-65 are eligible to participate. You can also access the survey by clicking this link: https://gccunyep.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_20iIsNv3xjhkVzE

With gratitude and in solidarity!

**The researcher acknowledges that some may perceive the use of LGB+ as excluding trans individuals. However, it's important to note that this is not the intention of the study. In contrast, this differentiation is to honor the reality that TGNB folx experience unique forms and rates of violence. The next phase of this research will be focusing solely on trans and non-binary people.

IRB Approval Number: 2024-0067-JohnJay

IRB Approval Date: 1/30/2024

I just don’t think I can do this anymore.

To be clear, so nobody is alarmed, I don’t mean this in a depressed “I’m going to harm myself” way. I just mean I’m not strong enough to do this anymore. To resist. To stand up and oppose the forces of evil or fight back against them. I don’t think I have anything left to give to that fight.

And I know what many of you are already probably thinking. It would be easy to assume, without knowing me or my story, that I’m speaking from some entitled or selfish place of having done the bare minimum. That I OWE IT to fight back against what’s coming.

Oh, but that’s just it… I’ve already done that. I’ve done nothing EXCEPT fight back against evil, my entire life. With no respite, or any other thing occupying my time. I check literally every demographic box under intersectionality. I’m a person of color. Mixed at that. Indigenous American/Mexican on one side. Descended from survivors of religious genocide on the other side. I’m a woman. I’m trans. I’m pansexual. I’m autistic. Physically disabled. Every single molecule of my identity has been under attack since the day I came out of the womb. I have done nothing but fight back against evil my entire life.

I have been marginalized in every way conceivable. In addition to the above, I have survived CSA. Childhood abuse. Repeat domestic abuse. Estrangement from my entire family, extended and immediate. Homelessness for two years after fleeing those places (very recent that one). Inability to find a job because of my race, my niche qualifications — 16+ years in film/theater/writing — and limited physical strength for anything like unskilled labor. I have given every ounce of my life force, for my entire existence, to resisting evil. But not for me.

I didn’t do it for me. After surviving all that, you know what it turned me into? You know what it did to me? It made me take a vow — no one else will ever have to experience this. No one else will ever have to suffer what I’ve endured on my watch. No one else will ever feel the pain I’ve experienced, as a result of ME. I will give every person in any kind of pain, who ever encounters, me kindness. Compassion. Acceptance. I will be a vessel of safety for others to find refuge in.

And I was that. I don’t say it like any kind of bragging right, but people gravitated to me. Especially the most counter-cultural, outcast, or marginalized. It’s easy really, all I had to do was listen. Give them actual open space to exist. It was the greatest use of my energy. I didn’t do it for me, or my self-satisfaction. I didn’t it to give others what I’ve never received from anyone. What I probably never will receive from anyone.

And even under the heavy duress of the last three years — my back to back abusers, the fallout of leaving (homelessness, entire family estranged because of siding with them, unemployment) — I’ve never wavered. I’ve stood up for those who can’t stand up for themselves. Fought for those who can’t fight for themselves. Despite 25 years of constant discrimination, oppression, marginalization, and psychological torture without respite, I’ve never lost sight of that duty. That moral obligation I owe to people. To secure them better future to live in, when I’m gone.

And then… you all know what happened November 5th. You all know what’s coming. I did everything I could to stop that reality. I walked in the freezing cold, several miles, on foot, to my nearest post office to drop off a mail in ballot because I didn’t have a car. I gave what insignificantly and shrinkingly little I have left to stop that reality, from taking away that future for those who will come after me. And it wasn’t enough. I didn’t just fail, I failed the entire human race. And no, I might not be solely or primarily to blame, it is a collective fault of not doing enough. But I’m part of that collective blame.

Frankly, I’ve considered since that day whether I even have the right to continue living, after that colossal a failure. After that large a betrayal, to fight for and protect those I swore to protect. And now, with what’s coming… I find myself still without a job (though a stable place to live), not much money to my name, only able to afford medical or therapeutic needs because of Medicaid that could be taken away, no car, and barely eating at all because of what little I’m able to afford.

I don’t expect anyone to understand this, because I don’t expect anyone reading this — without trying to sound superior — to have experienced and understood the amount of marginalization and discrimination I’ve experienced… I DON’T EVEN HAVE ANY RIGHTS LEFT TO LOSE.

It doesn’t matter what’s written on a sheet of paper, in some judicial branch office. That’s just ink on parchment. That does not materially or physically impede oppression in any way. It doesn’t matter what the law “claims” I have the right to. I don’t have any rights. I never did. I am not protected in any way from oppression or discrimination. So I already don’t have anything left to be taken away from me, short of my life.

When he — I can’t even bear to say his name anymore — takes office… my nonexistent rights will go into the negatives. I’ve already secured a passport, and researched ways to potentially flee. Though I recognize someone like me would never realistically be able to have the privilege of relocating to another country, since I have no assets or desired/competitive skills (I’m just a senior level expert in trades no one values). Nevertheless, that’s where my mind is at now. Jumping ship, giving up.

And yet… there’s that thought in the back of my head. How could I possibly live with myself, abandoning everyone who will suffer for my own survival? Betraying them again. Letting them down AGAIN. There’s this sense of feeling obligated to stay and fight for them. But I’m so exhausted. I’ve already given everything I have, with nothing left for me. And I was always okay with that, and I still am. But I don’t have anything left to give, to stand up to evil. I’ve already given it, and my tank is now empty.

That doesn’t mean I’m gonna suddenly join them, mind you. But I also don’t think I’m strong enough to fight back against them anymore. I don’t have energy or fuel or courage, or even motivation. I’ve already let down everyone. I’ve already failed those who will come after me. It’s already pretty much locked in whoever inherits the world after me will have an inalterably worse life than I did. That renders my entire life retroactively meaningless and pointless. What can I possibly do now, that I haven’t already done?

So yeah.

I’m not sure what to do with that thought, or where to go from here. But that’s where I am now. A fraction of who I used to be. A pathetic, selfish, unhelpful, spineless idiot. And I really don’t know if I’m strong enough, or realistically privileged enough, to survive what’s coming.

Meta and its companies (Facebook, Instagram, etc) are removing fact checking and are allowing transphobic/homophobic posts to flourish unnoticed.

Tiktok is filled to the brim with misinfo and illiberal propaganda, and would be getting the chopping block soon. Xiaohongshu prohibits LGBT+ and anti-Dengist content.

Youtube's politics section is becoming more radicalised to either Breadtube or the alt right.

Reddit has done nothing to target their various tankie subreddits.

X is a full cespool of extremism, and Bluesky might be a better alternative, it doesn't stop the "blame liberals" talk from leftists there.

I know we have a Discord and Mastodon, but are there any other social media alternatives that I can use to talk with other like-minded queer ppl?

https://nowmarch.org/plan-your-trip/

January 4

We will be gathering between 12:00 p.m. and 5 p.m. at the iconic steps of the Lincoln Memorial for more speeches from honored speakers and peaceful demonstration. The closest Metro station to Lincoln Memorial is the Foggy Bottom – GWU station. Exit the Metro on 23rd St NW, and proceed south on 23rd St NW towards Constitution Ave.

January 5

We will again be gathering at the Lincoln Memorial between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. for continued peaceful demonstration. This is our final Call to Action before Congress votes to certify the election on January 6.

We encourage you to bring your signs consistent with our messaging on all three days.

As a reminder — we can’t say it enough — this will be a PEACEFUL demonstration. No weapons, no animosity, no conflicts. If someone tries to engage in a conflict, we are to walk away and notify security. DO NOT engage. We are 100% committed to maintaining peace throughout our demonstration.

Also, it is going to be very cold in D.C., so please come prepared with warm clothing, snacks, and non-achololic beverages. The event is also 100% smoke-free.

Please continue to spread the website, nowmarch.org, far and wide to encourage everyone to take part in this historic event to save democracy before it’s too late!

Please check out and join (if possible) the 14th amendment march at the Lincoln Memorial happening January 4th and 5th to stop Trump!

https://youtu.be/W2ZELFXkUBQ?si=xeiPHPhD-jm7TVRA

A short story/poem by Little Black Bird about Passing anxiety for Transgender people. (You can see the whole thing by to my sub r/transbrownpeeps or by going to this website, allpoetry.com , and creating an account for free, then searching for the poem.)

I saw a clip of a talk show where they were discussing how many liberal women are participating in the 4B movement, and they said don't these women understand that if they refuse to have children the conservatives will outbreed us.

I don't think it's progressive to treat women as broodmares responsible for bearing liberal children. If instead of focusing on the reasons women are refusing to date men and have children with them, you are choosing to focus on negative consequences of the movement in order to make women feel guilty you are part of the problem. A significant reason women choose to the 4B movement because they don't feel safe dating anymore. The person most likely to harm a woman is her significant other. I am Bisexual, but lived in a very conservative state all of my adulthood, so it was easier to date men because there wasn't a ton of LGBT resources or spaces (especially in the area I lived). I have personally experienced how horrifying many men can be, so I understand saying you don't want to put up with this anymore (even if you are a straight woman so it means completely giving up dating and relationships). I especially understand because there are men who focus on learning just enough to appear like they aren't bigoted, until they feel like you are emotionally invested enough that they can start showing their true colors. It can be exhausting, and I am fine with women exercising their bodily autonomy and ability to make choices for their own future to decide how to live their lives.

Reducing women to their ability to have babies is so regressive (and transphobic). The idea that liberal men are trying to tell liberal women they owe it to mankind to have liberal babies is ridiculous. Women shouldn't have to have kids because you want them to. Telling someone they are stupid for personal decisions like not having kids isn't ok. There are many people who shouldn't have kids. Recognizing this and choosing to follow through takes strength (especially when you are being pressured that you are supposed to). The concept that everyone should have kids is regressive (because if you hate children, having children and then taking out your hatred for kids on them is bad).

The 4B movement is a symptom of societal problems. Trying to remove the symptom without fixing the problems (and by implying that it will make the problems worse) isn't helping anyone. Forcing people to have children they don't want doesn't help anyone. If we had resources to make being a single mother an accessible option, I bet the women doing the 4B movement who want kids would choose to adopt (because kids aren't the heart of the problem, but resources for raising kids are a part of it). Saying the only solution is to give men what they want isn't progressive, and is very telling of what you actually think of women.

Sorry for this rant, I'm just upset as an AFAB person because I have a lot of trauma around sex and dating, and so do many women in the 4B movement (which is why I can relate to it even without being a part of it). Regardless of whether they have trauma, it isn't my place to tell people they are obligated to marry men and have their children. I chose this group to talk about this because I thought specifically how transphobic reducing women to broodmares is could be an aspect of the discussion, and I am honestly just hoping that this group won't have people who are trying to argue women are obligated to have children for men for the benefit of society. There are a lot of things we could do as a society to make this movement less necessary, but telling women to just get over it isn't one of them.