• ragebutt@lemmy.dbzer0.com
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    12
    ·
    4 days ago

    Reminder that Ellen hung out with George w bush

    https://kennorphan.com/2017/10/26/canonizing-criminals-and-the-lobotomization-of-public-memory/ellen-degeneres-embraces-george-w-bush-photo-from-the-ellen-show/

    When called out for going to a sports game with someone who endorsed a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, opposed adoption rights, anti hate crime laws, and anti discrimination laws, she doubled down and did a little segment on her show about how he’s alright and posted a selfie

    While it is true that bush softened on gay rights issues later that was almost exclusively after he had left the presidency and thus was basically irrelevant. When the man had extreme power his policy was disgusting. When he listened to gay republican groups he did not soften at all. It was merely when his image needed to be rebranded after he was known mostly as a war criminal responsible for murdering 1 million Iraqis that he decided to soften his stance a bit. By then the Republican Party had gotten so fucking loony plenty of people accepted him as downright rational and kind. Instead of what he was, which is basically trump with a bit of impulse control and decorum

    The takeaway is exactly what you said. The unifying factor here is social class. Ultra rich gays will happily throw you under the bus for 1 more dollar. Tim Cook will happily support someone who will stop him from adopting children or getting married if it means apples market share grows by 3%. He does not care because if it truly matters to him he will just find a way to circumvent the law with his enormous wealth. He does not worry about spousal decision making because he will hire a private live in physician. He will hire a surrogate to act as a legal agent for adoption in name only. If it comes to camps he obviously won’t go to the camps. If it gets to the point where he would be anywhere near at risk he would expatriate at a moments notice on a private jet. Etc. but you won’t have those luxuries. Fuck you, got mine.

    • WoodScientist@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      3 days ago

      Tim Cook will happily support someone who will stop him from adopting children or getting married if it means apples market share grows by 3%.

      Exactly. As you note, rich people can usually buy their way around most anti-LGBT laws. Imagine you’re a billionaire or megacorp CEO. Consider your workarounds for various anti-LGBT laws. Imagine you’re such a person but happen to be gay and/or trans.

      Gay marriage ban? Hire a team of lawyers to draft a series of contracts between you and your partner. Marriage imparts hundreds of protections and benefits, but most of those can also be achieved with a mountain of legal paperwork.

      Laws criminalizing gay sex? You live on a giant private compound. How will cops even know what you’re doing in there? Even if they could, you can hire the best lawyers money can buy.

      Restrictions on gender ID markers? Move your official residence to a state that affirms trans rights. For a passport, get a second or third passport in the form of a golden passport (one where you invest some large sum in a country in exchange for citizenship there.) Now you have a document for international travel with the correct gender marker on it.

      Bans on trans medicine? Fly overseas for any medical treatment you need. If they really crack down on it, get treated with those injectable hormone pellets. Fly out of the country a few times a year to have your hormones topped off. Do any surgeries overseas as well.

      Bathroom bans? Your limo has a toilet in it. Or you comply, use the restroom of your birth-assigned sex, and have your team of bodyguards guard the door while you do so. Or, more likely, you simply never go places where you would have to use a public restroom in the first place.

      The hard truth is that most discriminatory laws can be bypassed or made irrelevant if you have enough cash.

      There are simply very few discriminatory laws that can’t be bypassed with enough money. They’re not at risk until people actually start being sent to camps. And, as you note, they can easily jet off to a friendly country in the event of that ever happening.