I listened to a podcast recently (Vox's The Gray Area with Sean Illing) and they were discussing the importance of language in political storytelling. The guest said dems and others who want a govt that represent the people should ask why the Republicans hate personal freedom. They want the government to control your access to reproductive healthcare. They want the government to make decisions for your children. They want the government to decide what books you are allowed to read. They aren't focusing on what is better for the country but on how they can interfere with personal freedoms. I think this could be effective. I just cannot wrap my head around the fact that people want to be on the side of culture wars/limiting freedoms when there is SO MUCH that needs fixed in this country. I cannot believe people are concerned about trans people using the bathroom. It makes me fume.
Your last line encapsulates a lot of the state of the world:
"I cannot believe people are concerned about trans people using the bathroom. It makes me fume."
First, the people who are concerned about this probably have never encountered a trans person, ever.
Second, when I hear that, and it is usually coupled with "making people use the bathroom of their gender on their birth certificate". I then advise them to google "trans men" and ask them if they really want to force the people they see in those images to be using the women's restrooms. Often I do it on my phone and show them in real time, and they freak out.
Their outrage is 100% on trans women, and their belated concern for women is pretty misplaced.
For the record, I do know several trans people (both sexes) and they are all wonderful people.
The freakout over sports is even worse. In a relatively large state like Ohio, there are 6 trans women in high school sports. All this freak out for basically 0 actual instances.
They're horrified & terrified of trans women because that means that a man cut off his penis. That is the fate worse than death, the ultimate betrayal of manhood, that violates everything the MAGA crowd hold dear. And they will hunt them down and exterminate them if they possibly can...
I think the Republicans are so good at having a simple, easy to understand message and then just repeating the hell out of it. What they want to do is horrible, but their message is easily digestible and effective a lot of the time. I follow Oliver Willis on Twitter and he harps on how bad the Democratic Party is at doing something similar, and I think he's right. They need a Frank Luntz or someone, and yes I know he's disgusting. Disgusting but good at his job.
"Behind me, a stringer for a national newspaper talks to two men about why they are at the rally. I only half-hear some of their answers about lowering taxes and concerns about public schools. After she leaves, I hear them talk in more explicit terms about their fears over trans people and bathrooms. Things they wouldn’t say out loud to a mainstream journalist."
NYT: In Iowa DeSantis represents kitchen-table issues, not bathroom stall panic.
Our in-depth reporting shows that we are right to keep ignoring the concerns of the trans community, who we find icky.
"A dingy echo chamber" pretty much says it all, Lyz. I started following some "positive" news accounts on Instagram b/c I can't take it anymore. My neighbors are horrible people who have gone insane. At least there's the Indonesian "madman" who replanted an entire forest himself out there in the world! Thank god!
My 2020 opponent, Sen. Jesse Green, is team DeSantis, as is the leader of the Iowa Senate, Amy Sinclair. Meanwhile, Branstad's son is running the Iowa Trump operation and Sen. Brad Zaun is team Trump. It's interesting to watch who lines up to kiss rings.
As a mom of a trans kid who went to arts camp in 2019 and found he spent 6 weeks showering at odd times because they couldn’t bother to create a changing area in the tent, I can tell you there is no trans person in the world, especially kids, who will ever expose their genitals in a public space. Ever.
Also Interlochen WTF. I hope you’ve got your shit together by now.
Recently there was a NextDoor post in my area (southern NY State) from a man who claimed his wife had gone into a women's bathroom in the local Walmart Supercenter and had seen a man exposing his genitalia while standing in a stall. Most people were concerned and asked if his wife was ok, did she report it, that Walmart should check the videos, etc. BUT there were also several people who responded by saying "This is what is going to happen now that anyone can use ANY bathroom!" I was heartened to see a lot of people respond by pointing out this isn't true and men are not allowed to just walk into the women's bathroom, especially if they look masculine. And why would a transgender woman want to expose their junk to a woman anyway? That doesn't make sense. When I was going to a gym that had a lot of trans members (in Brooklyn) the transgender women were the girliest of the girly and were very careful not to scare the other women in the locker room.
I despair. Good article Lyz. The Republicans have managed to convince people that children are under threat from history, books, gay people, transgender people, but we actually need MORE guns.
DeSantis sent people to Texas to pick up migrants and fly them to Sacramento CA (as they have done elsewhere) in a stunt that cost taxpayers serious money and left the people confused and afraid. They had been promised jobs, had actual court appointments elsewhere.
I remind myself daily that half of all people are by definition of below average intelligence.
Great article...especially the difference between how people speak with national reporters vs what they say when they are not present. If the caucuses have taught Iowans anything, it's how to perform effectively for the national spotlight.
I'm going to re-read Joan Didion's Political Fictions for the next election season. It's so different when a writer is focused on listening rather than getting a statement from the politician. Anyone from a small town knows that people don't necessarily say what they really think to outsiders. Didion focused on the absurdities that campaigns engender.
The psychological ploys of fascism are gut wrenching to behold. Your inside reporting reveals the way fear mongering works in the pursuit of political power.
I applaud your ability to sit through something like that and keep a clear head. I wish I could get some emotional distance from my abhorrence for 99.9% of what the Republican Party says it stands for. I'm in Iowa for June (my home state) - and there is a huge banner on a small house on a small street in my home town that says "FUCK your feelings! Trump in 2024!" I think of the neighbors who look out their window each morning and see that banner. Maybe they are all Trump enthusiasts and don't mind....
I still don’t understand how liberals get called “snowflakes” when we’re not the ones who lose shit at the idea that somehow... somewhere... someone we don’t know and is minding their own business is living a life that is different from ours.
great piece, reminded me of my time doing political and education reporting in south dakota. it is crazy what people will admit to you when they see you as a neighbor and not just a journalist.
Thank you for going to the rally so we don't have to.
I listened to a podcast recently (Vox's The Gray Area with Sean Illing) and they were discussing the importance of language in political storytelling. The guest said dems and others who want a govt that represent the people should ask why the Republicans hate personal freedom. They want the government to control your access to reproductive healthcare. They want the government to make decisions for your children. They want the government to decide what books you are allowed to read. They aren't focusing on what is better for the country but on how they can interfere with personal freedoms. I think this could be effective. I just cannot wrap my head around the fact that people want to be on the side of culture wars/limiting freedoms when there is SO MUCH that needs fixed in this country. I cannot believe people are concerned about trans people using the bathroom. It makes me fume.
It's pretty standard scapegoating. A political tale as old as time
Your last line encapsulates a lot of the state of the world:
"I cannot believe people are concerned about trans people using the bathroom. It makes me fume."
First, the people who are concerned about this probably have never encountered a trans person, ever.
Second, when I hear that, and it is usually coupled with "making people use the bathroom of their gender on their birth certificate". I then advise them to google "trans men" and ask them if they really want to force the people they see in those images to be using the women's restrooms. Often I do it on my phone and show them in real time, and they freak out.
Their outrage is 100% on trans women, and their belated concern for women is pretty misplaced.
For the record, I do know several trans people (both sexes) and they are all wonderful people.
The freakout over sports is even worse. In a relatively large state like Ohio, there are 6 trans women in high school sports. All this freak out for basically 0 actual instances.
They're horrified & terrified of trans women because that means that a man cut off his penis. That is the fate worse than death, the ultimate betrayal of manhood, that violates everything the MAGA crowd hold dear. And they will hunt them down and exterminate them if they possibly can...
I think the Republicans are so good at having a simple, easy to understand message and then just repeating the hell out of it. What they want to do is horrible, but their message is easily digestible and effective a lot of the time. I follow Oliver Willis on Twitter and he harps on how bad the Democratic Party is at doing something similar, and I think he's right. They need a Frank Luntz or someone, and yes I know he's disgusting. Disgusting but good at his job.
This is true although Democrats want to do more things so breaking that down into one sentence is tougher.
"Behind me, a stringer for a national newspaper talks to two men about why they are at the rally. I only half-hear some of their answers about lowering taxes and concerns about public schools. After she leaves, I hear them talk in more explicit terms about their fears over trans people and bathrooms. Things they wouldn’t say out loud to a mainstream journalist."
NYT: In Iowa DeSantis represents kitchen-table issues, not bathroom stall panic.
Our in-depth reporting shows that we are right to keep ignoring the concerns of the trans community, who we find icky.
So much of the speech and the applause lines were about transphobia idk how you could attend a rally and not see that
See this is why my plan to fix media is:
1. Win lottery
2. Buy NYT
3. Relocate newsroom to Iowa (city tbd)
4. Make you EIC
LYZ LENZ '24: A WEED GUMMY IN EVERY PURSE
"A dingy echo chamber" pretty much says it all, Lyz. I started following some "positive" news accounts on Instagram b/c I can't take it anymore. My neighbors are horrible people who have gone insane. At least there's the Indonesian "madman" who replanted an entire forest himself out there in the world! Thank god!
"A dingy echo chamber draped in flags" makes me feel 2020 levels of tired
My God that sounds grim.
My 2020 opponent, Sen. Jesse Green, is team DeSantis, as is the leader of the Iowa Senate, Amy Sinclair. Meanwhile, Branstad's son is running the Iowa Trump operation and Sen. Brad Zaun is team Trump. It's interesting to watch who lines up to kiss rings.
As a mom of a trans kid who went to arts camp in 2019 and found he spent 6 weeks showering at odd times because they couldn’t bother to create a changing area in the tent, I can tell you there is no trans person in the world, especially kids, who will ever expose their genitals in a public space. Ever.
Also Interlochen WTF. I hope you’ve got your shit together by now.
Recently there was a NextDoor post in my area (southern NY State) from a man who claimed his wife had gone into a women's bathroom in the local Walmart Supercenter and had seen a man exposing his genitalia while standing in a stall. Most people were concerned and asked if his wife was ok, did she report it, that Walmart should check the videos, etc. BUT there were also several people who responded by saying "This is what is going to happen now that anyone can use ANY bathroom!" I was heartened to see a lot of people respond by pointing out this isn't true and men are not allowed to just walk into the women's bathroom, especially if they look masculine. And why would a transgender woman want to expose their junk to a woman anyway? That doesn't make sense. When I was going to a gym that had a lot of trans members (in Brooklyn) the transgender women were the girliest of the girly and were very careful not to scare the other women in the locker room.
I despair. Good article Lyz. The Republicans have managed to convince people that children are under threat from history, books, gay people, transgender people, but we actually need MORE guns.
DeSantis sent people to Texas to pick up migrants and fly them to Sacramento CA (as they have done elsewhere) in a stunt that cost taxpayers serious money and left the people confused and afraid. They had been promised jobs, had actual court appointments elsewhere.
I remind myself daily that half of all people are by definition of below average intelligence.
Great article...especially the difference between how people speak with national reporters vs what they say when they are not present. If the caucuses have taught Iowans anything, it's how to perform effectively for the national spotlight.
I'm going to re-read Joan Didion's Political Fictions for the next election season. It's so different when a writer is focused on listening rather than getting a statement from the politician. Anyone from a small town knows that people don't necessarily say what they really think to outsiders. Didion focused on the absurdities that campaigns engender.
I apologize on behalf of the non fascist Floridians that hate his guts. Really sorry you had to listen to him and look at his stupid swollen face.
The psychological ploys of fascism are gut wrenching to behold. Your inside reporting reveals the way fear mongering works in the pursuit of political power.
I applaud your ability to sit through something like that and keep a clear head. I wish I could get some emotional distance from my abhorrence for 99.9% of what the Republican Party says it stands for. I'm in Iowa for June (my home state) - and there is a huge banner on a small house on a small street in my home town that says "FUCK your feelings! Trump in 2024!" I think of the neighbors who look out their window each morning and see that banner. Maybe they are all Trump enthusiasts and don't mind....
I still don’t understand how liberals get called “snowflakes” when we’re not the ones who lose shit at the idea that somehow... somewhere... someone we don’t know and is minding their own business is living a life that is different from ours.
I'm so sorry that's what you're seeing out the window.
great piece, reminded me of my time doing political and education reporting in south dakota. it is crazy what people will admit to you when they see you as a neighbor and not just a journalist.