I will allow discussion of political rights for transgender and gender diverse people. I will not tolerate the abuse and vitriol that has gone on for the last few days.
There are other social media where people can have broader discussion on the USA political system.
Any personal abuse, foul language, posting of petitions without permission, etc will not be allowed.
Cindy
Forum Admin.
Quote"The sex listed on a person's birth certificate, as originally issued, shall constitute definitive proof of a person's sex unless rebutted by reliable genetic evidence."
Anyone who has genetic markers for an intersex condition is not included in his ban? Does anyone have specifics on how the administration is defining genetic markers? I would like more information regarding their position regarding intersex individuals rights under the proposed plan. From what I understand I am not the only person on this site with an confirmed intersex condition.
Do not misinterpret my interest for intersex person exclusion in this ban. I support everyone who feels they need to transition to do so.
If I may... perhaps the Forums should be left clear for all members to seek and give support, and the WordPress (accessible at the bottom of the page or by clicking on the Susan's girl at the top of the page) be used for political discourse?
Currently we have some Staff members saying they're discouraged by the personal attacks that they're seeing on the Forums, and other Staff members saying they're not seeing any personal attacks. It's confusing to say the least.
Hugs, Devlyn
I fully support Cindy and can fully understand the frustration of the staff. I have been avoiding stating my views, on the Forum, in the last year because of the continued verbal abuse that I have read and the couple of occassion where this has happened to me. As most members are Americans, maybe this hate is caused by the impression of the hate existing in USA. Constant reminder of this hate and anger from the supposed unbiiased media seems to have greatly affected the views on this forum. The USA was the becon of success for democracy which has benefitted the lives of billions of people globally. Sadly, the behavior and misrepresentation by both parties has made a mockery of democracy. This has greatly damaged the development of demiocacy in Asia. The governments and the people looking at USA and the EU fear the confusion, instability and hate that democracy seem to create.
Please a little consideration for others. We can only win the hearts of your own people with good and or considerate deeds. Maybe its only Asian, but acceptance with all things new, will take time to be fully accepted and intergrated with society. Please be patient, and remember we have come a long, long way.
Can I get a clarification.
If I were to say for example, "Maybe we can just go back to talking about how big our boobs have gotten while our rights are systematically taken away and we are officially erased from existence by this political administration."
Would that be going too far?
Quote from: Janes Groove on October 25, 2018, 10:44:10 AM
Can I get a clarification.
If I were to say for example, "Maybe we can just go back to talking about how big our boobs have gotten while our rights are systematically taken away and we are officially erased from existence by this political administration."
Would that be going too far?
It would address the topic without personal abuse, foul language, there was no petition added and I personally agree that we should get back to how big our boobs have grown.
Hugs, Jessica
Quote from: gingerViktorKay on October 24, 2018, 11:05:57 PM
Anyone who has genetic markers for an intersex condition is not included in his ban? Does anyone have specifics on how the administration is defining genetic markers? I would like more information regarding their position regarding intersex individuals rights under the proposed plan. From what I understand I am not the only person on this site with an confirmed intersex condition.
Do not misinterpret my interest for intersex person exclusion in this ban. I support everyone who feels they need to transition to do so.
I am fairly certain they will use chromosome tests. If you have a Y chromosome, you would likely be considered Male.
I believe that a section of the website should be restricted to certain members only. That way it is possible to discuss sensitive topics factually without outside interference. Specifically, a place where personal attacks are not an issue.
Also, I believe that individuals possessing useful knowledge (doctors, lawyers, & activist) or working in the community need to have a location where complicated issues can be discussed civilly.
Quote from: gingerViktorKay on October 25, 2018, 02:17:02 PM
I believe that a section of the website should be restricted to certain members only. That way it is possible to discuss sensitive topics factually without outside interference. Specifically, a place where personal attacks are not an issue.
Also, I believe that individuals possessing useful knowledge (doctors, lawyers, & activist) or working in the community need to have a location where complicated issues can be discussed civilly.
I am a member of a German-American Forum in which highly political subjects can be seen and used only for members who have a certain minimum of contributions made in other sections. This way it is prevented that some people just register to write inflammatory contributions.
This could be done here, too! Or?
Quote from: Dietlind on October 25, 2018, 05:03:36 PM
I am a member of a German-American Forum in which highly political subjects can be seen and used only for members who have a certain minimum of contributions made in other sections. This way it is prevented that some people just register to write inflammatory contributions.
This could be done here, too! Or?
This is a really good idea.
@Cindy
I definitely think there should be some area to discuss transgender rights and political ideas as they relate to that.
I thought Susan had said we were allowed to? Has that changed or been altered from the original paragraph she wrote recently?
It wouldn't feel right supporting each other individually while ignoring what's happening in the US government or even at the UN now... I'm not in the US but this latest move towards the UN does now involve me...
Regards,
Sonja.
Well, I'll take a moment to apologise if anyone was offended by anything I said; I think I've been pretty civil, but there were a few times I was perhaps a bit terse. "I couldn't care less if anyone is offended" and all that. Truthfully, I do care that this has caused friction, I just don't allow anyone's personal feelings to change my belief that this is a warranted policy change for the site.
Quote from: Cindy on October 24, 2018, 10:50:49 PM
I will allow discussion of political rights for transgender and gender diverse people. I will not tolerate the abuse and vitriol that has gone on for the last few days.
There are other social media where people can have broader discussion on the USA political system.
Any personal abuse, foul language, posting of petitions without permission, etc will not be allowed.
Cindy
Forum Admin.
I think this is a good solution for the health of the site. I don't think ignoring the political crisis is the right thing. The personal attacks are very unfortunate. We pay a price for expressing our opinions with too much zeal although I do get the emotions involved.
To clarify.
Susan has said that political discussion about transgender rights in the USA is OK. Susan has stated that she will not allow political discussion that removes rights, recognition of or privileges to transgender people and hence I shall not allow that.
As Forum Administrator I will not allow personal abuse, name calling, denigration of opinion and argument off topic. I will not allow people to run their own political campaigns. I will not host petitions that have not been cleared by either myself or Susan.
I find it revealing that people walk off in a tiff because they are not allowed to hurl abuse or denigrate others while maintaining 'their' rights.
The Moderators also hold their own political beliefs and they are caught in a cross fire - so have consideration for staff who give up many hours of their time to help and support and deal with people's personal issues and who over the last few days have faced a barrage of hate and vitriol to an extent that some have asked for time out to deal with it.
I will not have that.
Cindy
Here is where our support comes from, business and free trade, not political parties. These large corporations know that diversity equals value.
November 1, 2018
We, the undersigned businesses, stand with the millions of people in America who identify as transgender, gender non-binary, or intersex, and call for all such people to be treated with the respect and dignity everyone deserves...
Full article below:
https://www.hrc.org/blog/56-major-companies-respond-to-effort-to-erase-transgender-people-from-legal
Sadly, my employer one of the largest corporations in the world, is not among them. I don't understand it, because it was one of the first companies who had very strict sexual harassment policies on the book, and has internal policies that very strongly support LGBTQ rights!
On the other hand, what is more important, providing lip services or doing it? We know from Google that they have a rather poor sexual harassment policy, resp. enforcing it poorly!
Quote from: Devlyn on November 02, 2018, 09:13:53 AM. . . support comes from, business and free trade, not political parties.
Exactly! Nobody really cares who ya are or sleep with except big government!
"Elections are Coming" "The Sky is Falling!" . . . and then all will pass, be ok!Most companies, like mine, adopt "metoo" policies out of necessity. Not only does it give full benefits for gay marriage but also for "domestic partners" where gay marriage is still not state recognized. And my ex-wife, no real relation at all, is considered a "companion" which basically allows her to continue to travel free.
How much more "liberal" can one get? My Catholic Church school includes "gender-identity" in it's diversity statement (hehe largely thx to my complaint!)
Quote from: Devlyn on November 02, 2018, 09:13:53 AM
Here is where our support comes from, business and free trade, not political parties. These large corporations know that diversity equals value.
November 1, 2018
We, the undersigned businesses, stand with the millions of people in America who identify as transgender, gender non-binary, or intersex, and call for all such people to be treated with the respect and dignity everyone deserves...
Full article below:
https://www.hrc.org/blog/56-major-companies-respond-to-effort-to-erase-transgender-people-from-legal
I was so happy to see my employer (Amazon) sign this - we're not often outwardly vocal but the commitment to transgender and gender non-conforming people in my experience is genuine.
Quote from: Devlyn on November 02, 2018, 09:13:53 AM
Here is where our support comes from, business and free trade, not political parties. These large corporations know that diversity equals value.
November 1, 2018
We, the undersigned businesses, stand with the millions of people in America who identify as transgender, gender non-binary, or intersex, and call for all such people to be treated with the respect and dignity everyone deserves...
Full article below:
https://www.hrc.org/blog/56-major-companies-respond-to-effort-to-erase-transgender-people-from-legal
Absolutely! Personally, I don't care for the Republicans nor the Democrats. Unfortunately, those are the only two parties in power; the rest don't stand a chance. This is why it's hard for me to vote. I still vote; I just have to decide which party I dislike less.
Quote from: Danielle Kristina on November 13, 2018, 12:06:39 AM
Absolutely! Personally, I don't care for the Republicans nor the Democrats. Unfortunately, those are the only two parties in power; the rest don't stand a chance. This is why it's hard for me to vote. I still vote; I just have to decide which party I dislike less.
I think that this is an important decission, and the correct one. I lived half of my life in Europe, and was used to the multiple party systems they have there. This system provided every voter with some kid of party they could associate with. After coming here (I am a dual citizen) and realizing how bleak the political arena is. Just black and white, I became a political activist to help to turn this system around.
I am old now, and it is time for the younger people helping to change it. The only way I can see o change it, is getting involved in a party, and help to turn the system around from the inside. If one does not get involved, one cannot complain!