I agree that this type of rhetoric is bad for the long term health and safety of trans people. I believe the move was done to boost Newsom’s own presidential chances in red and purple areas by creating a scapegoat of trans people.

I feel bad for my friends that are trans because the culture in America, mostly outside of younger generations, has many bigoted attitudes towards trans individuals. I think hearing Bill Maher talk about his bigoted views on people transitioning shocked me at how slow/little the older generations have moved on being accepting of trans people. Maher being a left-of-center boomer too didn’t give me much confidence that there are not swaths of people with even worse takes.

Unfortunately I believe you are right that it will take decades for things to truly get better for trans people since many of these older generations seem gridlocked in their views. I feel educating younger generations is what is most important in the push back against bigotry, since people are not born bigots but become that way.

Edit: I don’t think it’s a good thing that people hold these views. Personally, when I see anti-trans bias I call it out in that moment.

I feel that many of these bigots have not met a trans person before, so they feel emboldened to strawperson trans people as boogeymen.

I think he’s left-of-center leaning, but postures in a way that is throwing trans people under the bus to win votes from bigots that may lean left, center, or right. Do I think he personally would push for any trans sports ban? Not really, but he is playing it up to win over the voters that for some reason are treating trans people in sports as a hardline issue they are against.

It’s one of several reasons I wouldn’t want him specifically to win the 2028 primary; since I would like to believe our country still has enough kind people that we don’t need to step on each other for us to all get ahead.

I’ve agreed a lot with Newsom over the years and I’ve disagreed with him just as much. At this moment, I would say he’s got the right intentions to do good here. He would not be my personal primary choice, but he would at least would be willing to press states for better standards and would help stand against corruption. In California he’s at least pushing for the state to use more electric vehicles.

It is with my in-laws at least; well for some of them. It’s how they envision coming on top in their American Dream. They get to spend their weeks pumping themselves up thinking it’s their turn next to win and envisioning all the things they’ll get to do with all that money.

I would say the scam is convincing people that they are lucky and that they specifically will eventually hit it big in their lifetime. This exact gimmick is what prevents some people from voting against their best interests because they could one day hit it big at the lotto and be in the big leagues! Assuming they don’t blow all that wealth on poor financial decisions in the few years thereafter or win at all for that matter.