I don't. Trans people are a new thing for me too, they didn't "exist" in my formative years. I grew up in Oklahoma surrounded by conservative Bible-belt redneck N-word-spouting family, at a public school where "gay" and "hermaphrodite" were used as gym insults. I'm a straight-passing white cis male with pretty blue eyes, the least oppressed motherfucker out here and a perfect candidate for growing up to be a shitty supremacist.

Yet I'm the farthest thing from one, because all it actually takes is asking myself "Why should I have a problem with this? Does it affect anyone other than the person being made happier?" When the answer comes up as "no," it's A-OK in my book. And don't get me started on the pricks who think "but I'm Christian!!!" is an excuse for anything, God is supposed to judge us, not my asshole neighbor Karen who grew up on leaded gas and cigarettes.

[–] HappyMeatbag@beehaw.org 5 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Cool. Maintaining flexibility is hard. I wish more people were better at it.

Part of my “cut them a bit of slack” attitude comes from personal experience. I’ve been watching an otherwise good person shift gradually further right. Since retirement, they watch TV almost constantly, which unfortunately includes Fox News (I was going to say “too much Fox News”, but any amount of that crap is too much).