"You’re always allowed to say no. You don’t actually have to throw anybody under the bus." The biggest lie that politicians have perpetrated on the public is to convince them they don't have agency. They live in fear that, we the many, will eventually realize it isn't true. No one knows where the tipping point is, but the humanity-first movement is percolating, I can feel it. Keep the faith.
I don't know if this really fits here or not, but this popped up in my social-media memories today from four years ago:
We are so used to gaslighting and barely getting crumbs that when they say, "We are cutting child poverty in half," we say, "Yay!" Not, "Uh, wait. What about the other half?" And they say, "Can they find some bootstraps to eat?"
A good question that I hope we can get back to asking again (now that we're, sadly, back in the business of increasing not decreasing childhood poverty)
And, as Congress gets ready for ANOTHER recess, I also wonder, why don't we have recesses in our working life? Why don't we all earn at least $175k/year? Why don't we all have their sweet, sweet health care for life? Why don't we all have their pensions?
I realize that if this catches on, it is going to hurt a lot of good people more than it will Elon—I saw an article about a small U.S. winery that sells most of its product in Quebec, for instance—but I must admit, I think it's pretty cool. And despite what Trump says, it's not "illegal" or "collusive" to boycott consumer goods. The GOP had no problem with boycotting Bud Light when it turned out they had sent a special can to a trans influencer.
Our friends in Sweden told us about the all American boycott too. And also, because I don't want autoworkers to be hurt, one hope I'd have from this is that the UAW would use this moment to outreach to Tesla workers to apply to work in other company's plants (another advantage: the majority of other auto plants are union, whereas Tesla has used all sorts of dirty tricks to bust organizing efforts).
Related: I walked into a vintage shop today and the first thing I noticed was a basket of free, homemade stickers with specific terrible things Trump and Musk have done. I wondered if the shop owners or a compatriot had read your essay!
With you, Garrett. Thank you for never shying away from the earnest truth that needs to be said. I have to push every day against a lifetime of fear that no one wants to hear it, that I will always be part of a tiny minority of people out of step with the mainstream so no one will understand. Also, the historic tendency of Quakers not to believe in proselytizing, though admittedly, that came later. Fox was all about shouting from the proverbial street corner.
Just trying to channel early Quakers over here. Thanks for helping me remember.
Benjamin Lay too! He may have done a lot of his proselytization in Meeting itself, but my guy literally held die-ins for abolitionism! Right in the middle of Meeting! Those are our Quaker forebears for this moment.
More importantly than whether or not Lay is *known* and they aren't (individually, anyway) is that they ARE known. Known for being on the wrong side of history, collectively, the whole lot of 'em. As the GOP will be, and the Democrats who enable their massacre of democracy.
PREACH!!! And thank you for speaking so clearly into a situation that can feel so confusing. I especially appreciated this reminder: “The idea that you should be willing to talk anybody about what you believe and why you believe it is embedded deep in my soul. But the whole reason you have conversations like that is so that you stand up for those who aren’t in the room.”
I need help, please. Can folks provide me with summaries/analyses of the various trans issues? I'm not asking you to explain things to me but to point me in the direction to understand some of the basic facts better- for example, how many trans children are there in the US, how many trans athletes participate in sports? Where and how do people get gender affirming health care? When do people get this care? I know bits and pieces, and socially, I have a casual acquaintance with people with trans relatives and was part of a larger community in the past with a trans woman. I'm a retired anthropologist who knows about Two Spirits. I have taught students for years about blended genders. However, I am overwhelmed by the onslaught of misinformation and would appreciate a few grounding articles/papers. I trust that people in this community will understand that I need to get grounded here. Thanks for any help.
3. On a daily/weekly basis, my go to for news about current policy based threats to the trans community (along with occasional debunking of anti-trans propaganda) is Erin In the Morning, the newsletter from Erin Reed https://www.erininthemorning.com/
I can say that where people get gender-affirming care depends on whether they're adults or minors, and whether or not there are individual practitioners that are versed in trans care near where they live or if they have to seek out (usually at some distance) a clinic that specializes in gender-affirming care. In my son's case, he started hormones when he was 17 but there's no one in our county who offers gender-affirming care for minors, so we had to travel over an hour to a bigger city north of here to see a pediatric endocrinologist who specializes in gender care. When he chose to have top surgery later, we had to travel a couple of hours east (2 1/2, maybe?) to get to a qualified surgeon who was affiliated with a gender clinic in the middle of the state.
There aren't a plethora of additional female-to-male medical transition steps to pursue. If he'd been identified male at birth and was transitioning to a female presentation, there would be potentially more types of surgeries to consider but the issue of likely having to travel for qualified and supportive practitioners would hold in that case, I think.
One vote for you to leave this typo, because it gave me a jolt of momentary joy to contemplate a world in which Gavin Newsom's inaugural podcast guest is Dan Savage :)
I was so confused for a moment! Now, I am back to regular-confused -- by the complete lack of humanity shown by these men, and their insatiable need to hear their own voices broadcast aloud in a podcast absolutely no one is asking for.
I'll be one at the back of this bus, cracking jokes, digging out whatever extra snacks I can find in my backpack. There's a seat right here. Let's ride.
Thanks for this analysis! I’m a new reader here and really appreciating your posts. I was wondering if one day could you do a post with your other daily go tos? Thanks for the optimism, hope and concrete acts you share!
Excellent post, Garrett. I’ve commented before about my frustrations with the Democratic Party. To catch people up: They. Are. Legion.
Anyway, I heard a great interview with Bernie where he said, paraphrasing: The democrats are gonna do what they do. I’m an Independent out here fighting for working people and democracy. That’s what I do.
See, now I’m thinking about Bernie and 2016 and the party putting their thumb on the scale in the primaries and I’m getting all worked up again. I’m gonna go find a Steve Kerr podcast…
That's right. He 100% knows what he's doing and he knows the difference between a good faith, wonky conversation with advocates at the table and accepting the other side's framing! I can totally understand how frustrating it might be as a Californian to see your Governor protecting his own political career instead of your state.
Fellow Californian here. Imagine being so famous and powerful that you can basically have ANYONE IN THE WORLD on your podcast, and you pick these guys. (For fun, I asked my husband—the rare white guy without his own podcast—who his dream guest would be if he were the governor, and he said Steve Kerr. I'll bet Steve would have lots of interesting things to say about the current political situation!)
At least this will give us something to work towards in 2026. Let's elect a governor who has no interest in hanging out with the likes of Steve Bannon.
"You’re always allowed to say no. You don’t actually have to throw anybody under the bus." The biggest lie that politicians have perpetrated on the public is to convince them they don't have agency. They live in fear that, we the many, will eventually realize it isn't true. No one knows where the tipping point is, but the humanity-first movement is percolating, I can feel it. Keep the faith.
I can feel it too, Emily!
I don't know if this really fits here or not, but this popped up in my social-media memories today from four years ago:
We are so used to gaslighting and barely getting crumbs that when they say, "We are cutting child poverty in half," we say, "Yay!" Not, "Uh, wait. What about the other half?" And they say, "Can they find some bootstraps to eat?"
A good question that I hope we can get back to asking again (now that we're, sadly, back in the business of increasing not decreasing childhood poverty)
And, as Congress gets ready for ANOTHER recess, I also wonder, why don't we have recesses in our working life? Why don't we all earn at least $175k/year? Why don't we all have their sweet, sweet health care for life? Why don't we all have their pensions?
Pretty good gig!
You mentioned the Tesla protests — I texted my cousin in Sweden a photo of a Tesla with a sticker right next to the logo that said, "We know, but we have the car now," and he said Swedes are starting to boycott American products in general. Here's an interesting Guardian article on the subject: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/12/i-feel-utter-anger-from-canada-to-europe-a-movement-to-boycott-us-goods-is-spreading
I realize that if this catches on, it is going to hurt a lot of good people more than it will Elon—I saw an article about a small U.S. winery that sells most of its product in Quebec, for instance—but I must admit, I think it's pretty cool. And despite what Trump says, it's not "illegal" or "collusive" to boycott consumer goods. The GOP had no problem with boycotting Bud Light when it turned out they had sent a special can to a trans influencer.
Our friends in Sweden told us about the all American boycott too. And also, because I don't want autoworkers to be hurt, one hope I'd have from this is that the UAW would use this moment to outreach to Tesla workers to apply to work in other company's plants (another advantage: the majority of other auto plants are union, whereas Tesla has used all sorts of dirty tricks to bust organizing efforts).
I played punk rock in basements with Laura Jane all those years ago. <3 Her song "What We Worked For" from that era still really gets me.
Cathleen you are officially the coolest
Nah, I’m just old 😂
Related: I walked into a vintage shop today and the first thing I noticed was a basket of free, homemade stickers with specific terrible things Trump and Musk have done. I wondered if the shop owners or a compatriot had read your essay!
That's so cool! Would you mind sharing what store?
Suffragette City Vintage in the SoHy Arts Building in hyattsville MD!
With you, Garrett. Thank you for never shying away from the earnest truth that needs to be said. I have to push every day against a lifetime of fear that no one wants to hear it, that I will always be part of a tiny minority of people out of step with the mainstream so no one will understand. Also, the historic tendency of Quakers not to believe in proselytizing, though admittedly, that came later. Fox was all about shouting from the proverbial street corner.
Just trying to channel early Quakers over here. Thanks for helping me remember.
Benjamin Lay too! He may have done a lot of his proselytization in Meeting itself, but my guy literally held die-ins for abolitionism! Right in the middle of Meeting! Those are our Quaker forebears for this moment.
It’s true! And they read him out of his Meeting as a result. 😕 Quakers don’t like to be called out anymore than anyone else sadly.
Jokes on them! I don't remember any of the other members of that Meeting!!!
More importantly than whether or not Lay is *known* and they aren't (individually, anyway) is that they ARE known. Known for being on the wrong side of history, collectively, the whole lot of 'em. As the GOP will be, and the Democrats who enable their massacre of democracy.
WELL PUT!
Also, really nice Le Guin reference. Perfect.
I knew there'd be a handful of folks who'd appreciate it
Always here for the OG Space Crone UKL!
PREACH!!! And thank you for speaking so clearly into a situation that can feel so confusing. I especially appreciated this reminder: “The idea that you should be willing to talk anybody about what you believe and why you believe it is embedded deep in my soul. But the whole reason you have conversations like that is so that you stand up for those who aren’t in the room.”
I realize that reminder looks pretty obvious when you see it written out like that, but I for one needed it!
Oh I needed it too, for sure!
Wow, I have to verify my email, 👍. Works for me.
I need help, please. Can folks provide me with summaries/analyses of the various trans issues? I'm not asking you to explain things to me but to point me in the direction to understand some of the basic facts better- for example, how many trans children are there in the US, how many trans athletes participate in sports? Where and how do people get gender affirming health care? When do people get this care? I know bits and pieces, and socially, I have a casual acquaintance with people with trans relatives and was part of a larger community in the past with a trans woman. I'm a retired anthropologist who knows about Two Spirits. I have taught students for years about blended genders. However, I am overwhelmed by the onslaught of misinformation and would appreciate a few grounding articles/papers. I trust that people in this community will understand that I need to get grounded here. Thanks for any help.
Love the request and would welcome others to jump in as well. Here's a few places I'd start:
1. I think that the Human Rights Campaign's explainer on trans participation in sports is really helpful:https://www.hrc.org/resources/get-the-facts-about-transgender-non-binary-athletes
2. As for gender affirming care, this from the American Association of Medical Colleges provides a really good overview https://www.aamc.org/news/what-gender-affirming-care-your-questions-answered
3. On a daily/weekly basis, my go to for news about current policy based threats to the trans community (along with occasional debunking of anti-trans propaganda) is Erin In the Morning, the newsletter from Erin Reed https://www.erininthemorning.com/
Thanks so much, Garrett. Very much appreciated
Mad respect for asking. As the mom of a trans kid, thank you.
For basics about trans identity/trans youth, The Trevor Project offers a great explainer:
https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/guide/a-guide-to-being-an-ally-to-transgender-and-nonbinary-youth/
I can say that where people get gender-affirming care depends on whether they're adults or minors, and whether or not there are individual practitioners that are versed in trans care near where they live or if they have to seek out (usually at some distance) a clinic that specializes in gender-affirming care. In my son's case, he started hormones when he was 17 but there's no one in our county who offers gender-affirming care for minors, so we had to travel over an hour to a bigger city north of here to see a pediatric endocrinologist who specializes in gender care. When he chose to have top surgery later, we had to travel a couple of hours east (2 1/2, maybe?) to get to a qualified surgeon who was affiliated with a gender clinic in the middle of the state.
There aren't a plethora of additional female-to-male medical transition steps to pursue. If he'd been identified male at birth and was transitioning to a female presentation, there would be potentially more types of surgeries to consider but the issue of likely having to travel for qualified and supportive practitioners would hold in that case, I think.
Thanks so much. I was nervous about asking but trusted this community.
Thanks so much for being vulnerable and trusting this community!
Love this description of the “throwing others under the bus” movement. So well described.
Thank you!
Haha, Dan Savage is the type of guest Gavin Newsom is trying to dis-associate himself with by bringing Michael Savage on his podcast!
Oh shoot I was super worried about making that typo and I still did! Thanks for catching and fixing it now.
One vote for you to leave this typo, because it gave me a jolt of momentary joy to contemplate a world in which Gavin Newsom's inaugural podcast guest is Dan Savage :)
A very different podcast!
I was so confused for a moment! Now, I am back to regular-confused -- by the complete lack of humanity shown by these men, and their insatiable need to hear their own voices broadcast aloud in a podcast absolutely no one is asking for.
I'll be one at the back of this bus, cracking jokes, digging out whatever extra snacks I can find in my backpack. There's a seat right here. Let's ride.
Would ride on the bus with you any day.
Thanks for this analysis! I’m a new reader here and really appreciating your posts. I was wondering if one day could you do a post with your other daily go tos? Thanks for the optimism, hope and concrete acts you share!
Ooh that's an interesting idea. What do you mean by daily go tos?
Excellent post, Garrett. I’ve commented before about my frustrations with the Democratic Party. To catch people up: They. Are. Legion.
Anyway, I heard a great interview with Bernie where he said, paraphrasing: The democrats are gonna do what they do. I’m an Independent out here fighting for working people and democracy. That’s what I do.
See, now I’m thinking about Bernie and 2016 and the party putting their thumb on the scale in the primaries and I’m getting all worked up again. I’m gonna go find a Steve Kerr podcast…
Right?!?
That's right. He 100% knows what he's doing and he knows the difference between a good faith, wonky conversation with advocates at the table and accepting the other side's framing! I can totally understand how frustrating it might be as a Californian to see your Governor protecting his own political career instead of your state.
Fellow Californian here. Imagine being so famous and powerful that you can basically have ANYONE IN THE WORLD on your podcast, and you pick these guys. (For fun, I asked my husband—the rare white guy without his own podcast—who his dream guest would be if he were the governor, and he said Steve Kerr. I'll bet Steve would have lots of interesting things to say about the current political situation!)
At least this will give us something to work towards in 2026. Let's elect a governor who has no interest in hanging out with the likes of Steve Bannon.
I don't know your husband but would 100% listen to his podcast with Stever Kerr!!