Everyone who keeps saying, "get your passport NOW" is someone I know isn't thinking about poor and/or disabled people.
Who the fuck do you think is gonna take us, huh? How do you think we'll even afford to get to a border?
While people plan to colonize other countries while escaping, some of us will be stuck here to deal with these problems and could use your support instead of your cowardice.
Since I've learned some folks don't quite get why I'm a bit peeved at the running away with a passport plan some folks have...
Survival is important and I don't want to see my trans siblings die in any capacity. But why hasn't a SINGLE one of you thought about rallying leftists to force countries to issue visas for poor and disabled people? Will you simply run away and breath a sigh of relief that it's at least not you being slaughtered?
If people's responses are similar to those they've had regarding covid, I know that will be the case. I know that people are being forced out onto boats and have been drowned THIS FUCKING YEAR trying to become refugees and it was SILENCE from most of y'all.
So hey, if you can actually get a visa and get away? Do it. Survive. Just prove me wrong and actually fight for those of us who cannot while you still can. Remember, "First They Came" doesn't mention the disabled people OR the queer people they came for first. Be better.
@literalgrill Canada does not let disabled people in, for one thing.
@rolandelli EXACTLY. A lot of folks who have been taking zero covid precautions are gonna be VERY surprised to learn they can't hide being disabled when they try too.
@literalgrill@sakurajima.moe If it makes you feel any better, the vast majority of people insisting you should get a passport now do not realize how incredibly difficult and expensive it is to emigrate to another country, anyway. It can take years of work even for somebody who is not disabled and perfectly middle-class. It's just something they say to make themselves feel like they have some amount of control over their lives under a fascist regime.
@minneyar Oh I absolutely do know! I wish they'd focus on something that might actually aid in all of our survival though.
I think folks expect countries will suddenly open up to take refugees out of the goodness of their hearts or something? So you better have that passport to go there! It's going to be a hell of a rude awakening.
@literalgrill Fuck running away. We need to lean on each other harder than ever now.
@silver_huskey Agreed. If everyone actually linked arms and fought instead of just ran away at the first sight of trouble, we can pull through this shit.
@literalgrill Also, it's a very American Thoight Process that we can just hop countries and that these places will take us in, without any vetting/no questions asked/no restrictions. Cognitive dissonance re: the US immigration system and how we treat immigrants (documented or not). What makes those people think they would be able to immigrate elsewhere and have it easy?
These are the same people that are quick to give the advice of "Why don't you just...." without any real thoight of the factors involved. Thier ableism is definitely showing
@literalgrill as a trans person, I am making that recommendation especially for other trans people as I am expecting that process to become quite a bit more complicated soon. Without a passport, leaving the country (or even travel in some states) becomes considerably more difficult. It's about keeping options open, not necessarily to flee and immigrate elsewhere.
@mawr Suggesting it for having an alternate ID is a solid thought. I wish folks putting the info out there would directly say that. It'd feel far less dismissive in that case.
Thank you!!
They also aren't thinking about age limits which, guess what?--Most of the countries they want to move to absolutely have, unless you're wealthy enough to buy your way in.
Oh, and you don't have to currently have a disability to be shut out. If you've ever had one, well, lots of countries consider those to be preexisting conditions that signal your potential to be a drain on all their sweet, sweet socialized medicine.
But I learned during the pandemic that it's okay to let old folks die if/when they get sick, so I guess that's cool, too.
@literalgrill I agree with this, but also have suggested folks get passports for basically two reasons:
1) In 2016 trans passports were quietly blocked, and so these next two months are the best time to try and get one before things happen
2) Real ID laws already mean you need a passport level ID to fly, even within a state & I think it's unlikely that won't creep into uncomfortable parts of our daily lives
My gut feeling is having a passport/real ID is going to be really important for just daily safety and also something denied to trans people who don't already have them starting 2~3 months from now
@literalgrill@sakurajima.moe yes. thank you for saying this.
@literalgrill@sakurajima.moe I'd be leaving if I could. It's not worth it to stay here. I don't blame anyone in the slightest for getting out of this hopeless dying empire. Anyone who has the means to get out should take it. It does feel like we're being overlooked in the messaging you've described though, which hurts. I can't even afford a passport. It would be nice if more people extended some ideas and support for people like us getting out. But if it comes down to it, I'd much rather the people who can make it out get out and live their best lives for us rather than die with us.
@BluesDriveAmelia I do understand those feelings. I suppose I'm of the thought that maybe if loads of folks didn't run away, we'd have a big enough coalition to put up a fight so less of us were lost.
@literalgrill aside from Italy and America, the western world has rejected far-right politics in recent elections. There is a very vocal minority with money behind them making a lot of noise, but I choose to believe that human compassion will cut through the bullshit.
Let's see how Tr@mp's mass deportation plans go when families are publicly being ripped apart.
@literalgrill I think the "get your passport" thing is more of a "you might not be able to soon, so if you do find a way to use it in the next four years, it's best to have it beforehand"
@literalgrill On the other hand, for some people the passport would be the most reliable proof of citizenship, so it's more about being able to stay than being able to leave.
@literalgrill 100% sure those people also don’t understand how immigration works
@literalgrill@sakurajima.moe thank you so much again for speaking up about this
i've discussed grappling with this
i've had a lot of folks guilt me for abandoning everyone
but it always stands out to me that at the end of the day, those who try and guilt me for it
aren't other trans folks for the most part
other trans folks know i'm fucking exhausted and need to take advantage of what i fucking have lucked into so i can keep fighting
because i've been screaming my entire fucking life and no one's been listening and it's the same fuckers who weren't listening who now try to fucking guilt trip me
because the reality is you don't survive this long while trans and come away with the ability to stop fighting no matter where you are
@deilann That's the biggest part of things, I think too many people want the luck part without the still fighting after. It's exhausting beyond all belief, but we all gotta keep fighting.
You'll keep up the fight and do it well, I'm quite sure of it.
i can see maybe a chance to breathe for a moment but that's always been a respite nothing more before the next fight
there's always been a fight my entire fucking adult life
also like i'm planning to travel south and central america not go to europe partially because i need to see what others are going through, what the realities of the world are and ngl experience much of the world before climate change wrecks it further
@literalgrill there's a reason so much theory was written while traveling on a motorcycle