I made a mistake, read what I shouldn’t, now can not stop thinking about it.

**** Trigger warning, talk of abuse with a few graphic details. ****

I had stopped going to the male survivor site as it was causing me to spiral badly into the bad places in my head, triggering my negative emotions, getting seriously depressed and spending hours stuck in my memories, crying, then having horrible nightmares as I tried to sleep.   

Look even without going to the site I still scream out in my sleep.  It is agonizing because in my dreams I am struggling to verbalize the words, get them out and it feels like my mouth is locked shut, sort of my like my lips are sewn together.  In my nightmares I can speak and scream normally until it gets so intense it seems I struggle to get the sounds out and they become much more guttural.  That seems to be when I am getting audible in the awake world.  When it seems I am able to unlock my jaws or rip my lips open is when I am in reality shouting out in my sleep.  Ron had to wake me just two days ago when I was shouting help help help.  I spared him the description of the abuse even though he is always willing for me to tell him the memories or nightmares because he knows it is very helpful for me to talk about it or get it out.   Especially when it has just happened.  

Anyway back to this morning.  So a new friend who is a survivor who has been on the Male Survivor site much more than I have been and posts there often about everything going on in his life, like I do here, this person has been saying to me that they wrote about their holidays so could I go to their posts to see what had been going on with them.  I went to the MS site, I started reading new posts before I got to his posts.  And I never made it to Steve’s posts.  

The post was about being anally raped and the person leaving their cum inside you that you try to prevent leaking out.  The post and the people replying / joining the conversation all also wrote about their underwear being stained with poop and cum or in some cases blood.  The conversation was about trying to get rid of or wash the evidence out before it was discovered by a mother or other who cared for them and they did not want to find out they were being abused. 

I did not have this problem.  My abuse was much more open and known in the house so I did not have to hide it or wash my sheets after.  I did get in trouble if I wore my white underwear after without cleaning myself up which would leave stains / marks in the white underwear.  So those if I saw that I would wash them myself soon as I could like the people in the conversation said they did.  When the wet underwear was discovered after a few times of me doing that, I was caught in the act cleaning them.  I was yelled at for it, told I was so stupid then pulled to the kitchen in front of everyone while naked, while my adoptive mother “taught me how to wipe my bottom and clean myself” after being raped.  I was told to rather than lay in the bed or put my underwear on, that as soon as the person was finished with me and they did not want to use me anymore I should go empty myself.  Then wipe / wash my bottom.  I then had to repeat and show I knew how to do this in front of the laughing hell spawn.  All that taught me was to wash and dry them before I put them in the laundry basket. 

So this brings me to what I can not get out of my head this morning.  Before I got side tracked by my memories and started the downward spiral, I was busy reading news articles, adding to my posting of crazy stuff that the right was doing, and gathering memes of Sunday’s meme post.  Then it all came to a halt and I started to crash.  Writing this out is helping.  So what about the above triggered me?

See I could hold it in, the fluids inside me normally while laying in the bed, or in the short timeframe from when it was over until I could get to the bathroom or if outside until I could dump / empty my bowels, but that left nothing to wipe with so I would have to carry my underwear until I could do so hoping not to soil my pants.  But there was one place and time I couldn’t do any of that.  It was when raped and abused at school.  

Please stay with me and try to understand the feelings / thinking of a small kid as I try to describe this without being too graphic.  It started at school when I was 7 and continued but tapered off as I became a teenager. So imagine being 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12 and being taken to a supply closet, empty room, or after school hours to the principal’s office.  Once there told to drop my pants.  Being fondled and touched.  Then ordered to my knees to give oral sex to a male.  So far none of that deals with what I wrote about above, soiling myself.  But that comes from when instead of being told to kneel, I was instead told to turn around and stand on something, or picked up and draped over something, (more than once being forced to lay over the copy machine as it dug into my chest / belly while my ass was used to make the male staff / teachers happy) when I was very small I would be made to take my pants off then placed on my back on a shelf with my legs pined up as my back was bent to position my butt hole correctly for their use. 

Ok I tried to put if off as long as I could.  This is the part I was trying to get to and that the conversation on the site was about.  After being used, trusted into sometimes with lube and sometimes without, filled with those fluids and possible messiness, my bottom full of the ejaculate of the guy who just … fucked me, I would be told to get dressed and go back to class.  Of course the person who used me wanted to make the time I was away from class as short as possible if I was taken from class for the abuse.  So if I had been summoned or escorted from the classroom, I would be told to get dressed quickly and return to class.  I knew better than to tell.  If it had been painful and hurtful, I would be told to stop crying and wipe my face on my shirt.     

 So this gets back to the stained underwear.  I would have to put my underwear on, no choice, and go back to class not knowing if I was messy or not.  I would only know my butt hurt, maybe my belly, back, or legs would also hurt.  I would have to enter the classroom trying to not show anything wrong, feeling like everyone in the room was looking at me knowing what had just happened, what I had just done.  Again if it was oral all I struggled with was the taste in my mouth.  But if it had been anal specially if it had been forceful, in a bad position for me, or if no lube had been used, then my butt / asshole would be very sore and full of fluids.  I would be forced to try to sit still, and desperately pinch my butt cheeks together as painful as that was or let the liquids mixed with poop ooze out creating both smell and stains.  Most teachers soon understood and did not scold me for not paying attention or being not being still in my seat.   It was the same as when I had been given a belting, spanking, or bad paddling before school, they seem to understand the pain I was in that my clothing / pants covered. 

As soon as I could or when the teacher would quietly whisper in my ear asking if I needed to use the bathroom, I would leave the classroom walk carefully to the bathroom where I would rush into a toilet stall.  I would also check my underwear as best I could.  I would do the same as I walked or rode my bike home.  I lived about a mile and half from the school.  It was so much better in the warm months trying to do it in when bundled up for the cold was horrible.  Because in warm months I could run in to the woods or somewhere not able to be easily seen, strip off my lower clothing and then remove my underwear, and redress.   Then I could take the underwear to a brook like the one we had behind our home, wash the underwear, hang it in the sun to dry off something where I should be able to retrieve it later.  Stories of what happened the few times I was caught doing this another time.  

Many abuse victims just threw their soiled clothing out.  I couldn’t do that.   Punishment for losing my clothing was as severe as for soiling them.  

So that was what has destroyed my emotions and focus for the last 7 hours.  Taking the time to write this has helped me calm down and recenter.  But the remembered pain of being so small, the over whelming emotion of feeling that everyone knew when I entered the classroom, and the fear that it was leaking into my underwear knowing that I would be publicly punish and possibly also privately punish if they were stained.  Maybe most parents finding semen, blood, or poop stains all over the back of their child’s underwear would cause them to question what happened or rush to defend / help their son.  Not mine, if they felt anything at all maybe they were happy it was happening to me.  Maybe it relieved their own guilt knowing others did the same to me.  I don’t know. 

Just more from my childhood I have to deal with.  Anyway, no more meme hunting today, nor news about the stuff the right is doing.  Today I am going to answer comments and concentrate on the love and out pouring of support I get from this community.  Oh and tomorrow I have a doctor’s appointment.   Hugs.

Writer’s Block, plus More (Comics)

Broom Hilda by Russell Myers for January 09, 2025

Broom Hilda Comic Strip for January 09, 2025

https://www.gocomics.com/broomhilda/2025/01/09

Calvin and Hobbes by Bill Watterson for January 09, 2025

Calvin and Hobbes Comic Strip for January 09, 2025

https://www.gocomics.com/calvinandhobbes/2025/01/09 (seems as if an entire Calvin snowpeople post is possible!)

C’est la Vie by Jennifer Babcock for January 08, 2025

C'est la Vie Comic Strip for January 08, 2025

https://www.gocomics.com/cestlavie/2025/01/08


Close to Home by John McPherson for January 09, 2025

Close to Home Comic Strip for January 09, 2025

https://www.gocomics.com/closetohome/2025/01/09

Dark Side of the Horse by Samson for January 09, 2025

Dark Side of the Horse Comic Strip for January 09, 2025

https://www.gocomics.com/darksideofthehorse/2025/01/09


Frazz by Jef Mallett for January 09, 2025

Frazz Comic Strip for January 09, 2025

https://www.gocomics.com/frazz/2025/01/09


Free Range by Bill Whitehead for January 09, 2025

Free Range Comic Strip for January 09, 2025

https://www.gocomics.com/freerange/2025/01/09

More on the GoComics page, or wherever you read comics. A person needs their daily comics!

Peace & Justice History for 1/9

January 9, 1964
Anti-U.S. rioting broke out in the Panama Canal Zone, resulting in the deaths of 21 Panamanians and three U.S. soldiers. The immediate issue was whether both the U.S. and Panamanian flags would fly at Canal Zone facilities, as ordered by President John F. Kennedy. 
James Jenkins, a 17-year-old senior at Balboa High School in the Canal Zone:
“I guess you could say I’m the guy that started this whole thing. I’m sort of the ringleader. I circulated the petition to keep our flag flying. Then me and the others raised the flag. The school authorities left it up because they knew we’d walk out.”
On the third day, demonstrating Panamanian students entered the school grounds and sang their national anthem, but the Balboa students blocked them from raising their flag. there was a scuffle — and the Panamanians retreated in outrage, claiming that their flag had been ripped by the Zonians.
January 9, 1967
Julian Bond, elected more than a year before, was finally sworn in as a member of the Georgia House of Representatives.The legislature had refused to allow him to take his seat because of his opposition to the Vietnam War and specifically his endorsement of a Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) statement accusing the United States of violating international law in Vietnam. Bond had been the director of SNCC.
Following his election in 1965, the Georgia House refused to seat him. He was re-elected to his “vacant seat” and the House refused again. He was then elected to the same office for a third time. But not until the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in his favor was the legislature forced to relent.


Julian Bond in 1966 waiting to be seated in the General Assembly
January 9, 1987
The White House released the presidential finding – signed by President Ronald Reagan on January 17, 1986 – which authorized the sale of arms to Iran (to encourage the release of hostages) and ordered the CIA not to tell Congress. This was done retroactively after several shipments, including 18 HAWK (Homing-All-the-Way-Killer) surface-to-air missiles, had already been transferred to the Iranians, then at war with Saddam Hussein’s Iraq.
Read the actual document authorizing the arms sales 
More 
Outline, key players and selected Iran-Contra documents from the National Security Archive 
January 9, 1991

 Sam Day
The day after the start of the U.S. bombing of Iraq, ten peace activists were arrested at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, for handing out written warnings to military reservists about participation in war crimes. Long-time peace activist Sam Day was sentenced to four months for his participation.
Remembering Sam Day

https://www.peacebuttons.info/E-News/peacehistoryjanuary.htm#january9

Yesterday’s asshat news headlines.

Hi Everyone.  I woke at 12:22 last night.  But I got up at 1 am and started making posts and doing things.   So I just finished the asshat yesterday news posts.  So now before I answer the comments … and I love comments everyone sends to me, I have to make a red sauce.   Ron promised to make me a grand lasagna if I make the sauce.   So with ear buds in, off I go to make the sauce.   Hugs and loves to everyone.  Remember that I really care for everyone.  Add any questions or comments in the comments and I will reply there.   Hugs.  


JoeMyGod
Moda day ago

Two months ago Fat Hitler vowed to imprison Zuckerberg.

This is the result.

If you criticize the dear leader of the maga cult then you are forever an enemy.  Death to the nonbelievers.   This is why the current republicans and maga is very much a cult.  Hugs. 

This is great.  The tRump world crowed about this citizen of Greenland who praised tRump’s plan to take over Greenland.  Yet the truth did come out … He was a tRump  loving fanboy violent felon drug dealer prison escapee.   Hugs.

So About Meta

Personally, I don’t think it’s surrender on the part of Meta, nor any of the other media moguls. It’s all of one piece-they’re all in it together with the new 47th president. I’ve read this from others, too, both last night and this morning. We the people are not part of the club. Anyway, here is this.

Meta surrenders to the right on speech

“I really think this a precursor for genocide,” a former employee tells Platformer

Casey Newton

Jan 7, 2025 — 12 min read

Snippet:

I. The past

Donald Trump’s surprising victory in the 2016 US presidential election sparked a backlash against tech platforms in general and against Meta in particular. The company then known as Facebook was battered by revelations that its network dramatically amplified the reach of false stories about Trump and his opponent, Hillary Clinton, and was used as part of a successful effort by Russia to sow division in US politics and tilt the election in favor of Trump.

Chastened by the criticism, Meta set out to shore up its defenses. It hired 40,000 content moderators around the world, invested heavily in building new technology to analyze content for potential harms and flag it for review, and became the world’s leading funder of third-party fact-checking organizations. It spent $280 million to create an independent Oversight Board to adjudicate the most difficult questions about online speech. It disrupted dozens of networks of state-sponsored trolls who sought to use Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp to spread propaganda and attack dissenters.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg had expected that these moves would generate goodwill for the company, particularly among the Democrats who would retake power after Trump lost in 2020. Instead, he found that disdain for the company remained strongly bipartisan. Republicans scorned him for policies that disproportionately punished the right, who post more misinformation and hate speech than the left does. Democrats blamed him for the country’s increasingly polarized politics and decaying democracy. And all sides pilloried him for the harms that his apps cause in children — an issue that 42 state attorneys general are now suing him over.

Last summer, the threats against Zuckerberg turned newly personal. In 2020, Zuckerberg and his wife had donated $419.5 million to fund nonpartisan election infrastructure projects. (Another effort that had seemingly generated no goodwill for him or Meta whatsoever.) All that the money had done was to help people vote safely during the pandemic. But Republicans twisted Zuckerberg’s donation into a scandal; Trump — who lost the election handily but insisted it had been stolen from him — accused Zuckerberg of plotting against him. 

“We are watching him closely,” Trump wrote in a coffee-table book published ahead of the 2024 election, “and if he does anything illegal this time he will spend the rest of his life in prison.”

By the end of 2024, Zuckerberg had given up on finding any middle path through the polarized and opposite criticisms leveled against him by Republicans and Democrats. His rival Elon Musk had spent the past year showing how Republican party support can be bought — cheaply. 

In business and in life, Zuckerberg’s motivation has only ever been to win. And a doddering, transactional Trump presented Meta with a rare opportunity for a fresh start.

All they would have to do is whatever Trump wanted them to do.

II. The announcements

On Tuesday, Meta announced the most significant changes to its content moderation policies since the aftermath of the 2016 election. The changes include:

  • Ending its fact-checking program, which funds third-party organizations to check the claims in viral Facebook and Instagram posts and downrank them when they are found to contain falsehoods. It will be replaced with a clone of Community Notes, X’s volunteer fact-checking program.
  • Eliminating restrictions on some forms of speech previously considered harmful, including some criticisms of immigrants, women, and transgender people.
  • Re-calibrating automated content moderation systems to prioritize only high-severity violations of content policy, such as those involving drugs and terrorism, and reviewing lower-severity violations only when reported by users. (This sounds boring but might be the most important change of all, as we’ll get to)
  • Re-introducing discussion of current events, which the company calls “civic content,” into Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.
  • Moving content moderation teams from California to Texas to fight the perception that Meta’s moderation reflects a liberal Californian bias. (Never mind that the company has always had content moderation teams based in Texas, or that it was Zuckerberg and not the moderators who set the company’s policies.)

Zuckerberg announced these changes in an Instagram Reel; Joel Kaplan, a Republican operative and longtime Meta executive who last week replaced Nick Clegg as the company’s president of public policy, discussed the changes in an appearance on “Fox and Friends.” (See transcripts of both here.)

One way to understand these changes is as a marketing exercise, intended to convey a sense of profound change to an audience of one. In this, Meta appears to have succeeded; Trump today called the company’s changes “excellent” and said that the company has “come a long way.” (“Mr. Trump also said Meta’s change was ‘probably’ a result of the threats he had made against the company and Mr. Zuckerberg,” dryly noted the Times’ Mike Isaac and Theodore Schleifer.)

Whether this will be enough to get Trump to end the current antitrust prosecution against Meta, or otherwise advocate for the company in regulatory affairs, remains to be seen. By the cynical calculus of the company’s communications and policy teams, though, one assumes that Trump’s comments inspired a round of high-fives in the company’s Washington, DC offices.

But these changes are likely to substantially increase the amount of harmful speech on Meta’s platforms, according to 10 current and former employees who spoke to Platformer on Tuesday.

Start with the end of Meta’s fact-checking partnerships, which perhaps generated the most headlines of the company’s changes on Tuesday. While the company has been gradually lowering its investment in fact-checking for a couple years now, Meta’s abandonment of the project will have real effects: on the fact-checking organizations for whom Meta was a primary source of revenue, but also in the Facebook and Instagram feeds of which Meta is an increasingly begrudging steward. (snip-MORE. Go read; he left Substack because of the nazis, and made Platformer to get his writing to people. It’s free to read, and you don’t have to subscribe, either.)

Instagram blocked teens from searching LGBTQ-related content for months

Posts with LGBTQ+ hashtags were hidden under Meta’s “sensitive content” policy which restricts “sexually suggestive content”

 
 

For months, Meta has been restricting content with LGBTQ-related hashtags from search and discovery under its “sensitive content” policy aimed at restricting “sexually suggestive content.”

Posts with LGBTQ+ hashtags including #lesbian, #bisexual, #gay, #trans, #queer, #nonbinary, #pansexial, #transwomen, #Tgirl, #Tboy, #Tgirlsarebeautiful, #bisexualpride, #lesbianpride, and dozens of others were hidden for any users who had their sensitive content filter turned on. Teenagers have the sensitive content filter turned on by default.

When teen users attempted to search LGBTQ terms they were shown a blank page and a prompt from Meta to review the platform’s “sensitive content” restrictions, which discuss why the app hides “sexually explicit” content.

Meta reversed the restrictions on LGBTQ search terms after User Mag reached out for comment, saying that it was in error. “These search terms and hashtags were mistakenly restricted,” a Meta spokesperson said. “It’s important to us that all communities feel safe and welcome on Meta apps, and we do not consider LGBTQ+ terms to be sensitive under our policies.”

User Mag is a 100% reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, become a free or paid subscriber.

Under mounting pressure from lawmakers and amidst a moral panic about young people’s social media use, last year, Meta introduced a new set of “sensitive content” restrictions across Instagram, Facebook, and Threads, aimed at teenagers. “We will start to hide more types of content for teens on Instagram and Facebook,” the company said at the time.

In September, Meta doubled down, forcing users under the age of 18 to use “Instagram Teen Accounts,” a setting which could only be reversed by a parent or guardian. The goal of this change, in Meta’s words, was to “limit … the content [teenagers] see, and help ensure their time is well spent.”

These changes quickly resulted in LGBTQ+ content getting restricted across Meta apps. Meanwhile, heterosexual content, tradwife content, and content featuring straight cisgender couples (even those engaged in romantic activities) has flourished.

“Meta categorizing LGBTQ hashtags as ‘sensitive content’ is an alarming example of censorship that should concern everyone,” said Leanna Garfield, social media safety program manager at GLAAD.

Some LGBTQ teenagers and content creators attempted to sound the alarm about the issue, but their posts failed to get traction. For years, LGBTQ creators on Instagram have suffered shadow bans and had their content labeled as “non-recommendable.” The restrictions on searches, however, are more recent, coming into effect in the past few months. Meta said it was investigating to find out when the error began.

“A responsible and inclusive company would not build an algorithm that classifies some LGBTQ hashtags as ‘sensitive content,’ hiding helpful and age-appropriate content from young people by default,” a spokesperson for GLAAD said. “Regardless of if this was an unintended error, Meta should… test significant product updates before launch.”

Several LGBQT teenagers I spoke to said that they weren’t even aware of the sensitive content restrictions, but said that they struggled to find other LGBTQ young people to connect with through Instagram.

“For many LGBTQ people, especially youth, platforms like Instagram are crucial for self-discovery, community building, and accessing supportive information,” Garfield said. “By limiting access to LGBTQ content, Instagram may be inadvertently contributing to the isolation and marginalization of LGBTQ users.”

The downranking and hiding of LGBTQ+ content comes as LGBTQ rights across the country are under attack.

On December 4th, the Supreme Court heard a major case on banning healthcare for trans youth. Trump has pledged to roll back protections for LGBTQ students, and right wing groups like the Heritage Foundation are working together with Democrats to dismantle civil liberties and restrict young people from accessing social media under dangerous proposed legislation such as the very poorly named Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA).

KOSA co-sponsor Rep. Marsha Blackburn claimed that it’s essential to restrict teens access to social media to “protect minor children from the transgender [sic] in this culture and that influence.”

One of the most prominent voices pushing legislation like KOSA and boosting policies like Meta’s sensitive content restrictions is NYU Stern School of Business professor Jonathan Haidt, whose dubious bookThe Anxious Generation falsely ties social media use to teen mental health issues in order to push a moral panic about kids and technology use. This moral panic is then used to justify harmful laws that restrict speech and civil liberties online, and do immense harm to marginalized LGBTQ youth.

In an interview he did with PBS, Haidt boosted a false fringe conspiracy about trans youth known as social contagion or “rapid onset gender dysphoria” theory. Basically: Instagram is turning your kids gay and trans. In December, Barack Obama recommended the book at the top of his annual reading list.

“Meta categorizing LGBTQ hashtags as ‘sensitive content’ is an alarming example of censorship that should concern everyone”

Mark Zuckerberg recently dined at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida and is seeking an “active role” in Trump tech policy as the two are “now warming to each other,” according to The Guardian.

The increased censorship of LGBTQ content online is already having devastating effects on young people. For queer teens who rely on social media to connect with their peers and find support, these policies are cutting off vital access to community and representation.

“Meta should not only stop suppressing LGBTQ content in this way, it should also clarify how and why [this error occurred],” said Garfield.

User Mag is a 100% reader-supported publication. To support my work, become a free or paid subscriber. I could not do this work without your support.

Why Are Conservatives So Obsessed With Trans Kids?

Trans Kids Are On The Chopping Block

The thing I like about the video is that she points out how the state claims it must do this to protect kids from the dangerous drugs yet allows their use for straight cis children just not for trans children.  The law states it is about making kids accept their birth assigned gender and keeping them from transitioning.   

They tried these laws with kids who were gay decades ago and some still fight for it.  Force gay kids to accept a heterosexual orientation through conversion methods and then outlaw being homosexual along with erasing anything homosexual from society.  It did not work.   The courts vigorously defended and backed up gay people’s rights to exist as themselves and have full equality of societies benefits as straight people do.  

Sadly we have much different courts now stacked with bigots and racists by bigots and racist who will push and promote the bigotry.  But in the law itself they wrote the bigotry out loud, clear, and easy to see.  The republican lawmakers are making it plain this is about erasing trans kids and that will make erasing trans adults much easier.   I wonder if they will succeed, but I am worried.   The video is well worth the watch.  If you do not wish to watch the video but prefer to read the transcript she provides a link to it in the description box.  Many of the podcasters now do.  Hugs

Some trans short news videos.

President-elect Donald Trump repeatedly pledged to roll back rights for transgender people during his campaign. Kate Sosin, LGBTQ+ reporter for The 19th, joins “America Decides” to discuss how those Americans are preparing for the incoming Trump administration.

Three transgender youths and their families from Arizona traveled across the country to ensure their voices were heard on the steps of the Supreme Court as justices heard oral arguments for the most important transgender rights case the court has ever reviewed — one that could have significant consequences on the future of lifesaving gender-affirming care for youth in the country. About a third of the teenagers in the United States who identify as transgender live in states that have limited access to puberty-blocking medication and hormone therapies. In an election cycle that saw Republicans spend at least $215 million on attack ads about transgender rights, these families share their fears, hopes, and determination to fight for their right to exist. Lucy Kafanov explores the emotional toll of anti-trans legislation, the fight for bodily autonomy, and what it means for trans youth to lose access to life-saving care.

Ben Shapiro vs Neil deGrasse Tyson: The WAR Over Transgender Issues

Ok I know I posted a clip of this from a different channel but this one gives more of Neil deGrasse Tyson’s full answer with a calmer host who did not chop it up.   I like this version better because you can see how forceful and direct Tyson is being and that he is clearly amused by the trans hater who think someone’s gender expression is their business.  It also shows Shapiro’s growing apprehension as he realizes that Tyson doesn’t agree with him.  He clearly thought incorrectly that Tyson would echo his own bigoted opinion.  He gets flustered because at the point he normally bullies someone and talks over them, Tyson doesn’t let him do it.  This is a beautiful short well crafted answer to any transphobe.   Hugs

Join renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and political commentator Ben Shapiro in a thought-provoking debate exploring one of today’s most complex and polarizing topics: transgender identity and rights.

In this intellectual face-off, Tyson brings his scientific expertise and philosophical perspective, emphasizing individual identity, societal progress, and inclusivity. Meanwhile, Shapiro approaches the topic from a traditionalist and legalistic angle, focusing on biological realities, societal norms, and policy implications.

The discussion between Ben Shaprio and Neil deGrasse Tyson dives deep into the intersections of science, culture, and ethics, tackling questions about gender identity, biological sex, free speech, and the role of government in regulating such matters. As always, both figures present their arguments with their characteristic wit and rigor, challenging viewers to think critically about the nuanced dimensions of the topic.

Whether you’re here to learn, debate, or deepen your understanding of the issues, this conversation promises to spark reflection and dialogue. Don’t forget to share your thoughts in the comments below—respectful discussion is encouraged! 

Conservative Boycott of Small LGBTQ Business Backfires BADLY

A small conservative group in Lancaster, Ohio targeted local businesses and institutions that were LGBTQ+ friendly in response to an annual family-friendly pride event that held an outdoor drag show. When the group failed to get the city to penalize drag performers—and ban drag altogether—they then circulated a boycott list. Local business owners, however, were not harmed by the boycott. In fact, they saw a major influx in traffic after people drove from out of town to support the businesses after seeing them on the anti-LGBTQ+ boycott list.