Dear (People?) of the Future:

04/28/2023

Hey future people. It’s been a minute. (I am writing this around midnight on Thursday, April 27th into Friday, April 28th, 2023.)

I mean not for you if you’re reading this archive from the distant future of 2024 or 2180. You probably just read the last post a moment ago. But for me and the folks who are subscribed to this email in 2023 it’s been 7 months since the last time I wrote.

A lot has happened since last September of last year. I turned 45, my neighbors broke into my garage, which was a straw that led to them get raided for selling (and doing) tons of meth, and various life things that were generally heavier or more personal than I felt like sharing with the audience of people reading this in my time.

(Aside: if you subscribed to this email and don’t remember why, hi hello I’m the Poe Fortnightly guy this is me writing letters to the future. Stick around or don’t.)

But I live in Missouri in 2023 and I have trans friends who I love dearly and I have this small platform so I have to at least write something.

If NPR still exists in your future, this is a good article of the current bullshit being forced on people in my state. The important bit not in that story is yesterday a judge delayed the new rules from going into effect today, and will have a final ruling on Monday. And I’m sure even if it goes through there will be lawsuits and maybe eventually it will get reversed.

But this is some bullshit. The new rules for transgender adults to receive medical care are effectively impossible. Their options are “jump through hoops for years and also don’t be autistic and maybe you’ll be approved”, “don’t medically transition”, or “leave fucking Missouri”.

I am sad and angry and not surprised.

If you’re looking back at the early 21st century wondering what the hell is going on, “Trans people should stop existing” is the hot new wedge issue to fire up the conservative base and peel away centrists from the Democrats. “Gay people should stop existing” is pretty unpopular anymore, and “no one should ever have an abortion” did great at the Supreme Court but is costing them elections.

But trans folks are rare and they’re weird and scary and have been the butt of jokes forever but especially in the decades up until just a few years ago. They’re also in a lot of danger exactly because they’re shit on by society so much.

I don’t expect this post to find it’s way to MO Attorney General Andrew Bailey and for him to go “Oh wait, I’m an evil asshole who is causing pain and misery to real people solely to score cheap political points so the worst assholes in Missouri will vote for me as I further my political career!”

Transgender people have always existed and always will exist. Just like left handed people. (Unless you’re reading this from a future where Eugenofascists have eradicated both, in which case good luck with that bloody resistance.)

Every trans person I know is just a person who wants to live their life. Everything we as a society do to say “no you’re sinful/insane/evil/dangerous” causes untold damage to folks who are just folks. Folks are who are in no way sinful, insane, evil, or dangerous. (No more so than everyone else.)

Just let people live and exist.

I get that a whole lot of modern gender and sexuality is confusing and scary to a lot of people. I wasn’t always perfect, there was definitely a time in my life where if saw a gender ambiguous person I would get really mentally hung up on trying to figure out if they were a man or woman or other(?).

And so I understand for folks out there who aren’t ready for the full on queer culture of “trans men are men! trans women are women! nonbinary people exist! gender is a spectrum! gender isn’t real! gender is anarchy!”

But if you’re reading this and you’re not cool with trans people I don’t want to yell at you or argue (and if you’re reading this in an era where you can email me or comment and you want to argue if trans people should exist don’t), but I do want to encourage you to listen, to get over a lifetime of prejudice and cultural indoctrination, to listen to people who are just trying to live their lives, and to stop supporting politicians who want to cause pain and suffering.

Alright, that’s enough out of me for now.

Take care of yourself, people of the future. Good luck out there.