- cross-posted to:
- games@lemmy.world
- gaming@beehaw.org
- cross-posted to:
- games@lemmy.world
- gaming@beehaw.org
Trans Rights are under assault all across the United States as the new administration continues a brutal project of oppression, exclusion, and denial of care to people everywhere.
Distribute Aid is developing a network of supply chains, medical aid, distribution partners and kit development across 11 states that aims to provide direct care and medical support to thousands of trans people, with the goal of scaling up to cover the rest of the country during 2025.
100% of the proceeds of this bundle go directly toward Distribute Aid’s efforts to supply kits of 1 year’s necessary medical equipment into the hands of trans people in needs for free.
Each kit comes with a sharps container and enough syringes, needles, bandages, and alcohol wipes to last a year. For people living in states where it’s difficult to access syringes and needles, this will help reduce needle reusing and sharing.
If you aren’t interested in the games and prefer to donate to the campaign directly, you can do that here.
This is great and I’m glad they’re so close to their goal, but this gives me pause:
That’s a lot of trust of local partners to properly distribute supplies to local trans populations 😅
It would be nice to know who these distribution partners are.
You can contact them on Bluesky at @distributeaid.org if you want to ask them for more details about their partners and distribution methods. If you don’t have Bluesky they also have a contact email at hello@distributeaid.org
Unfortunately, I would think the distribution partners remain anonymous. The states where these things are distributed will make the supplies illegal for this purpose. You would want the distributors anonymous so that they are not immediately stopped or caught in a sting when the law flips, if it hasn’t already.
That’s great, but as a trans person who uses injectable HRT who lives in one of the states they are targeting distribution, I can tell you the local “partners” are often not trustworthy. But my perceptions could be wrong, and I’m sure it will still help people - I just wish there was a better way to account for needs and to meet them more reliably (rather than relying on the luck of running into one of the local distributors and them being willing to help you). Remaining anonymous also makes it difficult for trans people in those states to know where to go to access a kit, for example.
As someone that was lucky enough to move out of one of those states, I sympathize. I think a lot of things will need to be word of mouth and open secrets like in the bad old days with diy abortions.
Scary times. Unsolicited advice, if you’re not already tied into your local alternative community, it is critical you do so now. Gay bars, BDSM community/munches, queer youth organizations, etc. Those venues may have to close or go deep under. Need to have preexisting relationships so you get a heads up on enforcement as well as access to underground help.
I tend to isolate socially, but I did go to a local trans support group, and even though that was too toxic to continue going, a small group from that support group split off and they have a Discord I’m a part of, and they sometimes organize in-person events.
That said, I’m usually the one in that group providing resources to others, rather than the other way around - but it is at least still a way to hear about what’s going on outside my little bubble.
Any advice is welcome, too. I know I can’t prepare my way out of persecution, but I hope to do what I can.
If I can offer more unsolicited advice, get on your local kink group’s discord and maybe go to some munches. They tend to be trans positive, organized, and accept pretty much all misfits. They will have a wider audience/gossip pipeline. I have seen some trans backlash and fascist politics in the community but it’s kept quiet and usually pushed away, just be aware it does exist and it’s okay to be suspicious.
If you have the means:
Have a cash supply and all your documents in case you have to run. Consider purchasing and learning to use a handgun if your mental state and living situation allow. Plan where you would run ahead of time and maybe take a day trip. We’re gambling that the Northeast will be okay. If you have to run, you won’t be alone.
haha, as a shy prude I don’t even show up for the local trans-led dance classes run by a friend of mine, let alone go to munches 😆
I love your optimism though.
There are also a local anarchist punk group that does needle exchange programs, helps the unhoused, etc. but as usual they are more interested in ideological purity than pragmatic politics, so that was a hard group to break into.
I highly doubt guns will help me, if anything I think they are a liability (and early data coming out of urban areas suggests having a gun results during a conflict increases chances of being killed). You can’t use them against the state (who is at this point my biggest enemy), and even without guns trans people like CeCe McDonald was convicted of second-degree manslaughter for stabbing her assailant with scissors after he smashed a glass into her face and then followed her into the street. Guns as self defense increasingly seem to be for white men, the law penalizes minorities whenever they try to use guns in the same manner, and the double standard makes using guns as self-defense a legal liability.
Besides that, handguns are honestly difficult to properly train with and most people don’t have the time or money to properly train and keep up their training. This makes them a liability in other ways.
It’s also harder to bring guns into blue states with shield laws in an emergency situation where you have to flee, so it increases risk of ending up in jail (which is the main thing I am trying to avoid at this point), or in best case creates hassle in terms of having to properly prepare for how to either dispose of or transport ammunition and weapons.
Still, I am semi-trained and armed 😅 Despite my overall assessment of the risk/reward of guns, there is a part of me that is proud that trans folks are so militant, I just hope that translates to positive outcomes.
I have surgery scheduled this summer, then I’m hoping to focus entirely on moving. Unfortunately the legislative session might only give me a few weeks between my surgery and when new laws come into effect that might force me to leave the state. It’s a chaotic time, but I’m trying to stay focused on what is concrete.