Did Michael Knowles actually advocate genocide?
Added 2023-05-04 16:07:10 +0000 UTCIt's a question that's highly complicated, and certainly couldn't, say, be demonstrated to ABSOLUTELY, CATEGORICALLY be the case within a few minutes of investigation. So let's do a deep dive into the evidence, and come to our own conclusions. Presumably that question will occupy the entire length of the video, and nothing else need be discussed.
Comments
alice, it’s necessary. it’s all necessary.
Sinn Sage
2023-05-09 20:15:50 +0000 UTCyou’ve made some real great ones but this is one of your best
Sinn Sage
2023-05-09 20:14:16 +0000 UTCWonderful work on a dire damn topic. [edit: taking your point about irony/bait] I [still] don't eeeeeeeeeeeeever want to see this fellow's "be normal" smile again. I audibly gasped. That shit belongs over on Scaredy Cats. @28:26 if anyone doesn't want to be able to go to sleep tonight. Reminds me of that picture of Goebbels
GC
2023-05-06 01:47:04 +0000 UTCI think I was too burnt out on transphobia yesterday, and I should have just played Sonic 3. I watched the video today, and I thought you did a good job showing that Knowles is a shitty little fascist cosplayer. And there are probably people who need to hear that. I still stand by my point that online trans discourse is way too pessimistic, but maybe that's just how the algorithm works.
Alice
2023-05-06 01:35:59 +0000 UTCPersonally, I'd argue that no video I make is "necessary", but I hope that by making them I marginally contribute to an overall culture that is more in line with what I want the world to look like. I think you're right that Knowles won't be changing anyone's minds (and likely neither will I) but it's still important to remind people that this type of thing is noticed, and push back. If for no other reason than to remind people they're not alone. At the very least, I hope to provide snappy answers to these kinda talking points. Like if someone says "trans people are delusional", someone who has watched this video is at least armed with a quick put-down to shut them up, you know?
Thought Slime
2023-05-05 19:09:06 +0000 UTCI especially love what you did with the background music in this video.
Jillian
2023-05-05 15:37:49 +0000 UTCInspiring
Alan Wiggs
2023-05-05 03:19:15 +0000 UTCI mean, the whole country was founded through a series of genocides against Indigenous people, and it is still engaging against those Indigenous nations that are distinct as a people group.
Willow Davison
2023-05-05 00:14:33 +0000 UTCHistorically speaking, there's actually quite a lot of violence against innocent people that Americans are willing to tolerate. In fact, if Michael Knowles got his way, I don't think it would make the top five genocides committed by our government.
Willow Davison
2023-05-05 00:12:38 +0000 UTCThanks for your thoughtful reply. I transitioned in 2006 in Ohio, and I moved to Massachusetts a couple years later. Since then, there’s been a huge change in how many Americans see us as worthy of respect. My sense is that almost everyone who’s okay with LGB people is also okay with trans people. There might be some disagreement on things like sports, but most Americans support our basic right to exist. If you’re interested, here’s an article with more evidence to back up this idea: https://open.substack.com/pub/ettingermentum/p/the-modern-electoral-history-of-transphobia?r=2aj1d3&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post It’s only recently that bigots see us as enough of a threat that they’re targeting us, but they’re just the same shrinking group of bigots who lost the fight against marriage equality. They can do terrible things to the most vulnerable among us, but they don’t have the political strength to win in the long run. Doing so would require draconian laws trampling on the rights of millions of adults who’ve already transitioned. This would have to happen under a Supreme Court that ruled 6-3 in 2020 (Bostock v Clayton County) that transgender Americans cannot be discriminated against under Title VII. So that’s why I think it’s important to keep perspective. The fight for marriage equality took roughly 10 years. Overestimating our opponents could allow them to exact a greater mental toll than is necessary. Expressing our humanity is the most effective argument we have against bigots like Knowles.
Alice
2023-05-05 00:10:04 +0000 UTCgosh, this video is so good, and very heartening to watch for me. i’mma share it widely when it hits the youtubes. thanks, mildred! ❤️
Wright Johnson
2023-05-04 21:36:14 +0000 UTCwith respect, as a trans person who lives in Alabama, i can only say: i really, really, really, really, REALLY hope you’re right. but the preponderance of the evidence so far seems to lean in the other direction. not fully, but enough that people are already dying. reactions to media are of course entirely subjective, so i’m not saying this is the WRONG reaction. hell, you might be a trans Alabamian too! i don’t know! i will say, however, that even if you’re right, i don’t believe it’s possible or a wise idea to undercorrect when using anti-fascist rhetoric. factual accuracy is important, of course, but “fascism bad, don’t do a fascism” is a message i’m not sure it’s possible to state too vehemently or explicitly. again, i mean this with respect. i’m not spoiling for a fight here or anything.
Wright Johnson
2023-05-04 21:34:04 +0000 UTCFascism, am I right, ladies?
Ronan da Rosa
2023-05-04 21:08:39 +0000 UTCI now hate the movie Dodgeball because Alan Tudyk thought he was a pirate but clearly pirates didn't exist in GOD'S AMERICA in the year of The Year Dodgeball Came Out.
Slazenger Kincaid
2023-05-04 20:56:11 +0000 UTCYou did a great job! Great JERB!!!
Dragon Cobolt
2023-05-04 19:25:47 +0000 UTCexcellent rundown of fascism, this video was incredibly entertaining!
ghostdunk
2023-05-04 18:05:02 +0000 UTCThis is the first video you've made that was too infuriating for me to get through. I really don't think Knowles or his ilk are really fooling anyone or winning any converts. He's just competing to get attention for being the most rabid transphobe. It's true that his kind of talk could move the Overton window, but I'm not sure you need to get this in-depth to push back against that. I think most people understand that it would take violence to force trans folk from public life, and I think it's only a small minority of Americans who'd tolerate that kind of violence. But maybe I'm wrong and this video is necessary. It's your channel, and I respect your work.
Alice
2023-05-04 17:52:18 +0000 UTC
