I posted this on Nextdoor for Trans Day of Visibility with low expectations, given Nextdoor’s knack for bringing out the worst in neighbors.
Based on my experience on Nextdoor, my assumption was that being kind to trans people would bring out the worst in our neighbors. Sure, there was one unhinged bigot who jumped on the post with a series of bigoted posts, but it was just one person. One!
But what about the feedback? Were there people who opposed being kind to our neighbors, but fell short of wanting to use words to express their feelings? Of course. But, check this out:
Those are impressive numbers. Very impressive. I was kind to trans neighbors on Nextdoor and neighbors on Nextdoor overwhelmingly agreed with me.
Here’s what that looks like in a pie chart.
Here’s the thing. There are Minnesotans who hate trans people. They don’t vote for DFL candidates. And there are people who do vote for DFL candidates who aren’t comfortable with trans people yet. This is often because they’ve never met a trans person, and know what they know about trans people from social media and other platforms that make caricatures out of people outside the mainstream. These are the Minnesotans that Amy Klobuchar can influence.
This issue simply isn’t as divisive as mainstream DFL politicians believe.
Sen. Klobuchar has the political capital to convince Minnesotans who trust her that we’re moving beyond debating the humanity of our trans neighbors. She will not lose the governor’s race by being a strong advocate for trans Minnesotans, and it likely wouldn’t cost her a single vote.
By being unapologetically pro trans Minnesotan, Klobuchar may lose a handful of votes from Minnesotans thinking she’s gone too far in protecting the civil rights of fellow Minnesotans, but that would be offset by trans Minnesotans working hard on behalf of a candidate that they can proudly support. Give trans people a reason to make phone calls and knock on doors.
Klobuchar is going to win the governor’s race and will win by a lot. Today, she can choose whether she wants to win while trans Minnesotans hold their noses and vote for her, or win while people who’re not yet comfortable with trans Minnesotans hold their noses and vote for her. Klobuchar isn’t going to change the minds of Minnesota’s bigots, but she can be a civil rights leader by influencing Minnesotans on the cusp of accepting the humanity of our trans neighbors.
