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Comment by rayiner | Hacker News Reader

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> That’s consistent with the popular vote from the 2022 election where these issues were all aired.

The only people who thought "drag shows in public libraries" was a major issue in 2022 were lunatics who believe everything they see on TV.

If you ask specifically about that issue, most Americans don't support restrictions on drag shows[1]. Why? Because drag shows are an incredibly niche issue that only a small group of people on Twitter care about. Most Americans (correctly) believe that the government's opinion on them should be "live and let live".

1. https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/3924115-most-in...

Actually, the anti-trans candidates have lost most of the recent elections where they made trans rights the main focus, and most people polled either do not care or object to restricting those rights.

1. https://www.ettingermentum.news/p/the-continuing-electoral-h...

2. https://www.erininthemorning.com/p/new-poll-shows-massive-ba...

Drag is a form of self expression, while gender identity conforming presentation is a medical treatment. Completely different (and frankly offensive to suggest the two are related).

I find that the people who want to restrict one usually want to restrict the other, and more or less conflate them. Regardless, the articles I referenced above, and the campaigns and polling they discuss, cover the gamut from drag to books to sports to medical treatments, so they do pertain to your original comment.

Let me get this straight Rayiner, you're arguing that 'drag queen story hours' (not drag shows) are more fringy than making bomb threats?

Truth is the "traditional american values" people are totally scared of some people in costumes, they're so afraid of everything they can't even go to starbucks without a gun

Now, teaching kids violence is all fine and great it seems

Classic Hannah Arendt, on Origins of Totalitarianism here:

> totalitarianism has discovered a means of dominating and terrorizing human beings from within

These are intolerant views. They don't actually hurt anyone, but the population lets itself be gripped by a mania, let's itself become polarized by a pointless absurd fear, that causes a huge rift. People become dominated by these symbols, let themselves be controlled; these absurd acting outs against books we don't like, against people that don't look like us, against people who believe other things are a terror we let fester within, are a wrerched dad weakness.

There's just no viable long term course for such sad intolerance. We have to be able to tolerate each other.

This is not mentioned as any of the cases in the article. How did you end up going to that example?

It's fascinating that you consider promoting drag shows as "fringe" behavior, considering that drag has been a well known form of entertainment for decades. It seems you've missed the memo that drag has entered cultural mainstream. Your perspective is either shockingly outdated or deliberately disingenuous.

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