NEW YORK — Leaders of Young Republican groups throughout the country worried what would happen if their Telegram chat ever got leaked, but they kept typing anyway.
They referred to Black people as monkeys and “the watermelon people” and mused about putting their political opponents in gas chambers. They talked about raping their enemies and driving them to suicide and lauded Republicans who they believed support slavery.
I’d love to say this surprises me, but it does not in the slightest.
Same! I have the added pleasure of being a big, bearded, “straight-passing” gay man. I get to have really fun moments were the Republicans around me say despicable things about gays, I tell them I’m actually gay, then they trip all over themselves to explain how they’re actually totally cool with the gays. I call them out for being racist when that happens too. Making them uncomfortable by calmly shining light on their own words is one of my favorite group activities.
Now that I’m an adult and in not such a red area, I do notice times when I’ll get what I think are probably a few trial balloons. When I don’t bite, they don’t go any further. For example, some comment about “men in women’s sports”. Or how they will say they “identify as an attack helicopter”. Or how they should “put on a wig and a dress” so they can go into the women’s bathroom. That last one always amazes me, and I think I’ve heard it way too many times for it to be purely anecdotal. I do think the trans stuff is the go-to for this kind of thing as attacking trans is still considered mostly okay, and it’s the gateway drug for the rest of it…
But back when I was a kid/teen/adolescent - in the 70s/80s/early 90s - wow, some of the stuff just said casually, nearly all the time - unbelievable, even back then.
I’m bi, but straight passing. I got that southern boy look and draw in my voice. I do hard labor and I’ll jam out to some red dirt country music…and boy when I speak my.mind to folks like that, they don’t know what to do. I understand how you feel. It’s funny, but also annoying. Just cause we share the same pigmentation doesn’t mean we share the same views.