I was alerted to a satirical article from the Onion by Wendy (Thank you Wendy) on the BigCloset Discord and it probably upset me more than it should have. Their article was a response to the NY Times's article supporting the TERF J.K. Rowling and her views on transgender individuals (titled "In Defense of J.K. Rowling") and the onion titled their article "It Is Journalism’s Sacred Duty to Endanger the Lives of As Many Trans People as Possible." My full post/article on it is linked below, but I'm going to share with you my note/forward attached to it.
While I understand that “The Onion” is a satirical publication trying to draw attention to serious matters, even they should know that people will take this type of thing seriously and draw the wrong conclusions.
Reporting on transgender topics should always be done respectfully and accurately, and it is crucial to prioritize the safety and well-being of the transgender community. The Onion’s article advocating for the endangerment of transgender individuals is offensive and dangerous.
It is essential to know how your audience will consume and disseminate the information you report instead of just posting it because you can and hope for the best.
https://outsidethecloset.com/2023/02/18/reporting-on-transge...
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Comments
NYT may have lit the fire
That does not excuse The Onion’s gasoline. Dangerous people will take dangerous words seriously.
I can’t imagine them getting away with the same piece but about race. If it’s not ok to say something about one group, when is it ok to say it about another?
Also
Fuck Charlie Kirk he said all of us should be lynched.
hugs :)
Michelle SidheElf Amaianna
So I read it. It's a brilliant attack on transphobia
"As journalists, it is our obligation to entertain any and all pseudoscience that gives bigotry an intellectual veneer. We must be diligent in laundering our vitriol through the posture of journalistic inquiry, and we must be allowed to fixate on the genitals. It is our First Amendment right to fixate on genitals..."
That's just a sample of The Onion's "editorial". Maybe there is a slight danger of some absolute moron misinterpreting what this piece is saying, but anyone who finds validated in their transphobia and doesn't feel shamed by THAT will find justification anywhere, and is already so far gone that one more or one fewer perceived greenlights to go do violence against us isn't gonna matter if that's what he's gonna do; But Terfs and Right wingers with even an ounce of grey matter might see their beliefs in a new light after having their bigotry deconstructed like this and shown for EXACTLY what it is.
The Onion is clearly an ally of trans and nonbinary people; and I believe this parody will do a lot of good while any harm it might do is strictly a "what if"; and I believe it is a responsible use of humor. The only way to completely idiot-proof the world is for no one to say or print anything ever again. Calling them out for this satirical masterpiece is like accusing Kubric's old cold war black comedy DR STRANGELOVE of advocating for nuclear war.
Now I'm gonna go eat some Irish Catholic babies because
Jonathan Swift told me to in his A Modest Proposal...
~hugs, Veronica
Well shit, I guess it really CAN happen here..,
.
I agree with Laika on this.
The Onion's editorial was full of venom, and it's clear that the team behind the article were about ready to start a fist fight over the whole situation.
It would take a very particular kind of double reading of what was written not to see the sarcasm in so much of it, especially in the things it outlines as "journalistic integrity" that are so clearly against every historical argument for that very thing. One of the "signatures" at the bottom of the article is literally a photoshop of the Unibomber's signature: the entire thing is framed in such a way that the implications of it are as clear as they can make it short of outright calling the NYT names.
Likewise, it's important to remember that The Onion is (almost) entirely a leftist rag: those who want Onion-like content but tuned for the other side of the aisle tend to go for The Babylon Bee instead, and if you want to talk about a rag that will post content that tries to demonize the opposite side but really only makes itself look bad....
Melanie E.
I'm personally a lot more worried about the New York Times
They're the real threat to us, since so much of the US press takes their cue from them. If the American media decides there's money to be made in "progressive" transphobia and starts to emulate what the BBC and the Guardian are doing over across the puddle we are truly fucked.
For whatever good it might do I'm writing to them about their "defense" of the TERF Queen Rowling. Think I'll call it FASCISTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM...
~hugs again, Ronni
Well shit, I guess it really CAN happen here..,
.
Thank you for this insight
It has helped coalesce in my mind some ideas relating to the anti-LGBT hatred and from where it might come.
1) It is a "choice" that we make. No, it is not. And that must mean that God made us this way. Wait, what? The loving and kind God wants us this way? But He told us in His very words in the Bible that we are abominations. and those that us and believe this to be true? Maybe they see us as God's mistakes, and as an affront to His perfection. This leads to a meltdown of their perfect worldview. Thus their burning hatred.
2) We are "different." Well, yes we are. We freely admit that. But we are all different, and it is those differences that gives us our strengths and weaknesses, and allows us to better help each other. Our very DNA won't allow for anything but differences. But look at all the races or blonde haired Scandinavians, etc. they say. Yeah, there are short, tall, skinny, fat, etc. people in those groups. They're called similarities, they aren't the same thing at all. and here's a little secret: There are LGBT in all races. Shocker, huh?
I could go on, but guess what? Self-loathing is a human condition at this point, and unless we learn to understand it and overcome it, there will be bigotry and hatred stemming from that self-loathing in the world and will be its downfall.
Thank you again Laika for a well thought out and thought provoking piece. Be well and stay safe,
Dugs
Diana
It's as Bad as You Think
Ladies, Gentlemen, we are under fire from those who wish to sideline us into the trash bin of history. If one follows everything going on we are being removed as human and thus no longer deserve respect as such. It's a slippery slope parallelogram situation. As Piper pointed out, when it becomes okay to call out harm to us, even if it is satire, that is a wide spread mental attitude I was hoping we were finally rising above. The senseless stupidity is it rekindles old flames of hate.
What is in the video is that damn idea spreading to our senators, congressmen, governors, public at large. We are a non person deserving only disdain for being exactly what God made us. I never chose this life, it chose me. That's the biggest problem isn't it? Everyone at large thinks transgender is a choice.He could NOT be more disrespectful to the lady by any measure.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVATBDYGRgQ
I used to go sit in the hen house with the chickens when things upset me this bad. I no longer have chickens. Not sure sitting with the goats will be the same. As sure as the sun comes up every morning there is no doubt the death numbers among transgender is going to rise.
Piper, courage hon. We are the frontline for all our sisters.
Barb
If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.
If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl
More Murders, More Suicides
And so the turn around from acceptance to marginalization and hate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPWmv7FzaKg
Barb
Oklahoma born and raised cowgirl
Interesting take
But anyone that would believe and use The Onion as a reference for factual reporting would be ridiculed in the square of public opinion, and deservedly so. This is satire and mockery, and as they have often done, they hit way too close to home and, at times, to the bone.
Their scathing take on journalistic integrity, along with some of their beliefs, shines through with this:
If that isn't a scathing commentary on our current state of journalism without being libelous or slanderous, then I don't know what else it could be. We are the easy prey, the low hanging fruit, the defenseless, and we are too good for this world at times, because we see the hope while knowing the despair, and we try to keep it alive by holding on to hope even through the pain and despair, and this they cannot abide because they don't understand us and never will. They see it as their job to have power over us, to rule us.
Piper, please understand that The Onion is on our side, and takes the stand they do to point the hypocrisy in society using humor, and sometimes dark humor is all they have left and will use everything in their arsenal to defend the good in society. And sometimes, in the fight against the dark in the world, we have to use their tactics, and commit a minor sin to stop a larger one. There will be casualties. It kills me a little more inside each time it happens but I have hope and, bordering on the sacrilegious, faith that all the pain will someday be worth it.
Thank you for sharing this with us and explaining your take on it, painful as it is. Be well and stay safe,
Hugs
Diana