Some very good points made here. Transgender people need as many allies as they can get. But it always comes down to the bottom line, doesn't it? Many Hollywood types don't want to feel like they're alienating more conservative audiences just as they might not want to hurt their image in overseas markets by commenting on such a politically charged issue. And ultimately, that does betray the fact that they think so little of trans people already that they don't even consider the impact they, so often with huge followings, could have by speaking up for their most vulnerable fans. It is easier for them to advocate for Kimmel since the matter is right in their backyard. The McCarthy era alone saw the end of many performers' careers and with only a few exceptions, many of them never recovered; performers are terrified of facing such a possibility in an already fickle industry. To be clear, as Nico said, Kimmel deserves support. At this moment, Donald Trump is threatening ABC with more legal action for letting Kimmel back on the air—free speech violations are being committed in plain sight. But this country would look very different indeed if the same energy was thrown behind trans people and the LGBTQ+ community at large.
Please, if some of y'all out there have the power to put up a mass call to action like a prewritten email/phone script...we should be contacting our Senators and saying "no way" to gutting trans healthcare in the HHS Appropriations bill and NDAA. If more allies knew, I think they would take action, but no orgs are stepping up to create mass actions. I am trying to get them to.
Some very good points made here. Transgender people need as many allies as they can get. But it always comes down to the bottom line, doesn't it? Many Hollywood types don't want to feel like they're alienating more conservative audiences just as they might not want to hurt their image in overseas markets by commenting on such a politically charged issue. And ultimately, that does betray the fact that they think so little of trans people already that they don't even consider the impact they, so often with huge followings, could have by speaking up for their most vulnerable fans. It is easier for them to advocate for Kimmel since the matter is right in their backyard. The McCarthy era alone saw the end of many performers' careers and with only a few exceptions, many of them never recovered; performers are terrified of facing such a possibility in an already fickle industry. To be clear, as Nico said, Kimmel deserves support. At this moment, Donald Trump is threatening ABC with more legal action for letting Kimmel back on the air—free speech violations are being committed in plain sight. But this country would look very different indeed if the same energy was thrown behind trans people and the LGBTQ+ community at large.
Please, if some of y'all out there have the power to put up a mass call to action like a prewritten email/phone script...we should be contacting our Senators and saying "no way" to gutting trans healthcare in the HHS Appropriations bill and NDAA. If more allies knew, I think they would take action, but no orgs are stepping up to create mass actions. I am trying to get them to.