 It is absolutely true that the GOP has to hyper focus on culture war issues because they don't have any real Policies that would impact the lives of Americans in a material way So they try to distract you with these wedge issues and culture war issues That actually don't change the day-to-day Lives of most Americans and I say most Americans because I feel as if Saying that this is just all culture war It's technically true, but it feels like an oversimplification because it doesn't just impact the culture What impacts the culture does have an impact on people's lives in a concrete way So when you know the GOP and Fox news for example spend weeks over and over again talking about how LGBTQ plus people are predators and groomers sure that's a cultural war issue It's a distraction, but it's more than just oh we think gay people are icky again as a society because Republicans are telling me What to think no it actually affects people's lives in a very very direct way For the worse case in point Robbie Pierce a parent took the Twitter to explain what happened to him Following Fox News's hate campaign. Well, that didn't take long We decided to take a trip on Amtrak with the kids for spring break nine hours into a pleasant ride A man was suddenly standing next to me shouting across me at my six-year-old son Remember what I told you they stole you their pedophiles I stood between the stranger and my son whose life has already been so hard who carries traumas larger than his whole small fierce frame I was immovable get away from my family family. That's not a family. You're rapists You steal black and Asian kids my son and five-year-old daughter were both now openly crying petrified He yelled right at them unmoved. These guys aren't natural homosexuals aren't abomination. They steal and rape kids It was suddenly no longer an absurd abstract attack in an online comment section or a distant legislative session These horrors were being screamed at my sweet bewildered son Who's worked so hard to process his grief and control his feelings who only wants love and safety? I grabbed the kids and moved them to another car Well, my ferocious husband went into papa bear mode and shouted the man away from us Eventually the conductor arrived and the man lost his focus on us now. Let's just pause right there for a moment So this man is accosting this family minding their own business because he was riled up by Fox News riled up by basically non-stop coverage With messaging like this grooming groomer grooming groomers groomer in chief grooming groomer grooming groomers grooming groomers grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming 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grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming grooming groomers grooming groomers groomers groom groomers grooming grooming grooming grooming groom pro pedophile media fully backs this pro grooming position yeah so is this culture war stuff sure but what happens in the culture has a real concrete impact on the lives of people and Robbie Pierce acknowledged that he went on to say we all know where that comes from so thanks to Fox and Murdoch JK Rowling and Marjorie Taylor Greene to the senators and priests and everyone else who harms kids and thinks it's politically expedient to project onto gentle families like mine to stir up their lucrative culture war I asked my son if he'd seen the man before he said the man had confronted him when we let him go to the bathroom alone which he'd been so proud to do at first but too afraid to do again after yet weird the groomers I'm livid and ashamed that I didn't notice something was up yeah so Robbie acknowledges that all of the hate that Fox News has been spewing it's not just happening in a vacuum it's not just Fox News is re changing people to think in a homophobic way and getting them to accept the gay predator myth after you know the LGBTQ plus community has fought tooth and nail to fight that stigma this has real world consequences and to be very clear it's not like all of a sudden gay families are being accosted because of Fox News this was a thing that had always happened but it's just going to get worse because of the culture war Matt Levites gives us some more context in an NBC News article Pierce and Broverman said this was not the first time their family has had hate directed at them in public they said that sometimes strangers will taunt them with the effort and other homophobic slurs broverman also recalled an episode where a driver rolled down his window and asked the pair's children did they kidnap you but Pierce and Broverman described this latest incident as more aggressive and egregious than past instances adding that it was the first time a verbal attack came laced with talking points from right wing media and legislators as soon as he started saying pedophiles and things like that I thought he just seemed like he came preloaded with these statements pierced said so I thought oh okay we're dealing with someone who's consuming right wing media so this specifically is why people like myself push back so hard whenever we see this anti LGBTQ plus rhetoric whenever we hear people talk about how trans women are predators this is why we push back so hard because that conversation has real world implications there's a reason why trans women are the targets of murder there's a reason why gay people are harassed gay families are harassed it's because of the culture war it's a culture for a lot of Americans but for gay people for trans people this is real life it's not just culture this is real life this affects people in a real concrete way and if you have somebody in your life who's LGBTQ and you watch Fox News or you vote for these politicians who play into the culture war you are doing demonstrable harm to somebody who you should be aligned with who you should be fighting for I mean I can't tell you how many of my own friends and family members they claim to support me and my husband and be pro LGBTQ plus but then the first chance they get they vote Republican oh thank you thank you for voting for a politician who not only riles people up to hate against me but also support laws that take away my rights that makes me a second class citizen thank you so much for being an ally what a great ally you are no no no see my thing is that if you don't support me unequivocally if you don't reject these politicians and actively fight against this hateful rhetoric then you're not an ally and I don't want you in my life like it shouldn't be the case that in 2022 trans women have to walk around wondering if they're going to be assaulted by some transphobe it shouldn't be the case that if you're a gay couple and you forget and you're a little bit like too intimate if you place your hand on your husband's shoulder while you're at the grocery store you shouldn't have to be worried oh my god did somebody see am I going to get a baseball bat to the head I mean I've been with my husband now for almost 12 years and we've never held hands in public because I don't know if it's a safe environment sure you know if you live in a more liberal area that's all peachy keen but there's always just one person that might say something or might do something so it's best to not rile anyone up not draw attention to yourself but with families like this if you have kids and you're a gay couple it's kind of obvious right you can't really hide it that much but the point is that we shouldn't have to hide it and all these so-called culture war issues are going to force gay people back into the closet these politicians might not actually think that gay people are predators or groomers but the audience is that they're speaking to the constituents that they're playing to and pandering to they actually do believe this bullshit and these culture war issues make life hell it's not just culture war it's it's it's real life so you know this is the result and I wouldn't be surprised if more gay families are costed like this probably many are and just don't speak up because they don't want to draw attention to themselves I'm sure that Robbie just by mentioning this is the target of right wingers who are pointing him out saying hey this person who will cost of them is actually a brave truth teller who's looking out for children it's just it's truly gross and as a gay person I can't not hate anyone who has contributed to this hate campaign or supports either directly or indirectly any politician or propagandist who's contributing to this hate campaign fuck you if you support this