Peacefully disobeying the law is not a good idea under fascism. This was a brave, albeit really stupid, thing to do. I hope this woman makes it out okay.
as stupid as a trans woman entering the men’s bathroom and being ridiculed/assaulted? there’s really no winning for trans people
With RepubliKKKans, the cruelty is the point. The governor of Texas signed a bill a couple years ago that made it so that, iirc, construction workers were no longer required by law to be given water breaks. There are 60 days in Dallas, TX per year with an average high temperature at least 97 degrees Fahrenheit. I remember one stretch about 20 years ago in Austin where the temperature was 100+ for 30 days in a row.
She didn’t do anything wrong; but regardless, if you’re going to scale the wall to go into the lion’s den at the zoo definitely don’t announce it to them via megaphone first.
I mean she thought of politics as something philosophical that doesn’t actually effect people so I’m not sure how someone this sheltered exists while also being trans. But it’s fascinating in a horrifyingly stupid way. It explains why she really thought they wouldn’t actually arrest her.
She’s actually not mentally prepared to do prison time so I hope they figure something out.
Florida ignoring her legal name change is goofy though.
Probably why some are non voters to, they don’t think actually affects them.
It’s beyond stupid though, laws actually exist and we live in functioning society because of them (lol). Laws are created through politics. This isn’t a hard concept to grasp, does she think if she speeds she’ll never get a ticket? That it’s just in movies?
Very strange, scary honestly
Some people really do just don’t think about it much. There’s also plenty examples of stuff like “we can’t legalize weed, it’s illegal drugs!” and then completely missing the contradiction
I don’t really know how they think the world works, like they think that laws are just part of the natural order or things? And so politics barely mean anything? Or is just symbolic? I dunno
Some people do think that the society we exist in is just part of the natural order and that it’s vain to try to change it or even care about it. I had an ex that was like that: whenever I tried talking about politics with her she would just go “What’s the point of talking about it, we can’t change anything anyway”
It’s really weird honestly, considering that, you know, literally all of society is built up by humans
Have they just never read any history at all?
I think some people feel like history is in the past, and if they weren’t there to see it? Well it’s no different than a fairy tale.
I guess people heard people say that we have “reached the end of history”, and accepted it without question
Seems like history is very much still alive and well
Relevant facts:
- she self identifies as a “moderate conservative”, also identifying as a “centrist” who cares about “family values”
- she is a devout Catholic
- she lives in Illinois and traveled to Florida just to do this
- before going to Florida, she sent letters to lawmakers stating her intention to break the law, including when and where she would and a photo of herself (police were thus posted at the location and time she indicated, hence why she was arrested)
- she explicitly identifies as not a “political activist”
- she is breaking the law because she thinks it is wrong (she is engaging in civil disobedience), though she did not expect to actually be arrested
- she didn’t consult any legal or advocacy groups before doing this
- she was arrested upon going into the restroom and washing her hands, after cops posted at the bathroom told her not to; she was held in the men’s ward of the Leon County Detention Facility overnight, and she faces 60 days of incarceration if convicted
- she is back in Illinois but will have to fly back to Florida for hearings
- she didn’t expect to be arrested and regrets doing it
source: Tampa Bay Times (archive.ph link)
Idiot: ✓
Identifies as moderate conservative, but is mostly apolitical: ✓
What a surprise.
I… Am I the only one that is shocked by the fact that there are cops posted at BATHROOM??? The fuck??? (Also wtf do they have a law that say you can do prison if you step in the wrong bathroom???)
The cops were only there because she sent the letter telling them when and where she would be doing this. Also a 60 day sentence would not be served in prison, but the county jail (they are different).
If someone sent me a letter saying they were going to use a bathroom I would ignore it, not send cops there. Your sentence is phrased like they simply had to be there which is just validating, if inadvertently, the idea that going to the fucking washroom should be a crime. I do agree that prison vs jail is probably something we should be more careful with but the fact remains that she never should encountered any resistance at all, period.
She explicitly said in the letter that she was going to break the law. Here is one of the letters she wrote:
I understand that if you’re receiving this letter, you’re part of the Florida Bicameral Legislature, which means you’re probably one of the people who wrote this law or voted for it. I know that you know in your heart that this law is wrong and unjust. I know that you know in your heart that it’s wrong to arrest me and jail me for sixty days for simply using the bathroom. I know that you know in your heart that transgender people are human too, and that you can’t arrest us away. I know that you know in your heart that transgender people are no different from you or anybody else. I know that you know in your heart that the same people that go to church with you, eat in the same restaurants, go to the same schools, root for the same sports teams, watch the same movies and pray to the same God as you cannot be all bad. I know that you know that I have dignity. That’s why I know that you won’t arrest me.
She made an emotional appeal to the Florida legislature and hoped they wouldn’t arrest her in an act of civil disobedience. Instead, they sent police to dissuade her from violating the law, and then had her arrested when she broke the law anyway.
If someone sent me a letter saying they were going to use a bathroom I would ignore it, not send cops there.
I guess you’re not a Florida legislator, huh? She didn’t send the letter to the reasonable, average person - she sent them to the people who voted in the law that bans trans people from using public restrooms. What is relevant here is what the people who did receive the letter would likely do in response?
Your sentence is phrased like they simply had to be there which is just validating, if inadvertently, the idea that going to the fucking washroom should be a crime
void_turtle’s phrasing is accurate, the cops were only posted at that particular bathroom at that particular time because she gave advanced warning she was going to be there, they absolutely weren’t going to let a trans woman flagrantly violate the law they passed (even if that means enforcing a ridiculous and immoral law - the fact they passed the law is a reason to think they wouldn’t mind enforcing that law too).
void_turtle isn’t implying this was the right thing for the Florida lawmakers to do, only that it is a reasonable outcome to expect from sending the letter.
she never should encountered any resistance at all, period.
She looks cis passing to me and probably wouldn’t have encountered resistance if she hadn’t intentionally notified the lawmakers of her intent to violate their law at a particular time and place. That’s what got her arrested.
That said, many trans people don’t have the passing privilege she has, and the law most impacts those people who anyone would spot as visibly trans, and thus would be at most risk of arrest. Marcy Rheintgen is engaging in civil disobedience she likely wouldn’t otherwise be subject to, and it would make a better story of self sacrifice if she wasn’t an ignorant reactionary who admitted she didn’t actually think she would be arrested and now regrets doing it, lol.
It’s still fucking absurd.
It is Florida. Nothing shocks me coming from there.
Police were there because she sent letters in advance telling them when and where she would use the restroom in violation of the law. Otherwise not only would police not have been guarding that particular bathroom, but she would have likely passed as a cis woman and used the restroom without incident.
She’s a devout Catholic who describes herself as a political centrist, with an appreciation for “family values”
😬
She’s a brainwashed victim of groomers and control systems. aka, organized religion
What in the Caitlyn Jenner…
Caitlyn Jenner didn’t get arrested in an act of civil disobedience tho 👀
EDIT: Marcy Rheintgen, despite being a conservative, listed Dorothy Day as an influence …
The cognitive dissonance she lives with must be debilitating, and I’m not even making a joke. Log cabin Republicans at the very least are trying to be the “good ones” of an out-group, but she’s doing the right thing standing on the worst side to do that thing. Here’s hoping she breaks free of the programming after Republicans respond with a resounding “good” to her being thrown in a men’s prison.
The cognitive dissonance she lives with must be debilitating, and I’m not even making a joke.
That’s the neat part, it’s not anymore.
These people have been conditioned for so long to ignore the cognitive dissonance through religion and cable news.
Well of course not, she was able to bribe the cops with pepsi after all.
different Jenner, lol
wat
Placing cops in front of a bathroom just because a trans woman said she would go wash her hands there should sound crazy to anyone. It’s sad that it’s apparently just normal now
So the thing to do now is to announce where you’re going to wash your hands to the police and then just not show up.
Unironically yes, waste their resources on this
And you know those cops fucking relished it
It’s the Karen’s wet dream
Putting people into jail for using a supposed wrong bathroom to wash hands is just ridiculous even without considering anything transgender.
I would never be a cop, but even as a pig, I can’t imagine getting that assignment and not asking if that was really what the community needed from me that day. And a whole fucking group for one 20yo washing her hands? How embarrassing for them.
The Nazis didn’t have a vast historical record that illustrates the dangers of dehumanizing and imprisoning groups of peoples, and violently smashing protests for fascism; what excuse do these American cops and ICE agents have? I have to conclude that those who participate want this.
Should we be held to higher ethical standards than the Germans of the past? We have a greater awareness of past atrocities and a deeper understanding of their consequences, and contemporary societies are expected to adhere to more stringent ethical guidelines and uphold human rights
I really do wonder what they thought getting that assignment. They were probably proud as fuck.
All I can say about this is that it’s a courageous act.
I genuinely don’t know whether it was well considered.
I hope she’s able to inspire others to fight unjust treatment of others. This feels like an extreme act of courage from someone with a lot to lose, and she is not just a brave woman, but this should be seen as an admirable action by anyone, no matter who they are or what they believe, because it’s a level of sacrifice that most of us would never be able to take on.
As many people as we have on near every post here these days talking about why no one is taking any action, they’re still safe behind their screen while this lady marched, announced, right through the front gate of the enemy’s house. People like Marcy are who have gotten us to this point of the rights we have, not the critics, no matter how vocal they get.
Why is any business still in Florida?
There won’t be once the ocean reclaims Florida
Low taxes, I assume
The weather’s getting nicer. Next time maybe she’ll think twice, and shit in a convertible in the Capitol’s parking lot.
