I've been reflecting upon how similar our times are to that time in the 1920s when Germany was going thru some drastic changes after WWI. What made me focus on this period was the big uproar over Diddy's arrest and his Freak Out parties. It's been documented that this kind of debauchery had occured in Germany and helped lead to the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party. The reaction of the public to such scandals in Germany, resulted in the election of more conservative politicians who promised to crackdown on all the fun. Indeed, first they started the book bans and burnings. They then villainized immigrants and minorities, stripping them of their rights and dignity. Soon they elected a wannabe dictator after his people set fire to the Reichstad, Germany's Congress and blamed it on Communists in a false flag op. Sound familiar? Yes, the Communists and Socialists were vilified and used as scapegoats like the Jews for what was wrong with their country. I guess it's a good thing the US got rid of racism and anti-Semitism so long ago...sarcasm intended. Ironically the Nazi party called itself "socialist" while stealing the word and parts of the socialist platform to ensure their election prospects because times were hard and Socialism uplifts and protects the poor. So you can see where this will lead us if we reelect the orange blob. He even says he wants to be a dictator. His fav book by his bed (according to Melania) is Mein Kampf. Not a coincidence Trump's family comes from Germany. His father was likewise a vicious racist. Another prominent Racist just endorsed him and went on stage at his latest rally, Elon Musk. Do I need to draw more parallels? I leave that to you...
These are indeed interesting times, and the parallels are obvious. History repeating itself, again??? When will the pitiful humans learn?
Enjoyed Joel Grey & Liza Minelli in the musical: Cabaret, documenting Weimar Germany. Yes, they gave socialism a try; they over-invested thier lives in The State. Theres a bunch of lessons to be learned.
In terms of understanding gender identity and gender-affirming care as medicine, we are, today, where we were 100 years ago. Not only were German doctors pioneering gender-affirming medical care, but Berlin was an incredibly progressive city at the time, and it embraced its trans citizens. Trans folks were allowed to express themselves freely in society. Berlin was the place to be if you were trans in the 1920s and early 30s. Then the Nazis came... First, they forced studies around gender identity out of schools. They banned--and then burned--the medical books and eventually passed laws so strict, doctors could go to jail for providing necessary care to transgender patients.They stamped out what they saw as a dangerous ideology. Does all of this sound familiar?
Unfortunately it does and it horrifying how many people are willing to chuck the whole thing and embrace the orange haired puerile tyrant.
