I counter-protested in my town for this. Afterwards, I walked around and listened to what bystanders thought.
I did not hear a single person supporting the hate mob. At worst, bystanders were confused what the protest was even about. These people are so far down their own rabbit hole that they donāt realize how little sense their conspiracy nonsense makes. They carried signs that said things like āno pornography in schoolsā. Bystandersā reactions to that was (actual quote I overheard, āWhat are they even talking about? There is no porn in schoolā).
At best, they were protesting a thing (SOGI curriculum in schools) that doesnāt exist. There is no āSOGI curriculumā. The education minister put out an optional packet for teachers to help them address issues of diversity with their students, if they want to. Thatās it. Itās a packet called SOGI 123 (sexual orientation and gender identity). For this they āmarchedā en masse. The marchers are all childless or homeschoolers. Parents with actual kids in school know thereās nothing wrong with SOGI. Itās a warm friendly set of tools for teachers and nothing more.
All this to say, public response to these hate marches ranged from openly hostile to confused indifference. They are not winning. This is a tiny minority making a lot of noise for a short time, nothing more.
Thatās what many people here thought too, about the far right elements within the GOP. 
Iām not saying that itās inevitable, but just saying that you probably shouldnāt dismiss it out of hand. I donāt know a lot about the history of the Conservative Party there, but if there are already far right elements in the party, seeking to shape their policies, then thatās something to be concerned about.
It is dissapointing that one of our major parties (Kevin Falcon and BC United) wonāt speak out against this. Thankfully his posts and comments have miniscule uptake in social media compared to the anti protestor ones demonstrating just how far he is from the majority on this.
At least his party finally stopped pretending they are Liberals.
I am just glad there werenāt a lot of dangerous altercations (I think someone in Surrey was hurt with a rock). We were worried about the protestors coming to the University campus with some of the aggressive far right followers, and potentially posing a risk to trans students. My morning class had a discussion about safe transport to people in need. Thankfully the planned protest fizzled out.
2013: āJK Rowling is a bit weird, huh?ā
2023: āHoly fuck, they want us all dead.ā
What makes these things not inevitable is recognizing that the ābit weirdā right wingers can pose a real threat to our rights and freedoms.
These things take time. Political change is nearly always a slow-burn.
Those people will always come back if we donāt stand up to them and stay vigilant.
Absolutelyā¦ the far right knows that, and theyāve been pushing their agenda for several decadesā¦ Some seemed confused by the rise of Trump, but the path was laid out for him, by the disaster capitalism crowd working hand in hand with the racist right crowd. They have intersecting interest, which is destroying the democratic systems that has opened up greater rights for a wider swath of people than ever beforeā¦ They are all intent on destroying that expansion of rights, because it threatens their power. It goes right on back to the struggle between the bourgeois class that came to power with the rise of capitalism and the people who found themselves under their boot.
I spent 25 years in the US and fled partly for persecution of trans people, so I know the signs, thanks. I was responding to someone lamenting the lack of any safe harbour. As of today, Canada is still one.
Agreed, but thatās not inevitable was my point. I know you know it requires vigilance, so I was a bit confused as to why you noted that they are only a tiny minority making noiseā¦ The case here shows that that tiny minority can gain some real power and that should not be dismissed as being a possibilityā¦ The merging of the Friedman school of economics, the racist far right, and the Christian far right turned out to be able to go from being on the margins to the center of conservative politics, in part because so many people just dismissed them as a vocal minority of weirdos.
I never said vigilance wasnāt required or that we werenāt actively fighting back to ensure it doesnāt get worse. I was at a counter protest three days ago, in fact.
So then you do agree that itās a problem, yeah? I guess Iām really not sure why you seemed to downplay it, at least some.
Iām just saying that none of us are rest easy in these days, because shit can turn pretty quickly. There seems to be some who are looking at Americans and laughing at us because they feel it canāt happen thereā¦ but the reality is that itās happening all over the western world. Iām not sure anywhere is particularly safe right now, honestly.
You seem to want to feel thatās what I was doing but it isnāt.
Looks a whole lot like downplaying it to me.
As @anon59592690 said below me, some of your language feels like itās being dismissive of the problemā¦ that might not have been your intent (I doubt it was), but qualifying all you said with āitās just a noisy minorityā does indicate thatā¦
Iām not trying to pick a fight here, but I am concerned that the same things being faced by the trans community here and in the UK will soon arrive where you areā¦ I know we donāt get along all the time, but damn it, Iām worried about what could happen up there, not just because itās the closest safe haven for us Americans, but because I donāt want to see the fine folks up there (like yourself) get hurt eitherā¦ Iām really worried about where things are headed, and Iām just trying to remind people of just how quickly shit can go southā¦ as a historian, I know how things can go from some noisy minority shouting dumb shit to society being utterly fucked, and I worry that people arenāt taking the threat to all our societies serious enoughā¦ If that makes me an asshole, okay. Iāll be an asshole I guess.
I just want you and all of the lovely trans folks here to be safeā¦ Hell, I want to be safe!
Everyone please stop putting words in my mouth. I tried to say a nice thing to make someone feel better and now regret it. Iām going back to lurking. This board is too much.
Follow Up: It appears that Newsom is playing the long game.
The new laws include legislation that focuses on support for LGBTQ+ youth. One law sets timelines for required cultural competency training for public school teachers and staff, while another creates an advisory task force to determine the needs of LGBTQ+ students and help advance supportive initiatives. A third requires families to show that they can and are willing to meet the needs of a child in foster care regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The governorās bill-signings came after Newsom vetoed a bill on Friday that would have required judges to consider whether a parent affirms their childās gender identity when making custody and visitation decisions.
Figures.
