Literally I was DMing with @AlexandraErin and I *just* said this without having even seen the thread (read the whole thread)

There is indeed a bit of overlap because THEY HAVE A CONSPIRATORIAL AGENDA thinking works largely the same regardless of the group that generates it. https://twitter.com/alexandraerin/status/1199842537789411328

And this notion that the world is full of secret predators planning constantly about how to prey on you is shared in common among antis, Pizzagaters/Q*anon, some sectors of conservative Christianity, and TERFs.

“THEY WANT TO DESTROY GENDER SO THEY CAN BE PREDATORS”

This kind of discourse doesn’t want to start a conversation and it sure as hell doesn’t want to ferret out any kind of truth, because they create all the truth they need. It wants to shut down conversation, and shame and isolate people. It’s abuse.

https://twitter.com/alexandraerin/status/1199838849033261056?s=21 https://twitter.com/AlexandraErin/status/1199838849033261056

*This* is why we push back so hard when this nonsense rears its head: it’s fucking dangerous. It’s dangerous because it’s conspiracy theory logic that corrodes our ability to actually have conversations, and it’s dangerous because it actually does hurt people and enable abuse.

I saw something today about how that pushback is silencing the people who actually were upset and triggered by the Current Nonsense, and I’ll say A) I have yet to see anyone claim that anyone isn’t entitled to their feelings...

...and B) we need to be clear about how necessary the pushback is, because if we don’t push back, if we aren’t honest about how dangerous the core of this is, then this shit keeps hurting people.

Being upset by coming into contact with something upsetting isn’t the problem, nor is feeling like you can’t see the person who made the thing in the same way anymore, and if that distinction isn’t clear enough when we talk about “purity culture”, then I dunno what to say.

Holy crap, someone else independently made this same connection https://twitter.com/chrysopoetics/status/1199573411233591296?s=21 https://twitter.com/chrysopoetics/status/1199573411233591296

Seriously, this is A Good Thread and waaaaay smarter and more insightful than I’m capable of being about it https://twitter.com/chrysopoetics/status/1199560531499085825?s=21 https://twitter.com/chrysopoetics/status/1199560531499085825

(Hey @freetofic, if you haven’t seen this thread I think you might be interested)