[Essay]
Us old-timers remember the "Dixiecrats." They were the Southern Democratic base—a solid, conservative, Christian, and pro-Jim Crow voting bloc. Led by figures like Strom Thurmond, they held a vice grip on the South. But when the national Democratic Party started moving toward the Civil Rights Act and school desegregation, the Dixiecrats had finally had enough. They weren't just fighting to keep schools segregated; they were fighting to keep the "old ways" alive against anyone who didn't fit their mold.
Even back then, people were fighting back. While the media focused on the big laws, there were protests at places like the Black Cat Tavern and Cooper Do-nuts where queer and trans people stood up against police harassment. Eventually, the Dixiecrats jumped ship to the Republican Party to protect their "traditional" values.
The South was notorious for using the "Poll Tax" to make it harder for Black citizens to vote, but the courts eventually struck that down. Now, the Republicans are trying to do something similar with Voter ID. In some states, you have to pay a fee just to get a copy of your birth certificate. For a low-income family, that’s a big burden—and if they have to take a day off work to get it, that’s an additional cost they can't afford!
Now the ol’ South is rising up again!
Back then it was Sen. Joseph McCarthy and the "Lavender Scare"; now it is the “Transgender Scare.” Instead of Senate hearings, it is Trump’s “Executive Orders!” And here is a twist: helping McCarthy was Roy Cohn. Does that name sound familiar? It should, he was Trump’s long-time mentor and advisor!
And now we have the threat of trans activists being put on the terrorist watch list!
What goes around comes around…
[/Essay]
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