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Ricardo Menendez-March went onto say, "there is no contradiction in our position on the environment. Yes, it is a sin to use a plastic bag for your shopping when you could use a Fair Trade organic cotton bag with the Greens logo on it, but all that plastic required to maintain the facade of the trans lifestyle, not to mention all the imported drugs, surgical equipment, etc. used to create the artifice of authenticity, has no carbon footprint because we feel that our superior attitude wipes out the oppressive nature of the social construction that keeps women with penises separated from girls who don't have one. To believe that medical supplies and the time and talents of the taxpayer funded health system should be limited to keeping bodies optimally healthy, is just another demonstration of bigotry, hate and violence towards our Rainbow community."

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The Greens' determined ignorance of what women are fighting for here is completely feigned, otherwise they'd have to admit that they stuffed up.

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Mar 21, 2023Liked by Garwhoungle

I am, just for once, break my absolutely unbreakable rule of never commenting with too many beers and say: Thanks so much.

The things you are saying are almost word-for-word what's rattling round in my head. It's like I lose consciousness, become a female version of me, write an awesome blog, and then regain consciousness with no memory of what happened (while recognising the obvious fact that humans are not clownfish and cannot change sex).

Keep up the fantastic work and I can't believe I missed your blog.

And OMFG the rainbow greens. I was in the Greens. Heavily. Candidate and policy writer. There are people in the Greens who command my utmost respect. But OMFG. The rainbow greens are neither rainbow nor greens. They are a cult. It's all there. In-group language. "You can trust the in-group, you can't trust the outgroup". Separation from family. "We are your new family". Express these mantras to prove your devotion. Now that you've done that, prove your devotion with experimental drugs and irreversible body modification: but not really, we Accept you for Who You Are. Because we Love(bomb) you. But go on. Just a bit more devotion, please.

Trans rights are human rights, sure, trans people exist, sure, but OMG the current model is so wrong.

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author

Woah. Yeah, I am a long time leftie feminist activist and surrounded by people who do not see they are campaigning against the things they once fought so hard for. 15 years ago all of them would have been horrified by how women are being thrown under the bus. It feels like a religious fundamentalist takeover of our state.

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The more I think about it the more religious and culty it all seems. I'm not saying the Rainbow Greens are a cult. It's more that they are the NZ branch of a worldwide movement that has a lot of cult-like elements but some new elements because we're in the social media/internet age and previous cults were not. Collating all the points from my previous comment and adding a few more:

You can trust the in-group, you can't trust the outgroup.

Separation from family.

"Your glitter family is your new family".

Express these mantras to prove your devotion.

Take these magic potions and procedures to get to Valhalla/Elysium/Paradise, which is always just over the next procedure/potion.

Extreme profits being made by selling said potions and procedures.

Lovebombing on the way into the cult.

Ostracism and vilification if you leave the cult.

Ex-members of the cult are abosolutely adamant that that's what it is.

Charismatic leaders (influencers)

In-group language that seems extremely obtuse and has ill-defined meanings

A culture of cult members policing other cult members if they stray from accepted precepts

A culture of lying and misrepresenting the positions of cult critics

A culture of "we're in the right, so any tactic is acceptable"

That's just off the top of my head. Which might be relevant and interesting because there are established methods for getting people out of cults.

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author

Yup interesting. I totally think the cult analogy is a good one. The podcast The commune about Centrepoint is amazing on that. How educated people, nurses teachers, etc managed to convince themselves that child abuse was okay. It's a great piece of journalism because it shows the way a compelling idea can warp decent people's ethical boundaries.

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Mar 21, 2023Liked by Garwhoungle

Spot on.

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Mar 21, 2023Liked by Garwhoungle

brilliant!

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