Conservatives Are the New Cool Counterculture: My Year on the Right Part II
The Trump in the Room, COVID Policy and Gender Ideology
If you would know the truth, hear out the heretics as well as the believers — Leonard Roy Frank.
WHY THE RIGHT IS THE ONLY RATIONAL CHOICE FOR ME
The left is insane. They have lost their moral compass. I cannot think of an issue where they currently have a better set of policies than the right other than pro choice. When it comes to COVID, public safety, education, homeless response, immigration and gender issues I have to side with the right.
When I first went to conservative events in 2020, I was poised to document all the hatred I found. I encountered very little. I am as surprised as you (if you are still on the left). The right has changed. They have extremists, and I do not defend them, but at least in Olympia, the conservatives are pretty damned liberal in the classic sense. I did not personally witness racism, white supremacy, homophobia, transphobia etc.
The contemporary redefinition and dilution of such terms make them meaningless, giving cover to real racism and white supremacy. Real victims of injustice are going to be lost in the sea of moral panic that has no basis in reality.
These slurs are a form of extreme othering, creating a caste of untouchables, which anti-oppression training taught me was wrong. What is even worse is the concept of freedom itself is being advanced as a far right talking point. The absurdity knows no bounds.
This moral relativism has caused me much angst. How could people I respect, especially Evergreen professors, turn out to be such hypocrites and cowards? The left is quick to compromise values for convenience, safety and social capital. They lack consistency of conviction.
CONVERSION THERAPY
I did get one email from a gentlemen who would have preferred me to be hetero, but it was more about saving my soul than shaming me. It was hardly abusive, especially compared to Antifa. A friend got called “faggot” at a rally and apologies were made — he was told that person did not reflect the group’s values and would be spoken to.
This is not the narrative we are sold. Brandon Straka, a gay man, got a standing ovation at the Lincoln Day Dinner. I never heard racial groups, gays or trans people be disparaged. Trust me, I was trained to find racism and expose it. I would not be giving a pass just because people were nice to me.
Straka is being politically persecuted by the Biden Justice Department. Treated as a terrorist, he is singled out for intensive and invasive screening when he flies. He was imprisoned on a misdemeanor disorderly conduct charge for January 6th even though he did not enter the Capitol or direct others to do so. He is a powerful speaker and that is why the #Walkaway movement is threatening.
The most antiracist action in Olympia since George Floyd’s death was when conservatives chased race baiting Sacha Baron Cohen out of town. He even had plants in the audience to get them to sing along to his blatantly racist lyrics. The event organizer APOLOGIZED for Cohen’s deception. Nonetheless, Cohen spun the story to position himself as the victim in fear for his life. The conservatives stood up to HIS racism and THEY were painted as the bad guys.
When reviewing footage of the J6 protest at the Washington Governor’s Mansion, I saw two actual real honest-to-goodness white supremacists who were not from Olympia. They were told to STFU and leave by the Patriots. I have not seen them at events since.
In Woke Racism, John McWhorter calls out white liberal racism and black fragility. He speaks to how insulting it is when whites treat him as a child. During the “racial reckoning” of 2020 when the antiracists were “centering black voices” I posted links to McWhorter, Coleman Hughes, Glen Loury and others on Next Door. FOUR people reported me for “discrimination” and the post was removed.
That summer all the white progressives promised to DOTHEWORK. For them reading BIPOC was the equivalent of eating their (organic) (locally sourced) vegetables. Robin DiAngelo sure made bank though.
THE TRUMP IN THE ROOM
The right is absolutely not monolithic, which should be self evident, but to the left, the right is singularly bad, no matter the strain. I worked as an indie candidate to build relationships across several factions, including what would be labeled the far right, the alt right, the alt light and old school centrists from the business community.
I had interesting and deep conversation with the man who led the local Tea Party movement. It was another disorienting moment, comparing what I thought I knew about the Tea Party with what this gentleman spoke of. He was not the crazy tea bag wearing lunatics I had seen on MSNBC. There was much common ground, especially around *gasp* the working class, whom the Democrats have abandoned and hold in contempt.
I did not meet a single person espousing Q Anon conspiracies. I heard they exist but tend to stay quiet. I heard conspiracy talk around the fringe of certain issues, notably voting, which is a realistic concern. A few are convinced the 2020 election was stolen, being fair, I was also convinced the 2000 election was stolen from Al Gore. I was not labeled an INSURRECTIONIST or censored for talking about it online.
George Soros is a common trope, but he IS funding progressive prosecutors who are decriminalizing crime and allowing political violence to flourish. Murder rates in black communities, notably Portland, whose approach to criminal justice is extremely permissive.
His foundation also has give hundreds of millions of dollars to organizations who support gender self identification and that children of any age should be able to change their sex at will under the affirmation model.
Devotion to Trump versus party seemed to be a differentiating factor, though people were united on other issues. Affiliation seemed to involve cliquishness, history with the party, level of involvement and how small L libertarian you were.
Trump sowed discord and these schisms have yet to be resolved. The Mainstream centrists are held in contempt as RINOs, so even Republicans who do manage to get elected in Washington do not have full support.
I voted Trump because he EARNED my vote. Once my rabid TDS broke, I was able to look at his record with clearer eyes and found much had been misrepresented. I was surprised there was much I liked. Trump governed like the old school New York Democrat he was. The CRT ban sealed the deal. He gained my respect for his complete courage. He bore the hate of the world and it did not break him. I can appreciate that.
The furthest right and the furthest libertarian are Patriots and supporters of Joe Kent who have significant overlap. Kent is running for Congress in SW Washington on a Trumpian America First platform and has the former president’s endorsement.
I am impressed with Kent. He has a great story — former Green Beret who is also a Gold Star husband. His wife, Shannon, was killed in Syria by a suicide bomber in 2019, making him a single dad. You cannot deny his dreamy charisma/low key machismo that has both sexes’ admiration. He looks amazing in suits and plaid shirts.
I have listened to several interviews and there is not much I disagree with. He is a classic working class hero, not afraid to say what needs to be said. A fair amount of Kent’s rhetoric reminds me of early Michael Moore TBH.
He has a very good chance of winning, due to deep dissatisfaction with Jaime Herrera Beutler, who is considered RINO for disloyalty to Trump, voting for impeachment one of her biggest sins.
Support for a Trump 2024 run seems tepid but I could be wrong. While he has fierce defenders and is generally regarded fondly, there is a feeling of moving on. People, including myself, are pretty hot on Ron DeSantis for how he has managed Florida. He seems to be the frontrunner, no other potential candidates are discussed, though there are small contingents of Ted Cruz and Greg Abbott fans.
There are incidents of cancel culture on the right just as vicious as those on the left. There have been breakups, some due to personality, some due to politics. It seems hard to keep energy and unity given the overwhelming odds conservatives face in the region.
This is the time for the right to make big moves, people are yearning for alternatives to the extreme left. If someone like me can find a home on the right, it is a big tent. Outreach to younger people should be a key strategy tapping into their natural propensity for rebellion.
I would probably be considered alt right in today’s environment, in that I reject social justice culture, take some amusement in light trolling, have a gamer perspective and am committed to the fight for Western Enlightenment liberal values.
On the political compass test, however, I am near dead center. I have not compromised my progressive values, I have the same core respect for human rights. I also feel there needs to be a balance of DIY personal responsibility AND a real safety net. I am disabled and need both to survive.
REPUBLICANS ARE GOING TO BE THE REAL WINNERS IN COVID
I predict conservatives are going to win big politically in 2022 and beyond. We are seeing an exodus from the PNW. People are done, sick of unchecked urban camping ruining their QOL, astronomical housing costs and COVID related lockdowns. Mandates have destroyed our state’s economy for lower and middle income people.
There are parallel existences — Fear World and Free World. Neither side really understands the other. I refuse to live in Fear World. I chose Free World to preserve my humanity and mental health. More are making the transition, though I have concern some will never leave fear world either because they can’t or won’t.
I used to trust Washington state government to have my best interests in mind. I can no longer say that. Children ate outside, separated, in 39 degree weather. We lost a tremendous investment in resources when state employees, many who WORKED FROM HOME, were forced out due to medical coercion. So much for union protection. Progressives mock, minimize, misunderstand and mischaracterize principled civil disobedience from the right, betraying another key value.
We cannot continue to live like this and we cannot let the fearful set policy for the rest of us. Extreme restrictions are collective punishment, morally corrupt and indefensible, especially when they harm children. I fear this generation is going to have lifelong psychological challenges with intimacy due to our panicked COVID response.
People of Fear World resent Free World. They have a simplistic view of the positions of medical freedom. It is remarkable to see progressives selling out bodily autonomy by cheering on mandates, especially making employment and access to society dependent on vaccination. It is discrimination based on health status, gutting the ADA. Yo, ableism and all.
Forced vaccination is your body, my choice. What the hell happened? Institutional capture by safetyism, fear borne of generalized anxiety. Adherence to the group blinds the left to the needs of the individual. I refuse to treat others as if they are an existential threat.
Another theory is enthusiastic ignorance of the right has blinded the left to their own hatred. Threads on social media dehumanizing the unvaccinated and unmasked are normal. It goes beyond hate into sadistic glee when an unvaccinated person gets ill. “They deserved it.” There is even talk of denying medical care, people ARE being denied organ transplants. Progressives applaud moral maladaption.
It is human behavior I have only read about in history books. COVID response has been a personal test of character and fortitude that many “good people” have failed, casually becoming irrational and authoritarian. As a witness, I have misanthropic angst.
Free World is not COVID denialism, nor is it specifically anti-vax, it is more anti-mandate and anti-lockdown. It is about living life as normally as possible as the healthiest way to cope and rebuild our economy. It recognizes the need to see faces, of connection’s importance for mental well being. It is about each person managing risk, given their health, while also caring for the community.
It is not about disregard of harm to others, but sensible mitigation. Hand washing, isolation if sick or exposed, a rejection of the social harm of two years of masking. It is is not reckless, but a stoic choice to not be afraid. It is extending implicit trust and not seeing others as “vectors for disease.” Where have I heard that term before?
Some people are still only socializing in pods and isolating from their extended family. Living without physical touch. Having to pass literal purity tests to share a holiday meal, isolating the “contaminated.” Forcing people to die alone. Living in superstition is not “following the science.” It has been two years, man the fuck up.
The psychological toll does not seem to matter to the compassionistas. They are willing to sacrifice basic freedoms, relationships and autonomy. The ties that make up the fabric of life have been destroyed by the polarization between Fear World and Free World. We cannot even agree that nobody wants people or businesses dying.
GENDER IDEOLOGY IS MUTILATING CHILDREN
The progressive position on COVID and children is bad enough, but the real evil is the medical transition of children, which is a massive uncontrolled experiment in unexplored territory.
My previous position was that a trans child should be unconditionally accepted and affirmed. That was when transition was rare and only involved social changes among older teens. I saw no difference from the androgyny I grew up with.
I saw excesses around the edges, like the “theyby” concept, where a child’s gender is not disclosed by the parents, just in case the child decides they are trans. There is a good chance this will happen as the parents are grooming the child from birth in order to be cool and modern. Munchausen’s by Proxy, using kids for social capital.
A child needs early constants in their life, knowing their sex is one of them. Parents are putting their needs ahead of the child. It is problematic when parents take on their child’s trans identity as their own, hijacking the child’s developmental need to individuate.
The progressive value I live by is body acceptance. We all struggle with body image and the best choice is to learn to love your body as it is and strive to be as healthy as you can. The previous feminist goal was to accept imperfection and see beyond appearance. Identity was linked to personality, interests and achievement not DSM diagnosis, a healthier way of personal evaluation.
What changed my position is information. I read primary source materials on medical transition and detransition. When I learned what is really happening to kids, mainly young autistic women, I was horrified. It is some dark dark shit. I am not sure how any reasonable person can defend it.
Children cannot consent to puberty blockers. Swept up in social contagion and search for identity, they are groomed into thinking medical transition will make them feel better emotionally. They will be special, oppressed because victimhood is an aspiration the new currency of cool.
I would have been one of these girls. I am gender nonconforming and scored 96% male on the gender test. I never thought I wanted kids. I loved to subvert gender. Being fully disabled, I also see this issue through a disability lens, nobody should be made a patient for life through iatrogenic harm.
Medical transition of children should not be undertaken except in exceptional circumstances. The risks and costs are too high. Each person that starts hormone therapy as a teen is worth over $1 million lifetime dollars to the pharmaceutical industry. There is a 14% ANNUAL rate of growth predicted for transition surgeries according to market analysis.
Surgical mutilation of children is big business and they are deft in their marketing. There has been a 4000% increase in young woman seeking to change gender. Yes 4000%. There is no reasonable explanation beyond social contagion. Hormones are explicitly packaged and marketed to appeal to teens.
Social transition of children is also not without danger and should be treated with caution. It creates a direct line to medical transition. Once a decision to transition is made, due to social and parental pressure it can be hard for a young person to admit they made a mistake.
HONESTY ABOUT TRANSITION
People are not aware about the truth of transition. The realities are harsh, painful and disfiguring. There is no going back. They say puberty blockers are safe, but they have serious side effects and set a child on a path where the next steps are gruesome.
16 year olds are getting double mastectomies, a railroad track scar across their chest. Sometimes their nipples are preserved but with a significant loss of sensation. Other procedures require realistic nipple tattoos which are cosmetic only.
When testosterone is started it puts a girl into menopause which even mature women struggle with emotionally. I have seen parents express joy about going through it with their teen “sons” and how close it makes them. What the actual fuck? They they should be the voice of reason. Do they not understand biology?
The question, “Would you rather have a live son or a dead daughter?” is used to encourage/validate transition is potent and effective emotional manipulation. A false binary if you will. Statistics do not support this argument, in fact, some studies show an increased risk of suicide for those who transition. They also have not studied detransition regret which can be severe and lead to poor mental health outcomes.
Paradoxically, transition often increases body dysmorphia/dysphoria. It rarely solves the underlying issues that make transition an attractive choice. A young woman named Helena was given the highest possible dose of testosterone after a one hour screening at Planned Parenthood. It caused her mental health issues to significantly worsen. Not once did anyone question the role of testosterone. Her thoughtful essay is a must read.
Testosterone causes uterine atrophy, extremely painful as it pulls on tissue connecting it to the abdominal wall. The solution is a hysterectomy, usually done in the early 20s. Two major surgeries, that most women wish to avoid, are SOP. Young women are left sterilized and often lack sexual function.
These doctors should lose their licenses. They are MAIMING young people and this is CELEBRATED. The doctor below poses with her patients, topless, massive incisions where their breasts used to be.
For women, penises are constructed from flesh removed from the thigh, leaving a large surface wound that can have difficulty healing and results in a large rectangular scar.
For young boys, puberty blockers leave them with a micro penis for life. They don’t really want to talk about the micro penis, which besides lacking sexual function is too small to turn inside out to make a neo vagina. Surgically constructed vaginas have their own set of problems, they are not elastic and require frequent painful dilation and are not self cleaning. Dead skin and other debris can accumulate resulting in odor and infection.
There is an even more extreme movement called nullification where the goal is to remove all secondary sexual characteristics in the pursuit of “true” non binary. This involves hormones, mastectomies, hysterectomies or castration costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. The penis is removed or the vaginal opening is sewn shut. Otherwise known as genital mutilation, which progressives are supposed to be against.
It is rare these surgeries do not require further corrective/reconstructive work that is painful, disfiguring and in the case of severe infection, life threatening. They often cause permanent disability, chronic pain and medical trauma making getting future care difficult. There are very few providers to support detransitioners and there is little knowledge of their medical needs.
IGNORANCE IS BLISS
I would hope if more progressives understood what is actually involved in these gruesome procedures, they would take a harder stand. I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that once they find out the reality their opinions can be changed.
The permanent effects for girls who detransition are reminders that cannot be disguised or forgotten — Adam’s apples, male voices, baldness, body and facial hair. Once they detransition they are pariahs. In the LGBTQIA+ community, there is no D. Finding meaningful partner relationships is enormously challenging as is finding peace with their bodies.
It takes tremendous courage for them to speak about the biggest mistake they made in their life. Their stories are dismissed or outright suppressed. Lies are told about them, they are gaslit, their pain compounded. Benjamin Boyce has done many sensitive interviews with these young women and men.
My position is not about hating or fearing trans people. I am actually libertarian. I accept adults who want to transition, that is their business, though I feel there should be full disclosure of what the surgeries entail to meet standards of informed consent. Extreme body modification should be a last resort. We need more research and I support funding for that.
As I support trans people, it is hard to watch girls and women losing rights hard fought for, especially when it comes to sports and privacy issues w/r/t female only spaces.
It is simply not fair for biological males to colonize women’s sports or to wave semi hard penises around in locker rooms and spas. Convicted sex offenders are sharing cells with female prisoners. The desire to be tolerant at all costs ignores human nature.
The media is complicit in covering up these truths. Advocacy style books prohibit honest reporting, and institutional capture means all dissenting voices are marginalized. To dissent is to risk being called TRANSPHOBIC, a coercive technique remarkable effective in silencing opposition. Parents with Inconvenient Truths about Trans (PITT) recently published a critique that lays bare this issue.
Trans rights ARE human rights, BUT trans rights should not supersede women’s rights. THAT is feminism, standing up for girls and women. I can not be a feminist anymore if it means defending men acting with predictable dominance — demanding lesbians have sex with them, entry to women’s domestic abuse shelters or having their testicles waxed under threat of lawsuit. THAT is male entitlement. Also known as “the patriarchy.”
Many older men who transition later in life are actually autogynephiliacs who are sexually aroused when others treat them as women. That is one reason they get irrationally upset at being misgendered, you have broken their sexual spell. We are NONCONSENSUAL NPCs in their sexual fetish. It is low level sexual harassment.
For a revealing insight into the deep misogyny of AGP, read some passages from the book Detransition, Baby written by a transwoman. She takes fetish play into some ugly places, this time involving an HIV positive transwoman who is demanding to breastfeed a baby. It also sheds light on sissy porn and how these people really see women, as submissive and only good for sexual humiliation. It made me physically ill. The book was nominated for an award in the female category, which is peak.
The city of Olympia has hired a transwoman pornographer as it’s Equity and Inclusion Coordinator. Tobi Hill-Meyer, reveals all in this stunning and brave interview. On her resume is The Genderfellator and Fuckstyles of the Queer and Famous. She also appeared in an episode of Kink University entitled “Muffing 101 — Penetration For Trans Women And CBT.” I have no issue with her work, but I do not think this qualifies her to represent the city in such an important position.
Homosexuality seems to be a nonissue on the right, except for harder core Christians, who do not approve but do not seem to be openly fighting like in the 80s. The “Don’t Say Gay” bill In Florida is being grossly misrepresented. The truth is it prohibits teachers from discussing gender or sexual orientation in PreK to third grade in a classroom setting. This is not unreasonable.
Being fair, there was some pushback about Caitlyn Jenner running for governor, but it was on the edges, and I only saw it online, never IRL. I do not see it coming from a place of hate, but a rejection of biological relativism. Blaire White, a transgender YouTube content creator has a mostly right leaning following. She even appeared in a video called “Snowflakes” with indie rapper Tom McDonald who is much loved by the Patriot crowd.
I see a general live and let live among most conservatives when it comes to trans. Concerns arise when trans’ rights are preferenced over women’s and parental rights. The issue is unequal and unfair treatment, double standards and compelled speech regarding pronouns. People being arrested, losing their jobs and deplatformed for saying sexual dimorphism is real. THAT is what bothers conservatives, not the existence of trans people. Nobody wants to erase or harm trans folx.
I too refuse to deny sexual dimorphism. It is biology 101. To say it is not is the contemporary equivalent of creationism, with more dire consequences to the individual and to society.
AKSHULLY CONSERVATIVES ARE FEMINIST AF
The current conservative position on women’s right is in line with second wave feminism. There are differences in gender that deserve respect while equality of opportunity is the goal. Gender is being reduced to the stereotypes I have fought my whole life against.
Conservatives reject the feminist label, as do I. It is no longer relevant to my life, the movement has been perverted in ways that undermine women. My gender did not matter to the right, they actually seem to respond well to strong women. At no point did I encounter sexism or gender bias, either toward myself or others. Women were some of the most active in organizing events and tending to party business.
Even CPAC, the major conservative conference did not have pro-life sessions this year. This caused some controversy, but it shows a tolerance for opposing views that is more modern.
I am sex positive but I find the mainstreaming of kink to children to be troubling. I recently voted against the Washington state sex ed curricula. It was solid around consent and abuse, but it encouraged young people to make serious health decisions without consulting parents.
I read the entire 600 pages and I did not like the constant messaging that you can trust your teacher, friends or Planned Parenthood more than your parents. I also did not like the explicit nature of some of the recommended resources, and the age which they are being presented.
Teaching porn literacy has value but I did not like the way Washington state approached it. I did not like kids role playing different genders and handling very personal sexual topics in front of their peers. Like adult equity sessions, it takes instruction into the realm of therapy with people neither trained or equipped to deal with possible emotional fallout.
I especially reject the idea that a school can hide a child’s gender issues from parents, going so far as to keep two sets of records. As a parent, I would be LIVID if I found out schools were hiding any information about my child from me, much less an issue with serious medical and psychological implications.
I do not like teachers bringing their gender or sexuality into the classroom. There is absolutely no valid reason why kids need to know who their teacher likes to fuck. This crosses boundaries.
There is a difference between teaching acceptance and anti-bullying and discussing things kids are given permission not to tell their parents about. Kids NOR teachers should not be put in the position of keeping secrets from caregivers — there is a word for that — grooming.
2021 Candidate Forum sponsored by PFLAG that I participated in. Local candidates were interviewed about issues affecting the LGBT community. We were asked a question about how we support the LGBTQA+ people in our lives. Note how each person tries to “outgay” each other by sharing personal details about friends and family who may not have wanted this information shared publicly. Scott Clifthorne, lower right, won by speaking to how both he and his wife have same sex lovers. Clifthorne was reelected to the Olympia School Board. Video credit: Olympia News Network.
Coupled with new Washington state law that allows children as young as 13 to access gender affirming services without parental consent, there are going to be many young people harmed in the name of this extremist ideology.
There is also the normalizing of pedophilia under the rebranding “minor attracted persons.” While people who suffer this affliction deserve compassion, at the same time this is an example of the societal purpose of stigma as a valuable check on behavior.
This concludes Part II. I am not done yet.
Part I Strength as a Virtue, Self Censorship, Cancellation and Running for Office
APPENDIX: RED PILL RESOURCE GUIDE
Why I Voted Trump, A Coming Out Story is the prologue to this series. I discuss leaving the left and the harsh consequences I faced.
Thank you for reading.
Candace Mercer is a progressive artist/writer/activist based in Olympia, WA. She reports on homelessness, political violence and public safety. She ran for Olympia City Council in 2021 with a bold and innovative campaign but lost. Her next project is For The Win: How to be Dangerous, a YouTube channel teaching people how to fight ethically and effectively.
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YouTube Channel
YouTube Media Appearances
Twitter @candiomercer
Email OlympiaFTW2021@gmail.com
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