Last week, Congresswoman Sarah McBride gave an interview to Ezra Klein at the New York Times.

If you’ve been paying attention, you know that the NYT it’s been the force of so much anti-trans narrative in mainstream media. To the point where the Times was quoted no less than 8 times by Justice Thomas’ in his concurrence in Skrmetti.

McBride wants Democrats to “follow the polls” rather than lead with moral conviction of the right of trans people to exist and fully participate in society.

This is the same kind of strategy that failed 20 years ago with Barney Frank and HRC throwing trans people under the bus to try to get bipartisan support for equal employment rights for Gay men and Lesbians.

We’ve already seen a shift to the right in the Democratic Party on trans rights. Witnesses Gavin Newsom capitulating on the right of trans athletes to play sports.

McBride and her ilk think that taking an incremental approach will work.  The main fallacy of such an approach is that rights are not granted by public opinion.

If we were to consistently take that approach, we’d likely never have gotten or would have significantly delayed women’s suffrage, civil rights, interracial or same-sex marriage, etc..

Substitute any other marginalized group and you see how terrible this attitude is:

"Maybe the public isnt ready for Black people being full citizens"

"Maybe the public isn't ready for women having the right to vote"

"Maybe the public isn't ready for these schools being integrated"

“Maybe the public isn’t ready for disabled kids to get education.”

Serge Moscovici's theory of minority influence says that a minority group can influence the majority's views through clear, consistent, & confident communication of their position. Demonstrating commitment through action, even if those actions involve risk or sacrifice, can also increase the efficacy of influence.

The reality is - incrementalism never works.

Trans people need to treat our lives with the same urgency that the queer communities approached the HIV/AIDS crisis.  We didn’t apologize  for our right to exist. We didn’t apologize for our demands because our siblings were DYING. Just like now. We simply cannot afford to back down.