I wasn’t expecting to leave the article having gained so much knowledge about canning

There aren’t many things that there is a consensus on. LGBTQ+ folk aren’t a monolith anymore than any other group is. As long as you ask from a place of respect you should be fine

Not on your instance but it’s so good to see unequivocal inclusion and support for the trans community. There should be no room for bigotry of any kind.

But news stories like this encourage people to take an active interest. I don’t think anyone is suggesting the media are highlighting this out of the goodness of their hearts but that’s the same for everything they publish.

I think we have to be mindful of the fact that ‘conservative’ means different things in different countries politically and there’s also a continuum on which conservatives (like left folk) are. I’m in the UK and personally loathe the Tories, but even within the Tory party there are more moderate conservatives as well as the batshit ones. Similarly, our Labour party is divided between the more socialist side of things and the centre ground side of the party. Also you can have fiscally conservative values but also be liberal/left leaning on other policy areas.

There’s nuance to be had and I don’t think talking in absolutes helps anyone. We can’t gain a greater understanding of how our world works if we shield ourselves from opposing perspectives.

That said, those on the transphobic, homophobic, racist side of the spectrum should 100% not be welcomed. No tolerance for intolerance.

It would be a shame if this community was just focused on the US, but at the same time maybe the community is a bit broad? At some point it might make sense to segment the community and define it more so one country doesn’t dominate discussion