3 ms·

US Park Service erases ‘transgender’ from website commemorating Stonewall riot

75 points by impish9208 2y ago

snotrockets 2y ago
"Some words" is like saying the ocean has "some water" in it. And it's even not the article title. The og title is: "US Park Service erases the word ‘transgender’ from website commemorating Stonewall riot". Trans people started Stonewall, and freedoms we all (including cis and straight people) have today are due to them.
- eltondegeneres 2y ago
  The actual headline appears to be "US Park Service erases the word ‘transgender’ from website commemorating Stonewall riot"
  - abeppu 2y ago
    Yeah the title should reflect the actual headline. Is the current "some words" title selected based on the belief that commenters or bots may be specifically looking for particular words to target abusive speech towards?
    - spondylosaurus 2y ago
      Not OP, but that's what I assume. I don't think most people realize the significance of Stonewall, so that alone wouldn't tip them off. EDIT: aaaaand, 30 minutes later, it's flagged anyway.
    - sundaeofshock 2y ago
      For sure. I did an experiment about a year ago where I submitted two different articles on the same topic, within the same 2 minute window. One had the word transgender in the title, the other didn’t. Guess which one was flagged into oblivion in under 30 minutes.
    - impish9208 2y ago
      Exactly, I was just trying to not get the submission flagged.
- pavlov 2y ago
  [flagged]
  - snotrockets 2y ago
    I don't wish harm on anyone, including people aiming to destroy my family and my community. I only wish them to stop. I also don't care what happens to Thiel. As you wrote, he has enough wealth to escape. I care for all the kids and adults that would suffer real harm, and would have no resources to escape.
    - unsnap_biceps 2y ago
      I don't wish harm, but I also won't shed a tear if it happens.
      - snotrockets 2y ago
        That's not the same, right? Not only I won't shed a tear, I might even throw a small party, but I would do nothing to hasten the day.
spondylosaurus 2y ago
Damn. Erasing any mentions of trans people (while leaving "LGB" intact) from a Stonewall monument is so absurd it's almost comedic—the Stonewall riots were very famously centered around trans people and drag performers. Like, when the cops raided the place, they were literally forcing people to strip to perform sex checks! They were trying to arrest people because "cross-dressing" was illegal at the time! I know the Log Cabin types are still a relative minority, but anyone who thinks these attacks will stop at trans people is deluding themselves. Never mind the fact that so many of these categories overlap, and that bigots rarely care to see the difference. Butch lesbian who wears mens' clothing? Cross-dressing, which to them automatically means you're trans. Straight to jail.
- Henchman21 2y ago
  Please. The end game isn’t jail, its death. Why do you think they’re ramping up Guantanamo? Why do I feel like the only sane person anymore?
  - spondylosaurus 2y ago
    :( Tbh I have my money on "prison slave labor" more than "death camps," at least for now, but trying to choose between those is like asking if you'd rather get mauled by a lion or a bear. (Love the username, btw. Hench 4 life!)
    - Henchman21 2y ago
      Death camps are an obvious progression of prison slave labor. Then again, its my understanding that Alabama is already “renting” out convicts for labor. I suspect the sad answer is we’re both right. I’d close with a “Go Team Venture!”, but none of this is very… Hank
    - scarecrowbob 2y ago
      At scale, those are all the same things.
ziddoap 2y ago
Interesting editorializing of the headline, impish9208.
- tom_ 2y ago
  I wonder what this even is. I wondered if perhaps an attempt to evade automated keyword-driven keyboard infantry deployment. But maybe they just can't even type, you know... The Word... because it's just too much for them?
  - ziddoap 2y ago
    Whatever the intent, erasing "transgender" out of the headline referencing the erasure of "transgender" on a monument is some next-level stuff.
    - nickthegreek 2y ago
      OP was likely hoping that enough anti-trans users wouldn’t flag the post before others had a chance to read and upvote it. Honestly, I think it worked. And beyond that, it’s a fitting metaphor for how many trans people feel forced into hiding today. Edit: looks like mods have updated title to include transgender.
- impish9208 2y ago
  I was just trying to evade flagging.
0xbadcafebee 2y ago
This is tantamount to erasing the word 'slavery' from a monument to the victims of the slave trade. In the past few years i've skipped pride festivals because I considered them passé, but this underscores why they're so important. Hate mongers continue to try to erase LGBTQ folk. We have to get in the street and continue the fight.
patagurbon 2y ago
Politics are not the subject of this forum, as much as it sucks that the very existence of trans people is "political" it seems that is here to stay for a bit. But it should be plainly obvious to anyone from any political background that removing historical information from national monuments is wrong. These events happened and trans people were a primary factor, maybe even the primary factor. It is wrong to erase them.
abeppu 2y ago
It's worth noting, this isn't the only national monument that honors a critical point in history for an oppressed group: - There's a national monument for the Birmingham civil rights movement at a motel that was bombed by the KKK after MLK and civil rights leaders stayed there. - There's a national monument for the Freedom Riders at a bus station that was attacked by a racist mob. - There's a national monument for the Springfield, Illinois race riots of 1908 where a white mob attacked and destroyed black homes and businesses, and lynched two people. - There's a national monument at the site of an Indian boarding school in Pennsylvania. Will the administration try to remove mentions of civil rights or references to specific races to erase or obfuscate the racial aspect of those atrocities? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_monuments_of_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_monuments_of_...
waltercool 2y ago
[flagged]
- hagbard_c 2y ago
  In no way at all but "all political subjects are equal but some political subjects are more equal than the others". For those who fail to grasp this slightly adapted quote from Orwell's Animal Farm it should still be remarkable that the oft-quoted rules Please don't use Hacker News for political or ideological battle. It tramples curiosity and Off-Topic: Most stories about politics ... unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon seem to exclude a whole category of political discussions which somehow has been allowed to thrive on the platform since the 2024 elections. It is this discrepancy, the rules for thee, not for me attitude towards these subjects which makes political subjects all the more contentious. How about adding a tagging system to the site next to the flagging system already in place? Make it possible for users to tag (instead of flag) articles as 'politics' and a few other contentious categories like 'AI' or 'Crypto'? Add the possibility to show or hide tagged stories just like it is possible now to show or hide dead posts and a lot of the contention would be taken out of these subjects. Don't want to see posts around these subjects? Just hide them and be done with it.
  - waltercool 2y ago
    This is actually a good idea. I do use this website to read items according to my job and personal interest, and I have zero interest to see daily posts about the Trump administration or US politics et all. There are lot better websites for political debate like reddit, X, Fediverse, etc. I can understand some technology/hacking posts may be related to politics, it's inevitably true, but this is not even that.

75 points by impish9208 2y ago

"Some words" is like saying the ocean has "some water" in it. And it's even not the article title. The og title is: "US Park Service erases the word ‘transgender’ from website commemorating Stonewall riot". Trans people started Stonewall, and freedoms we all (including cis and straight people) have today are due to them.

eltondegeneres 2y ago
The actual headline appears to be "US Park Service erases the word ‘transgender’ from website commemorating Stonewall riot"
- abeppu 2y ago
  Yeah the title should reflect the actual headline. Is the current "some words" title selected based on the belief that commenters or bots may be specifically looking for particular words to target abusive speech towards?
  - spondylosaurus 2y ago
    Not OP, but that's what I assume. I don't think most people realize the significance of Stonewall, so that alone wouldn't tip them off. EDIT: aaaaand, 30 minutes later, it's flagged anyway.
  - sundaeofshock 2y ago
    For sure. I did an experiment about a year ago where I submitted two different articles on the same topic, within the same 2 minute window. One had the word transgender in the title, the other didn’t. Guess which one was flagged into oblivion in under 30 minutes.
  - impish9208 2y ago
    Exactly, I was just trying to not get the submission flagged.
pavlov 2y ago
[flagged]
- snotrockets 2y ago
  I don't wish harm on anyone, including people aiming to destroy my family and my community. I only wish them to stop. I also don't care what happens to Thiel. As you wrote, he has enough wealth to escape. I care for all the kids and adults that would suffer real harm, and would have no resources to escape.
  - unsnap_biceps 2y ago
    I don't wish harm, but I also won't shed a tear if it happens.
    - snotrockets 2y ago
      That's not the same, right? Not only I won't shed a tear, I might even throw a small party, but I would do nothing to hasten the day.

spondylosaurus 2y ago

Damn. Erasing any mentions of trans people (while leaving "LGB" intact) from a Stonewall monument is so absurd it's almost comedic—the Stonewall riots were very famously centered around trans people and drag performers. Like, when the cops raided the place, they were literally forcing people to strip to perform sex checks! They were trying to arrest people because "cross-dressing" was illegal at the time! I know the Log Cabin types are still a relative minority, but anyone who thinks these attacks will stop at trans people is deluding themselves. Never mind the fact that so many of these categories overlap, and that bigots rarely care to see the difference. Butch lesbian who wears mens' clothing? Cross-dressing, which to them automatically means you're trans. Straight to jail.

Henchman21 2y ago
Please. The end game isn’t jail, its death. Why do you think they’re ramping up Guantanamo? Why do I feel like the only sane person anymore?
- spondylosaurus 2y ago
  :( Tbh I have my money on "prison slave labor" more than "death camps," at least for now, but trying to choose between those is like asking if you'd rather get mauled by a lion or a bear. (Love the username, btw. Hench 4 life!)
  - Henchman21 2y ago
    Death camps are an obvious progression of prison slave labor. Then again, its my understanding that Alabama is already “renting” out convicts for labor. I suspect the sad answer is we’re both right. I’d close with a “Go Team Venture!”, but none of this is very… Hank
  - scarecrowbob 2y ago
    At scale, those are all the same things.

ziddoap 2y ago

Interesting editorializing of the headline, impish9208.

tom_ 2y ago
I wonder what this even is. I wondered if perhaps an attempt to evade automated keyword-driven keyboard infantry deployment. But maybe they just can't even type, you know... The Word... because it's just too much for them?
- ziddoap 2y ago
  Whatever the intent, erasing "transgender" out of the headline referencing the erasure of "transgender" on a monument is some next-level stuff.
  - nickthegreek 2y ago
    OP was likely hoping that enough anti-trans users wouldn’t flag the post before others had a chance to read and upvote it. Honestly, I think it worked. And beyond that, it’s a fitting metaphor for how many trans people feel forced into hiding today. Edit: looks like mods have updated title to include transgender.
impish9208 2y ago
I was just trying to evade flagging.

0xbadcafebee 2y ago

This is tantamount to erasing the word 'slavery' from a monument to the victims of the slave trade. In the past few years i've skipped pride festivals because I considered them passé, but this underscores why they're so important. Hate mongers continue to try to erase LGBTQ folk. We have to get in the street and continue the fight.

patagurbon 2y ago

Politics are not the subject of this forum, as much as it sucks that the very existence of trans people is "political" it seems that is here to stay for a bit. But it should be plainly obvious to anyone from any political background that removing historical information from national monuments is wrong. These events happened and trans people were a primary factor, maybe even the primary factor. It is wrong to erase them.

abeppu 2y ago

It's worth noting, this isn't the only national monument that honors a critical point in history for an oppressed group: - There's a national monument for the Birmingham civil rights movement at a motel that was bombed by the KKK after MLK and civil rights leaders stayed there. - There's a national monument for the Freedom Riders at a bus station that was attacked by a racist mob. - There's a national monument for the Springfield, Illinois race riots of 1908 where a white mob attacked and destroyed black homes and businesses, and lynched two people. - There's a national monument at the site of an Indian boarding school in Pennsylvania. Will the administration try to remove mentions of civil rights or references to specific races to erase or obfuscate the racial aspect of those atrocities? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_monuments_of_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_monuments_of_...

waltercool 2y ago

[flagged]

hagbard_c 2y ago
In no way at all but "all political subjects are equal but some political subjects are more equal than the others". For those who fail to grasp this slightly adapted quote from Orwell's Animal Farm it should still be remarkable that the oft-quoted rules Please don't use Hacker News for political or ideological battle. It tramples curiosity and Off-Topic: Most stories about politics ... unless they're evidence of some interesting new phenomenon seem to exclude a whole category of political discussions which somehow has been allowed to thrive on the platform since the 2024 elections. It is this discrepancy, the rules for thee, not for me attitude towards these subjects which makes political subjects all the more contentious. How about adding a tagging system to the site next to the flagging system already in place? Make it possible for users to tag (instead of flag) articles as 'politics' and a few other contentious categories like 'AI' or 'Crypto'? Add the possibility to show or hide tagged stories just like it is possible now to show or hide dead posts and a lot of the contention would be taken out of these subjects. Don't want to see posts around these subjects? Just hide them and be done with it.
- waltercool 2y ago
  This is actually a good idea. I do use this website to read items according to my job and personal interest, and I have zero interest to see daily posts about the Trump administration or US politics et all. There are lot better websites for political debate like reddit, X, Fediverse, etc. I can understand some technology/hacking posts may be related to politics, it's inevitably true, but this is not even that.