“There can be no middle way in dealing with transgenderism. It is all or nothing,” said the Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles. A speaker at the Conservative Political Action Conference inspired an eruption of cheers after he called for the eradication of “transgenderism” on Saturday—yet another escalation amid the seemingly nonstop legislative push from Republicans across the U.S. to cut trans rights. “If transgenderism is false—as it is—if men really can’t become women—as they cannot—then it’s false for everyone,” the Daily Wire’s Michael Knowles said at CPAC. “If it is false then for the good of society and especially for the good of the poor people who have fallen prey to this confusion, transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely.” “There can be no middle way in dealing with transgenderism. It is all or nothing,” said Knowles. Though Knowles wasn’t the only speaker to go after trans people, and several speakers, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Sebastian Gorka, a formal official in the Trump administration with neo-Nazi ties, also took to the podium to bash trans healthcare and people, Knowles’ rant was critiqued as sounding “downright genocidal.” “They are dehumanizing us, a necessary step to bringing about that elimination,” transgender activist and researcher Erin Reed wrote in her newsletter last week in response to an onslaught of similar statements by right-wing commentators. “They are now saying the quiet part out loud, assuming that no one will call them out on it. We cannot remain silent and allow them to pave the way for the elimination of transgender people.”
via vice: CPAC Speaker Calls for Eradication of ‘Transgenderism,’ Crowd Goes Wild