I mean on this issue I agree with you, and more in depth I have other disagreements with you. But this is kinda a critism of you too. I'd hate to be in your position right now and if the things I see people saying about you were directed at me I'd be in tears, but a lot of your critisism is "the left is bad because its not nice" when the left is mostly not nice because its hurt and it sees you as being not nice.

(Although clarifictation: Twitter is a hell hole and I don't go on it for my mental health, on twitter the people I agree with look crazy and the people I disagree with look like a mob coming to get me. I just leave it feeling sad.)

I will continue to listen to your voice as well as the voices of my peers, but I really just want this feud to be over.

If I want to ask anything of you it would be try to sit through a bit of critism of you. Ignore the name calling, and some of the assumptions they make about who you are (like shill and transphobe because I don't think thats true) and listen to what they say. I have a reccomendation if you want a good place to start.

Anyway sorry if this is longer than my main post and thank you for reading through my vent, I hope you're safe and well during this whole crazy time <3

@Creamegg I know this wasn't directed at me, so feel free to ignore, but I think a lot of people who are breaking away from "the left" are people who have attempted to listen to criticism and reason with others but who have been met with nothing but vitriol and name-calling. I still consider myself part of "the left," but I have been emotionally abused by members of my own community significantly more than I've argued with legitimate transphobes. I understand why people on both sides of the argument may be hurt and react with anger and cruelty, especially where identity is concerned, but the problem I have with my "side" is that we tend to excuse our harshness with the idea that we are righteously angry, that we are people without fault, and that any questioning or criticism with legitimate social and scientific basis is the result of people wanting to oppress us. I am not saying people on the other "side" don't behave this way either, but I have grown up surrounded by them and I have never seen them tear each other down the way we do. There's almost a blind camaraderie with them, and people nowadays are expected to choose between that or the purity tests of "the left."

And of course, there is diversity within each "side." But tolerance of diversity of thought isn't something I feel exists strongly within "the left" anymore. I know we are talking about very important issues, issues that affect real human lives at their very core, issues that people are sensitive to, but it doesn't mean they don't deserve to be criticized. It doesn't mean that they aren't doing real harm. And the same can be said for ideas from "the right."

For me, and I recognize that this is a personal anecdote, I used to be very deep into leftist ideologies. I received constant abuse from my peers at the slightest questioning, to the point where it felt like I was metaphorically walking on pins and needles. I still feel that way. I have trouble talking to people within my own circle because I feel like any concern I bring up will be screamed down. I have panic attacks trying to express my thoughts. This isn't just in a social media setting, either, though social media does infect the way people behave. If we expect others to listen to what we have to say, we have to actually listen to others too, and not excuse cruel behavior as the result of being hurt. This goes for both and all sides. No one deserves to be abused.

Disclaimer: the "you" in this isn't directed as you, but just a broader commentary on how I feel about things going on within "the left." I think your contributions to the discussion are really important, and having to think about what I feel and believe is also important. And like you mentioned above, neither "side" is fully to blame.

I'm gonna have to take some time to digest that information/viewpoint... thank you for it though