When the “woke” mania swept the country in 2020, I took a step back and reevaluated where I stood and why I stood there. To my surprise, I found that I agreed with conservatives and libertarians on a number of issues. I opposed childhood gender transitions, unlawful and divisive DEI mandates, and the excesses of Critical Race Theory. I argued against biological males competing in women’s sports and being housed in women’s prisons. I did so loudly and publicly, losing many friends along the way.
Today, some of those same attorneys I worked with are advocating for my right to marry my fiancée to be stripped away.
I fell for obvious right-wing propaganda and rationalized the hate with reason and logic. Now the hate machine is coming for me and that's not fair!
It's the social trade-off to join the in-group. You get membership, but you're obligated to conform. So long as conformity is easy and light-weight, the appeal of joining the in-group can override your moral imperatives to others. But then the boundaries of acceptable behavior shift under your feet, and suddenly you can't be a part of the group without concealing or changing some fundamental part of your life.
Like, Reid Newton thinks gender transition and DEI and Critical Race Theory are all bullshit. Has she considered just... divorcing her wife and becoming straight? But no, that would be asking to much of herself. Suddenly, the cost of being a part of the in-group has grown too high, because it's a deeply personal cost.