RE: Trump’s ban on trans folks in the military: A Quick Analysis / Rant / Set of Understandings

Jess St. Louis
Jul 26, 2017 · 2 min read
  1. The military is a tool of imperialism and inclusion into it does not = liberation or safety or a sign of challenging cissexism. It just meant they’re willing to put aside cissexist discrimination for the sake of expanding an imperialist army.
  2. Still, in a context of racialized capitalism and empire, the military cynically offers a way to higher education and other employment, etc. at the cost of risking people’s own lives in the service of ruling class & State interests. The ban, even though the military is awful, is still an act of violence and discrimination. It makes me think of the movie AWOL, even though the main character is a working class lesbian, that the military was the way to get out of her town, into college and hopefully into a better job later on. The military isn’t a benevolent, positive force — it’s understood as a risky tool to try to get better opportunities under the system later on.
  3. Really, this ban is a signaling of okaying more widespread cissexism — to put us on edge, to pull us into a more defensive smaller distrusting formation — and a greenlight for more harm to come our way from other forces.
  4. What would trans liberation look like in a way that challenges and dismantles racialized capitalism and empire/imperialism? Is there a way we can see this as an opportunity to drive a wedge between alignment with the State/empire and our folks? How can we scale up a solidarity economic / post-capitalist model that can make sure all of our folks can survive — to provide a real material alternative to the military?
  5. Dump Trump.
  6. This onslaught of right-wing attacks is so intense — constantly pulling us into reaction on multiple fronts of struggle — that it feels so hard to actually see beyond the attacks and where we can move forward fights on our own terms. And also, know that this is so calculated y’all — even if it’s not towards some grand strategy, I know they’re doing this so its hard to fight all of it at once.

Jess St. Louis

Written by

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade