Even no-name Republicans can’t stop trying to get a fanbase by turning the general public against trans folks. In this case, as highlighted over at VICE, a former candidate for Mississippi governor took to Twitter to say that people who support trans rights (as well as “groomers”) should be executed by firing squad. The conservative in question, Robert Foster, then doubled down on his transphobia and calls for violence when relaying the message to the Mississippi Free Press.
For some background on Foster: He served two terms as a state representative in Mississippi from Jan. 5, 2016 to Jan. 7, 2020. He was the principal author of a particularly violent bill seeking to allow the state of Mississippi to kill incarcerated people on death row by gas chamber and firing squad, per the Free Press. He got the most national attention when he refused to allow women journalists to ride in his campaign truck, though he allowed men to do so. His campaign materials for his run for governor describe him as a Christian, small business owner, and farmer. Whew!
RELATED STORY: Texas Attorney General accuses school district of breaking the law over Pride Week curriculum
Several tweets in Foster’s thread are flagged with the note that it violates Twitter’s rules, though several are still available. The initial tweet reportedly suggested that “those who want to groom our children and pretend men are women” should be “lined up against [a] wall before a firing squad and sent to an early judgment.” The framing of “pretending” men are women is clearly a transphobic reference to trans folks.
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In the following tweets, Foster says his initial tweet “clearly” was about killing groomers, not “transgendered” people. Here it’s notable that “transgendered” is inappropriate language and an additional flag that someone is spewing hate, though admittedly the firing squad call does that pretty solidly on its own.
He went on to tweet that it would be too expensive to push people out of helicopters above the Gulf of Mexico and that he’s a “southern gentleman.” He also said: “Transgendered people are merely victims, it’s their pedo groomers that are consumed by evil.”
You might remember the “grooming” terminology has come up a lot recently with the GOP. Christina Pushaw, who serves as press secretary for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, for example, got attention for spewing hate by tweeting that people who oppose the hateful Don’t Say Gay bill (now law thanks to DeSantis) were essentially groomers. Given that conservatives have flung accusations of “grooming” at LGBTQ+ people for decades, it’s fair to believe Republicans know exactly what they’re doing when they reach for that word.
“The law should be changed so that anyone trying to sexually groom children and/or advocating to put men pretending to be women in locker rooms and bathrooms with young women should receive the death penalty by firing squad,” Foster reportedly told the Free Press. He declined an interview with the outlet.
Now, in some ways, it’s tempting to simply ignore Foster. His views are obviously outrageous and wouldn’t fly with the general public when it comes to voting. But that doesn’t mean there is no harm done: First of all, this is traumatic for trans folks, period. It’s also a slow effort by the right to adjust what is “normal” so that the bar keeps moving to allow for more and more extreme arguments and perspectives.
Compared to death by firing squad, simply not letting trans girls play in girls’ sports suddenly doesn’t seem like such a big compromise, right? Or at least, that’s what particularly manipulative Republicans want us to think.
For the curious, you can learn more about Foster and the way he presented himself during his run for governor per video footage below, courtesy of Mississippi Today.
YouTube Video
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For some background on Foster: He served two terms as a state representative in Mississippi from Jan. 5, 2016 to Jan. 7, 2020. He was the principal author of a particularly violent bill seeking to allow the state of Mississippi to kill incarcerated people on death row by gas chamber and firing squad, per the Free Press. He got the most national attention when he refused to allow women journalists to ride in his campaign truck, though he allowed men to do so. His campaign materials for his run for governor describe him as a Christian, small business owner, and farmer. Whew!
RELATED STORY: Texas Attorney General accuses school district of breaking the law over Pride Week curriculum
Several tweets in Foster’s thread are flagged with the note that it violates Twitter’s rules, though several are still available. The initial tweet reportedly suggested that “those who want to groom our children and pretend men are women” should be “lined up against [a] wall before a firing squad and sent to an early judgment.” The framing of “pretending” men are women is clearly a transphobic reference to trans folks.
Listen and subscribe to Daily Kos' The Brief podcast with Markos Moulitsas and Kerry Eleveld
Embedded Content
In the following tweets, Foster says his initial tweet “clearly” was about killing groomers, not “transgendered” people. Here it’s notable that “transgendered” is inappropriate language and an additional flag that someone is spewing hate, though admittedly the firing squad call does that pretty solidly on its own.
He went on to tweet that it would be too expensive to push people out of helicopters above the Gulf of Mexico and that he’s a “southern gentleman.” He also said: “Transgendered people are merely victims, it’s their pedo groomers that are consumed by evil.”
You might remember the “grooming” terminology has come up a lot recently with the GOP. Christina Pushaw, who serves as press secretary for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, for example, got attention for spewing hate by tweeting that people who oppose the hateful Don’t Say Gay bill (now law thanks to DeSantis) were essentially groomers. Given that conservatives have flung accusations of “grooming” at LGBTQ+ people for decades, it’s fair to believe Republicans know exactly what they’re doing when they reach for that word.
“The law should be changed so that anyone trying to sexually groom children and/or advocating to put men pretending to be women in locker rooms and bathrooms with young women should receive the death penalty by firing squad,” Foster reportedly told the Free Press. He declined an interview with the outlet.
Now, in some ways, it’s tempting to simply ignore Foster. His views are obviously outrageous and wouldn’t fly with the general public when it comes to voting. But that doesn’t mean there is no harm done: First of all, this is traumatic for trans folks, period. It’s also a slow effort by the right to adjust what is “normal” so that the bar keeps moving to allow for more and more extreme arguments and perspectives.
Compared to death by firing squad, simply not letting trans girls play in girls’ sports suddenly doesn’t seem like such a big compromise, right? Or at least, that’s what particularly manipulative Republicans want us to think.
For the curious, you can learn more about Foster and the way he presented himself during his run for governor per video footage below, courtesy of Mississippi Today.
YouTube Video
Sign the petition: Demand the Senate pass the Equality Act and protect the LGBTQ community from discrimination.