3d ago

Trans Woman Arrested, Sent to Men’s Jail For Entering Florida Capitol Bathroom

www.erininthemorning.com

traaaaaaannnnnnnnnns @hexbear.net

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3d ago

Trans Woman Arrested, Sent to Men’s Jail For Entering Florida Capitol Bathroom

www.erininthemorning.com /p/trans-woman-arrested-sent-to-mens

58 comments

Friendly reminder that if you're trans and planning on leaving the states (and you really should be), you'll need to leave by land or an airport that doesn't have body scanners. As you will be detained if what they see in the scanner doesn't match their expectations based on your passport.

You guys are way too precious about your public toilets.

Sometimes the arrest is the protest.
- Don't get yourself vcoded out of protest please
- They're doing state mandated conversion therapies in the prisons.

Just take a shit in the hall next time. They pardon people for that.

Peacefully disobeying the law is not a good idea under fascism. This was a brave, albeit really stupid, thing to do. I hope this woman makes it out okay.
- No kidding. Prison is not a good place to be trans at the best of times. She seems to be aware of this but... I dunno. As a protest goes this seems ill advised. She might be playing Joan of Arc here but I just hope she doesn't regret this later.
- as stupid as a trans woman entering the men's bathroom and being ridiculed/assaulted? there's really no winning for trans people
  
  With RepubliKKKans, the cruelty is the point. The governor of Texas signed a bill a couple years ago that made it so that, iirc, construction workers were no longer required by law to be given water breaks. There are 60 days in Dallas, TX per year with an average high temperature at least 97 degrees Fahrenheit. I remember one stretch about 20 years ago in Austin where the temperature was 100+ for 30 days in a row.
  
  She didn't do anything wrong; but regardless, if you're going to scale the wall to go into the lion's den at the zoo definitely don't announce it to them via megaphone first.

Relevant facts:
she self identifies as a "moderate conservative", also identifying as a "centrist" who cares about "family values"
she is a devout Catholic
she lives in Illinois and traveled to Florida just to do this
before going to Florida, she sent letters to lawmakers stating her intention to break the law, including when and where she would and a photo of herself (police were thus posted at the location and time she indicated, hence why she was arrested)
she explicitly identifies as not a "political activist"
she is breaking the law because she thinks it is wrong (she is engaging in civil disobedience), though she did not expect to actually be arrested
she didn't consult any legal or advocacy groups before doing this
she was arrested upon going into the restroom and washing her hands, after cops posted at the bathroom told her not to; she was held in the men's ward of the Leon County Detention Facility overnight, and she faces 60 days of incarceration if convicted
she is back in Illinois but will have to fly back to Florida for hearings
she didn't expect to be arrested and regrets doing it
source: Tampa Bay Times (archive.ph link)
- Idiot: ✓
  Identifies as moderate conservative, but is mostly apolitical: ✓
  What a surprise.
- I.... Am I the only one that is shocked by the fact that there are cops posted at BATHROOM??????? The fuck??? (Also wtf do they have a law that say you can do prison if you step in the wrong bathroom????)
  
  The cops were only there because she sent the letter telling them when and where she would be doing this. Also a 60 day sentence would not be served in prison, but the county jail (they are different).
  
  It is Florida. Nothing shocks me coming from there.

I mean she thought of politics as something philosophical that doesn't actually effect people so I'm not sure how someone this sheltered exists while also being trans. But it's fascinating in a horrifyingly stupid way. It explains why she really thought they wouldn't actually arrest her.
She's actually not mentally prepared to do prison time so I hope they figure something out.
Florida ignoring her legal name change is goofy though.
- Probably why some are non voters to, they don't think actually affects them.
  
  It's beyond stupid though, laws actually exist and we live in functioning society because of them (lol). Laws are created through politics. This isn't a hard concept to grasp, does she think if she speeds she'll never get a ticket? That it's just in movies?
  Very strange, scary honestly

Placing cops in front of a bathroom just because a trans woman said she would go wash her hands there should sound crazy to anyone. It's sad that it's apparently just normal now
- So the thing to do now is to announce where you're going to wash your hands to the police and then just not show up.
  
  Unironically yes, waste their resources on this
- And you know those cops fucking relished it
- Putting people into jail for using a supposed wrong bathroom to wash hands is just ridiculous even without considering anything transgender.
- I would never be a cop, but even as a pig, I can't imagine getting that assignment and not asking if that was really what the community needed from me that day. And a whole fucking group for one 20yo washing her hands? How embarrassing for them.
  
  The Nazis didn't have a vast historical record that illustrates the dangers of dehumanizing and imprisoning groups of peoples, and violently smashing protests for fascism; what excuse do these American cops and ICE agents have? I have to conclude that those who participate want this.
  Should we be held to higher ethical standards than the Germans of the past? We have a greater awareness of past atrocities and a deeper understanding of their consequences, and contemporary societies are expected to adhere to more stringent ethical guidelines and uphold human rights
  
  I really do wonder what they thought getting that assignment. They were probably proud as fuck.

She’s a devout Catholic who describes herself as a political centrist, with an appreciation for “family values”
😬
- What in the Caitlyn Jenner..
  
  Caitlyn Jenner didn't get arrested in an act of civil disobedience tho 👀
  EDIT: Marcy Rheintgen, despite being a conservative, listed Dorothy Day as an influence ...
- She's a brainwashed victim of groomers and control systems. aka, organized religion
- wat

All I can say about this is that it's a courageous act.
I genuinely don't know whether it was well considered.
- I hope she's able to inspire others to fight unjust treatment of others. This feels like an extreme act of courage from someone with a lot to lose, and she is not just a brave woman, but this should be seen as an admirable action by anyone, no matter who they are or what they believe, because it's a level of sacrifice that most of us would never be able to take on.
  As many people as we have on near every post here these days talking about why no one is taking any action, they're still safe behind their screen while this lady marched, announced, right through the front gate of the enemy's house. People like Marcy are who have gotten us to this point of the rights we have, not the critics, no matter how vocal they get.