Politics: I need a script

[redbird]

As I mentioned a few days ago, I have signed up to ask people to fill out pledge cards for Yes on 3, to keep the state law that protects transgender people from discrimination. The organizers provided the postcards, a couple of stickers, and a script.

The problem with the script is that there's a space we're supposed to fill with "your own personal story" of why we want people to vote "yes," and I'm not sure what to say. "It's a basic civil rights issue" is a reason, but I think they're looking for something more personal. So I'm probably going to be saying something like "I care about this because I have trans friends, and I want them to be safe" (which is also true, and relevant—though most of those friends don't live in Massachusetts) or "to be able to rent an apartment" or "to have access to medical care."

(I know that some of my trans friends subscribe to my journal: suggestions on something better/else to say would be welcome.)

Comments

[sine_nomine]

Thank you for doing this!

How about "Many trans people feel unsafe in their day-to-day lives, such as using public restrooms, applying for a job, going on a trip. This is important to me because every person who lives here deserves to feel safe. It should not matter if they are trans or not."

[voidampersand]

I think it is really good. I would suggest starting with the second sentence because people are likely to agree with it, and that will help them be more receptive to the facts.

[redbird]

I think that's a good script for a different context: this is for talking to people who have already said yes to "Do you support trans rights?" and we're trying to create (more enthusiastic) support for the law that protects those rights. If I approach someone tomorrow with "Hello, do you support transgender rights?" and they say "no" or "I'm not sure," I'm supposed to say "OK, have a nice day" or the like, not try to persuade them.

Personal here would be something like "I have trans friends, including some here in Somerville, and I want them to be safe" or "this is important to me because I know some transgender teenagers." The latter is fudging things slightly; I know those teenagers' parents, but not well enough to have interacted with their children.

[minoanmiss]

*makes a note*

[rmc28]

I've definitely used "some of my friends are trans so this is important to me / I know this makes a big difference to their lives" to explain why I care about specific issues and it seems to have been sufficient in getting across my personal stake in the issue under discussion.

[redbird]

Something like that, I think: it has the advantage of brevity. I'm going to be spending some time today working on memorizing the other parts of the script, since reading off a page isn't going to help with the sort of connection we're supposed to be aiming for. My in-person activism in the last couple of years has been protests, where I didn't have to talk to strangers, or calls to elected officials, where the person at the other end can't see that I'm reading from a script.

I have mostly been putting my name and location into the blanks into scripts from email or web pages, editing a bit, and then calling; I have a couple of dozen of those short scripts saved on my computer by now. Saved partly so I don't accidentally lose the text halfway through, if I get distracted or the cat walks on the keyboard, and partly because I might need it again later.

[sine_nomine]

I forgot this was to people who have already said yes that they are supportive.

I do think saying something about trans friends (or colleagues or neighbors) is totally sufficient if that is what you are comfortable with.

Thank you, again, for doing this!

[redbird]

It's the shape that feels right, given that I'm cis and that I don't want to use identifying details of other people's stories without their permission.