iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 10/10/2026

the psychiatrist who was literally the only official gatekeeper in my Australian state in the mid 2010s asked me in my first session with him while grilling me about my sex life if I liked being called "daddy's little girl" when having sex with men. I still remember the phrasing it was so bizarre

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I get the frustration but imo it's effective persuasion, people care more when they can see themselves in something that's just how it is

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

I mean much like the inadvertent green transition maybe you'll get Medicare for all because these idiots completely break the current system

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

keep going the next reply is really gonna get em

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Housing prices in Australia have just dropped slightly and the media is going *insane*

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The republicans winning running on anti-trans messaging means the Dems will take the message that being anti-trans is what the electorate wants!!!

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

is it your contention that everyone who does not remember to use alt text *hates* people with disabilities

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Reposted by richard jorkins

Aaron van Dorn @aaronvandorn.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

What baffles me about this "we need to deny Dems to show them" is that that is the exact logic we need to apply to Republicans! We need to make their politics toxic for multiple cycles in a row. Losing Texas/Nebraska/Iowa would be a good start!

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Reposted by richard jorkins

Gillian Branstetter @gbbranstetter.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Speaking for myself, I find the idea that allowing Ken Paxton of all people to become a US Senator is somehow in the best interest of trans people (or immigrants or Muslims or the country as a whole) to be self-destructive and risks further alienating trans people from our allies

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Yes, and that demonstrates that because she isn't posting alarmist "talarico is a traitor who wants to kill trans people" but rather something measured based on the facts, it goes nowhere. The incentives aren't there

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I mean it's obviously not true that will hates trans women and the disabled, though? Like be serious!

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

this is a really messed up thing to say

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

This just is not true at all. He took issue with some of talarico's statements that flirt with populism, while saying that he is psyched about talarico generally. He did not say anything close to what you're claiming here!

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

What does "even where it means a republican takes the seat" mean to you?

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Yes and she thinks in those cases it is better for the Republican to win. Which is wrong

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

You keep retreating back from the actual thing Erin said above in the screenshot to more easily defensible positions which tells me you actually agree with me that she is wrong

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I mean a) that's not true but b) have you seen ken paxton lol

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I mean firstly I don't think the democrats like James talarico *hate* trans people and secondly if I didn't vote for anyone who didn't have 100% support for all the things I think trans people should have I'd have very few people to vote for...

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Neither do I this is explicitly a conversation about voting

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

This just means you don't have the courage of your convictions

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

It is totally unserious to say that the republicans and the democrats are the same on immigration. Or on trans rights tbh

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

No I don't understand them because they lead to a flattening of very different political parties that can only result in a do-nothing nihilism that I reject

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Is your argument that the democrats are as bad as Republicans (who are actively rounding up migrants into camps) on immigration? I do not understand your politics!

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Also like, there's not a lot I can do - I'm trans but I'm Australian - but I see this same logic proposed sometimes here (where it makes even less sense because we have preferential voting). I'm sympathetic to it but I think it's wrong

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I mean less harm to you, first of all - the Republican is absolutely worse than the democrat on trans people in every one of these scenarios - but if we pretend that they're the same then idk think about all the people currently harmed by this administration, especially migrants

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

So if it doesn't matter either way, vote for the one who does less harm? Your logic doesn't make any sense!

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

The republicans winning is also allowing bigotry to win, and it's worse! They are much worse! The democrats will take the lesson "we need to be more bigoted to win"!

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

She says explicitly her view is the democrat winning loses the party for a generation and is worse than the Republican???

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

This really makes me despair. It's like everyone in the community got a memo "encourage people not to vote" at the same time and they've just worked backwards to justify it without thinking it through. Politics doesn't work the way they're saying it does!

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

The theory of change doesn't work though, all you are doing is throwing other vulnerable people, like migrants, under the bus, and for nothing! The more anti-trans candidate winning will not make the democrats less anti-trans, it does not work that way!

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

yeah, that's very true - I do think that kind of lends credence to what will (and the trans woman he is referencing) is saying though, no? Like it's just a similar dynamic? Like I don't think stancil or Elle are saying it's uniquely solely online trans groups

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

hmmm you may be right - I guess it does feel extra true to me because I am trans and I have had more than one incident of other trans people turning on me in a pretty extreme way online over what are to my mind minor political strategy disagreements, sometimes in a way that felt cruel and shocking

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

But surely the lesson Dems will take from a worse republican winning is that anti-trans rhetoric is a winner and they need to double down harder??? I've watched this dynamic play out in Australia on so many things, it does not go how you think it will!

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

No, I think will is correct - it's definitely a feature of online trans discourse and it comes from a place of people being insanely hyper vigilant and defensive, for good reason, but also leads to some really rough self defeating behaviour

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Oh yes we did that too - weekend sports were against other schools - but we'd have like athletics and swimming carnivals that were house v house. Congrats to your son!

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Also it wasn't based on your personality and there was no evil house it was like. Did you have a brother in the house okay you can go in that

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

except we did not have a magic hat

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Huh there you go! In Australia even a lot of the public schools have houses (mainly for sports but can be more involved) so the stuff like the sorting hat and house cup and stuff felt just like... normal school

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

1000% I was reflecting the other day how the roots of the stuff I see on here in relation to you and others are right there in things like helldump and the CAD mock thread (there were a million more I just remember that one vividly)

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Wait this has just occured to me do Americans not have houses at school? Like they're each a different colour and you do sports against each other

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richard jorkins @echidnaround.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

"design inspiration - inspired by the discipline and functionality of the starship troopers uniform" lol

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