J.K. Rowling compares transgender activist to Death Eaters in latest anti-trans comments

On the podcast ironically called the Witch Trials of J.K. Rowling, the staunchly anti-trans author equates transgender advocates to Death Eaters, the villains from the Harry Potter series. She says that, in her books, “The Death Eaters claimed, ‘We have been made to live in secret, and now is our time, and any who stand in our way must be destroyed. If you disagree with us, you must die.”

This is typical of the false statements and assertions by Rowling and the anti-trans movement that trans people are part of some movement to take away the rights and safety of women, with the most incendiary and egregious part of her quote insinuating that the trans community wants those against us to die. 

One of the issues many of us have with her statement is the phrase “disagree with us”. This is harmful because it perpetuates the myth that being transgender is a choice based on an ideology and doesn’t acknowledge the fact of our actual existence. There’s nothing to agree with. Trans people are here, we exist, we push back against harmful rhetoric and the people that spew it because it’s dangerous and we need it to stop. The problem in so many of these cases is the internet. The anonymity of the internet often leads to conflict and threats, which people like Rowling then take to be the public voice of the “movement” and evidence that the community is violent by nature and thus worthy of violence in return.

Sources: Inside the Magic

Proposed Florida bill would ban diversity and inclusion at universities

Florida representatives put forth a bill that would ban diversity and inclusion programs on university campuses. In an epic pendulum swing away from the affirmative action moves initiated in the 1960s under President Kennedy, HB 999 bars postsecondary educational institutions from funding “any programs or campus activities that espouse diversity, equity, or inclusion or Critical Race Theory rhetoric” either directly or “through a contract, grant, or agreement.” 

It also interestingly removes language from the state requiring that schools provide students with an opportunity to be politically active and civically engaged as well as removing non-profits and community organizations from the list of internship opportunities that should be provided to students. 

VaultedPolitics on Twitter stated in a tweet that students should plan ahead for this bill and the resulting removal of more than 15 fraternities and sororities that support diverse student inclusion, Jewish studies, feminist theory, and gender studies courses as well  as centers and programs for black, latinx, Asian, and LGBTQIA+ students.

Source: The Hill

Arsonist endangers lives over hateful ideology

A drive-by arsonist set fire to a pride flag in an act of hate in New York on Monday, February 20th. The rainbow flag adorned with the words “Make America Gay Again” was flying in front of The Little Prince restaurant in the SoHo area of the city. There’s good video of the perpetrator with straight, burgundy dyed hair pulled back into a ponytail, getting out of a white Honda CRV (2020-2022 model), walking over quickly and lighting the flag on fire before hopping back into the passenger seat of the SUV while the driver speeds off. The fire burned much of the facade of the restaurant as well as the fire escape for the apartments above.

The fire started shortly after 1:35 am at the building on Prince street. According to officials, 12 Fire Department units and 60 firefighters and emergency medical responders in total were called in for the incident. Luckily, they were able to extinguish the fire before anyone was hurt and only the outside of the building was damaged, including some cracked windows.

Fire burns the facade of The Little Prince restaurant as fire fighters work to put out the flames.

“What we saw in the video was a hate crime,” Councilmember Erik Bottcher said in a statement to the press. “Someone who intended to strike fear into our entire community…Our resolve is only strengthened when acts like this happen.” Botcher helped show the solidarity of the community by putting up an even larger pride flag in front of the restaurant. “We are standing up in the face of this hate and reasserting our pride in ourselves and our community. That’s why we hung the flag again.”

D and C Landscaping also stepped forward, donating their services and replacing the flowers hanging on the front of the restaurant. With the quick response of the community and workers getting the place back in shape, the restaurant was nearly ready to open later that same day.

The news of this incident is all over social media and with clear video of her face, the hateful arsonist will hopefully be caught and brought to justice fairly quickly.

If you have any information regarding this incident, please call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit tips by logging onto the CrimeStoppers website at https://crimestoppers.nypdonline.org/ or on Twitter @NYPDTips. All calls are strictly confidential.

Sources:
TizzyEnt

New York Times

ABC 7 News

IncrediblyTrans Spotlight Christine!

I’d like to introduce the absolutely amazing Christine (She/Her) from The United States!

I was 39 when my youngest son passed away at age 8. It was the most horrific event of my life. As time moved on I kept thinking “Anyone can die at anytime in an instant”. Which is what set me on my path to becoming the real me. By the time I was 44 I finally found the strength inside to tell my family I was transgender. And so I did, first my wife, then my mother in law and finally my two oldest children. After a lot of heart ache and pain, 4 years later I’m the happiest, smiliest girl that I know and loaded with self confidence and pride. I love myself so much. I’m so happy about the woman I’ve become. Mentally healthy, stable and full of self worth.

Christines advice: Always be your true self. Be brave and let your inner self fly.

Use our hashtag #IncrediblyTrans today! it really helps us out. Let’s celebrate each other TOGETHER!
✨ If you’d like to become one of the next spotlight’s please send us a message and we’ll send you a form for you to fill out!

Insidious 2

This podcast contains SPOILERS and also a big Trigger warning. There is a large section of this movie that deals with gender presentation and the idea of a man in a dress as a serial killer and we talk about it. It’s a good conversation but it’s understandable if any of the trans and gender diverse part of the audience would like to skip it. Check the time codes and check in with yourself. We love you, listeners. In addition to that we spend some time discussion the manufacture of rocking horses, the importance of FOIP and a plea to let people use their regular accents in movies if they are not the best at impersonating another one.

Time codes
00:00:23 Introductions
00:11:48 Trailer

00:13:45 Post movie discussion
00:41:08-01:02:45 Talking about gender representation in movies and the weird twist this movie uses that is almost entirely negative to the plot.

01:28:22 SPOTEM

01:31:14 Ratings and would we watch again

01:41:41 Something to Cheer Section!

Next week we take a dive back into that wild wild time of the late 1990s and watch the meta movie to end all meta movies, Scream.

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50th Episode Bonus Bonanza!

Wow! Y’all. We hit a huge milestone for us with 50 episodes of Nothing to Fear.

In this very special bonus episode the hosts with the ghosts talk about their top five favourite movies that we’ve watched so far. Please do listen and enjoy! 

Note. There will likely be spoilers for MANY of the movies we have watched in the past year.

Thanks to everyone for being loyal listeners as we learn a bit how to put together a show. Can’t wait to see what the next 50 episodes have in store for us!

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The Lighthouse

This Podcast contains spoilers.

Have we been doing this show for 50 episodes or 2? No way to know but that won’t stop us from talking about Robert Eggers’ 2019 film, The Lighthouse. You may be asking yourself just how many times can three people say the word ‘Protean’ in a single podcast. You will have to listen along to answer that question.
Also, stay tuned for some special fun cameo appearances by Luke’s spooky door, his sister Joelle and, introducing, random dude who came to buy something they had put on kijiji. It’s certainly more fun than being mad at a one-eyed seagull that’s for sure.

After you’ve listened, support us on the show by leaving us a rating and a review and subscribing or heading on over to TeePublic and buying one of our shirts. OR we have some of those merch items available on Society6 as well. 

Episode Time Codes
00:00:23 – Introduction
00:07:35 – Trailer
00:08:57 – Post movie chats
00:42:28-00:45:00 – TW abuse/alcoholism talks
00:58:11-01:02:41 – TW alcoholism talks
01:28:08 – SPOTEM
01:29:55 – Ratings/Would you watch this again
01:37:26 – Something to Cheer
01:39:55 – Reviews/Thanks/Credits

Next week we are going a bit The Further and watching Insidious II. 2nsidious? Insid-two-us. We’ll work on it.

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The Descent

This podcast contains spoilers.

Grab your old, out of date climbing gear, throw away that guidebook and come down to explore some caves as a way to forget about the trauma of the last time you went on an adventure. This week we’re talkin about The Descent and, hoo boy, this episode has it all. Hunting for cheeseburgers, Billie threatening to quit the pod and a couple of Lord of the Rings references just to chance the flavour of nerdiness on here. Don’t worry. There’s still a Star Wars reference.

Time Codes
00:00:23 Hello, everyone!
00:12:35 Trailer
00:14:05 Movie chats
01:11:01 SPOTEM
01:15:16 Ratings
01:18:08 Something to Cheer
01:23:40 Reviews/Credits/Thank you

Love the show? Buy some of our merch over there on TeePublic or Society6. It would really help us out!

Next week we’re taking a 19th Century ship to take up a four week long post on…. The Lighthouse

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His House

This podcast contains spoilers! And this is a 2020 film so consider your self warned.

Don’t worry. Nothing was stolen from an Apeth in order to record this episode. So we’re all good on that front. This is an interesting one for us here at NtF. Billed as a horror movie, we ask and try to answer the question, “Did this story NEED to be a horror movie?” You’ll have to listen to find out. This movie deals with a lot of heavy topics around immigration, refugees, loss and PTSD so it may be on the heavier side, content wise. It’s a clever take on a horror movie to mix it in with the trauma of fleeing war torn regions of the world and settling in a land that seems hostile and confusing in different and unexpected ways. We hope that you enjoy!

Time Codes
00:00:23 Introduction
00:07:39 Trailer
00:09:49 Post Movie Discussion
01:35:55 Scariest Part (SPOTEM)
01:42:28 Ratings (out of broken window handles this week)
01:46:12 Something to Cheer Section
01:50:13 Credits/Thanks/Reviews

Next week we are watching The Descent!

If you would like to support one of the agencies that works to help out refugees in various parts of the world, follow the links below. As always, you are encouraged to do your own research to see how well these agencies align with your own personal values.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

International Rescue Committee (IRC) (US based)

Canadian Council for Refugees (CCR) (Not Creedence Clearwater Revival) (Canadian based)

The Hummingbird Project (UK Based)

Other agencies are available.

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