I recently read a writeup that made me think of a happening in the news recently.
Coming on the waves of the Trump Administration's DEI purge, the Department of Offense has banned several books from schools the Department of Defense runs in the U.S. and abroad. One of these books is actress Julianne Moore's Freckleface Strawberry, which is (according to Moore herself) "a semi-autobiographical story about a seven year old girl who dislikes her freckles but eventually learns to live with them when she realises that she is different 'just like everybody else.' It is a book I wrote for my children and for other kids to remind them that we all struggle, but are united by our humanity and our community.
I can certainly understand how Resident in Chief Trump, his crony Pete Hesketh, and their weak sauce Department of Defense could hate "our humanity and our community." They (and many Republicans, too) are offended and frightened by communities of people with slightly different ideas about freedoms, etc.
Julianne Moore herself is a graduate of the DoD-run Frankfurt American High School (and a daughter of a Vietnam veteran). She is saddened that "kids like me, growing up with a parent in the service and attending a DoDEA school will not have access to a book written by someone whose life experience is so similar to their own."
As we all know, one of the groups that Trump and co. are frightened of are transgender people, apparently millitary members in particular. Just as Trump and friends are proud to serve up scoops of snowflakery, so are many members of the aforementioned group (much like many other groups) proud to serve their country honorably by carrying out their duties to the best of their abilities. But this is false according to the weak sauce Resident in Chief:
From Donald Trump's January 27, 2025 executive order "PRIORITIZING MILITARY EXCELLENCE AND READINESS": "Beyond the hormonal and surgical medical interventions involved, adoption of a gender identity inconsistent with an individual’s sex conflicts with a soldier’s commitment to an honorable, truthful, and disciplined lifestyle, even in one’s personal life. A man’s assertion that he is a woman, and his requirement that others honor this falsehood, is not consistent with the humility and selflessness required of a service member." Soon after the Executive Order the U.S. Army created a new policy banning transgender people from enlisting. Because what we need now is to lower the number of troops who proudly serve this country to the best of their abilities. But I'm sure given Trump's bromance with Putin that everything will be just fine.
I am much looking forward to all the freedoms, rights, and ideas the Trump administration will trample on in the coming future.
https://variety.com/2025/film/news/julianne-moore-donald-trump-bans-book-freckleface-strawberry-1236310153/
https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/prioritizing-military-excellence-and-readiness/
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-army-bars-transgender-people-enlisting-trump-executive-action/