🧷 Bear Blog — “When the Mirror Hurts, They Call It Hate”

18 Jun, 2025

Original thread by Katie Jgln: https://substack.com/@katiejgln/note/c-124193739

🐾 A Note from Mrs. Catford I love cats as much as I love snark and laughter. And today, I bring both.

This one’s for her—you know the type. Marches into a thread warning against scapegoating marginalized people… and immediately scapegoats marginalized people. With confidence. With volume. With zero awareness.

She didn’t dismantle the argument—she became it. And bless her heart, she thought no one would notice.

Don’t worry, Boris doesn’t know me. Wink. But I know a mess when I see one. Let’s begin.

There’s a strange, predictable phenomenon in public discourse: Someone points out that society keeps scapegoating the most powerless— …and then someone else walks in and proves them right immediately.

This isn’t new. Marginalized groups—trans people, immigrants, the poor, the disabled, the “too loud,” the “not normal”—have always been the most convenient targets.

They’re easy to reach, easy to mock, and easiest to blame when the real culprits are too powerful to touch.

Why this keeps happening Because it’s psychologically safer to blame those beneath us than to confront systems that don’t care if we live or die.

It’s easier to vilify the trans person trying to exist than the billionaire hoarding your retirement.

Easier to rant about “illegal immigrants” than question why corporations offshored your job and left you broke.

Easier to attack a non-binary teen online than to accept that your rights are slowly being bargained away while you cheer for your “team.”

The real oppressors? They’re behind gates, PR teams, and glossy veneers of patriotism and tradition.

The vulnerable? They’re right here. And you’ve been trained to swing downward.

The bait-and-switch The most absurd part?

People will say, “We’re not blaming the marginalized!” …right after they just did.

They’ll mask it in concern:

“We just care about protecting children.”

“We’re worried about women’s spaces.”

“It’s not hate, it’s biology.”

“We’re just asking questions.” Every line delivered with the same cadence as history’s worst excuses for harm.

This isn’t critical thought. It’s cowardice with vocabulary.

And the worst part? They think no one notices.

When kindness gets tactical Sometimes the loudest critics of hate don’t scream at all. They dissect.

They hold up a mirror and ask, “Is this really what you believe?” And when the person stares back and flinches, they call it an attack.

Because when you’re used to being above critique, accountability feels like violence.

Final Word The reason scapegoating feels so natural is because the system designed it that way. You were never supposed to look up. You were trained to punch sideways. Or worse—down.

But the moment you recognize that design? You’re already glitching the system.

And trust me—some folks would rather call that “hate” than admit they just got caught echoing the oppressor’s voice.

#PunchUpNotDown #GlitchInTheDiscourse #MirrorCheck #NoMoreScapegoats #BearBlog #DissectWithSnark #MrsCatfordWasHere

🧷

Written in pearls, sharpened with claws. —Mrs. Catford 🐾