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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsCA-11: Leaders call out harassment of Wiener (D) at Trans March
A viral video of gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) being harassed as he was forced to leave the Trans March June 26 prompted queer leaders to call out those who heckled him for being insufficiently supportive of Palestinians in Gaza. What the protesters chose to ignore was that Wiener has authored some of the most significant trans-related legislation in Sacramento, officials noted.
The now viral video shows someone shouting at Wiener, You stopped being queer the moment you started supporting Israel. Wiener, who is Jewish and is now the frontrunner to replace Congressmember Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) in the U.S. House of Representatives, has had a complicated stance on Israel and its war in Gaza. Earlier this year at a candidate forum, he declined to say whether he believed Israels actions amount to genocide. That brought a slew of criticism and several days later, in a video statement, he called it genocide. At that time, Wiener stepped down as co-chair of the Legislative Jewish Caucus. Wiener has always supported Israels right to exist, but has been a critic of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/27/us/scott-wiener-trans-march-gaza-video.html
In a statement posted on X, Wiener wrote that this was the first time since 2004 that he could not participate in the Trans March.
As I walked through Dolores Park to participate in a trans-led Pride Shabbat service in connection with the trans march, a group of people began screaming at me, ran up to me, surrounded me, and began harassing me, both verbally and physically, including physical contact, he stated. They made statements about my Israeli handlers, among many other inaccurate, extreme, and vile statements. They were so physically and verbally aggressive that it was impossible for me to safely remain in the park. As a result, I left the park and, for the very first time, did not participate in the trans march.
https://www.ebar.com/story/167820/News/News/Leaders%20call%20out%20harassment%20of%20Wiener%20at%20Trans%20March
msongs
(74,553 posts)Eko
(10,248 posts)Where are you getting that he was assaulted from?
That being said I think those people have the right to say whatever they want but that a trans march where he has supported trans tons is the wrong place to do that.
msongs
(74,553 posts)for example, an angry person shouting in your face or blocking your freedom of movement, a group of people swarming and surrounding you like you are being culled from the herd, people poking you it does not have to include a physical attack, which is considered battery.
Eko
(10,248 posts)Did not see shouting in his face, blocking, or swarming and surrounded and poking him.
Sympthsical
(11,327 posts)"Critics said that Mr. Wiener took those positions only in response to political pressure."
This betrays just how shallow these politics can be and how reliant on trends some of these activists are. "Well, I was wearing those shoes first, and you only wore them because you saw me wearing them, so you're still lame!"
A politician has a view you dislike. You pressure them. They change their position. That's how the system is supposed to work! Congratulations, you succeeded. I was critical about Obama's stance on gay marriage, and then he came around. And what'd I do? Praised him and shut the fuck up. I don't care how he came to it - he did. Period.
But not these people. They're still unhappy lunatics.
This isn't about morality or cause. It's about some of these people being addicted to hatred and outrage and feeling morally justified to hate others freely from their terminally online perch. And if they have to do it on the backs of Palestinians, that's fine. If it wasn't the Palestinians, they'd find some other cause.
I also thought "Zionist handlers" was a nice touch. Just say Jewish. This coyness with words is exhausting. Everyone sees it.
I genuinely worry for his safety. I think one of these lunatics might pop off one day. Seeing him walk around without security like that in a crowded space. It made me nervous. They've sighted a vulnerable Jew in the wild, and they're going to keep coming for him. The more they justify this stuff, the more emboldened a perhaps more unstable person (if such a thing is possible) in taking an opportunity. If he ends up getting hurt, god forbid, it will be one of the least surprising headlines I read this year.
RandySF
(88,142 posts)San Francisco has a strong Jewish community so Wiener won't be standing alone.
fujiyamasan
(2,201 posts)I agree its ineffective and feckless, and am not really in agreement with policy over Israel and AIPACs influence either but its got to the point where to these freaks theres a Jew in every corner pulling the strings over every election.
And Im not too thrilled about at least one of the primary winners in NYC. Apparently were going to step up to next level stupid from defund the police, and take it to abolish prisons and interracial dating is about oppression or some shit (yes read up on the tweets that were only like 3 years old).
Now I understand that this doesnt define the party, but when it comes to politics Im a believer in the adage, if youre explaining, youre probably losing.
Sympthsical
(11,327 posts)I'm certainly more than fine with people scrutinizing who is funding politicians, but the APAIC thing is weird. Not that they're being criticized - by all means, go for it. But that it's being focused on to the exclusion of all else. That it is the one and only litmus test. Tech, AI, and crypto have been buying politicians at a discount, and that's going to have a far more profound effect on what this country - and even the world - is going to look like over the next twenty to thirty years. It's crazy, particularly if you are for the working classes as claimed. But every time I turn around, there's APAIC and raised eyebrows about "Zionists" lurking in the background with their "Zionist" money. And . . . it's very late 19th Century is all I'm saying. I studied history and read all this stuff - not just the cherry picked events and versions of events people yoink to support their ideology. It just all sounds familiar. From Edward I to 2026. The rhetoric rings in rhyme.
I know exactly which candidate you're talking about. One of things that kind of surprised me is that Platner got all that attention, and I was watching this other person like, "Do y'all not see them?" Because they are so. much. worse.
But for the sake of comity in the upcoming election, I left that one entirely alone. It's New York, so whatever. But Republicans will have a field day with that. Fortunately, I think Trump has tanked the country so hard that it's not really going to help them in November.
yardwork
(70,076 posts)It's all over the internet today that Mamdani is "taking your AC awwwwaaaaayyyyy" because he's a commie pinko etc. Lindsey Graham and others are tweeting like mad. The fact that it sounds silly doesn't matter. The GOP is going to do a daily drip drip drip of Reds Under the Bed.
I hope the Democratic Party is ready for this. I hope all our candidates are ready for this.
As for House candidates in various districts, I hope all Democrats will respond that every congressional district reflects its community and let's talk about our district and why the Dem candidate in our district should be elected.
If we don't take back the House and Senate this fall I'm not sure we can get the country back, ever. There's a lot at stake and I expect a lot of dirty tricks by the GOP and their billionaires.
electric_blue68
(28,006 posts)I am a NYC'r, and in that district.
There was also the "abolish borders".
But something along the lines of
"interracial dating is oppression"?
Well, I didn't see that one!
And l actually didn't get to vote!
I went on the early vote day, and I was listed as Inactive! WTH?!
I was so upset I didn't even think about a ? provisional ballot.But I reregistered right then, and there. Just got my reinstatement notice this week!
My last vote was '24 (messed up my voting location in '25) since when does missing one year inactive you?!
I have to re-call an organization to report what happened. I called but no one was around, and I didn't want a call back that afternoon.
I was going to vote for the incumbent.
I guess we'll see how this one does once they get in after a few months.
yardwork
(70,076 posts)I have a feeling it is happening to a lot of voters this year. The GOP will stop at nothing to keep hold of Congress.
electric_blue68
(28,006 posts)State Dems are going through various pontential scenarios.
And said not just "reasonable" ones...I guess more outlandish ones, bc some might veer that way.
yardwork
(70,076 posts)The billionaires have made a big investment in buying the U.S. and they're not going to give up easily.
I think we're going to see dirty tricks like we've never seen before. Maybe that's why JD Vance said Watergate was nothing.
electric_blue68
(28,006 posts)And we need super white hats to monitor stuff, amongst other experts in different areas.
Some people have said if we flood the system with enough votes we can stop any cheating/stealing.
yardwork
(70,076 posts)electric_blue68
(28,006 posts)yardwork
(70,076 posts)Cha
(321,651 posts)being "Called Out by Imani Rupert-Gordon, a queer Black woman whos president of the National Center for LGBTQ Rights, and Gay San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Rafael Mandelman. ☮️💙🕊️
TheProle
(4,228 posts)MustLoveBeagles
(18,453 posts)stopdiggin
(15,850 posts)sarisataka
(23,016 posts)and that half of them were cosplaying as Hamas it seems likely this was a premeditated assault on the Senator.
How many people either watched/filmed without intervening or simply walked past as if this was a normal occurrence?
Echo of history

Sympthsical
(11,327 posts)I've been to S.F. Pride functions many times over the years. I stopped going as often once I moved out to the burbs, got older, and just don't like being in public crowds anymore. (Apparently a win, because the water situation this year was real, real bad. Reports are the events were kind of a shitshow).
But for people to stand there, at an anti-hate event intended to unite people, and just let it go on the way it did. Not one soul among them intervened. They just watched one of our own, a staunch supporter of trans rights who has walked the walk for decades, get harassed like that.
I know many people just stay quiet around radical activists, because they know if they speak up, they'll be the next target of some of these clearly mentally imbalanced people.
But still - Where is the courage in my community?
From what I'm hearing and reading, I'm not alone in wondering why the community has been sitting through this constant harassment of him. These activists are beginning to over-play their position, and the resentment that they're starting to take over our events is real. A lot of people have responded by drifting out of more community centered things like this on account. Just avoid everything, because it's easier.
But eventually, something's going to give with all this. This guy who took the video wasn't even LGBT. He's a cishet activist hijacking our event and attacking one of our own.
And people stood there and watched. Unreal.
Behind the Aegis
(56,341 posts)I don't doubt you, but if he is, it LITERALLY demonstrates the problem with the "movement" because here we have, yet again, another "issue" being promoted at an event that has NOTHING to do with it, and by someone who is not a part of any of the affected groups! It is almost parasitic in a way but shows privileged individuals using their privilege to pit minorities against other minorities. I am sick of it.
The fact that even in this thread, there are claims he wasn't assaulted. Pretty much the case when a Jew is a victim. In another post you said the way deflections to anti-Semitism should be studied...I agree. They think we don't see them; we do. I am sure you have also noticed the use of lowercase with certain words: Jews, Jewish, Judaism, and Israel. This is a linguistic technique, made more popular in social media to "downplay or dismiss" those things as irrelevant. It is similar to the shortening of certain identities to show contempt: Zionist becomes Zio (Neo-Nazis and David Duke made this popular) and it now leaking into the left. As far as I am concerned, the writing is one the wall.
Sympthsical
(11,327 posts)Some local subreddits have also been discussing this since it happened, and people have been outlining who Dimitry Yakoushkin is. The verdict is he's the usual kind of radical activist you do not want anywhere near your cause because they're so insanely off-putting. I'd never heard of this person before.
He's a Chan supporter. He actually retweeted, "Connie Chan didn't get kicked out of the trans march!" You almost have to admire the crazy audacity of it. "My candidate didn't get kicked out the trans march! . . . (because I was busy grabbing some friends and harassing her opponent out of it)"
I have been heartened by the overwhelming response to all this so far, which generally runs, "San Francisco is tired of these people." That's right. You take that shit to Oakland as God intended.
Behind the Aegis
(56,341 posts)Organizers of San Francisco's Trans March defended the protesters whose heckling drove state Sen. Scott Wiener from the annual event last week.
Wiener, a Congressional candidate and a longtime advocate for transgender rights, was filmed walking through Dolores Park on Friday by several protesters who loudly criticized his record on the armed conflict in Gaza.
The next day, Wiener released a statement saying the protesters made "physical contact" and "made it impossible for me to safely remain in the park." The video, which garnered millions of views, was posted on X by Dimitry Yakoushkin, who wrote, "Scott Wiener showed up to the trans march and for the first time we kicked his ass out."
Organizers of the 22-year-old event doubled down on the protesters' criticism in a statement on Tuesday, even as dozens of political leaders signed a letter saying the confrontation had gone too far.
more...
Sympthsical
(11,327 posts)In a way I haven't seen in a hot minute.
There are some issues in the community - that obviously I'll not be posting on DU for reasons well known to you - that are already simmering because of stuff like this. If the radical activists really want to tip that apple cart, they won't win.
I don't know if they've read a newspaper this week, but playing the "how many allies can we alienate?" game at this juncture in our politics is certainly a choice somebody is making.
Behind the Aegis
(56,341 posts)----
Assigned Media, a popular trans news outlet, denounced the Trans March harassment of Wiener led by local activist Dimitry Yakoushkin as left antisemitism.
We need to reckon with the fact that Yakoushkin was able to incite an outpouring of rage against a Jewish man by mentioning Gaza, the author, Evan Urquhart, wrote on Monday. The only explanation for that is antisemitism. Enough attendees at the Trans Pride March were open to seeing a Jewish man as a proxy for Israel that Yakoushkin was able to whip them into a frenzy for his own purposes.
---
The California Senates Democratic statehouse caucus condemned the harassment as unacceptable, calling Wiener a fearless champion for the LGBTQ+ community even when it was not politically popular. The caucus did not mention Israel or antisemitism in its statement.
We are saddened and appalled that Senator Scott Wiener experienced antisemitic invectives, harassment, and physical intimidation while attempting to join the Trans March, Jaimie Krass, president of the LGBTQ Jewish organization Keshet, said in a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
San Franciscos Jewish mayor Daniel Lurie, the local Jewish Community Relations Council, and The Nexus Project, a national antisemitism watchdog group that is more forgiving of anti-Zionist critiques than the Anti-Defamation League, all called Wieners harassment antisemitic.
---
more...
Thanks to that asshole, a national light has been shone.
Sympthsical
(11,327 posts)Thought they were on Twitter or Reddit or TikTok in an echo chamber and the online posse would show up to brigade. It's what they're used to.
But actual San Francisco politics are not that. It has its reputation, but people grew stone cold sick of this stuff some years ago. People like these organizers could take a page from what happened when folks on the school board decided they were going to import their terminally online stupid into real life and put it ahead of, you know, schooling.
LGBT organizers who decide to throw the LGBT part overboard will meet a similar fate, I suspect.
Brooke Jenkins just convicted the Golden Gate Bridge protesters, who cannot believe there were actual consequences for their behavior. "I was told I would be taken to the police station and then sent home." Well, it used to work that way. Now not so much.
San Franciscans are not interested in playing these games anymore. These people thought they could have their little antisemitic episode in a city with a hugely popular Jewish mayor.
Not a lightbulb to sit on among them.
yardwork
(70,076 posts)I hope more people ask whose interest that would promote.
yardwork
(70,076 posts)He says "we kicked his ass out" but there's no "we" there. Dude is a straight cis man! Why is the SF trans community letting him speak for them??!!
We are right back where we started letting the majority culture speak for us, over us, in our name.
Behind the Aegis
(56,341 posts)I think this was after the initial one with the deranged fucks attacking him at the park. The employees had to throw him out. Other customers were shouting at the attacker (that was good).
yardwork
(70,076 posts)I read that he has said that Israel's actions are genocide. The activists rejected that! He is being brutally criticized for opinions on Gaza that are well to the left of so-called "centrist" Democrats.
Pure hatred of him because he's Jewish seems to be the only explanation.
Being attacked by 'liberals' for not being adequately supportive of a homophobic repressive regime.
Wild times.