Several years ago, at Congress I ended up in a conversation with a bunch of other people, who were comfortable throwing around some pretty problematic beliefs and claims.

You probably know the type; not quite *overtly* bigoted, but the kind of misinformation and problematic framing that's so common from people with one foot in the alt-right sphere.

There was not a trace of discomfort or hesitance in expressing these views. Concerns about them being problematic were laughed away. Reframed as a 'difference in opinion'.

So it does not surprise me to see COVID denier rhetoric and disguised ableism floating around in CCC/orga circles.

There are plenty of great people in the CCC scene, to be clear. But there has also always been a problem of shitty views not being pushed back on enough, and being excused away as "that's just how they are".

And this rarely stays confined to one topic - if shitty views are being expressed about trans folks or migrants, the ableist views usually aren't far removed.

(This is just one specific incident I'm describing, but it hasn't been the only one - and even for that one incident, the comfort in which it occurred is an early warning sign of more systemic issues.)