We wondered where the rest of the Madigan family were, why no one seems to have stepped in and given Lily some better advice?
Because this is a cult. The first thing they do is go and say how your family are all evil, and set off all these ideas in their heads about how the family will react, stating its because they are transphobic.
So when the family do come and raise questions, it plays to all the insecurities and the narrative they have already been taught. Thus they then trust the person who has told them what will happen because they were 'right' all along.
They then set up alternative support systems, which also encourages disengagement with the family.
Plus the whole business of dead naming. Families, no matter what they do, are a constant reminder of their former self and from that alone don't allow the person to reinvent themselves and bury their previous lives.
In many cases, by the time the person comes out to them, the damage is done, and its an uphill battle which can be next to impossible, because its already been set up, that everything you do isn't going far enough and isn't supportive enough and hell aren't we all so much more supporting.
They've been groomed.
Put that into context with how thats now being used in politics.
I have to say that I am starting to think that level of identity politics in Corbyn's world is disturbing. It is as disturbing as alt right and needs to be seen as such, because of the way its latched on to individuals and groups like Madigan.
Corbyn and his supporters were all incredibly scathing of political spin, because they viewed it as basically dishonest.
They talk a lot about neo-liberal capitalism which has been totally unrestrained and without limit. And how there is no social conscious or responsibility economically. Corbyn was lauded as having integrity and credibility for being critical of it.
So what the hell is this?
Here he is embracing spin on steroids, telling 'the big lie' just like other politicians of his day. Call it 'neo-spin' if you will, with no consideration nor responsibility for social impact.
Its every bit as dishonest, and more than what he criticised Blair for. It was right to criticise Blair for doing it, but the solution certainly isn't to try and look Blair an amateur at it.
Its been used to try and sell politics as something you watch on youtube and can understand in depth just a few short clips. Its being sold as some new reality tv show with all its stars.
Everyone wants to be the brand new star of the Labour party, with all their followers and all the selfies with the right person. You are helping to sell the brand as cool. Everyone should join. Otherwise you are just like the villains of the story so far: the family (who were stitched up from the word go and just wanted to make sure their family member wasn't doing something stupid or they'd later regret because the made the mistake of loving them).
Its working. For now. But the bubble will burst. People will grow tired and disillusioned by it, as they grow older. Not because they are more right wing, but because fantasies are just that, and reality has this really fucking nasty habit of being real.
Then you get the scandal, five, ten years from now. Of course Corbyn is already over 70.
Guess how this story all ends for Lily? There's a few possibilities. One is the family are the ones who pick up the pieces and they all life happily ever after. The others aren't quite so pleasant. Many do include having no money and no home.
Of course, that narrative is also already set up. The cult already have their end of days persecution complex ingrained into the mentality of members. Its like a self fulling prophesy. But not one because Lily happens to be trans.