Transphobes raging at Bud Light for likes is one thing – but this viral video is frightening
Dustin Cain was arrested following a tantrum of trashing what he believed was Bud Light. (TikTok)
A viral video of a man destroying what he thinks are cans of Bud Light has left activists worried by rising levels of violence which could, ultimately, be turned against trans people.
In the clip, which first circulated on TikTok, a man, seemingly angered by the recent controversy regarding Bud Light’s sponsorship with trans social media star Dylan Mulvaney, is seen destroying a shelf of beer at a Walmart store in Topeka, Kansas, on Tuesday (18 April).
The clip – now viewed more than five million times – shows the man, identified as Dustin Cain, throwing packs of Bud Light and Busch Light across the shop floor before being arrested.
Unlike previous incidents, where people posted videos of themselves destroying Bud Light to share on social media for the likes, this man had no such intention. He is seen simply revelling in the destruction, and on a violent rampage.
Several users online have expressed their concern over the clip, saying that it could manifest into full-blown violence against trans people.
A wave of animosity towards the beer company broke out following the sponsorship deal with Mulvaney, prompting anti-LGBTQ+ right-wingers to call for a boycott by destroying Bud Light beer cans with baseball bats and machine guns.
“I get usually seeing adults throw tantrums is funny, but for me and other trans folks, it’s watching someone act out what they want to do to us,” one user wrote.
Another wrote sarcastically: “Yeah man ha ha ha, so funny man, not legitimately terrifying to think what this person would do if I walked past them.”
Cain has been charged with felony battery, assault and exposing his genitals in public, Forbes said, quoting the Topeka police.
There has been a surge in hate crimes against transgender people in the US over the past few years, with offences trebling from 550 to 1,650 in 2017, and hitting 2,630 in 2021.
This rise seemingly coincides with the volume of right-wing anti-LGBTQ+ content being posted on social media and through right-wing media channels.
Messages from “anti-woke” activists to “fight back” against the so-called LGBTQ+ agenda are not only fuelling legislative backlash, they are giving already-angry people a target against which to vent their anger.
The truth is that the question of whether people are going to turn their anger towards trans people is not a “what if” scenario – it’s already happening.
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