I was about to say “words fail me,” but in truth, they don’t:
There have been transwomen and transmen for at least five decades. Time was, they were tolerated without much comment…because they were discreet and undemanding. They practiced public modesty. They worked to perfect their presentation, the better to be accepted by others. They accepted that they were a minority, that the majority would regard their preference as deviant if not delusional, and they strove to “keep themselves to themselves.” But that was then.
I have two transwomen friends. Both are intelligent, courteous, and thoroughly civilized. I can’t think of a word to say against either of them. But the madness running rampant around us, nicely exemplified by the embedded tweet, is another matter entirely – and I think I know its genesis.
It started with the “pride” movements.
The origin, as far as I can tell, was in the “black power” movement of the Sixties. This ought to have been interpreted as a shot across our bow. It was openly aggressive: intended to frighten. It was reported and commented on by the media of that day in a curiously respectful fashion, as if the white majority of the nation was responsible for it, and required to kowtow to it. Yet it was only the sequel to another social phenomenon of note:
Oh really? “Proud” of what? Did you make yourself black? Did you work hard to become black? Is it something you could do for someone else who lacks the strength or the skill?
The arrant idiocy of “pride” in a birth condition – a condition whose bearer had not worked for it and could not claim to be responsible for it – went unrecognized. It ought to have garnered a strong negative response. However, the Left, ever alert for ways to divide Americans, used its colonies in the schools to encourage it, and in the media to report on it respectfully. It was treated as if all whites ought to respect it and all blacks should be chanting it. And so it gained a foothold. It became a bridgehead from which other assaults on Americanism could be launched thereafter.
Shortly thereafter we had “gay pride” and “Latino pride.” (“Illegal alien pride?”) Today we have “trans pride.” Each “pride” movement morphed into a “power” movement: a militant thrust toward special privileges that others had to grant on demand. And normal Americans, averse to confrontation and desiring only to be left in peace, gave way before all of them.
(I’m having a “waking nightmare” about “pedophile pride.” Perhaps it’s time to make another pot of coffee.)
The Left’s allegiants gave each of these things propulsion by fiercely attacking anyone who questioned them. Ugly accusations – “racism,” “homophobia,” “xenophobia” – became the lingua franca of public discourse. The Public Choice effect reared its head: once again, militant minorities with compact agendas proved more powerful than peaceable majorities with divergent priorities at shaping our language, our attitudes, and our public policy.
It could all have been avoided, if only the peaceable, easily accommodated members of those groups had disciplined the more aggressive and unruly ones from the outset. But that didn’t happen then, and is unlikely to happen now. Peaceable Negroes are as afraid of their aggressive kin as are whites; peaceable homosexuals are as wary of their aggressive fellows as are heterosexuals; and so forth.
As I wrote above, I do have two transwomen friends. I don’t expect either would publicly criticize the aggressive one whose sentiments are on display in the embedded tweet. I’d hope for it – it’s the route back to social peace and general amity – but I don’t expect it. In their position, I’d be afraid of being swarmed under by the militants, so I could never blame them for feeling the same fear.
Yet that is the one and only way back to public peace. For whites to discipline unruly, lawless blacks would be condemned as “racist oppression;” for straights to discipline unruly, aggressive gays would be similarly treated; and so forth. So the marches, the demands, the unrestrained aggression toward peaceable others – including others who are kindred to the militants — are overwhelmingly likely to continue.
What began as unearned, aggressive “pride” has become hatred and malevolence. But hatred breeds hatred. Malevolence breeds malevolence. Should this go on, there will be an inimical counter-reaction, wholly lacking in anything resembling tolerance.
May I be safely dead, may the earth be heaped high upon my grave and the mourners long departed to the proper pursuits of the living, before that day arrives.
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The misuse of “phobia” is so common, that few think about its meaning. Homophobia? Do you fear homosexuals? Or would you rather not bend over backwards to accommodate them, to give in to their demands. Same for all the other “phobias.” The rage toward whites could be better described as caucasoidphobia, no?
I am proud of what I have accomplished. Being WHO I am is part of that. But I’ve opposed Pride Parades (all variations thereof) from the first time I witnessed them. Grotesque is the word I’d use and I have often said: “Pride Parades destroy in one day what it takes people 363 days to accumulate – respect.”The ignorance and stupidity of the tweeter is consistent with ALL activists on the Left, regardless of prefix. The Trans-activists are exactly what the people on the Right say all trans people are: delusional. I for one take every opportunity to disavow them and their efforts.
The Trans shouldn’t be so prideful. There are lots of thing we “can do about it”. Many of then rightfully unpleasant.
Actually? I’m pretty horrified. I would certainly never encourage “trans[ing] all [the] kids.” Heavens, I don’t even encourage fully-grown men to crossdress; you have to really want to engage in such, or you’re just going to feel ridiculous doing so. The cis people that are comfortable being who they are? Let them be!
Now, on the other hand, if there are children out there that express, of their own understanding, that their inner gender doesn’t match the sex they were assigned at birth, what I would say to their parents is, “Don’t completely discount what they say. If it’s true, the most important thing that they can have is your support and understanding. You definitely want to consult a therapist as to the right way forward, but do not simply dismiss what your child says.” We have the horrible examples of Leelah Alcorn and many others to demonstrate what can happen to children whose parents don’t listen to them.
But force them to be something they’re not? No! Forcing a cis child into a trans role is just as bad as forcing a trans child to remain in a cis role. That’s why the treatment protocols for trans children are as they are; puberty blockers help buy time, to make absolutely sure that the child is happier in that gender prior to administering treatments that can’t be easily reversed, such as HRT or surgery (which won’t generally be performed on anyone under 18 anyway).
I don’t ask for anything for myself except to be treated with the respect and dignity one would accord to any other woman. (Of course, deliberately misgendering me is neither “respect” nor “dignity.”)
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Concerning misgendering, Amy: Presentation is all. If your presentation is good enough, it won’t happen.
You might get a giggle out of this: Way, way back in the Cretinacious Period, when I was a young man, I had very long hair that I usually wore unbound. (I miss it terribly today, but then, I miss a lot of things I once had. Why, I could tell you…but no, I shouldn’t.) I remember being in a convenience store once, standing in front of the dairy cooler, and a deep male voice from behind me said “Excuse me, Miss.”
Never one to leave a straight line unemployed, I donned my haughtiest expression, turned, and said “It’s Ms.” And there was laughter, and no tension of any kind. As it should be!
Thanks for the laugh. :)There was a period of time, shortly before my legal transition, where I was still presenting male, and yet got gendered as female (addressed as “ma’am,” for instance, or described by someone else using the pronoun “she”) in a few instances. In those cases, it was a bit of an ego-boost for me; we call that phenomenon “male fail.”
The last time I tried (thought I could) present as male was at a movie theatre…when I went to the restroom, the manager was called and tried to shoo me away from a urinal…!! I never tried again!