"I don't know anyone who hates trans people." I do, Ken. Most of them hate themselves. You can tell because they almost never give you the sense they're happy people. Not around others, not with themselves - not even around each other. "Drama Queen" sadly, isn't a label too far in most cases.
I work with fellow who "trans'd", including the surgery. He's one of the smartest people I've ever met.
Yet, even after the surgery and constant hormonal maintenance required, he's not 'happier' or even 'as happy' as a "woman" than before. It's also clear there's some strong regret for having gone under the knife. We have mutual friends who speak with him about it. Sure, I respect him enough to address him/her by his preferred name (he legally changed it to a unisex name). But when discussing his work with him and others I simply do not use pronouns and instead call him by his new name. It's no big deal to anyone at work although some of the ladies who don't know "Chris" (not his/her real or changed name) wonder why that man wearing a dress uses the womens restroom. Once they're brought up to date, they're 'meh' about it, too.
"Chris" does not push or demand in any sense that others 'accept' the transition. He/She simply wants to continue working as if nothing has changed. Everyone at work figures, "Hey, if that floats your boat, then we're happy for you."
Like you, though, I've never met someone who wants to harm a 'trans' person in any way. We can regret they feel that way about themself, but only for a short time. Like people with any other mental disassociation with reality, we can wish them well, hope they seek professional treatment and demand they don't harm others during their discovery/journey. At the same time they need to be forcefully reminded NO ONE is required to participate in their self delusion - and for g-d's sake take Pink Floyd's advice and "Leave them kids alone!".
That's an excellent point, man. Thanks for pointing that out. Sadly, the biggest money-maker in our current society is precisely this: you must believe that nothing you have is enough, and YOU are not enough. This is the inevitable culmination of decades of having this lie thrust in our faces.
This is really a perplexing article, from the part where you said "Canada ... scored a fair bit higher than most on issues of trans rights:" and then included a graphic that had nothing to do with trans people or trans rights, to the part where you lament about how fixated people are on trans issues: "Canadians tend to feel there is a media fixation with transgender issues that give this subject “too much attention”... I had a good long laugh at that one.
If you'd bothered to click through to that article, you'd have found that is called, "Canadians Support Protection of The LGBT+ Community, But Declining Support May Indicate a Step Back in Progress"
The graphic does mention bisexual people, and since it's debatable whether "trans" is even a real thing (it can be whatever you want it to be) I think it's assumed that the T just goes with the LGB.
In actuality, I think the people who have the biggest problem with that are probably those in the LGB crowd themselves, but most people don't make much of a distinction thanks to the successful propaganda efforts of the trans activists.
Propaganda is the correct term, Ken. Seems the harder they force their way into the "We're Better People Than You People Because We're Not White Heterosexuals" group the less "Special" they are seen by the existing Gays and Lesbians in that group. They forget that when everyone's Special then no one is "Special". I remember when "gay" was the preferred classification of both male and female homosexuals. No one cared about that term after a while so they - the people who don't call themselves gay or lesbian but want to be part of their group - demanded to be included too by adding 'bi', 'non-binary', 'queer', 'trans', etc. etc., without asking the formerly we're-just-gay-so-get-over-it-folks group (which for the most part the secular community and many RiNO <Religious in Name Only> already had). It goes back to my observation that these folks never seem happy, no matter the respect they demand the media and white heteros give them - they can never get enough platitudes from ANYONE. They act as if it's abhorrent that respect from others should be earned. Again, "Drama Queens" might be the most apt moniker these disturbed people may ever 'earn'.
Obviously people know the difference. The point is that the trans activists (and yes, I make a distinction between them and the trans community in general) have been riding on the coattails of the legitimate gay rights movement for years. It's in their best interests to be accepted as part of the gay and lesbian crowd (hence the ever expanding acronyms usually beginning with "LG"). Now it's to the point where it's presented as all just one community, though in reality of course it's not.
"I don't know anyone who hates trans people." I do, Ken. Most of them hate themselves. You can tell because they almost never give you the sense they're happy people. Not around others, not with themselves - not even around each other. "Drama Queen" sadly, isn't a label too far in most cases.
I work with fellow who "trans'd", including the surgery. He's one of the smartest people I've ever met.
Yet, even after the surgery and constant hormonal maintenance required, he's not 'happier' or even 'as happy' as a "woman" than before. It's also clear there's some strong regret for having gone under the knife. We have mutual friends who speak with him about it. Sure, I respect him enough to address him/her by his preferred name (he legally changed it to a unisex name). But when discussing his work with him and others I simply do not use pronouns and instead call him by his new name. It's no big deal to anyone at work although some of the ladies who don't know "Chris" (not his/her real or changed name) wonder why that man wearing a dress uses the womens restroom. Once they're brought up to date, they're 'meh' about it, too.
"Chris" does not push or demand in any sense that others 'accept' the transition. He/She simply wants to continue working as if nothing has changed. Everyone at work figures, "Hey, if that floats your boat, then we're happy for you."
Like you, though, I've never met someone who wants to harm a 'trans' person in any way. We can regret they feel that way about themself, but only for a short time. Like people with any other mental disassociation with reality, we can wish them well, hope they seek professional treatment and demand they don't harm others during their discovery/journey. At the same time they need to be forcefully reminded NO ONE is required to participate in their self delusion - and for g-d's sake take Pink Floyd's advice and "Leave them kids alone!".
That's an excellent point, man. Thanks for pointing that out. Sadly, the biggest money-maker in our current society is precisely this: you must believe that nothing you have is enough, and YOU are not enough. This is the inevitable culmination of decades of having this lie thrust in our faces.
Sadder yet is that it's all by design.
This is really a perplexing article, from the part where you said "Canada ... scored a fair bit higher than most on issues of trans rights:" and then included a graphic that had nothing to do with trans people or trans rights, to the part where you lament about how fixated people are on trans issues: "Canadians tend to feel there is a media fixation with transgender issues that give this subject “too much attention”... I had a good long laugh at that one.
If you'd bothered to click through to that article, you'd have found that is called, "Canadians Support Protection of The LGBT+ Community, But Declining Support May Indicate a Step Back in Progress"
https://www.ipsos.com/en-ca/canadians-support-protection-lgbt-community-but-support-declining
The graphic does mention bisexual people, and since it's debatable whether "trans" is even a real thing (it can be whatever you want it to be) I think it's assumed that the T just goes with the LGB.
In actuality, I think the people who have the biggest problem with that are probably those in the LGB crowd themselves, but most people don't make much of a distinction thanks to the successful propaganda efforts of the trans activists.
Propaganda is the correct term, Ken. Seems the harder they force their way into the "We're Better People Than You People Because We're Not White Heterosexuals" group the less "Special" they are seen by the existing Gays and Lesbians in that group. They forget that when everyone's Special then no one is "Special". I remember when "gay" was the preferred classification of both male and female homosexuals. No one cared about that term after a while so they - the people who don't call themselves gay or lesbian but want to be part of their group - demanded to be included too by adding 'bi', 'non-binary', 'queer', 'trans', etc. etc., without asking the formerly we're-just-gay-so-get-over-it-folks group (which for the most part the secular community and many RiNO <Religious in Name Only> already had). It goes back to my observation that these folks never seem happy, no matter the respect they demand the media and white heteros give them - they can never get enough platitudes from ANYONE. They act as if it's abhorrent that respect from others should be earned. Again, "Drama Queens" might be the most apt moniker these disturbed people may ever 'earn'.
"most people don't make much of a distinction thanks to the successful propaganda efforts of the trans activists." speak for yourself there, Ken.
I'd say most people know the difference between transgenderism and homosexuality.
Obviously people know the difference. The point is that the trans activists (and yes, I make a distinction between them and the trans community in general) have been riding on the coattails of the legitimate gay rights movement for years. It's in their best interests to be accepted as part of the gay and lesbian crowd (hence the ever expanding acronyms usually beginning with "LG"). Now it's to the point where it's presented as all just one community, though in reality of course it's not.
*you're