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Notes -
The New York Times just published an article on a trans study not being published for ideological reasons (Archive)
Has anyone else noticed a clear "vibe shift" on trans issues recently? It would have been unimaginable for this article to be published in the New York Times just a few years ago, but now, it just seems like part of an overall trend away from trans ideologues.
I'm am curious where this trend continues. Is it going to go all the way? Will trans issues be seen as the weird 2010s, early 2020s political project that had ardent supporters, but eventually withered away and died like the desegregation bussing movement? Or will it just settle into a more moderate position of never using any medication on children, but allowing adults to do whatever? Or maybe it is just a temporary setback and the ideologues will eventually win out?
Also of note, trans issues are coming to SCOTUS again. The issue presented is
I recommend reading Alabama's amicus curiae brief for an in depth critique of WPATH. SCOTUS is set to hear oral arguments on this case on the 4th of December, so this is lining up to be an interesting oral argument to listen to. SCOTUS usually releases the big controversial cases at the end of their term, so the opinion on this case will probably be released in the summer of '25.
I think a big part of it is that it galvanized the right, and it has been recruiting and motivating gold for republicans. Trans kids hits a lot of very sensitive spots, and it’s easy to understand why. First of all, you have the schools not only promoting, but enabling the trans kids. A kid who goes to a public school will be told that trans people are special, be told to celebrate them, etc. any kid who decides they might be trans will be given access to trans clothing, be allowed to change their name and pronouns, be allowed in cross gender spaces and sports teams, etc. the kids around them will be told how awesome they are, and be forced to acknowledge the new them. Parents are told none of this.
This first part alone is going to give a lot of parents the ick. They don’t trust schools anymore because the schools — by written policy — are keeping very serious matters secret from them specifically. They don’t like it when schools are teaching things that their religious beliefs call evil or wicked as normal and even praiseworthy. They would also eventually become concerned simply because the schools are much better at teaching state propaganda than they are at teaching reading, writing, math, and science.
The second part is that the transition itself harms kids. They’re starting kids on puberty blockers at 9-12 years old, and cross sex hormones follow after a few years. There’s the surgeries that remove or reposition healthy tissues on healthy bodies to fit a trendy mental health issue. And these things are driven by children the same kids who can’t remember to bring home their math book, or won’t eat vegetables, or can’t work up the courage to quit the baseball team. They simply are not mature enough to even grapple with the idea that what they’re doing toady will be something they will be living with at 40 or 60 or 80. They can’t even imagine what it’s like to really be an adult.
Finally, parents especially in cases of divorce are finding themselves threatened by the state if they don’t transition their kids. There are cases where a father and mother are fighting over custody and the judge will say “if you don’t allow your child to be transitioned, then you lose custody and visitation rights.” CPS has gotten involved in some liberal states because the child think they’re trans and the parents don’t agree, so the state comes in and says either get on board, or we take the child.
Now all of this creates fertile ground for GOP/MAGA recruiting. They are the party that will protect your kids from all of this. They are the ones who want the schools to stop teaching kids that trans is cool. They are the party that wants to force schools to actually tell you what your child is up to in school. They also are the party standing up to surgeons who want to medically and surgically transition your kids.
I agree with the points of your post. It being a drag is probably a huge part of the shift. Can I get a citation for this:
I think I first posted such a case 5 or 6 years ago. Shit maybe it was 8 years ago? It was the first one I knew of. Everyone at the time just hand waved it away. The "child" was 17, and was moved to her Grandparents who were willing to "affirm" the child's identity. By the time the article was written, and the court cases over, the child was 18 or 19 rending it all moot. The fact that a massive violation of parental rights had occurred, and that those parents had now permanently lost their child was viewed as not being a problem at all since the whole thing had been accomplished fait accompli.
Since then it's been a steady drumbeat.
Here are some more.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/school-hid-teens-gender-transition-from-parents-leading-runaway-abuse-nightmare-lawsuit
https://reason.com/volokh/2022/10/21/court-upholds-removal-of-child-from-parents-related-to-childs-transgender-identity/
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/dc-family-loses-custody-of-autistic-son-over-gender-transition-fight/ar-BB1qJeZT
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/montana-parents-say-they-lost-custody-of-daughter-after-opposing-14-year-old-s-gender-transition-report/ar-BB1hwjcE
I could keep going. It is happening. Please don't say it's great.
It is good when abusive parents lose custody of the children they are abusing.
Who decides what counts as abuse?
The state, obviously. They're the ones who pass the laws defining abuse!
It’s great that Texas is removing children from parents who encourage and allow gender transition. The law is very clear that it’s abuse.
Yes.chad
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Taken together, your two statements would seem to indicate that you believe anything the state does is good by definition.
Obv.
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So I take it you'll also cheer the state taking away children from affirming parents?
Ya.
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