Common Sense: Fighting Back Is Not Picking a Fight

It is hardly a secret that America increasingly addresses a cultural divide on issue after issue. Each time, the chattering class, led by the Unholy Trinity of academia, mainstream media (MSM), and the world of entertainment attempts to occupy the moral high ground by arguing anyone disagreeing with them is being “divisive.”

We will leave it to another day as to who it is that constantly insists on approaching every topic under the sun predicated on identity politics. Today, let’s focus on who it is that mostly wants to turn historical norms upside down, whether or not it is justified against any definition of facts and logic.

No better example of this overall subject exists than “transgender rights.” Who is willing to be reasonable, and who is self-righteously refusing to listen to the other side and yield on anything? Who is picking the fight, and who is merely fighting back?

For as long as there has been recorded history, there has been little to no conversation about how many sexes there are. Answer is two—male and female. Some within each gender have a sexual orientation towards each other. That too has forever been.

Suddenly, in the last decade or so, this conversation has gravitated from sexual orientation to identification itself. It is as if we have remarkably discovered the gender you think of for yourself is in fact your gender, even when it does not correspond to your biological gender (or if you prefer, “assigned at birth”). In addition, you are entitled, or should be, to have your self-identification be accommodated however it is that activists determine is right and fair. Anyone with the nerve to say some of this is BS is, you guessed it, divisive, hateful, and transphobic.

Well, a lot of people I find to be more than fair and reasonable have had enough. They have decided it is time to fight back and will not be intimidated by the use of fact, logic, and commonsense in confronting the topic.

It may well be there are functional adults who have resolved their true identity is captured in a body not corresponding to their biological sex. Do I find that weird? I must admit that I do. However, I am more than willing to address them with the names and pronouns they prefer. I’d be happy to have a gender-neutral set of restrooms. When it comes to teaching children, my opinion is that there is ample evidence to warrant caution. The idea we want to encourage young children to think long and hard about their gender preference is not okay with me.

Now, we get to children and adolescents who are dealing with gender dysphoria. Or, probably more accurately, they are dealing with the confusion and struggles associated with growing up. Ask yourself a simple question. Can you name one child who is already “popular” struggling with this particular issue?

Why is it hateful and mean to wonder if what is primarily happening is a cry to be recognized and to be given attention? What logic supports arguing you need parental consent until the age of 18 to get your ears pierced or a tattoo, but 12-year-olds can engage in “transition” without the knowledge and consent of their parents? Some states are making it a crime for a parent to interfere with their child’s transitioning. Who gets to decide? Who is in charge here?

We could get into statistics about suicide rates, acts of violence, efforts to detransition and a whole lot more, not to mention the disgusting position of those in the medical field excited about having a new source of high-revenue procedures. Simply put, there is scant evidence that supports the hypothesis that the transitioning of non-adults is a very good thing—for them or society as a whole.

Common Sense: We did not pick this fight, but we are fighting back. Only one side is unyielding, and it is not those rejecting the absolutism of “transgender rights.” It begs the question: If you will not give an inch on this topic, where will you?