Wow, Mark. Great insights! This has been a great conversation. I ended up calling my son and sharing much of it with him because it is so refreshing to talk about this in a non-polarizing way with someone other than him. I especially liked your comments, "Especially important given that many transitioned folks and long-timers in the tran…
Wow, Mark. Great insights! This has been a great conversation. I ended up calling my son and sharing much of it with him because it is so refreshing to talk about this in a non-polarizing way with someone other than him. I especially liked your comments, "Especially important given that many transitioned folks and long-timers in the trans community don't agree with the agitation that is coming from the far left, but of course could never agree with voices from the right that literally refuse to recognize their existence." You described my son's position perfectly. We have always been left-leaning, but this topic and many of the other movements of the past several years have felt threatening and I find myself (as a commentator that I like and follow says) politically marooned. My son has said to me that as frustrated as he is with left ideologies, at least they don't want to see him without any rights (or dead), like some on the far right do. One of the reasons he decided to pursue his master's degree in a more conservative state was because he wanted a different experience than his California undergraduate one. Of course both experiences have had disappointments, but that is life. It's also challenging because my extended family is pretty conservative. And while they love my son, they have been bringing up the "trans agenda," so then I become a little defensive. I still contend that something is going on, but it is not from the actual trans community, although they will suffer the brunt of it. Thanks again for the thoughtful and engaging conversation.
Wow, Mark. Great insights! This has been a great conversation. I ended up calling my son and sharing much of it with him because it is so refreshing to talk about this in a non-polarizing way with someone other than him. I especially liked your comments, "Especially important given that many transitioned folks and long-timers in the trans community don't agree with the agitation that is coming from the far left, but of course could never agree with voices from the right that literally refuse to recognize their existence." You described my son's position perfectly. We have always been left-leaning, but this topic and many of the other movements of the past several years have felt threatening and I find myself (as a commentator that I like and follow says) politically marooned. My son has said to me that as frustrated as he is with left ideologies, at least they don't want to see him without any rights (or dead), like some on the far right do. One of the reasons he decided to pursue his master's degree in a more conservative state was because he wanted a different experience than his California undergraduate one. Of course both experiences have had disappointments, but that is life. It's also challenging because my extended family is pretty conservative. And while they love my son, they have been bringing up the "trans agenda," so then I become a little defensive. I still contend that something is going on, but it is not from the actual trans community, although they will suffer the brunt of it. Thanks again for the thoughtful and engaging conversation.