A question posed: Most of this morning was spent writing a post about the question of whether it’s time to separate the “T” in LGBTQ. The issue is overwhelmingly mired in simplistic social justice dogma, making it impossible to “have a conversation” without invoking the outrage of the mob.
This comes as a by-product of the Democratic candidates forum on LGBTQ rights. Have we matured enough to have a serious discussion? Probably not, but if people care about doing what we can to end discrimination against both gay and transgender people, then we need to recognize that they present different issues and problems. Are we ready for this? Will I get ripped to shreds for my heresy? Do I need that aggravation?
But since I’m an old school liberal who wants to end needless discrimination while dealing with the real problems and conflicts that will certainly arise and wreak havoc should the platitudinous dolts get their way, should I suffer the slings and arrows of the woke to do something to help those in need? I could sit it out, since I’m neither gay nor transgender, but the damage will be far more pervasive to social norms and law than many people care to recognize.
Does the mean old curmudgeon court disaster by putting this morning’s post “out there,” so the millions of viciously passionate people who will almost certainly find me even more reprehensible than they already do can lead me to the stake for burning?
You tell me. Is it worth it?
I would say, yes, it’s worth it, despite the likely hatred that will come your way. It’s important that more people show the necessary courage in standing up for certain liberal values that are now seemingly no longer in fashion. Why? Because, like you, I also recognize the danger to norms and law that is already doing great damage to some of our social institutions.
Are we ready for this? … If “we” is not royally meant, then the answer is “of course”.
Will I get ripped to shreds for my heresy? … Very likely.
Do I need that aggravation? … That’s not a question any of us can answer.
There are two factors at play in my calculus: will it serve any useful purpose and will it increase or decrease my enjoyment of doing this.
My sense as to the first factor is that it won’t. It’s become clear to me that very little changes minds anymore, even among those with the capacity and willingness to think. Rather than consider heretical notions, they will use whatever ability they possess to fashion their defense of the orthodoxy.
As to the second factor, sometimes I’m amused by the idiocracy, but that’s worn thin of late, as may be obvious from some of my recent posts.
Minds are changed slowly over time, or a mind change is prevented by the weight of evidence.
I share a ton of your stuff on my social media and it generates very good discussion.
Very often, you manage to say something in a way that I couldn’t
The response and effect of your post goes beyond the response you see on your own channels.
Doing good is one factor. Will you change anyone’s mind?
Equanimity is another. Will the swarm bother you?
I’m perfectly happy to weather the swarm if it serves a purpose. Does it?
Not likely.
The only reason I would even consider not doing it is if you thought there was a chance that it would impact your ability to support your family or put them personally at risk.
Only you can determine how much risk of that you are willing to take.
It’s not a money or physical risk issue for me.
I’m glad about that!
If you wrote it, I presume you had something you wanted to say and felt was worth saying. It’s your playground. You make the rules. If you are concerned that dealing with the extra woke will be a pain in your rear, you could post it and turn off comments, no? I understand this is not the norm for SJ, but most (not all, of course) of the people who would berate you via comments are probably too lazy to send you an email.
Will it accomplish anything? Probably not. Is that why you write most of your posts, though?
Comments aren’t really the problem. I can trash them at will if necessary. But there are times when my awfulness comes up on unexpected places where I wish it didn’t. Something of mine was published in Green Bag, which then got deluged with fragile women lawyers informing them about my misogyny. An female EFF lawyer decided I was a racist (because I had used the word “gypsy”), and threatened friends over there that if they didn’t shun me, they too were racists. It’s the secondary effects that piss me off more than the primary ones.
“EFF champions user privacy, free expression, and innovation through impact litigation, policy analysis, grassroots activism, and technology development. We work to ensure that rights and freedoms are enhanced and protected as our use of technology grows.”
Sounds like at least one of them did not absorb all and adopt all the entire mission statement.
And aren’t they the daring, edgy sorts? EFF reminds people of the eff-word. Heh heh.
Damn those fragile women lawyers.
Absolutely. They are a disgrace to all the hard-working, tough women lawyers.
A playground indeed and not a kid-friendly one.
It’s kid friendly. It’s not stupid friendly. Just because they’re kids doesn’t mean they’re stupid. And Just because they’re adults doesn’t they’re not.
What do you want for nuthin’…..?
Anything you don’t want to post – email it to me.
I’ll post it anonymously on one of my blogs and then you won’t have to put up with any shit.
Bonus benefit – No one will read it.
SHG,
As you once emphasized to me, “a writer has gotta write.”
If you have the itch to write about the obvious policy and immutable biological differences that logically distinguish the “T” from the rest of the alphabet soup, do it. You know that you’re tough enough to withstand and perhaps even enjoy the derision of the morons. Hell, my friend, you might collect all of the idiotic responses and publish them here at SJ.
But, if the itch really isn’t there or passes quickly, shit can the idea and write about something else. Or just take a break from the serious. More about cat or orange cat would be glorious.
You will figure it out. All the best.
RGK
You have the uncanny ability to poke me in just the right spot.
Very clever, Judge. As you are no doubt keenly aware, the entire premise of “T” is that there are precisely zero immutable biological characteristics.
Best regards,
Pat
If your’e truly concerned about the amount of backlash, then stay off the Twitters. That is unless you actually enjoy wearing hair shirts, and then complaining about it. At the very least it might reduce the flood to a more manageable level.
The more one sits in the sun, the more likely one is to get sunburned, and eventually melanoma.
I have a love/hate relationship with the twitters for its very rare moments of genius, and otherwise a complete cesspool of validated stupidity.
“We” have definitely matured to the point of being able to have a rational conversation on transgender issues so long as “we” excludes two group: boys under the age of 21, and Women and Gender Studies professors.
I’m accused of preaching to the choir from time to time. Is that what I’m doing?
Initially, yes. You are.
However, as mentioned elsewhere, when you put an idea out into the atmosphere, it gets picked up and repeated to others who aren’t of the choir. I know I share it with my wife, friends and peers if your words resonate with me. My wife rolls her eyes, laughs, and tells me to get off the internet; she’s seen my outage far too often at things that I can’t change and don’t directly impact me.
But even with that said, she was also outraged when I shared the treatment of the law prof turned Weinstein defender (Sullivan? I’m terrible with names), and that traveled to her peers and friends as well.
My point, insofar as I have one, is that through much discussion with the woke, I have come to learn that they hate discussion of ideas that challenge their beliefs because it spreads to others who will also be challenged by them and might think for themselves. It’s why they must not allow discussion about anything other than how awful Darth Cheeto is, because the masses might think for themselves and they might do it wrong. Words have power, and ideas travel.
I don’t know if you should or should not post anything. Only you can decide that. But I do have firsthand knowledge that the things you say aren’t simply rebounding in an echo chamber. They do resonate, and they do spread. Take of that whatever you will.
Every once in a while, someone tells me a story about how something that appeared here and went out into the wilds of the internet ended up influencing someone or something, hopefully for the better.
You say you don’t know what you think
Till its writ on some paper with ink
But instead you just tease us
With a question that’s specious
Cause the woke know you already stink.
DAMN THE TORPEDOES, FULL SPEED AHEAD!
You’re giving Fubar a run for his money.
Songwriters are just linguistically challenged poets hiding behind a guitar…. real poets, like Fubar, don’t get the luxury of saying “Oh baby!” 13 times in a row when they run out of words.
Scott’s right. You just earned my salary several times over.
As for “Oh baby” 13 times in a row, just burn it up a bit.
But take some care not to set your guitar on fire:
Oh baby! Burn baby! Burn baby!
Burn baby! Burn baby! Oh baby!
Oh baby! Burn baby!
Burn baby! Oh baby!
Burn baby! Oh baby! Oh baby!
But can you play guitar?
LMAO….you reinforced my point…and made 13 oh baby’s poetic. Thanks Fu.
Sometimes all you can do is bear witness.
I suspect this heralds months of incisive essays that will attract, inform, and incite many SJ newcomers to the derisive delight of your regular audience.
Would I do that?
Once I wrote you, “Every form of refuge has its price.” You thought it was inapposite because the quote was from a song about a loose woman. But when writing about a subject as to which you harbor strong feelings but could subject you to ridicule and obloquy, the choice of writing and not are each a refuge. Pick your poison because it will exact its price.
You did write about it. At least you broached the topic, but you did it obliquely so as to contain the furor.
I’ve addressed aspects of transgender issues as they arose in cases or law. This was very different.
I sometimes think you are related to Don Quixote of La Mancha.
Go for it. All they can do is crucify you on the twitters and you’re used to that.
I’ve occasionally been confused with Sancho Panza.
I believe there are rumblings amongst the community itself. I say yes. In 20 + years plus folks can look back & see you told us so.
Your call. It will be more than mildly disagreeable yet I’d like to see thoughtful discussions start to allow others to independently learn and think. In or out of this community, we are all people & law eventually affects everyone.
I have occasionally put one of your blogs on my Facebook page without a hotlink. I include where it’s from, but if my ‘friends’ want to yell at you they have to look up the SJ blog.
I have also used some of your work as ‘leaders’ for online discussions in my government classes. In that case I hotlink it and tell my students to read it and the comments but they really shouldn’t dare comment themselves, since they don’t know enough usually. I tell them they can yell at me in the discussion.
To date both of these have worked well I think. Frequently sparking interesting discussion and only occasionally leading to much of anything bad. (I tell people I never, ever throw anyone off my face book except for being unnecessarily nasty to anyone but me. And I give warnings and occasionally remove things, but not often. That usually works.)
So at least in this instance your thought goes further than you realized.
My posts have been used in classes fairly regularly, which I always find amusing. It’s a bold prof who will subject their students to such harsh reality.
As Admiral Ackbar would shout, “It’s a trap!”
Since you are not one (I presume) you cannot comment without doing infinite damage to those who are and those who watch over them. That is the catechism of the age and it has the advantage of producing both cheap endorphins and votes. Just acting decently toward everyone you meet is emotionally harder, requires more thought, and (oh, the horror) actual face to face civil interaction.
From the cheap seats it appears that you are contemplating pissing up a rope. Perhaps we should have an off-line conversation about the laws of gravity.
I’m familiar with gravity, but I’m also aware that when it comes down, it will splatter across a great many people who will suffer the consequences.
We who about to dodge the drops salute you.
In that case, maybe you shouldn’t. Discretion is the better part of valor, especially when there would be collateral damage. Not much help, I know.
Brian Leitrr in. Brian Leiter reports regularly reports on the vicious attacks and attempted delegitimization on all philosophers who do not adhere to the current transgender Orthodoxy. Speaking of which:o
In the academy’s sacred halls
This dogma’s inscribed on its walls
Your gender’s your choice
No one else has a voice—
But they don’t have to wax your balls!
What’s going on is that the LGBQ folks don’t trust the [Ed. Notes] to look after themselves, and so will not let them put their hands on the wheel. When the [Ed. Notes] came out with their own flag, ABA Journal insisted on continuing to use the “rainbow” flag for all their articles on [Ed. Note] issues.
Sexual preference, Sexual preference, Sexual preference, Mental Illness, Sexual preference. If I was gay I would be offended at having people with mental illness lumped in with me and others who share non-standard sexual orientations. It’s like what, are they trying to make it like I’m mentally ill too? I like butt sex and this guy is trying to chop off his dick, why are we in the same group?
Mental illness not only goes way too far, even in criticism, but serves only to exacerbate problems. Don’t indulge yourself here.
Part of the effort is to get it out of the DSM so it isn’t a mental illness. Already it has been reduced from a “disorder” to a “dysphoria,” so it is not like they don’t have a prospect of carrying this off. Bear in mind as well that the Ls, Gs and Qs used to be considered “mentally ill” but now are officially not.
I’m inclined to say fuck’em: if you’ve got something to say then say it, you’ve relatively little to lose (I think you’ll take that the right way) and you know what you’ll be facing. You’ve already decided the the worst outcome is bearable.
But I’m not going to egg you on. The idiocracy seems to have been getting to you of late. I’d like to see the post but you could try sitting on it for a while and releasing it when you feel a tad more equable about the mass of humankind we subsist among.
After all, the points will be relevant in a week’s time, or a month’s, or more. Stupid people aren’t going to get any less stupider.
“Burn, Baby, Burn” is all very well, but as a Carolina beach music loving W&L man of a certain vintage, I prefer The Trammps’ “Hold Back The Night.” Which, as it happens, is what it is the duty of us all to do, and what you, counsel, do here.