Cowed
Oh how interesting. I wonder if I will ever see any former colleagues say the same.
As for the mad props, how about some mad props for those of us who rejected the bullshit from the outset?
Tip Jar
Oh how interesting. I wonder if I will ever see any former colleagues say the same.
As for the mad props, how about some mad props for those of us who rejected the bullshit from the outset?
I don’t believe your former colleagues felt cowed. I think your former colleagues believed the horseshit without question, or pretended to out of self-interest.
Good for Gladwell. And good for you.
MAD PROPS TO YOU, Ophelia. Before you stood on the bulwarks I had not understood the issue at all, and I certainly hope that someday you get the acknowledgment and apologies due you.
Mad props to you from me, too (I really ought to find out what that means), not just for never being taken in by the cult but also for rescuing me from it
I agree with the kudos: you earned them. I was definitely uneasy before you took a stand because I worried my animosity toward males in the restrooms was bigoted. It felt like I was the only one who thought that. Having not only you but the amazing commenters you attracted has allowed me to explore the issue with intelligent people who are not afraid to say what they think.
Lady M – but pretending to out of self-interest isn’t all that different from being cowed, is it? The self-interest was about not being shunned, not being yelled at, not losing friends, not being a pariah, etc, wasn’t it?
Tigger, #3 – ‘props’ is what the young people say to convey ‘proper respect’.
Thank you, AoS!
Ophelia — it can be. Absolutely. I was thinking of people who aren’t afraid of the consequences of speaking out but are happy to act as mouthpieces for nonsense they know will make or keep them popular. I guess I was feeling cynical last night.
Have you read Lionel Shriver’s novel, Mania? If not, REEEEED IT!
And also too, mad props to you.
And, speaking personally, thanks for helping me see through all the falsehoods and obfuscatory claptrap. I peaked way earlier than I would have if not for you.
Oblig: https://youtu.be/n0AkYNrV7OM?si=VVpK2x1KjfPl1Afo
Aw, shucks, you’re welcome.
I believe everybody was madly cowed who pretended that men could be women and should be allowed in women’s sports and in women’s sports locker rooms etc.
The juggernaut that Stonewall and GLAAD and Pride and all the other political organizations had built in favor of rights for gay men and lesbians simply needed a new cause, once decriminalization and marriage equality had been basically won. They saw the T issue as the next civil rights target for them to push through; that way they could keep their hegemony in liberal politics and legislative halls, and turn their well-oiled fundraising machine to the new issue, to justify their continued existence and power.
And they did have a lot of power. They squandered all their built up credibility and good will in favor of a lie, but a lie that would keep themselves in power. The Champions scheme was quite a good racket for quite a long time. It was a good strategy for imposing top-down new rules, while taking in money hand over fist. It played on people feeling ashamed of unjustified homophobia, and missing the boat on that key civil rights issue for so long. Make people shame themselves for possibly missing out on the latest civil rights issue: oh, no, we don’t want to do that again! So that brought everyone into compliance fairly readily, and got them to pay for their own shaming, to boot! What a scheme!
It worked, too. It worked until people started pointing out the fundamental flaw in the entire program: sex is real, and people can’t change sex. The losers every time were women and girls. Trans ideology was a men’s rights advocates’ wet dream, almost literally. Imagine being able to intrude on and perv on women with impunity! Imagine free access to unlimited video pornography, taken at women’s expense and without their knowledge or consent. Making as many women as possible into unpaid, unknowing porn actresses, published all over the Internet forever. It’s almost as good as raping them. And there could be plenty of free access for that, too, especially in hospitals or prisons. Captive victims who can’t get away! What a titillation!
The lie was so successful, all dressed up in its civil rights costume, that no one dated point out the problems. Anyone who did so was vilified, punched, deplatformed, blacklisted, fired, arrested, intimidated, surrounded and screamed at by howling crowds, assaulted, character assassinated, shunned, and otherwise punished in a hundred and one ways. So yeah, Emperor’s New Clothes time. No one wanted to risk the WRATH of the WPATH and all the trauma that went with it. So, cowed. Yes. 100% cowed and cowardly, going along with lies, just to avoid being victimized themselves.