In it, he describes various levels of "eco," but the key part is this: most people will find folks one or two levels up "pretty cool," three or four levels up "a bit nutty," four or five levels up "downright crazy," and six levels up "should probably be institutionalized." He notes that if people seem crazy to you, they might just be further along on your own path.
On the flip side, most people will find folks one level behind to be ignorant, two levels back to be assholes, and any further back they should be shot on sight for the betterment of society as a whole. Paul says that these reactions are also inappropriate and that people will not change if you yell at them and hit them with sticks. They may change if you tell them about the cool stuff that's just a little bit ahead of them, and keep to yourself the things that are a long way ahead of them.
I find this essay to be in line with his very good observations of human nature.
I love this post! Thank you for saying it. Speaking for myself alone, I am on the side of facts, whatever they may be. I want to always place truth above ideological commitments. When there's no conflict between the two categories, it's easy. When I encounter a fact that stubbornly refuses to bend to some preferred doctrine or other, it becomes much more difficult.
One such stubborn fact is that, despite my preferences, a huge number of people have accepted the trans mythology. In addition, many, many people have succumbed to the promise that they would resolve their dysphoria by adopting a trans identity. As a society, we must find healthy, respectful ways to accommodate those with whom we disagree and those who have made significant errors. For, regardless of how you feel about Christian teachings it's wise to honor the message in "Let the one among you who is without sin throw the first stone."
Brilliant post. Voices of sanity like yours are so rarely heard. You do a great job of cutting through all the pseudo-intellectual, pseudo-mystical, mutilation-justifying claptrap and bringing it all back to the real life impacts of this toxic ideology. It's people like you whose voice rings out with the clarity and simplicity of truth. Love the chimpanzee photo too.
I'm glad there's a voice like yours and it has an audience. Between the right-wingers who describe any parent who treats their child as a 'child abuser' and ascribe all sorts of depraved motives for it, and those on the other side who react out of loyalty and are crippled by, as you put it, "thought-terminating cliches", it is necessary to have outspoken people who are brave enough to not let their words be crippled by reflexive loyalties.
Yes, yes, yes! I’ve been thinking this for a long time: we have to meet people where they are. You can’t have a conversation when you are not really speaking the same language. I like to think about planting seeds. I’m probably not going to convince anyone completely in one conversation, but if I can make a small point that sticks in the back of their mind, that can grow.
Corrina, I’m so glad to have found your Substack. I read your WaPo article in the spring, then recently discovered (and started binging) Heterodorx. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your careful, compassionate thoughtfulness. And on top of that, I love your incredibly dry sense of humor. It took me few episodes to realize it (“oh, that was a joke!”) but you’ve quickly become one of my favorite writers and podcasters. Thank you so much for everything you are doing.
Use the language that will work for a given audience, sure, but the bigger point will always have to be the one you make above, that there are no trans or cis children in reality. Are there no GC child developmental psychologists out there willing to speak up? I knew things were bad when I started hearing the phrase "transgender children" on NPR maybe 2 years ago.
My friend Paul Wheaton has something he calls the Wheaton Eco Scale
https://permies.com/t/scale
In it, he describes various levels of "eco," but the key part is this: most people will find folks one or two levels up "pretty cool," three or four levels up "a bit nutty," four or five levels up "downright crazy," and six levels up "should probably be institutionalized." He notes that if people seem crazy to you, they might just be further along on your own path.
On the flip side, most people will find folks one level behind to be ignorant, two levels back to be assholes, and any further back they should be shot on sight for the betterment of society as a whole. Paul says that these reactions are also inappropriate and that people will not change if you yell at them and hit them with sticks. They may change if you tell them about the cool stuff that's just a little bit ahead of them, and keep to yourself the things that are a long way ahead of them.
I find this essay to be in line with his very good observations of human nature.
I love this post! Thank you for saying it. Speaking for myself alone, I am on the side of facts, whatever they may be. I want to always place truth above ideological commitments. When there's no conflict between the two categories, it's easy. When I encounter a fact that stubbornly refuses to bend to some preferred doctrine or other, it becomes much more difficult.
One such stubborn fact is that, despite my preferences, a huge number of people have accepted the trans mythology. In addition, many, many people have succumbed to the promise that they would resolve their dysphoria by adopting a trans identity. As a society, we must find healthy, respectful ways to accommodate those with whom we disagree and those who have made significant errors. For, regardless of how you feel about Christian teachings it's wise to honor the message in "Let the one among you who is without sin throw the first stone."
Well said.
Brilliant post. Voices of sanity like yours are so rarely heard. You do a great job of cutting through all the pseudo-intellectual, pseudo-mystical, mutilation-justifying claptrap and bringing it all back to the real life impacts of this toxic ideology. It's people like you whose voice rings out with the clarity and simplicity of truth. Love the chimpanzee photo too.
I'm glad there's a voice like yours and it has an audience. Between the right-wingers who describe any parent who treats their child as a 'child abuser' and ascribe all sorts of depraved motives for it, and those on the other side who react out of loyalty and are crippled by, as you put it, "thought-terminating cliches", it is necessary to have outspoken people who are brave enough to not let their words be crippled by reflexive loyalties.
Yes, yes, yes! I’ve been thinking this for a long time: we have to meet people where they are. You can’t have a conversation when you are not really speaking the same language. I like to think about planting seeds. I’m probably not going to convince anyone completely in one conversation, but if I can make a small point that sticks in the back of their mind, that can grow.
Corrina, I’m so glad to have found your Substack. I read your WaPo article in the spring, then recently discovered (and started binging) Heterodorx. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your careful, compassionate thoughtfulness. And on top of that, I love your incredibly dry sense of humor. It took me few episodes to realize it (“oh, that was a joke!”) but you’ve quickly become one of my favorite writers and podcasters. Thank you so much for everything you are doing.
Use the language that will work for a given audience, sure, but the bigger point will always have to be the one you make above, that there are no trans or cis children in reality. Are there no GC child developmental psychologists out there willing to speak up? I knew things were bad when I started hearing the phrase "transgender children" on NPR maybe 2 years ago.
What is it that keeps a transgender man from becoming a male and a transgender woman from becoming a female?
I think it has something to do with the XX and XY chromosomes and, or estrogen and testosterone.
I look forward to your reply.