My personal philosophy is that eventually the people figure everything out. Back in the 80s, Rush Limbaugh emerged as an alternative to the print and broadcast media because people like my parents figured out they were only getting one side from the network news - a "side" with an agenda. The same is true today with the major social media platforms - people "figured out" their access to information was being throttled and hidden, so they moved to alternative media.
But this is FAR different for children, who only go through their youth once and are naïve and impressionable throughout that period. By the time they "figure out" that they've been deliberately misled about what is "normal", and at an age when they were incapable of understanding the lifetime impacts, it's too late: they're entering adulthood with a youth that was misspent chasing a mirage of empathy and understanding, which was only a cloak over naked political aggression. Children don't "need" to be sexualized, exposed to sexuality, informed or misinformed about sex, sexual identity or sexual preference - they need to be protected in a hermetically sealed cocoon, especially from strangers, during their youthful "questioning" years. If a question WERE to arise during these impressionable years - which is highly unlikely, absent the power of suggestion and peer pressure - then those questions would be the purview of parents, the pastor and the family doctor, not teachers, coaches, scout leaders or others outside the parents' control. Unfortunately we now have a generation of overly sexualized children who will experience God only knows what mental health disorders as a result.
I wouldn't go so far as to seal them in a cocoon. That won't work, in any case. As you note, people figure things out, and barring a total lockdown on Internet access (which would cause its own harm), they'll learn of all this stuff. It doesn't belong in preteen classrooms, and there should *not* be a policy of aggressive affirmation by the schools or the government. A neutral stance: information upon request, and experts not tipping any scales, is the only honest approach, and even then, any medical intervention prior to adulthood seems, at this stage and to the extent of our knowledge, unfathomably reckless.
It is telling that, as I recall, the suicide attempt rate doesn't change after transitioning. It's a difficult and complicated matter, that requires a different approach than what we're doing here today.
“… the "we know better" clampdown by Twitter's overlords will continue to undermine the public trust and society's institutions.” Indubitably!
My personal philosophy is that eventually the people figure everything out. Back in the 80s, Rush Limbaugh emerged as an alternative to the print and broadcast media because people like my parents figured out they were only getting one side from the network news - a "side" with an agenda. The same is true today with the major social media platforms - people "figured out" their access to information was being throttled and hidden, so they moved to alternative media.
But this is FAR different for children, who only go through their youth once and are naïve and impressionable throughout that period. By the time they "figure out" that they've been deliberately misled about what is "normal", and at an age when they were incapable of understanding the lifetime impacts, it's too late: they're entering adulthood with a youth that was misspent chasing a mirage of empathy and understanding, which was only a cloak over naked political aggression. Children don't "need" to be sexualized, exposed to sexuality, informed or misinformed about sex, sexual identity or sexual preference - they need to be protected in a hermetically sealed cocoon, especially from strangers, during their youthful "questioning" years. If a question WERE to arise during these impressionable years - which is highly unlikely, absent the power of suggestion and peer pressure - then those questions would be the purview of parents, the pastor and the family doctor, not teachers, coaches, scout leaders or others outside the parents' control. Unfortunately we now have a generation of overly sexualized children who will experience God only knows what mental health disorders as a result.
I wouldn't go so far as to seal them in a cocoon. That won't work, in any case. As you note, people figure things out, and barring a total lockdown on Internet access (which would cause its own harm), they'll learn of all this stuff. It doesn't belong in preteen classrooms, and there should *not* be a policy of aggressive affirmation by the schools or the government. A neutral stance: information upon request, and experts not tipping any scales, is the only honest approach, and even then, any medical intervention prior to adulthood seems, at this stage and to the extent of our knowledge, unfathomably reckless.
It is telling that, as I recall, the suicide attempt rate doesn't change after transitioning. It's a difficult and complicated matter, that requires a different approach than what we're doing here today.
This was a good follow-up read: https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/the-testosterone-hangover