We’ve just had another suicide in our county of a young person who identified as trans. Heartbreaking. Their trans friend died the same way ( under a train) last year. Devastating pain for these families and communities.
And of course they are teaching these ideas in the Palo Alto high school where these kids went to school and they are blaming transphobia for the deaths instead of the very complex mental health issues around all of this. It is very upsetting. Very disturbing.
Incredibly disturbing and infuriating. I truly wonder about the instincts of those educators, they must be suppressed/hijacked by the ideology itself or their own circumstances.
I imagine that their instincts are to help these young people, but in fact, it is as if they have gone down the wrong road and they cannot see the other side of what is going on. They are confusing the children. And when you are confusing the very vulnerable children bad things can happen.
Right, their 'helping' instincts, but I mean their ethical or common sense instincts- a boy cant be a girl and vice versa, body dysmorphia cant be cured by hormones and surgeries, etc. People soundly in reality know that, and they must do incredible mental gymnastics to not access that knowledge in themselves.
It is not known at this point whether the "trans identity" of violent young anarchists and demonstrators preceded their decisions to engage in political violence. "Identifying as trans" has become an extremely popular type of negative identity, like "goth" and "stoner" used to be. Also, a third of left-leaning college students believe that political violence and other forms of authoritarian aggression are justified "in some situations," according to polls taken over the past several years.
Yes, I believe that gender ideology generally has destabilized Gen Z, whether trans or not, and encouraged losing grip on grounded reality, future consequences, and life values.
Add to the whole identity crisis, disorientation, lack of trust and doubt about everything, AI. The answer to it all: disembodied, undemanding, non-judgmental, purely nothing, and AI's grip on the disenfranchised will be an easy conquest. And there will be legions in the wings eager to profit. Where's the army going to come from that seeks to defeat this?
Re Nihilism and its connection with gender identity confusion: I've noticed a connection with parental divorce and separation. I've heard people say, "when my parents divorced, my identity shattered."
It's interesting that you say that, it reminds me that when my parents divorced my brother, 12 at the time, said he didn't believe in the world anymore
I think this is dangerous to the very people whose mental health is supposedly being centered, and I was looking for something to share back, so this is helpful and I appreciate your thorough analysis in connecting all the dots--this is so much bigger than just the issue of medical harm that can last a lifetime with unanticipated consequences of gender medicine as the wrong solution to psychosocial and existential concerns that may only be intensified
Hi Lisa, thank you for your comment. I agree it's bigger, as the ideology has destabilized much of a generation of kids. The genoicide-suicide-trans narrative is unsubstantiated, as you know, and flipped as to the actual events. Meaning, often a trans identity comes first, then suicidal/homicidal behavior.
I find it odd that an essay about recent political violence doesn't mention January 6, 2021. Personally, I cannot remember a more momentous occasion of political violence in my lifetime, and I'm closing in on sixty.
It’s a good point, we can’t do a thorough examination of extremist violence without considering the insurrection but for this piece I was focused on gender nihilism, which didn’t apply to that event. Thanks.
Thank you, this is so good. I'm a pediatrician in your back yard, so we serve the same community in different ways. I sense the nihilism in some non-trans kids too, and try to bring up these issues the best I can as just an MD in relatively brief encounters. I'm so sorry that your point seems to have been made again this week.
Incredibly, another event that fits directly into this tragic pattern occurred yesterday: https://www.ktsa.com/10-dead-in-canadian-school-massacre-and-police-are-calling-the-killer-a-gunperson/
Thank you for this deep dive.
We’ve just had another suicide in our county of a young person who identified as trans. Heartbreaking. Their trans friend died the same way ( under a train) last year. Devastating pain for these families and communities.
It's an incredibly destabilized identity, often on the edge of life and death
And of course they are teaching these ideas in the Palo Alto high school where these kids went to school and they are blaming transphobia for the deaths instead of the very complex mental health issues around all of this. It is very upsetting. Very disturbing.
Incredibly disturbing and infuriating. I truly wonder about the instincts of those educators, they must be suppressed/hijacked by the ideology itself or their own circumstances.
I imagine that their instincts are to help these young people, but in fact, it is as if they have gone down the wrong road and they cannot see the other side of what is going on. They are confusing the children. And when you are confusing the very vulnerable children bad things can happen.
Right, their 'helping' instincts, but I mean their ethical or common sense instincts- a boy cant be a girl and vice versa, body dysmorphia cant be cured by hormones and surgeries, etc. People soundly in reality know that, and they must do incredible mental gymnastics to not access that knowledge in themselves.
Agree.
This is great: very insightful. Colin, where do you find these cool people to write for you?
I am very fortunate in that they find me!
It is not known at this point whether the "trans identity" of violent young anarchists and demonstrators preceded their decisions to engage in political violence. "Identifying as trans" has become an extremely popular type of negative identity, like "goth" and "stoner" used to be. Also, a third of left-leaning college students believe that political violence and other forms of authoritarian aggression are justified "in some situations," according to polls taken over the past several years.
Yes, I believe that gender ideology generally has destabilized Gen Z, whether trans or not, and encouraged losing grip on grounded reality, future consequences, and life values.
I have renewed hope for Gen Z, given that the young men at least are becoming more conservative. The Millennials are another matter!
Add to the whole identity crisis, disorientation, lack of trust and doubt about everything, AI. The answer to it all: disembodied, undemanding, non-judgmental, purely nothing, and AI's grip on the disenfranchised will be an easy conquest. And there will be legions in the wings eager to profit. Where's the army going to come from that seeks to defeat this?
It's true, AI adds so much fuel to this fire.
Re Nihilism and its connection with gender identity confusion: I've noticed a connection with parental divorce and separation. I've heard people say, "when my parents divorced, my identity shattered."
It's interesting that you say that, it reminds me that when my parents divorced my brother, 12 at the time, said he didn't believe in the world anymore
Powerful and timely, Thank you Brooke
A colleague recently shared a document speaking to trans genocide narrative (see https://www.lemkininstitute.com/single-post/experts-warn-u-s-in-early-stages-of-genocide-against-trans-americans)
I think this is dangerous to the very people whose mental health is supposedly being centered, and I was looking for something to share back, so this is helpful and I appreciate your thorough analysis in connecting all the dots--this is so much bigger than just the issue of medical harm that can last a lifetime with unanticipated consequences of gender medicine as the wrong solution to psychosocial and existential concerns that may only be intensified
Hi Lisa, thank you for your comment. I agree it's bigger, as the ideology has destabilized much of a generation of kids. The genoicide-suicide-trans narrative is unsubstantiated, as you know, and flipped as to the actual events. Meaning, often a trans identity comes first, then suicidal/homicidal behavior.
I find it odd that an essay about recent political violence doesn't mention January 6, 2021. Personally, I cannot remember a more momentous occasion of political violence in my lifetime, and I'm closing in on sixty.
It’s a good point, we can’t do a thorough examination of extremist violence without considering the insurrection but for this piece I was focused on gender nihilism, which didn’t apply to that event. Thanks.
Thank you, this is so good. I'm a pediatrician in your back yard, so we serve the same community in different ways. I sense the nihilism in some non-trans kids too, and try to bring up these issues the best I can as just an MD in relatively brief encounters. I'm so sorry that your point seems to have been made again this week.