<div class="header-image"></div> <table class="table-header"> <thead> <tr> <th colspan="2"></th> </tr> </thead> <tbody> <tr> <td>2025-02-19</td> <td style="text-align: right;"><a href="About.md" class="internal-link">About</a></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> # The Pendulum is Swinging Back Too Far  I've been haranguing the Left for a long while now, because I saw that end of the political spectrum, the end to which I felt I most identified, falling into utter insanity. Now however, in the last few months, a tipping point has been reached where the silent majority has finally started to be vocal again, and is openly pointing out where the Left has overstepped reason. In the US, Trump has given an executive order that really just eliminates any "gender" classification in reference to creating law, in favour of sex classifications. This is extremely minimal and I think is what's necessary to dial back some of the insanity. But more and more, I'm seeing people, now unafraid, slipping into outright bigotry, I think without even realising. For a very long while now, too long, people have been made to keep quiet about opinions that are very much based in reality &mdash;&mdash; opinions that only a few short years ago were average, normal, everyday *sane* opinions. But somewhere along the line, these opinions became "bigoted". Some of these included the recognition of boys being different from girls. I think the vast majority of us simply learned to keep these thoughts &mdash;&mdash; what were once understood as facts &mdash;&mdash; to ourselves and stayed quiet. We guarded our thoughts and tried to avoid discussions that could out us as bigots. Others, however, were able to perform that mental trick wherein it is possible to adjust one's own belief system to integrate with this new worldview. These are the people who actively separated themselves from friends and family, those who were unable to adjust their worldview as easily, so as not to *appear* bigoted. Some even participated in online mobs that got people [fired for such innocuous things as displaying the "okay" hand gesture](https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/sdge-worker-fired-over-alleged-racist-gesture-says-he-was-cracking-knuckles/2347414/). All of this had many people feeling like they were the only sane people in a very large asylum. We all knew that there were others who felt as we did, perhaps we even understood that there were probably more like us than there were of them, but it was impossible to know who. And thus, the safest way to avoid being ostracised by our peer groups was to pretend. I think many are still pretending here in Canada. But the end is certainly near, and while "coming out," as it were, with normal opinions that were every-day before Trump's first election will no longer get a person fired, they could still get you kicked out of social groups. But even this is rapidly coming to an end as some of these forbidden subjects are now being openly discussed in mainstream media outlets. And the normal opinions no longer seem bigoted. What's happening now, however, is many of the people who have been silenced for the last 10 years are getting loud. They are seeing that the repercussions of speaking are not what they were. Cancel culture does seem to be over. And while all of this is good, with people gradually breathing a collective sigh of relief, there are those who are seeking a little payback. When all this started, the idea of using "preferred pronouns" was really not a big deal. And neither was transwomen using women's washrooms, in all honesty. Back then, self-ID was not a thing. And trans-people were those who were actively transitioning themselves medically. The term "transgender" had only just started being commonly used as the "PC upgrade" from the term "transsexual." The idea of gender being separate from sex was not yet a common belief, and the non-binary concept still didn't exist. So transwomen or "male to female transsexuals" as they used to be known, were still extremely rare. And the ones who did attempt to transition did so quietly, simply wanting to fit in with everyone and live their lives. So referring to a transwoman as simply a woman was not a big deal. It was just a simple way to help them fit in. It was compassionate. And in my mind it still is compassionate. This hasn't changed. The awareness of transwomen using women's washrooms had begun to be talked about at this time. Remember this was only a couple years after same-sex marriage was finally legalised in the US. In years previous to 2014, *even Democrats* were against it, let alone Republicans. And in early 2016, when Trump was running for the Republican nomination, he came out *in favour* of allowing transwomen into women's washrooms. This is where the vast majority of the public was before gender ideology took hold, and cancel culture began.  Imagine what the world would look like now, if the ideological insanity of the Left never happened. These bathroom battles would be a decade past, all of it resolved by now. But instead, over half of the population was made to feel like they were going crazy, afraid to speak, lest they risk losing their jobs, or even their friends and family. And now a good percentage of them are looking forward to a little comeuppance. Trans people are being ridiculed like they're in a 1994 Jim Carrey movie. And I'm not talking about objections to an ideology which gives puberty blockers to the little girl who one day announces that she's a boy. I'm talking about transgender presenters on a stage having "tranny!" being yelled at them from the audience, who in turn laughs and cheers. Transwoman politicians being referred to as "Mister" in congress. In the aftermath of all the turmoil and distress of the last ten years, we've lost our compassion, and our respect for individuality. We are painting everyone with the same broad bush, and levelling abuse toward people who don't deserve it. At the same time, this all gives ammunition to the insane left, who collect examples such as this in order to say that they were right all along.  *This is an example wherein a transwoman is on the receiving end of much disrespect throughout an onstage presentation, and verbally berated by an audience member.* For a long time, while my side was drunk with power, slipping further and further into the abyss, the Right embraced free-speech and equality under the law. The right was willing to accept anyone who agreed with their politics, and often even those who didn't, so long as they were willing to argue in good faith. While the left was hysterically picking out all the "bigots" and "'phobes", the Right was taking in all the dejected, ex-communicated Liberals they could. Amazingly, it was the Right who were treating people with respect and dignity, while the Left burned people at the stake. But how quickly the tide can shift. People so easily forget. I hope this sudden tribal mentality coming from the right can be bottled up again before it's too late. And it isn't yet too late. There's only been a few incidents, so far as I can see, and nothing too jolting, really. But it doesn't take much to go down a path from which it becomes impossible to return. Just look at the state of the Democratic party for evidence of that. We need to get back to the mentality of 10 years ago, when the battle for same-sex marriage was just won, and anyone who just wanted to go to work, barbecue on the weekend, and otherwise fit in with everyone else, was eagerly accepted in society, even by all the nasty Republicans. We should be extremely wary of the sort of prejudice that leads one to assume opinions and political stances of others simply by how they look. We also need to be wary of responding to disagreement with vitriol and ridicule. And above all, we simply have to forgive and forget. You'd think that with all the Christians on the Right, this Christ-like piece of advice would be the easiest to follow. The older I get, the more I realise that people, in general, never really mature past a high-school mentality. If someone is wronged somehow, there is a very real need to throw it back in an exaggerated way, such that even those who had nothing to do with it are impacted by the fallout. Ten years ago, when all the modern trans issues were first peeking out from the colleges and universities into the mainstream, one of the first polite requests from young progressives was regarding trans people and pronouns, and nobody had an issue with it. It was a simple, insignificant request, and didn't affect anyone else. I will admit that in hindsight, it's easy to see how this lead to a lot of the insanity that came after, beginning with the "trans-women *are* women" mantra. As it was happening, I was absolutely astounded that a simple request for politeness was able to alter the beliefs of so many people. This is something that needs to be talked about. But truly I see no problem with going back to that simple request for politeness. There are many issues regarding transpeople integrating into society that need to be addressed now, and they will never be resolved if we can't all behave like adults talk about it. Vociferous namecalling will get us nowhere. And even aside from this, we all know what it is like to be on the receiving end of verbal abuse that shuts down all discussion. Let's be better than they were. I'm confident that *we*, from the dejected Left, through the centre and all the way to the Right, are the bigger people. Let's prove it.