I'm also less inclined to hammer the likes of the Guardian because it's become clear the extent to which the TRA machine has been effective. We have a political culture that we're all responsible for and we've allowed social media to become the modern day equivalent of the stocks. An unthinking comment can result in worldwide vilification of private individuals - no trial, no investigation, just instant demonisation. TRAs have capitalised on this.
No. The Guardian deserves a right bollocking. I think TRAs are actually a product of leftist-endorsed identity politics and misunderstood intersectionality themselves. As Rose of Dawn noted, why is it that TRAs seem to be ideologically aligned with the far-left? How does that relate to the Guardian (who are also pretty left, what with people like Owen Jones travelling in first class with Jess Bradley and toasting luxury communism)? This isn't a random group of people who have hijacked a "free thinking" institution. The rot of toxic purity politics and "punch a TERF Nazi" was already there. TRAs are more like a byproduct. With trans ideology it is easier for ordinary people to point out that their claims that a man is a woman are absurd. Like Lisa Muggeridge clearly notes, the media class and elite institutions have created a little bubble for themselves of people who share the same background and education. They pretend to speak for the "ordinary folks" but cannot not hear the cries from vulnerable people, especially women. This is exactly why charities like Amnesty, are falling for the same crap - their ostensibly "left-wing" way of thinking already aligns at some level with the extreme "I identify as the most marginalized of all people, and if you disagree you're a bigot" rhetoric of TRAs. I think they share the same schools of thought. It's not deliberately malicious, but it's not actually benefiting anyone except the people who want to feel good about themselves because they want to be seen as morally superior. Open debate and investigation of controversial issues should not be labelled "right-wing".
I think the "leftists" need to wake the fuck up to the fact that their behaviour and blindness to defending actual liberal principles like free speech, freedom of consciousness, freedom of assembly, and listening to the concerns of normal people risks us all falling into a very dark place indeed.
This is why I find this battle so important - it is literally about the re-definition in society of the fundamental facts of human life. We are in a ridiculous place of arguing about the existence of reproductive SEX - the process that gave birth to every single one of us. If we cannot talk about this openly and honestly, then we have NO hope of defending truth. Absolutely NONE. We should not have gotten into a position where the Guardian begrudgingly acknowledges that biological sex still exists and that it matters!
The fact that "leftist" thinkers in important institutions cannot acknowledge the basic differences between males and females is actually the most disturbing thing I have ever witnessed. Totalitarianism doesn't even begin to cut it.
Honestly.
I think this is what then spurs on the political polarization, because everyone who hasn't been brainwashed completely can SEE that men are not the same as women, but only "right wing" people will say it out loud. So more people start listening to the "right." The clashes get worse, people keep getting frustrated, and you get protest votes because the thinking class are so disconnected from the rest of society.
It is not just the TRAs we need to worry about. It is the whole system, and the quasi-religious demand for political orthodoxy which has given rise to this insanity. In my view, we need to start with the so-called "left," get everyone back to basics, and all come back to the middle where we can talk to each other again.
Because if these people can be so completely blind as to the importance of biological SEX, then they can basically make anything up. And that's dangerous as FUCK.
I see this all as an argument over much more than just sex/gender or left/right. It's about authoritarianism versus liberalism, how we can listen to each other, talk to each other, and live together in a pluralistic society. It's about how our institutions are working or failing. It's about how we can get to a place where we all acknowledge that each one of us will look at the world slightly differently. It's about how we actually treat women and minorities. It's about the whole facts versus feelings question. And who knows what the influence is of any forces trying to significantly impact our democratic processes.
All I know is that I think the trans demands versus female rights debate is symbolic of something much deeper that afflicts our society right now. Women and vulnerable people are always at risk of getting fucked over. That's why I REALLY care.