Letter to the Editor: “Crossroads: United we Stand, Divided we Fall”

Dear DailyClout:

Even to you, I have failed to communicate who I am, that my story is real, and that, true tr*nsexuals (the asterisk use herein is explained below) exist and can greatly and permanently benefit from medical transition. Now, while some good things are being achieved, the collateral damage that is occurring to people like me is enormous. It is comparable to my experience of being criticized and excluded for standing up for the truth during the Covid crisis which arose five years ago. 

Well, here we are. While I understand there is a significant element of good intentions by most behind all that is happening (somehow, I can see both good and bad on each side), there is also great damage being done to fellow sojourners on this planet as the process of dehumanization of perceived enemies progresses. The word “transgender” is now thoroughly used a pejorative, along with its intentionally demeaning variations. The very utterance of this word now instantly triggers an intense guttural emotional response, often including fear and loathing amongst a good portion of Americans. Anyone branded with this label is understood by these Americans to be evil, selfish, delusional, and dangerous and undeserving of being treated with dignity or respect. I struggle now for words to use because of the rigid right’s rebranding of the meaning of or outright banishment of words (See, for example: https://gizmodo.com/the-list-of-trumps-forbidden-words-that-will-get-your-paper-flagged-at-nsf-2000559661; https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-politics-and-policy/government-agencies-scrub-lgbtq-web-pages-remove-info-trans-intersex-p-rcna190519 ; and https://www.morganlewis.com/pubs/2025/01/executive-orders-target-dei-programs-and-gender-protections  ). I understand much of this was preceded by the rigid left’s similar practices, but whichever side it comes from, it makes meaningful communication with others not fully conforming to “our” team’s rules exceedingly challenging. This is another masterfully crafted form of censorship designed to demote the voices of the targeted. 

I, along with you, am constantly trying to understand the forces seeking to turn us against each other, stoking fear amongst us, and separate family members and the closest of friends from one another. They are stealthily transforming our good tendencies to love one another to fear and loathing and finally banishment of one another – if not worse. Ah, but who are the they? Do we truly know? And the worst master manipulators are largely unseen to us. Nonetheless, they are most certainly present and active in the world, and we should all be wary about how they might be manipulating our thinking about each other. 

Things have regressed to such a terrible level now that I do not even know if you, or anyone will even read this or consider my voice as at least an authentic one worth even being listened to. I will partially obscure the now forbidden words (literally so in the federal government apparatus now). They often now mean entirely different things to you than they do to me at this point (and to others entirely different than either of us). The tr*nsexual or tr*nsg*nd*r individual has traditionally gone through a rigorous medical / psychiatric evaluation and has a g*nd*r identity different from that ass*gn*d (a term also generally not allowed to be spoken anymore) to them at birth (or sometime after birth for some intersex individuals with particularly ambiguous sexual differentiation). Such individuals benefit immensely from medical transition to enable their body to function biochemically like the sex that they strongly and persistently identify with (aside of course, from reproductive function). We want nothing more than to live quietly and happily our lives in the mainstream of society, which we have done for years. I have come to understand that the term tr*nsg*nder has been hijacked and, in recent years applied to a host of individuals that do not meet the traditional definition, sewing confusion and facilitating the promotion of real or created highly divisive figures. In recent years it is my observation that powerful forces have been working to promote in all media actual or artificially generated individuals with the most outlying (often found to be outrageous to most people) behaviors deviating from societal norms. Prominence is given to the most remarkably narcissistic, and often also dangerously abusive people. They are elevated in media of all types, including outlets portrayed as “conservative”, “liberal”, or “independent” media. Communication is so difficult now because we are speaking to each other with words that mean entirely different things to each other and trigger emotional reactions. We are generally not aware this is happening and this inhibits our ability to continue to thoughtfully engage with one another. 

Meanwhile, tr*nsexual individuals who have medically transitioned and adjusted well in society and have thoughtful views on the new menagerie of ideas around g*nder and sex are the ones most throttled down in all media and, if they dare to speak out, are subjected to a blitzkrieg of attacks demonizing, denigrating, or just totally ignoring them. They are not welcome at the table by either side. Their lives are now being thrown into disarray as one measure after another seeks to restrict their participation in public life, under the assumption of their depravity and overall moral inferiority. This is currently being fueled from top by the demeaning language commonly present in orders, statements, and speeches of high ranking officials.  

Please stop and think about what you and I might be doing each other that is harmful and will become increasingly dangerous to others if it remains unchecked.  We must find a way to pull ourselves from the mass formation thinking that has deeply enveloped so many of us. This starts by casting aside our preconceptions about one another and seeking to learn from other people who we have been taught to categorically reject as possibly have anything meaningful to offer us. We can overcome the forces that seek to divide us further and further and push us into groups that dehumanize each other, but you and I first must admit that we might not be the superior one. Let us recognize we have much to learn from those outside our tribe (whether they are outsiders by their choice or by our arbitrary banishment of them). Please try today to establish meaningful communication with someone outside of your tribe. Listen carefully and ask questions to facilitate better understanding when you suspect someone’s words might have a different meaning to them than you originally thought. Treat everyone with dignity and respect, regardless of past assumptions about their worthiness. Just maybe you might have been wrong about that. Thank you so much for listening to me. 

Anonymous