Winning the battle, just to lose the war
How playing the game of identity politics cedes ground we can't afford to lose.
As I was reading the most recent vulnerable and relatable article by @LisaSelinDavis (see bottom of this article), I was reminded of how many of my friends who have felt similar about whatever party or tribe they belong to, if only in name.
My whole life has been a series of opening and closing political doors. I was raised by Reagan Republicans.
I started my undergraduate degrees at the Constitutional college Hillsdale. I finished my undergraduate degrees (BS in Psychology and BA in Philisophy) at a series of liberal/progressive universities, Oakland University in Michigan and MTSU near Nashville.
I had became disillusioned at one point along the way and joined the hippies following Phish around the country.
I received my graduate degree (MA in Professional Counseling) from what I can only describe as the theocratic Liberty University.
All along the way I have joined and left various political parties hoping to find one that in earnest lived out the principles they preached. Every single one failed.
I also, like Lisa, didn't want to be on the outskirts of the "educated" and "approved of" group. I wanted to be seen, heard, and valued for the unique insights I have and my dedication to truth/people over politics.
Not only have I found myself shunned by the inner circles of every single group, I found them to be completely unwilling to concede any valid points of the opposition.
This refusal to find common ground is something I can't tolerate. The desire to protect reputation rather than highlight facts and solutions is a character trait I lack.
I am terrible at personal branding and selling myself. It seems antithetical to me, because I am not the solution. I am just one member of the team needed to solve the problem. This never-ending chess game of who has what information and who are they willing to work with is exhausting.
Yesterday, Leor Sapir released an article about the American Society ofPlastic Surgeon's claiming they were the first major medical association to disavow medical transitioning of minors, https://www.city-journal.org/article/a-consensus-no-longer, entitled, “A Consensus No Longer.”
On X he announced this *breaking news* with the words, “The American Society of Plastic Surgeons, an organization representing 92% of all board-certified plastic surgeons in the U.S., becomes the first major medical association to break from the consensus over “gender-affirming care” for minors.”
https://x.com/LeorSapir/status/1823106059676135545?t=HA59PrgidLTv2JV7D1iC0g&s=19https://x.com/LeorSapir/status/1823106059676135545?t=HA59PrgidLTv2JV7D1iC0g&s=19
The word “major” is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. You see the American College of Pediatricians has, since 2016, been pushing back against gender-affirming “care” of minors. I politely asked Mr. Sapir to refrain from discredited ACPeds as they have been the consistent in pushing back against the harm gender-affirmatiin is causing children,
https://x.com/TruthAgape/status/1823161850206253114?t=kUMct-97F-k2RC4O3FONxQ&s=19.
Mr. Sapir acknowledged he was aware of rhe excellent work ACPeds has done on this issue. He also acknowledged he didn't consider them a major medical organization because of their size and they have some credibility issues because they have been branded social conservatives and dismissed by media and other medical groups. Mr. Sapir even acknowledges he thinks this dismissal is unfair and unscientific. Yet, he commits the same dismissal by overlooking their ongoing contribution and highlighting ASPS as the “first major medical organization” to pushback:
https://x.com/LeorSapir/status/1823163437771575793?t=0GSr_dtoPtoBT2fZC-CLJg&s=19
You can now see how much heavy lifting “major” is doing to justify this continued dismissal of common ground.
It is exactly this ongoing willingness to ignore highlighting the truth based on who presents it that has led to the progressive ideological capture of academia.
In this case, it was to push back on the narrative that “every major medical organization supports gender-affirmation.” The mistake isn't pushing back on this narrative. The mistake is agreeing to the appeal to authority that it only matters what “major” medical associations have to say about it.
Time and time again, those who push back against the woke and broken identity narratives pushed by critical theories cede ground that was stolen, not earned. The pushback should have always been that it only takes 1 voice speaking the truth, not a major medical association.
You see, the message sent by Mr. Sapir yesterday wasn't just that not every major medical association agrees with gender-affirming care. It was also that only major medical associations matter.
The smaller association with less funding, less clout, less protection, an ongoing attack and smear campaign to label them a hate group, and just as much (if not more) to lose just doesn't matter in the game of “who has more clout.” The pediatricians who have risked their reputations and careers for years now have been deemed unimportant and “problematic.”
If we little people, including myself (a licensed mental health counselor running a solo private practice) with no money and no clout, don't matter; than you have relegated the well-being of our children to the chess game of identity politics.
We, little problematic people, have been speaking out for years despite the risks. We haven't been making money, but pouring our personal funds into our attempts to get the message out there. We have dedicated countless hours and resources to this fight.
While I welcome ASPS to the fight, I am not any more impressed with them than I am with countless others who have stood firmly, with no protection in numbers, against the sterilization of our youth. If anything, I am wondering what took them so long.
The war over children's health and well-being, as well as women's spaces and sports, isn't going to be won by relying upon the “heavy hitters.” It is going to be won by linking as many arms as possible in a human barrier against the corporate and political heavy-hitters profiting off of the removal of safeguards and safe spaces.
This is my appeal to Mr. Sapir, who I very much respect, and anyone else with a platform that reaches thousands to no longer cede stolen ground and link arms with anyone willing to stand in the gap.
