I wasn’t going to write anything today. It’s been a pretty busy week and even though I had a few ideas, I haven’t had much of a chance to put it all down so I just figured I’d write about those things next week.
Then I saw this.
These attacks on “the other” just keep getting lower and more disgusting.
Imagine the same people who have spent the last two years talking about keeping the government out of their personal lives when it comes to masks and vaccines coming up with this repulsive plan to punish children and their parents over something that could not have less to do with ANYONE ELSE!
Disgusting.
I thought everything was supposed to be about “THE CHILDREN!”
None of this is about the children. None of it. Not one thing.
They can hide behind preposterous allegations of child abuse all they want. It’s BS. Hateful and monstrously damaging BS.
I don’t expect everyone to be fully informed on this issue. That’s fine. Not everyone is exposed to it like I am. Again, that’s fine.
So, if you aren’t too familiar, please let me give you a few basic statistics.
LGBTQ youth experience much worse mental health outcomes than their straight counterparts in nearly every conceivable category and according to some researchers this is actually getting worse, not better.
Why is this?
If you’re asking yourself this question, I’d encourage you to seek out anyone in the LGBTQ community and ask about their experiences growing up. If you don’t want to or don’t have anyone to ask, let me sum it up for you here:
They knew something was “different” about them as young as 4-5 years old.
They felt that whatever was “different” made them “wrong” but they didn’t know why or how.
They experienced all sorts of issues with bullying at school because they didn’t fit in.
This may have led to poor grades and other behavioral issues.
This may have led to issues at home.
This leads to all sorts of issues with their mental health and feelings of self-worth from before puberty into adulthood.
These things are nearly universal in the LGBTQ community.
Why is this the case? I don’t know. Maybe it has something to do with the constant messaging of things like what the fuck is going on in Texas right now.
I know they’d like you to believe that kids are feeling this way because “it’s in fashion” or some such crap. That just doesn’t jibe with the fact that kids feel this way their whole lives. Way before they even know what gender means, or what sexual identity or preference even is. Sorry, as I wrote a few weeks back, let’s Follow The Science on this and understand reality.
These pronouncements are hateful and incredibly damaging to kids that are trying to do nothing more than live and don’t understand why that’s so hard for them and to their parents that are doing nothing but their best to be supportive to their children.
Imagine punishing parents for trying to be good, supportive parents?
I’m sorry (no I’m not) for bringing this up. It’s important. I know this isn’t the kind of thing I usually write about, but again it’s important.
Where is the humanity?
How can these people think it’s OK to tell children that being themselves is wrong? Can’t they see that this is the actual issue?
I could go on, but this is probably enough. I’d love to hear anyone’s opinions on this, even those who disagree.
Especially those who disagree…but if you do disagree, I encourage you to really think about your values and beliefs. You know mine. What are yours?
Mitch Rothbardt
P.S. If you want to give to an organization that gives kids support with these issues this is a great one.