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| -Short Attention Span Theater- |
| Death by Theory? |
| 2004-05-26 |
| This really insensed me! It encapsulates how the Leftâs ignorance, lies and PC lunancy is destroying lives. Go read the whole thing. Sorry Fred - nothing to do with WoT. The little boy that Bruce Reimer was never had a chance. As an adult, he chose suicide on May 4 rather than live in unbearable torment. Underlying his death is a theory that still impacts children across North America: that sexual identity comes from nurture not nature and, so, can be entirely determined by proper social conditioning. |
| Posted by:Phil B |
| #13 I was studying both psychology and genetics at around the time this occured, so I perhaps have a clearer idea of how politicized the whole nature/nuture debate was (and to a degree still is). The Marxists had concluded that behavior was socially determined and vigorously suppressed any contrary view. The visit of well known proponent of behavior being inherited caused a riot at my university. At the time (30 years ago) anyone familiar with the evidence knew that behavior especially sexually oriented behavior was primarily genetically determined. Read the studies of identical twins reared apart. The similarities between people who have never met (except at birth) are eerie. The thinking that environment determines behavior still pervades social policy. So yes, I lay this small human tradegy firmly at the door of the Left and their organized/sytematic distortion and outright lies. |
| Posted by: Phil B 2004-05-26 6:55:26 PM |
| #12 This whole subject is really about the deconstruction of socio-emotional cognitive concepts and schemas, and the traditions and mores honored worldwide and cross-culturally over millennia. My biggest beef with the current âhomosexualâ nature-versus-nurture dialogue is that it represents an attempt by the intellectually elite (and the intellectually dishonest) to redefine society and government in terms of their choosing -- and which happens to be pretty damn liberal. Most cultures, and most people, realize that the human sexual response is fairly plastic (I mean look how it can be molded into fetishes), but that doesnât mean that atypical sexual response patterns are something any society should condone (toleration is a different matter). As I read Blackstone, to the extent the behavior is purely private, it remains a matter between the person and the Creator. To the extent it becomes public, the behavior is subject to the Rule of Law, and the traditions and mores of society. |
| Posted by: cingold 2004-05-26 3:58:09 PM |
| #11 Good for you, BH! Your son will grow up really healthy because he is allowed the freedom to explore various roles and activities. The importance of play is not understood enough by parents of young children. jules187: "others, born with the "wrong equipment" know who they are, too." Bullshit. No biological basis. Everyone is born with the "right" equipment. Gender-blurring is a socially constructed movement which takes advantage of those with unresolved (legitimate though they be) developmental/psychosocial issues which result in abnormal integration of sexuality with self-identity. "Others' concepts of who they SHOULD be is where problems start . . ." I would agree with you. But you know that there are many with unresolved issues, in addition to the political leftists, that desperately need affirmation for what they're doing and believing, that they tell people who want help out of gender confusion, that their distress is "normal"-- that the "truth" is that they are "gay." These types just love to tell unsuspecting others who they SHOULD be. |
| Posted by: ex-lib 2004-05-26 3:24:06 PM |
| #10 BH --- Good for you! I agree that you'd think that the other stuff doesn't matter until adolescence. I googled up some of this stuff the other day. Current theory is that kids with ambiguous or otherwise abnormal genitalia should be left to decide their identity when they're teens. But it was a different world in 1966; since then all those evil lefties have foisted all this tolerance and understanding crap on us. |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2004-05-26 3:12:13 PM |
| #9 These Canadian doctors were fools! They should have done reconstrucive surgery, not removal. That's the bottom line. I think kids have to be hard wired. I may have been a dad for only three-1/2 years, but my son doesn't like plush-animals. Likes trucks, and helicopters. Doesn't like rubber duckys in the tub. Prefers the rubber sharks and alligators. |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-05-26 1:44:20 PM |
| #8 Angie, yes I would. He has a female cousin about his age, and when he visits they play with her stuff. Dolls, wands, etc. He has been known to run through the house wearing a pink tutu and a tiara, much to the dismay of his older male cousin. He'll play with the stuff and has a great time, but when it comes time to make his b-day list all he asks for is trains and dump trucks. This guy was pretty much screwed either way, but if they had been honest about it he might have at least had a happy childhood. The other stuff doesn't matter much until adolescence. |
| Posted by: BH 2004-05-26 1:30:59 PM |
| #7 BH had it right in #1-"they know what they are". This kid knew who he was; others, born with the "wrong equipment" know who they are, too. Others' concepts of who they SHOULD be is where problems start... |
| Posted by: jules 187 2004-05-26 1:21:13 PM |
| #6 Mike, Phil's point is that some on the Left consider sexual identity to be merely "assigned", rather than hard-wired. Therefore, in this incident, Reimer's sex was re-assigned after cosmetic surgery. It didn't take. In this case, though, I think Phil's anger is misplaced. Firstly, I believe the Left latched onto an existing scientific theory to suit their social agenda, rather than persuading scientists to adopt their ideas about sexual identity. Secondly, the practice of circumcision is as much to blame for this as theory. I don't have any particular gripe against it, but these accidents do occasionally happen because of it. The alternative to gender reassignment (at that time, it may be different now) would've been life as a man with no penis. That might've been damned depressing too. As for watching your kids, and following their lead, BH---would you be as sure of that if your son liked to play with dolls? |
| Posted by: Angie Schultz 2004-05-26 12:38:58 PM |
| #5 I'm going to add to the comment I made above. This was a very unusual situation. Many doctors were consulted. There really was no good solution. Finally one doctor proposed this solution, and the parents agreed. At that time, it seemed reasonable. The boy was turned into a girl. The doctor and a few observers expressed optimism and some premature conclusions. Longer experience showed that the boy remained psychologically male. We know nothing about the political opinions of the family or of the doctors. Some feminists (two? three? four?) wrote some opinions about it back then. The author of this article identifies herself as a feminist and concludes now that the attempt failed. It's a tragic situation where a doctor tried to help a family, unsuccessfully. The only good to come out of it is that it can all be blamed on leftists. . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-05-26 12:16:48 PM |
| #4 BH - Amen to your statement. My 3-year old son, a k a "Eric the Dude" flirts too! |
| Posted by: BigEd 2004-05-26 11:47:18 AM |
| #3 What I don't understand is that in the whole homosexual identity debate the left leans towards the genetics arguement and the right leans towards environment arguement. Did this come about because of the debunking of this fellows theories, or is it a case of consistancy not required, move along. |
| Posted by: ruprecht 2004-05-26 11:18:59 AM |
| #2 Phil B., why do you blame this on "the Left's ignorance, lies and PC luncacy"? Is circumcision a particlarly leftist practice? Is this a particularly leftist treatment for botched circumcisions? If so, then what is the rightist treatment? This happened in Winnipeg, Canada, in 1966. Was there some kind of hotbed of leftist doctors there at that time? . |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-05-26 11:11:14 AM |
| #1 This story really pisses me off. How anyone could be so stupid as to believe this trash is beyond me. Just watch yer kids, man, and follow their lead. They know what they are. Hell, my boy was flirting with teenage girls at the mall before he could walk! |
| Posted by: BH 2004-05-26 10:52:26 AM |