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| 'Biology is not bigotry': conservative writers react to ban on trans troops | 'Biology is not bigotry': conservative writers react to ban on trans troops |
| (about 15 hours later) | |
| In his weekly weekly guide to conservative articles worth reading to expand your thinking, Jason Wilson highlights responses to Trump’s divisive tweets | |
| Jason Wilson | |
| Fri 28 Jul 2017 11.00 BST | |
| Last modified on Fri 28 Jul 2017 11.04 BST | |
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| For Trump’s opponents, this week’s tweets announcing a ban on transgender troops in the US military encapsulated everything that appalls them about the president. It wasn’t just the substance of the announcement; it was also its motive: in essence, the tweets were a sop to socially conservative legislators who might otherwise have held up his agenda (on this, Politico’s report from behind the scene is a must read). | For Trump’s opponents, this week’s tweets announcing a ban on transgender troops in the US military encapsulated everything that appalls them about the president. It wasn’t just the substance of the announcement; it was also its motive: in essence, the tweets were a sop to socially conservative legislators who might otherwise have held up his agenda (on this, Politico’s report from behind the scene is a must read). |
| Many conservatives, however, have decided that this is a hill they are prepared to die on. The broad social acceptance of homosexuality, and the legality of same sex marriage, has made the political scapegoating of lesbians, gays and bisexuals tricky. This has put transgender folks in the crossfire of the culture wars, as attested by bathroom bills, ceaseless transphobic vilification in conservative media and now Trump’s ban, which, among other things, will put out and serving trans troops in a hideous position. | Many conservatives, however, have decided that this is a hill they are prepared to die on. The broad social acceptance of homosexuality, and the legality of same sex marriage, has made the political scapegoating of lesbians, gays and bisexuals tricky. This has put transgender folks in the crossfire of the culture wars, as attested by bathroom bills, ceaseless transphobic vilification in conservative media and now Trump’s ban, which, among other things, will put out and serving trans troops in a hideous position. |
| For the most part, even Trump skeptics have joined in with the denigration of a group of people who are, after all, troops – a category they usually profess oleaginous support for. The few exceptions on the right – mostly libertarians – are swimming against a flood tide. | For the most part, even Trump skeptics have joined in with the denigration of a group of people who are, after all, troops – a category they usually profess oleaginous support for. The few exceptions on the right – mostly libertarians – are swimming against a flood tide. |
| Philosopher Backs Trump’s Transgender Ban in Military: ‘Biology Is Not Bigotry’ | Philosopher Backs Trump’s Transgender Ban in Military: ‘Biology Is Not Bigotry’ |
| Publication: Breitbart | Publication: Breitbart |
| Author: Thomas D Williams, who appends his PhD to his name, presumably because he believes it has some relevance to his job churning out stuff for Breitbart. | Author: Thomas D Williams, who appends his PhD to his name, presumably because he believes it has some relevance to his job churning out stuff for Breitbart. |
| Why you should read it: Williams talks with “philosopher” Ryan T Anderson who claims to be writing a book titled – with up-to-the-minute cultural referencing – When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Movement. | Why you should read it: Williams talks with “philosopher” Ryan T Anderson who claims to be writing a book titled – with up-to-the-minute cultural referencing – When Harry Became Sally: Responding to the Transgender Movement. |
| Both men labour under the impression that their doctorates will enhance the impact of their already-stale talking points. They say that high rates of mental illness in the trans community mean that when trans people serve, they affect combat readiness. What they don’t talk about is how trans folks who enlist go through the same screening and assessment as anyone else. (You’ll find all of this patiently explained over at War is Boring). | Both men labour under the impression that their doctorates will enhance the impact of their already-stale talking points. They say that high rates of mental illness in the trans community mean that when trans people serve, they affect combat readiness. What they don’t talk about is how trans folks who enlist go through the same screening and assessment as anyone else. (You’ll find all of this patiently explained over at War is Boring). |
| Extract: “What merits serious questioning, Anderson suggests, is not why President Trump has reinstated the tried-and-true policy of keeping people suffering from gender dysphoria out of the military, which reflects common sense, but rather President Obama’s politically driven attempt to change it.” | Extract: “What merits serious questioning, Anderson suggests, is not why President Trump has reinstated the tried-and-true policy of keeping people suffering from gender dysphoria out of the military, which reflects common sense, but rather President Obama’s politically driven attempt to change it.” |
| Why the left is in a frenzy over transgender ban | Why the left is in a frenzy over transgender ban |
| Publication: WND | Publication: WND |
| Author: Jack Cashill has a PhD in American Studies from Purdue, making this the most academically qualified Burst Your Bubble roster ever. He is also an inveterate conspiracy theorist who wrote one book tying the TWA 800 crash to the Clintons, and another premised on the terrible injustice that “conservatives are an awkwardly worded tweet away from being branded homophobes, racists, sexists, Islamophobes or worse”. | Author: Jack Cashill has a PhD in American Studies from Purdue, making this the most academically qualified Burst Your Bubble roster ever. He is also an inveterate conspiracy theorist who wrote one book tying the TWA 800 crash to the Clintons, and another premised on the terrible injustice that “conservatives are an awkwardly worded tweet away from being branded homophobes, racists, sexists, Islamophobes or worse”. |
| Why you should read it: In the past I have avoided pointing readers to WND (or World Nut Daily, as true fans know it). Even though it is a longstanding, and surprisingly influential site, its blend of religious fundamentalism and conspiracism (it has been described as “ground zero” for the Obama birther movement) pushes it very close to the edge of outright fake news. But Cashill’s article distills perfectly a widespread Thanksgiving-uncle response that grumpier elements of the right adapt to any given social issue. It’s really all about them, you see, and their overwhelming fear that now and again, someone who is offended might ask them to stop saying bigoted things. | Why you should read it: In the past I have avoided pointing readers to WND (or World Nut Daily, as true fans know it). Even though it is a longstanding, and surprisingly influential site, its blend of religious fundamentalism and conspiracism (it has been described as “ground zero” for the Obama birther movement) pushes it very close to the edge of outright fake news. But Cashill’s article distills perfectly a widespread Thanksgiving-uncle response that grumpier elements of the right adapt to any given social issue. It’s really all about them, you see, and their overwhelming fear that now and again, someone who is offended might ask them to stop saying bigoted things. |
| Extract: “Given this latitude, progressives add new sins regularly and new sinners daily. An awkward phrase, a misunderstood joke, a manufactured quote, a frank look at data, a persistent belief in a revered tradition can cost you your job. | Extract: “Given this latitude, progressives add new sins regularly and new sinners daily. An awkward phrase, a misunderstood joke, a manufactured quote, a frank look at data, a persistent belief in a revered tradition can cost you your job. |
| In Trump’s case, a realistic return to reason after a one-year experiment in PC absurdity will earn him the Scarlet “T” for transphobia, one more letter on a very crowded letter sweater.” | In Trump’s case, a realistic return to reason after a one-year experiment in PC absurdity will earn him the Scarlet “T” for transphobia, one more letter on a very crowded letter sweater.” |
| Yes, we needed a transgender military ban (another view) | Yes, we needed a transgender military ban (another view) |
| Publication: Hot Air | Publication: Hot Air |
| Author: Jazz Shaw is a long term fixture at Hot Air, one of the conservative blogosphere’s most enduring redoubts. | Author: Jazz Shaw is a long term fixture at Hot Air, one of the conservative blogosphere’s most enduring redoubts. |
| Why you should read it: We should never forget that reactionaries can turn on a dime. The Republicans fought tooth and nail for decades to prevent gay people from serving, and from having their relationships recognized. Suddenly that’s all peachy – indeed, professing support for lesbian and gay troops has become a rhetorical ploy aimed at making transphobic arguments sound more reasonable. | Why you should read it: We should never forget that reactionaries can turn on a dime. The Republicans fought tooth and nail for decades to prevent gay people from serving, and from having their relationships recognized. Suddenly that’s all peachy – indeed, professing support for lesbian and gay troops has become a rhetorical ploy aimed at making transphobic arguments sound more reasonable. |
| Extract: “The two situations are unique, each in their own way. It is disingenuous to attempt to tie gays and lesbians in with this transgender question for purposes of this discussion. I have zero problem with gays and lesbians serving in the military or anywhere else for that matter. In fact I served with more than a few when I was in the service years ago, long before they were able to come out. C’ mon, man. I was an invited guest at quite a few Go-Proud events when they were still in business. There’s no reason gays and lesbians can’t fulfill their duties without causing any issues in force performance any more than with straight service members.” | Extract: “The two situations are unique, each in their own way. It is disingenuous to attempt to tie gays and lesbians in with this transgender question for purposes of this discussion. I have zero problem with gays and lesbians serving in the military or anywhere else for that matter. In fact I served with more than a few when I was in the service years ago, long before they were able to come out. C’ mon, man. I was an invited guest at quite a few Go-Proud events when they were still in business. There’s no reason gays and lesbians can’t fulfill their duties without causing any issues in force performance any more than with straight service members.” |
| Trump Tweets Return to Ban on Transgender Military Service ‘In Any Capacity’ | Trump Tweets Return to Ban on Transgender Military Service ‘In Any Capacity’ |
| Publication: Reason | Publication: Reason |
| Author: Scott Shackleford is a longtime libertarian blogger and writer, who used to run southern California’s Desert Dispatch. | Author: Scott Shackleford is a longtime libertarian blogger and writer, who used to run southern California’s Desert Dispatch. |
| Why you should read it: Shackleford outlines the senselessness of Trump’s ban, and the potentially devastating effects for serving soldiers. Libertarians are, on this issue, looking like outliers on the right. | Why you should read it: Shackleford outlines the senselessness of Trump’s ban, and the potentially devastating effects for serving soldiers. Libertarians are, on this issue, looking like outliers on the right. |
| Extract: “Here’s what’s particularly horrifying, assuming that Trump’s tweets are an indication that he’s completely reversing the changes the Pentagon had already begun. Now that it was safe to do so, transgender troops had begun to come out and serve openly as the gender with which they identify. And now that has become a trap: Those who believed that it was safe to be themselves and still be in the military could end up being purged. | Extract: “Here’s what’s particularly horrifying, assuming that Trump’s tweets are an indication that he’s completely reversing the changes the Pentagon had already begun. Now that it was safe to do so, transgender troops had begun to come out and serve openly as the gender with which they identify. And now that has become a trap: Those who believed that it was safe to be themselves and still be in the military could end up being purged. |
| Further investigation shows that, much like what happened with the end of the military ban on gays, allowing transgender people to serve does not bring some sort of breakdown in military order. The Rand study I mentioned above examined 18 countries where transgender troops are permitted, and it did not find problems with readiness or unit cohesion.” | Further investigation shows that, much like what happened with the end of the military ban on gays, allowing transgender people to serve does not bring some sort of breakdown in military order. The Rand study I mentioned above examined 18 countries where transgender troops are permitted, and it did not find problems with readiness or unit cohesion.” |
| Trump’s Transgender Troops Blunder | Trump’s Transgender Troops Blunder |
| Publication: The American Conservative | Publication: The American Conservative |
| Author: Rod Dreher, a man who appears to view fomenting transgender panic more as a vocation than a job. | Author: Rod Dreher, a man who appears to view fomenting transgender panic more as a vocation than a job. |
| Why you should read it: Don’t let the title fool you. Dreher is not saying that Trump shouldn’t have banned trans folks from serving, just that he did it in the wrong way. Dreher’s views on sexuality are rooted in his all-consuming conservative Christianity, and they haven’t changed. But his misgivings about Trump have been growing, and the president’s lack of respect for any semblance of protocol or system is part of that. | Why you should read it: Don’t let the title fool you. Dreher is not saying that Trump shouldn’t have banned trans folks from serving, just that he did it in the wrong way. Dreher’s views on sexuality are rooted in his all-consuming conservative Christianity, and they haven’t changed. But his misgivings about Trump have been growing, and the president’s lack of respect for any semblance of protocol or system is part of that. |
| Extract: “Politicians do the right thing for unprincipled reasons all the time, so that’s no big deal. The real problem here is that Trump made this radical decision without apparently consulting anybody, or giving them a heads-up. The Pentagon didn’t know this was coming. Nor did the Senate Armed Services Committee. Defense Secretary Mattis knew something like this was a possibility, but was out of town on vacation, and knew nothing o the timing. It was out of the blue.” | Extract: “Politicians do the right thing for unprincipled reasons all the time, so that’s no big deal. The real problem here is that Trump made this radical decision without apparently consulting anybody, or giving them a heads-up. The Pentagon didn’t know this was coming. Nor did the Senate Armed Services Committee. Defense Secretary Mattis knew something like this was a possibility, but was out of town on vacation, and knew nothing o the timing. It was out of the blue.” |
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