Getting a grip

There was a time not a few moons ago when, as a matter of editorial policy, a group of Rust contributors informally agreed among themselves that wherever possible – in the interests of balance, fairness, harmony, understanding and perhaps even revenue protection/development(!) – they would seek to acknowledge both sides of every argument/opinion and issue they addressed.

I don’t mind admitting I was one of them. The thrust seemed indisputably principled and laudable. Or at least it did at the time. Now I’m not so sure …

Here’s where I’m coming from. I’ve lost count of the number of times that I or my colleagues have felt moved to begin their postings with homilies in the mode of ‘Call me a curmudgeonly old out-of touch-git if you want, but …’ and recently I’ve been getting frustrated with it.

It’s similar to  “With respect …”, the conversational tick – or even etiquette-prompted opening of a reply in court proceedings – which (de facto) is then almost invariably followed by a statement or line of argument totally contradicting what has just been said by someone else whilst simultaneously also (politely) implying no respect at all for it.

In the context set out above, I am now moving to my subject for today: transgender rights.

There has been a range of media stories in recent times detailing fight between different branches of the feminism sisterhood over transgender rights, arguments over whether or not families, schools, businesses and/or public service organisations should allow people to gender-identify how they wish – and if so, from what age … should such individuals be allowed willy-nilly to use female toilets … and so on.

Overnight I spotted two different media reports upon the website of the Daily Telegraph which I now wish to share with Rust readers:

Firstly, Joel Adams reports upon a headmaster’s decision to allow male pupils to wear skirts to school if they want, as appears upon the website of the – DAILY TELEGRAPH (1)

Secondly, the case of Lauren Hubbard, the Kiwi transgender weightlifter competing as a female in the Commonwealth Games and who sadly dislocated ‘her’ elbow, as reported by Oliver Brown as appears again upon the website of the – DAILY TELEGRAPH (2)

I’m sorry, but these stories simply reinforce my firm conviction that the entire PC-correctness industry is not only messing with peoples’ heads and represents a bad, counter-productive, influence upon modern life.

When it comes to sport, espousing ‘transgender rights’ is counter-productive and infinitely confusing when everybody knows instinctively that male characteristics must be an advantage for anyone competing in female-specific events.

I feel a great deal of sympathy for ‘genuine’ female athletes when they either protest publicly – or seethe privately – at having to compete against ‘transgender’ athletes.

And to those who say I’m out-of-touch, and that in time transgender acceptance will become not only lawful but universal … I would just reply “That doesn’t make it right”.