Let’s drop the propaganda angle for a moment. I’m a Gen X guy, and I’ve only recently seen transitions etc going on. I’ve certainly known of trans people, but there were fewer of them coming out. That might be a result of many factors. For one, society just didn’t accept them at all. Transsexuals were outcasts, which made people with gender dysphoria less likely to speak about it. Now we have the internet, and people support each other, be that hobbyists, people with certain sexual preferences, or transsexual people. So naturally, you’re more likely to run into some of them somewhere online. Not that that’d have any personal consequences for you, though – at least it didn’t for me. What this article describes is an unfortunate case of an impressionable child being convinced by peers, then later regretting the decision. The question is, what does it matter to you or me? I have two now adult sons. Had one, or even both, come to me as teenagers, and told me they’d rather be female, I’d have sat down with them and talked through this. We’d have googled the whole thing, including the transitioning process mechanically and medically. We’d have talked about their reasons for thinking that way. I’d have demanded they’d take x amount of time to think about it calmly, because making rash decisions is never good. But if, after all this, they’d still told me they’d rather change gender, I’d have done my utmost to be there for them, no matter the outcome, because I’m their dad, it’s what I’m on this world for. I don’t know you or your kids, but if one of them was in peril, wouldn’t you, too, try everything to help them?

Now for the propaganda part. I’m not an American. I’m living far away, in Japan, where societal shifts and trends are much slower and less forceful. When I see the fighting going on in the USA, then look at the politicians involved, I get the impression that both sides love this conflict, because it helps them a) get votes and b) distract from much worse problems, like corruption or inequality, among many other things. It seems to me, that your government treats you horribly, and stokes fear and hatred to turn you against each other, lest you’d turn on them in righteous anger and demand a gov that actually governs with the wellbeing of their people as first priority, which is much less profitable. What you’re seeing is a result of this, and the natural tendency of social phenomena to swing and overshoot wildly for a while, until things calm down eventually (unless artificially stoked by predatory politicians). It happened before, think of the hippies, and it was always the most extreme in the USA, even when trends swapped over to other countries around the world.

My opinion on this is simple. Don’t even bother with engaging with it too much, because the resulting stress isn’t worth it for me personally. I’d rather stay focused on issues that do have a real effect on my life and choose the hill I’m willing to die on accordingly.

I’d not have commented on this if not for the downvotes with zero engagement you received, giving you no chance to talk about it, and why it’s an issue for you. I don’t believe you’re a troll. I believe something about it angers you, and your only choices so far have been to speak to a radical echo chamber, or to face fierce and, let’s face it, often toxic backlash.

We’re all sick of “murica being a drama queen again”, but shutting down and telling people to fuck off is probably not gonna be helpful.