Monkey see, monkey do?

The following statistics come from a recent Gallup survey

Make of these statistics what you will, but in addition to the obvious trend, we should find it interesting that the incidence of transgender identification also closely tracks the American political map, i.e., ‘Red States’ and ‘Blue States’ with transgenderism being three times higher in blue Hawaii than it is in red North Dakota.

Unfortunately, there was no information regarding the proclivities of individual school districts and their respective positions on the topic of gender dysphoria, which I believe is the prime incubator for this phenomenon. Nonetheless, it should be painfully obvious to all but the most obtuse, how much of a role demographics play in the discussion.

Part of the rise in the increasing percentages of people identifying as LBGT is likely a result of individuals feeling free enough to reveal that information to a pollster, which is all well and good, but it’s also not unreasonable to suggest there’s more than a bit of trendiness to the matter.

So, why do I say that?  Well let’s not forget the ‘prime directive’ of just about every American teenager is very clear, “Do whatever it takes to shock & challenge mom and dad.”   Additionally, as the liberal icon of the airwaves, Bill Maher, opined, “If you haven’t noticed that with kids, doing something to be accepted and liked is far more important than their own genitals, you haven’t been paying attention.”

Dr. Erica Anderson a prominent 71-year-old clinical psychologist from Los Angeles, who is herself transgender has come to believe that some children identified in those trends are falling under the influence of their peers and social media.  She comments that while it’s not uncommon for parents of trans children who live in the upscale neighborhoods in and around LA to discuss the matter openly, she doubts if those same conversations are occurring in Huntsville, Alabama, begging the question, “If this spike in trans children is natural, why is it regional?”

I mentioned Bill Maher earlier, and while I’m not a fan we should give credit where credit is due.  Maher is a political humorist who has a knack for delivering incisive messages on social issues; and he brought the house down the other night when he said, “I don’t understand parents who won’t let their nine-year-old walk to the corner without a helmet and EpiPen and a GPS tracker and God forbid that their lips touch dairy, but hormone blockers and genital surgery fine.” The reality is if we can’t admit that within certain enclaves, there is a level of trendiness to the idea of being anything other than straight then we’re not having a serious science-based discussion; rather it’s just more of the culture wars using children as cannon fodder.

Maher’s sarcasm strikes at the heart of progressive orthodoxy.  He talks about people in Los Angeles with this “purity ethic;” they will eat only the purest food and use only the purest organic consumable products, yet they have no compunction about giving drugs created for chemical castration to prepubescent children.  Most clear-thinking individuals agree this is insanity, but at the same time we must understand that being transgender has become sort of an elite status in certain social circles.

And on a purely anecdotal basis, I have grandkids who speak with a reverence or even pride about how they have “trans” friends, and their comments are always followed by telling me how popular their “trans” classmates are.  I think it’s wonderful that my grandkids are accepting and understanding, however, I also find it more than coincidental that my grandkids live in extremely liberal school districts.

Transgender people fight many internal demons, and I would not want to change places with a one of them.  However, there comes a time when even the Left must accept that life is not fair and that in their misguided attempts to create a “universal equity,” which by the way is akin to making “a square circle,” they just might be doing more harm to the children they claim to be assisting than if they had let matters alone.

Quote of the day: “The future ain’t what it use to be” – Yogi Berra