Why Not Leave The Transgender Issue Up To The Pentagon?
I'm skeptical about the entire phenomenon, especially given that any deviation from the PC theory of transgenderism has been declared Literally Hitler. That means that it's unlikely that there's a lot of honest inquiry into the subject matter going on right now. Wide swaths of the left seem to have gone into full-blown advocacy mode, and that typically includes the relevant sectors of academia. The groupthink and political advocacy masquerading as science...as familiar as it's become, it's still creepy as hell. But I hope that the Pentagon has the wherewithal to see through that sort of thing and make a rational decision. At the theoretical level, the PC theory of transgenderism is a train wreck, and it's got to be opposed. It's insane to pretend that men can literally become women (and vice-versa) merely by declaring it so, or feeling that way, or dressing differently, or even having plastic surgery. And it's chilling how quickly the left was able to try to put the force of law behind its fashionable cause of the moment, mandatory pronoun misuse.
But, at the practical level, whoever can serve can serve, and I'm inclined to trust the Pentagon to make the call. I wouldn't be surprised if Trump's decision were the right one...but I don't see how to defend making such a decision by fiat.
And, not to sound like even more of a broken record: in addition to Trump's screw-ups themselves, he's fueling a PC/progressive backlash of absolutely monumental proportions.
(Though I agree that taxpayers shouldn't be on the hook for medical expenses associated with "transitioning," and that seems fairly clear to me.)
But, at the practical level, whoever can serve can serve, and I'm inclined to trust the Pentagon to make the call. I wouldn't be surprised if Trump's decision were the right one...but I don't see how to defend making such a decision by fiat.
And, not to sound like even more of a broken record: in addition to Trump's screw-ups themselves, he's fueling a PC/progressive backlash of absolutely monumental proportions.
(Though I agree that taxpayers shouldn't be on the hook for medical expenses associated with "transitioning," and that seems fairly clear to me.)
posted by Winston Smith at
7:46 AM
2 Comments:
First, Trump is only doing this to placate some conservatives in congress (I can't find the talkingpointsmemo article among others that discusses it). They wanted it, he's giving it to them and it plays to his base. Second, the amount of money is rather miniscule when you take into account the cost of say, Viagra, that the military puts out ever year. There really is no practical reason not to let anyone who is capable of serving, regardless of gender identity, serve.
I disagree with the viagra argument. We're talking about very expensive, elective surgery that isn't clearly justified. I'm not sure the point of comparing it to a less-expensive medical treatment used by a lot more people. It's a lot of money, and arguing that we should fund it sounds a lot like a thinly-concealed social program to me (and others).
I don't know whether there are any practical reasons to prevent them from serving or not--that's what I was hoping the Pentagon would tell us. Since I *suspect* that it's a mental illness, I wouldn't be surprised if there *were* good reasons not to let them serve...but I'd like Pentagon experts to many an objective determination.
As for playing to the base--yeah, that seems like the best explanation.
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