Posts

Woke Skeptics, Let's be Truly Liberal, Not Reactionary

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The Key to Liberalism is Diversity of Thought The marketplace of ideas is the key to a successful reformist politics   By Rejecting Wokeism, Let’s Be Clear About What We Actually Reject Putting the Classical Liberal vs Postmodern Conflict in a Historical Context   Taking a Stance Against Woke vs Anti-Woke Accelerationism The fundamentals of the Western Enlightenment is at stake here.   Betraying the 2010s Free Speech Movement We Really Need to Talk About the Culture War Right   We Need to Call Out the Biased Coverage of Trans Issues The credibility of free speech liberalism depends on it   Defending Liberalism from Misguided Criticism Why liberalism is not responsible for woke excesses in any way

Correcting Some Misunderstanding About Trans People

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Why Trans People Aren’t Reinforcing Gender Stereotypes We need to dissect and debunk this myth, once and for all.   Trans People Need to Think of Ourselves as Normal Members of Society Fight against those who want to harm us, but don’t overreact all the time   How to Argue Against the New Anti-Trans Movement We Need to Identify the Source of the Problem and Respond Effectively   How to Make the Trans Community Respected Again We need to turn things around quickly.

On the Disappointment of Organized Conservative Politics

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Tribalism has Destroyed the Movement for Big Ideas and Truth Being truly committed to free and independent thinking is difficult, but necessary   Why Trump vs. DeSantis is Not Really A Choice There needs to be a liberal choice for conservatives instead   The People Don’t Want Culture Wars This is the Real Lesson of the US Midterms   The Truth About the Conservative Drag Queen Panic It demonstrates why organized conservatism has a credibility problem

On Liberalism & Conservatism

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Why Conservatism and Liberalism are Actually Cousins The polarization is artificial, and we just have to see through it.   Two Perspectives: Moral Panics and Hysteria It’s a universal problem we need to talk about more   We’re all Conservatives, to Some Extent. And that’s a Good Thing. Why the c-word is unfairly maligned, and why this must change.   The Case Against Cafeteria Libertarianism Reactionary populism is not compatible with a sincere commitment to classical liberal values.   Building the Conservative Case for Trans Acceptance Like a British PM once said, ‘I support gay marriage because I’m a conservative’  

Building the Post-Woke Alternative

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Why It’s Time We Moved to a Post-Woke Culture and Politics On the limitations of Woke vs Anti-Woke, and why we need to change course now.   The Real Problem With Wokeness How Wokeness Misdirected the Desire for Social Justice   How to Build the Post Woke Movement It won’t be easy, and we need a plan.   A Post Woke Approach to Trans Issues Let’s find a way to move beyond the current stalemate.   On Wokeness, Anti-Wokeness and Intellectualism Why we need to bring back sincere intellectuals

Introducing Trans Realist

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  I know for a fact that many trans people are actually frustrated about where the loudest activist voices are taking our community and our priorities right now. At a time when many members of our community are still struggling with the basics of life, when many of us live in fear of the building resentment and backlash to current trans activism and what real life effects that is translating into, the activist establishment is basically refusing to even listen to our concerns with an open mind. Which leads me to the next question: is all visibility good? Drawing on experiences from gay rights movements, particularly marriage equality, it has been concluded that visibility is important for acceptance. However, the experience of trans visibility in the past decade has painted a very different picture. When I came out in 2006, we were at least left alone by most people, unfortunately I don't think we can say the same today. The fact is, all visibility is not equal. Some forms of visib

The Trans Case Against Queer Theory

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The Trans Case Against Queer Theory (New Book) In recent years, the influence of queer theory and adjacent ideas rooted in postmodernism and critical theory has distorted the discussion around trans issues. This has led to confusion about why trans people transition, and the decentering of the actual experience of trans lives in the public trans discourse. In turn, these developments have likely contributed to a slow down in trans acceptance and even backlash in some segments of society.   Why Queer Theory is Bad For Trans People The fundamental reason why queer theory is bad for LGBT people is because it is ideological, i.e. it is rooted in certain philosophical commitments rather than empirical reality or the actual lived experience of LGBT people.   The Many Ways Queer Theory Hinders Trans Acceptance Queer theory’s refusal to accept at least some level of essential meaning for ‘male’ and ‘female’ hampers both trans people’s formation of a stable identity in themselves, as