Dear Mr. Tanner,
Thank you for sharing this news story as I would not have heard of it otherwise. It is indeed a tragedy and I will not make any excuses for any choices which could be argued to be immoral that this teen's parents or counselor made. Though I can appreciate your sympathy and empathy for all those involved in this tragedy, I believe that your piece comes off as just another anti-religion hit piece using this as part of your pathetic argument. I use the word pathetic in the rhetorical sense, that you are appealing mostly to the audience's emotions rather than making any sound cases against, well, anything. I will let you in on a little secret, atheists commit suicide too, and not too few of them also have a history of seeking psycho therapeutic and psychiatric help. It is a very unfortunate occurrence that nobody can really be blamed for. It's not as if these counselors moved the person to commit suicide. Furthermore, this agenda to address this young man as a woman is puzzling to me. On what basis should there be a movement to recognize transgenderism as something natural? On what basis ought we to consider this young male a female? Because "she" wanted to be referred to as such? What if I wanted to be referred to as a eunuch, neither male nor female, does my desire for that reality make it so? He was a he, and if you are truly advocating for adequate treatment for that, then let's get that part straight. Please look into Gender Identity Disorder. I know there is a movement among professionals to have that diagnosis removed from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (and perhaps it may have already been removed), but even if it be removed from the DSM, all that proves is that it no longer has a clinical label. The observable pathology will still be quite apparent.
To dispel any doubts as to my perspective. I believe God exists, and He created all His creatures and loved all His creation. This young man ought to have been loved by his parents, friends, classmates, etc. just as much as if he did not face the challenge of GID in his life. The encouragement here would be more productive towards greater awareness of GID issues and greater development of sensitivity in therapeutic interventions for persons suffering from GID, rather than using this tragedy as a vehicle for attacking religion.
Thank you,
Laurence Gonzaga, M.A.
No comments:
Post a Comment