This weeks Light Engaging Darkness. I apologise for there being none last week – this was due to illness….
The Scottish Government’s Trans Madness
The Scottish government has told teachers they should allow primary pupils who wish to switch gender identity in schools to do so without seeking parents’ consent. So reported The Times yesterday. Just stop and read that sentence again. And think about this – parents get letters home all the time seeking permission for children to do things in schools. Why, teachers can’t even apply suntan cream on a school trip without the parents written permission. But if your wee boy decides he wants to be a wee girl, you are not to be told!
And it gets worse. Parents are to be reported to the local authority if they ‘struggle’’ with their child’s transgender identity and to be given lectures if they are not happy about their little girl sharing a toilet with a boy who says he is a girl. On school trips children could be sharing rooms with someone of the opposite sex who identifies as a meber of the same sex – again without parents being told. These are Scottish government guidelines issued by LGBT Youth Scotland who have apparently been handed the brief. Such is the fear of the Trans Lobby that it appears no government minister has the guts to challenge this perversity.
Meanwhile the UK government is facing an increasing rebellion from MPs over Justine Greening’s equally insane proposals to allow self-identification without medical or other professional diagnosis.
Caroline Flint, the former Labour minister, said: “I feel quite sad that the debate has ended up in this very adversarial manner. We need to open it up . . . There’s a real danger that if we don’t have these discussions, we will end up with unintended consequences.”
Meanwhile the Scottish Government has declared that it aims to allow anyone from 16 to just self-declare. BBC Scotland came out with their usual Pravda line – they stated it was in line with ‘international best practice’. Really? Most countries don’t have this but this is deemed best practice? By whom? The same people who run the BBC ….and so the circle continues unbroken and unquestioned.
Meanwhile some more Trans news –
– A transsexual prisoner in the US has been awarded $167,500 by the state of Oregon after he was refused hormone treatments.The Oregon Department of Corrections (ODOC) has been ordered to provide hormone treatment, bras and women’s underwear for a man who says he is a woman and goes by the name Michelle Wright.In addition, the ODOC will consider transferring Wright to the state’s only all-women’s prison as part of a settlement agreement announced last week.
– A professor at a controversial ‘gender identity’ clinic for children has said that just “one child born in every 20,000” experiences transsexual feelings.Professor Gary Butler, clinical lead at the UK Gender Identity Development Service, stressed that it is “incredibly rare” for children to ‘question their gender’.
– The first womb transplant into a transgender woman could happen imminently, according to one of the most senior fertility scientists in the US.Since Malin Stenberg, a Swedish woman, made history by having a baby after a womb transplant three years ago, there has been speculation that the operation could also allow people who are born male but go through gender reassignment to give birth.Richard Paulson, president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), said there was no reason to believe that the treatment could not work for transgender women.
Jordan Peterson
Jordan Peterson is a secular hero. He is a professor from the University of Toronto who has bravely stood up to Trans activists and bullies. Watch this video if you want to see how good he is and also how insane the opposition is.
In what sane culture would any of this make sense?
“its not correct that there is such a thing as biological sex…I am a professor of medical history…)
“pronouns are part of a cis normative culture”…
‘cis normative is a culture that says there is such a thing as male and female…for over 50 years scientists have shown that is not true..”
“Not using pronouns is hate speech like violence etc”
The Moral Panic
Amongst the many people who have been caught up in the moral panic, hypocrisy and hysteria following the Weinstein revelations, are politicians, media stars and others. Mark McDonald, MSP, SNP childrens minister, and at least partly responsible for the Scottish Governments madness on this, has been forced to resign because of inappropriate comments. He had tweeted criticizing Michael Gove’s ‘joke’ about Harvey Weinstein, ‘’Can we just stop and reset the bar on what passes for decency in human discourse, please? This is making me sick.’ but deleted that tweet once his own more serious indiscretions came to light.
The hypocrisy of the Holywood elites also continues. Robert De Niro said of Donald Trump he’s a dog, he’s a pig, he’s a mutt’…and yet he lauded Weinstein and has kept quiet since.
Louis CK is the darling of American comedians and was just about to release a film ‘I Love You Daddy’ about the relationship between a young girl and a much older man. Now he has been compelled to admit his own sexual abuse.
There are many others caught up in this. At the rate we are going there will soon be a lot less films and series to watch!
Wrong Priorities?
Kensington City Council have got involved in a neighbours dispute between the Carrabino and Baptista families who live in the £5 million plus villas in the area. The Baptistas complained that the Carrabino son James, playing the piano for hours every day was torture. The Council took the part of the Baptistas and has spent £200,000 on the legal case. This is the very same amount that would have been needed to fund a sprinkler system for Grenfel Tower. – GP’s are going to demand information from patients about their sexuality whilst the census fails to collect data on how many men and women there are in Britain.
– In New York a mother sued her childs’ $19,000 per year nursery because her four year old was spending too much time playing with 2 year olds, thus ruining her chances of getting into an Ivy League University.
More PC Nonsense
–Peter Hitchens was invited to speak at Liverpool University on ‘the war on drugs’. The students union insisted they see his speech in advance, and that the police were informed of the meeting and record the names of those present. They investigated his previous views on SSM and addiction. And they prepared a risk assessment in which concerns were expressed about these opinions. The organizers and Peter did not understandably accept the conditions and so the meeting was cancelled.
– Kirkus is an American trade journal on books. Its young adult titles must be reviewed in less than 200 words and identify all characters by race, religions and sexual orientation. Laura Moriarty wrote a book about a white 15 year old girl who meets an Iranian academic on the run. The book was assigned to a ‘female observant Muslim of colour’ to review. She gave an enthusiastic review and the book was given a Kirkus star. But SJWs (Social Justice Warriors) condemned the book as ‘white-saviour narrative’ and Krikus took the review down and ordered the reviewer to rewrite her review to be more critical. She did and the star was removed. Since when was fiction judged by political correctness.
– Australian marriage – An 18 year old Christian lost her job in September after stating her opinion on SSM on FB. Her employer Madlin Sims “Today I fired a staff member who made it public knowledge that its ok to vote no. Advertising your desire to vote no for SSM is, in my eyes hate speech. Voting no is homophobic. Advertising your homophobia is hate speech. Its not ok to vote no.
– Dennis the Menace makeover – In a new CBBC series Dennis the Menace is going to be made more ‘suitable for an international audience’ by which they mean white, middle class liberal elite audience. His catapult is exchanged for an iPad. Gnasher now has neat white teeth and Walter is no longer dubbed a softie because that might be deemed homophobic!
Blame it on Brexit
Martin Kettle in The Guardian blamed Brexit on The Reformation.
And John Lubbock in The Independent stated that those who voted for Brexit should not wear poppies in Remembrance as they were historically illiterate.
The EU is dragging its feet on citizens’ rights to squeeze more money from Britain, sources close to the Brexit talks claimed last night – from the Times
‘Christian’ Corruption in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a nation mired in poverty and corruption. What it needs is real biblical Christianity – not the type of prosperity gospel charade that charlatans all over Africa (and the rest of the world) are using to make themselves rich. Walter Magaya is the founder of the Prophetic Healing and Deliverance Ministries in Zimbabwe. He offers cures for lung cancer and HIV. He sells anointed corn on the cobs with special healing powers for $10 whilst assuring the population that Mugabe is the God appointed leader!
Jesus and the Jedi….
Sometimes I’m not so proud of my city! http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-41858779
Atheist Convention Cancelled
When I visited Melbourne I was told about the atheist convention there and how hundreds of atheist suckers had been taken in by the atheist tele-evangelists (Dawkins, Hitchins, Harris etc) and paid hundreds of dollars just to attend. There was supposed to be a repeat but it has been cancelled due to lack of interest! Maybe the Atheists are wising up…?!
Quote of the Week
“There is nothing quite so tragic as a young cynic, because it means the person has gone from knowing nothing to believing nothing” Maya Angelou.
Donald Trump Comes Out as Gay
This is from Babylon Bee
WASHINGTON, D.C.—In what is being perceived as a possible attempt to deflect months of declining poll results and mounting criticism over his policies, inappropriate behavior, and investigations into possible corruption in his presidential campaign, President Trump came out as gay Thursday morning.
“I owe you all the sincerest apology for my deeply inappropriate, deranged behavior, and I am sorry for the sense of dread you have all been forced to live with these past 10 months,” Trump said during a solemn video address as he choked back tears.
“I choose now to live as a gay man,” he announced, causing the camera crew to break out in applause.
Immediately after the announcement, Trump’s poll numbers skyrocketed, with unprecedented support for his policies erupting throughout the nation and media as the news broke. Trump’s all-time low approval rating of 38% almost instantaneously exploded to 97%, while the vast majority of his outspoken critics on the left voiced their support for his courage and bravery.
Furthermore, the shrewd political move of coming out as gay ended federal investigations into Russian influence on the 2016 election, with FBI special investigator Robert Mueller apologizing for ever looking into the matter.
Finally back to where we started:
Here is an article from The Times which says what I have been saying for years – the governments policy on Transgender amounts to Government sponsored child abuse.
Children Sacrificed to Appease Trans Lobby
Janice Turner. The Times 11th November 2017.
Travis Alabanza is a performance artist who, in the tradition of Leigh Bowery, Boy George or Bowie, dresses to astonish and subvert. Blue lipstick, beard stubble, fab shoes, frocks, mad hair, attitude. What Travis isn’t, however, is a woman.Yet when Topshop in Manchester wouldn’t allow him to try on clothes in the women’s fitting area, he exploded on Twitter: “Not letting me use the changing room I decide is shit, sort it out.” Within hours Topshop declared all customers “are free to use any fitting room located within our stores”.Note: Topshop hasn’t built solid, separate unisex boxes as in, say, Urban Outfitters. They are just permitting men — any man — to walk into a flimsily curtained space where giggling teenage girls check out a friend’s new dress in their bras.
Topshop’s female customers were baffled. Why sacrifice our privacy and safety? (When the US company Target adopted this policy, predatory men exploited it to snap photos under cubicles.) Why not create a discrete space for the few “non-binary” people like Travis to change?Fair question. But the current trans movement is doctrinaire, uncompromising. Led by mainly older trans-women — ie born men — it won’t acknowledge women’s rights or feelings. It fights for two principles. First, “self-definition”: a person is the gender they “feel” inside, so a trans-woman “is” a woman even without physical change or while retaining male genitalia. Second, “affirmation”: everyone must acknowledge this inner gender identity. Hence the right to waltz into women’s private spaces is sacrosanct.For months, researching the rise in referrals to gender clinics of teenage girls, I’ve been shocked at how the trans lobby, abetted by a cowed LGBT movement and deluded politicians, are prepared to sacrifice the wellbeing of children to attain those two goals.
This week the Scottish government published its transgender guidance for schools, drawn up solely by activist groups such as Mermaids. If Justine Greening implements a highly contentious women and equalities committee report, such rules will apply everywhere. On changing rooms it states: “If a learner feels uncomfortable sharing facilities with a transgender young person, they can be allowed to use a private facility . . . or to get changed after the trans young person is done.” So if a girl objects to showering with a male-bodied pupil, she must go elsewhere or wait outside. For overnight trips: “If a transgender young person is sharing a room with their peers, there is no reason for parents of the other young people to be informed.” So you have no business knowing if your daughter is sleeping alongside someone born a boy.
It recommends schools allow a child to change gender without parental consent. Moreover, if parents are not wholly behind a child’s decision: “It may be useful to approach the local authority for additional guidance”, ie report them to social services, perhaps to question custody.
This craze to expedite gender transition in children goes against all clinical advice for “watchful waiting”. The young brain evolves, children change their minds, puberty is troubling for many reasons. Yet the Scottish guidance allows no one to dispute a child’s view, maybe acquired on Reddit and Tumblr, that he or she is in “the wrong body”. Or to suggest that a child may simply be gay. The apparatus of medical transition, a hormone regime causing sterility, plus surgical removal of healthy tissue, is seen as wholly positive. PE teachers must tolerate girls using binders to strap down their hated breasts “which can lead to shortness of breath and can be painful during physical exertion” because they have “a positive impact on a young person’s mental health”.
We are being ordered to endorse a practice reminiscent of Chinese foot-binding or the Victorian tight-lacing craze where girls fainted to achieve the tiniest waist. Should we also hand out fresh razor blades so self-harm wounds don’t go sceptic? Or “affirm” anorexics’ delusions that they are fat?
In my research I heard from teachers, doctors, parents and trans-folk aghast at children being pushed towards drastic treatment before they can possibly understand how it will affect their future relationships and lives. None would speak out publicly: like Topshop, they feared being labelled transphobic.
Because how quickly we transition kids is the new measure of an enlightened society. Announcing proposals to let 12-year-olds change their legal gender, the SNP equalities secretary Angela Constance boasted that “Scotland rightly has a reputation as one of the most progressive countries in relation to LGBTI rights.” This proves the SNP is more right-on than even Corbyn Labour. Meanwhile the Tories, in a cynical pursuit of youth votes, push for legislative changes they don’t even grasp. “Being trans is not an illness,” said Theresa May recently, “and it should not be treated as such.” So why does it require surgery, drugs and lifelong patienthood?
While trans children are a liberal totem, 50 more are being referred to London’s Tavistock clinic every week. “If there was a 1,000 per cent rise in six years in any other field,” said one doctor, “there would be a major inquiry. Instead no one asks why.” Because trans kids are becoming, as in the US, an industry that makes careers, brings Children in Need and Lottery grants, humanitarian prizes, plaudits, MBEs; it provides a legion of photogenic young foot-soldiers to help secure older trans demands, and for the private clinics, who’ll put your 13-year-old girl on testosterone, it is a mighty cash cow. But in a decade, when our adult children turn to ask, “Why did you let me do this? Why didn’t you stop me?” we may wonder if this was progress or child abuse.
Thank you David. Profoundly disheartening. We look steadfastly to the Lord.
Just been introduced to your blog and it’s very good!
Oh David – “hundreds of atheist suckers had been taken in by the atheist tele-evangelists” – that’s a little silly. I wonder how exactly they were being taken in? Were they promising miraculous healings? I expect every single person knew exactly what they were paying for. “Hundreds of dollars” David? Hmm, I do wonder if that’s correct. Perhaps they paid by passing a plate among those who attended.
So many different brands of Christianity available to choose from – many of them denouncing the others as pale imitations. How exactly do you get to denounce someone such as Walter Magaya as a charlatan? This is the first time I’ve heard his name but I’d lay money (hundreds?) on the fact that many people come away from his services proclaiming themselves healed. Hundreds of faithful suckers being taken in I expect.
They charged them hundreds of dollars to attend a convention which was just simply about people who don’t believe anything – except they don’t believe in God. They persuaded them it would be cool/intelletual/hip and happening – and the suckers paid up. And yes Magaya does sucker people too…
I wonder how long it will be before Holyrood’s “progressive” government forces us all to use gender-neutral pronouns?
One of the most ludicrous consequences claimed for the Brexit vote is that it may lead to an increase in anti-Catholicism. Yes. Somebody has actually put forward that suggestion. Step forward Catherine Pepinster, former editor of The Tablet (aka The Bitter Pill). In an article for the Guardian she actually put forward that argument.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/nov/02/400-years-guy-fawkes-britain-catholics-prejudice
It’s very difficult (or, at least, I found it difficult) to follow her argument but it seems to be something along the following lines. Firstly, she points out that the fierce anti-Catholicism of many in Britain, including its government, has largely given way to toleration and, even, co-operation between Catholics and Protestants and between the UK Government and the Holy See. What remains of anti-Catholicism is mainly to be found among militant atheists. Then she says that the EU was largely the creation of two Catholics (Robert Schuman and Jean Monet). So far so good. But then she goes on to somehow suggest, and I really can’t follow the argument, that all these things are undermined by Brexit.
And Martin Kettle writing for the same newspaper blames Brexit on the Reformation. So if we put together these two people with strange views we have the Reformation causing Brexit which, in turn, leads to an increase in anti-Catholicism! Mind you, I have a certain sympathy for saying there is a link between the Reformation and Brexit. One aspect of the Reformation was the rejection of one of the major institutions of authority in Christendom. Luther told people to ignore that authority. Similarly, people who voted for Brexit ignored what all the major (academic, economic, media, cultural) institutions told them to do.
Authority is the reason why evangelicals leave their protestant denominations and join the Roman Catholic Church, Mike,
and it ought to provoke all protestants to jealousy for the authority of Scripture, but that by the way.
Anti-EU thinking which is also anti-Catholic tends to be divided in two by what drives it: whether it’s driven by fear of a predicted future or driven by an overheated allegiance to the past. Certain things provoked the suspicion that the EU was some sort of Popish Plot but I didn’t hear a cheep about them during the Brexit Debates, for which I for one was thankful.
Apart from the Schuman/Monet link which you mention above, most of these provocations are at best, trivial but here are some of them:
The treaty of Rome was signed in Rome.
First expansion would have produced a ten-nation Common Market — except Norway pulled out — thus making a ‘Beast’ with ten toes (only, it didn’t).
The EU flag may have been inspired by Mary’s crown of stars.
For several years there was an EU poster using Bruegel’s Tower of Babel to advertise the Strasbourg Parliament buildings. It is probable that ‘Babylon’ is used in the New Testament as a codeword for Nero’s Rome.
The Pope, rather famously, got to address the European Parliament and it didn’t help that Iain Paisley MEP was — unsuccessfully — obstructed from getting to his rightful place in the chamber having made it clear that he would protest the visit. He was duly ejected from the chamber but much more violently than when he was suspended from the House of Commons.
Popish Plot theories were IMHO fatally undermined by the simple fact that so many prominant brexiteers have been Roman Catholics. Doubtless there is some kind of reasoning behind Catherine Pepinster’s article but like you, I can’t trace it.
Yours,
John/.
So being young and trans you are both the victim of abuse and a predator? Because that’s what I’m reading from this article which once again seems completely devoid of any level of compassion or understanding. I actually agree that we probably push kids to identify as trans too readily when there could be other things going on, but your article, which makes trans people out to be predators seems to be reminiscent of the earlier crusades against homosexuals. By equating trans people with predators and abusers you completely destroy any possibility of rational debate on what is actually happening. For example, in Topshop I’m pretty sure you can already see a handful of bored boyfriends in the women’s changing area, so how is this suddenly an issue?
Clearly – you are reading a different article because my article does not state that trans people are predators. Its hard to accept a complaint of a lack of understanding when you clearly have not understood what is being written. And its an easy and cheap shot to complain of a lack of compassion. You don’t know my heart or what I feel about this. And I suspect you don’t care. You just throw in the ‘lack of compassion’ because you know it is always an arrow that sticks. Its precisely because I do care about people that I object to the promotion of this insane ideology….
Frederick. Did you watch the Jordan B Peterson video? Who is abusing whom? Inversion of reality is being practiced. Assersions are applauded as fact and smirking is the new adult check-mate argument.
At one point Peterson was asked if he was willing to learn. As a psychiatrist, is it not likely that he has a greater understanding of human nature and psyche than most, if not all, on the panel, and then being accused, near the end, of abuse and hate, in the midst of hostility towards him, beggars. He could lose his job, be imprisoned, because he refuses to use fictional pronounous.
Inanity.
There is a huge inequality where people are forced by law into the language and belief and behaviour systems of the tiny minority.