(April 19, 2016 at 3:03 pm)Esquilax Wrote:You are correct that I didn't read the article. This is because I was already aware of the 41% figure for transgender suicide and was providing a link to authenticate the number. Probably should have read it and saved myself some grief.(April 19, 2016 at 12:07 pm)Jörmungandr Wrote: This comparison of suicide attempt rates is also faulty in another way. The proper comparison group for transexuals is the mentally ill, not the general population. They have a difficult and stressful life long condition. A comparison to people with a chronic illness would be more appropriate. Does your study differentiate between pre-transitioning rates and post-transition rates? That's another aspect that needs to be considered.
Oh well, see, let me tell you how this goes, because this isn't the first time that AWJ has posted (a few sentences of) a citation, where actually reading the thing shows a markedly different conclusion than what he had presented. What happened when that was pointed out was amazing.
So, the parts of the citation that agree with what AWJ already believes were perfectly acceptable evidence, and should be treated seriously. The parts that don't agree with what AWJ already believes- and in this past case that was the conclusions of the scientists that wrote the study, unambiguously and unequivocally stated- well, those parts "don't make sense" and should be disregarded immediately and without thought. The end result was that what makes a good study for citation is how much it aligns with what AWJ believes, not methodology or the quality of the evidence. Even within the same study, those parts that can be twisted to fit AWJ's beliefs should be treated with respect, and those parts that do not, or that a proper understanding of the concepts involved would suggest otherwise, "don't make sense." What really matters, the only thing that matters, is whether it makes sense to AWJ.
So I don't think questions of methodology or a full understanding of the results of the citation will matter much, here, because they don't make sense within AWJ's presupposed worldview, which is reason enough, in the self-serving prism through which he sees the world, to disregard them. To AWJ, the study he cited is short snippets of text, surrounded by vast black swathes of redaction, editing out all those things that are not what he already believes.
Note that I am not disputing the reasons given for the suicide. I did say that it wasn't established how much discrimination is responsible for and I believe that reliable figures are hard to come by. What I am disputing is the overall effectiveness of the "therapy." If my son liked wearing dresses, I wouldn't allow him to go to school in one, since the bullying would do him a huge amount of damage. It is pointless to say, "he has a right to wear a dress and everyone should respect that." In the real world, this ain't gonna happen. He's going to be picked on mercilessly by all sorts of people, religious and non-religious.