Anti Trans And Why It Fails

[Maketakunai]

Yeah, I would like to know what, exactly, our "conservative atheist" friend wants in terms of public policy and/or law.

I'm glad you're happy. Kudos for asking a relevant question! My answer is actually... "I don't know what the answer is, but I know what the answer isn't." In fact, I'm not even sure that more laws will be the answer, and here's why.

I know that this world doesn't really care for victims. They grab attention for a short time and then the world moves on. By definition victims are people who suffer because they were unable to overcome someone or something. The world simply cares more for winners than losers. Ask someone who has relatives that survived the Holocaust. The world moved on to the point that some people simply deny millions of Jews were gassed to death and burned in ovens by the Nazis. So, whatever happens needs to start with the transgender community, as a whole, rejecting victimization. 

I have no doubt that many people here will want to disagree with that. Think about it though. Psychiatrists, and assorted groups have been studying and working with the trans community since the 1950's. The trans community has no end of supporters. Laws have been passed to protect transgender people in the workplace and while doing business. There are laws that protect them from unfair housing practices. And what has all of this gotten the transgender community in the last 70 years?

Trans people are more likely to suffer from clinical depression and anxiety than other people based on their perception of the world. 

Trans people suicide at a rate 9X higher than straight people.
According to the ACLU around 50% can't find jobs and 70% are likely to be homeless at any given time. 
A higher percentage of trans people report being assaulted by law enforcement than black people. 
Trans people believe they are not treated with the same respected as other customers by service industry workers. 
Etc.
Etc.
Etc.

I would hardly call this a success story. For 70 years people have been trying to help transgenders cope because they don't think they're capable of coping on their own. Laws have been passed to protect them because they are aren't able to protect themselves. This is victimization as much as all of the terrible things they were meant to stop. It is the bigotry of low expectations. So, I believe that a suicide rate of 9x ought to dispel the myth that treating transgender people as though they need to be protected was ever a good idea to begin with. 

I think a much better solution than passing more laws to protect them would be to focus on the issues that cause the anxiety and depression in the transgender community. The law can protect you, but it also protects everyone else. What can protect transgenders more is the transgender community. {edit}Gays realized this decades ago, and there now are well established networks within the gay community.{/edit} Hell, in my city they even have their own Yellow Pages so if they're afraid of discrimination or if they just want to support their community they can opt to use businesses owned by gay people. There are networks for gay-friendly housing and gay-friendly recreation. I don't just mean bars, there are places that go out of their way to make their gay patrons feel safe and confident that they will not be harassed. The gay community became stronger by solving their own problems. And... by the way, it's more acceptable to be gay right now than an atheist.

I've never seen this in the trans community to a great degree. {edit}Locally, I don't know of any transgender resources for the transgender community by the transgender community itself{/edit}. I live in a city with about 3.5 million people. There is probably a need that isn't being filled here. There are a few short-term, transgender-only homeless shelters run by professional charities, but none that I'm aware of here that are actually run by transgender people with the goal of getting them permanent housing. They focus primarily on crisis situations. My BDSM club does a charity event for one of them every year and the BDSM community is a place transgender people are safe from discrimination as long as they realize that our community doesn't suffer victims. People who are strong enough to be themselves are welcome and respected. My experience with people in general has always been that people who feel helpless are only happy under a very specific set of circumstances that does not apply here. The rest of the time, they're pretty miserable.

You seem like a strong, capable, happy person. Why wouldn't you want that for others? I'm sure you do, but passing laws and trying to change the world to suit yourself is never as effective as learning how to live in the world. Why would any serious person want to continue on a path that's led to a suicide rate 9x the norm?

But hey, what do I know. I'm just a cunt...

{edits for clarification}