It's not "derogatory" or "unkind" to stay grounded in my adaptive instincts to recognize the sex of my fellow humans. Accurately referring to a man as a man is not "unkind." What is unkind is participating in sex-denialist language and dissociating kids from their primal safeguarding instincts. It is not just unkind, it's abusive to tell kids that they can't trust the accuracy of their own eyes and ears. It's abusive to teach kids they can't trust their own bodies to tell them the truth about the world.
It's not "derogatory" or "unkind" to stay grounded in my adaptive instincts to recognize the sex of my fellow humans. Accurately referring to a man as a man is not "unkind." What is unkind is participating in sex-denialist language and dissociating kids from their primal safeguarding instincts. It is not just unkind, it's abusive to tell kids that they can't trust the accuracy of their own eyes and ears. It's abusive to teach kids they can't trust their own bodies to tell them the truth about the world.
@KnownHeretic Not sure what is going on with your account but I haven’t seen your posts in months, as I have not muted or unfollowed you, I can only assume X shenanigans?
Rigorously challenging a person's beliefs is unkind though. However, this leads me to a maxim that has fallen far out of favor: Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. Like a child engaged in some manner of dangerous pursuit because it amuses or entertains them, as the parent you have to put your foot down. They lack the foresight to recognize the individual and collateral damage caused. And it will seem cruel to them, and they will scream "WHY DO YOU HATE ME?!!?!" as they thrash and scrape for justifications. And some of these "trans" people will never grow up, stunted by coming of age in an era where they were supported and encouraged by powerful cultural enablers. And it's all terribly sad.
@KnownHeretic - hello ms. Amy, allow me introduce to you my pa... - OH BY TIMMY they aren't your parents you were ADOPTED and your REAL PARENTS abandonded you! you do that?
@KnownHeretic Calling a trans woman a man is unkind by every metric under the sun, actually.
You are absolutely right. We need to break the “niceness” curse. It is misguided. Nice should not be a mandate to lie, deny common sense and obvious truths. Nice applies to how you deliver your words, not to the substance of it. You don’t aim to shame or ridicule someone, but you need to stay your ground. You can make an observation in private, instead of exposing someone to ridicule in public. But that is among well intentioned individuals.