Over the Easter break, I travelled around following Brian on his tour in Eastern Europe. We visited 7 countries in 12 days. A few of the things we did: we visited a Communist dictator's house, underground ruins of a Roman Christian church, an 80s Museum, went on a walk for a few hours with an historian who detailed the 100 year history leading up to the Yugoslav/Homeland Wars, crossed the Danube a LOT, we saw loads of churches, visited Communist era venues, saw Socialist art, ate dinner in a Communist era television tower, were driven around in a Trabant, marched with gendarmes, walked through a WW2 bomb shelter, saw some of Tycho Brahe’s books, went on a boat ride on a river and ate a LOT of food.
This is great and sums up so much of how I feel. I'm not a public person so the impact was very local - in friendship groups, schools & family. One friend did apologise - genuinely and openly - but not because of Cass. He was decent enough to apologise on email - cc'ing the rest of the people at a particular party where this subject had come up (including a couple who'd actually shouted at me). No one else followed up his email but I'll be forever grateful to him. No one since Cass has said "wow you were right all those years ago". It's permanent fault line in some familial relationships I suspect. I've shared this on my Facebook - so I've let you do the talking for me ;)
Perfectly put, I haven't seen any apologies yet either. Reminds me of a Tweet I saw this morning where antivaxxers were coming up with multiple theories as to why more people weren't dropping dead after the COVID vax, they would rather look stupid than admit the truth. As for the former Yugoslavia, my Bosnian friends are to this day proud of the fact that Iggy Pop got a bigger crowd in Sarajevo pre war than Elton John.
You were the person who first opened my eyes to what was going on Gia so thank you.
From what I’ve seen so far responses seem to be:
“I was of course in the middle ground all along, if only you women weren’t so mean”
“Actually the Cass report missed loads of data (not that I bothered to read it myself)”
“I’m just a lowly biologist what would I know about any of this”
So yes don’t really expect much in the way of apologies just people working back from their assumption they are of course a good person and so it must have been someone else’s fault.
I assume that the underlying logic supported by critics of the report is that gender clinics are treating a physical, not a psychological problem - that a man can be born with all the physical characteristics of a woman, but this can be corrected with surgery and hormones.
However it’s striking that medicine and policy have been apparently driven by this theory without any public examination of what it means. It seems to be such big news if true, but people who would expect to provide data to support climate change shy away from scientific analysis of what this means.
None of this making a scratch on the news here in Australia but I don't expect anyone will come over and say anything. But still I feel "vincidcated" too. It's nice to have all these clever people and experts starting to say all the things we knew were true.
Meanwhile I somehow missed the start of your podcast but I can now start from the beginning and I'll catch up in no time!
I had one (1) apology, and it struck me as a very classy act. It's extremely painful to publicly recant, and in my public work, I'd like to make it as easy as possible for people to walk back. In my private life, the people who burned me are in social Siberia. And I feel absolutely fine about being expansive in my public forgiveness and incredibly tight with my private boundaries.
I haven’t had any one apologise, but then, I’m not on soshul meeja any more.
Also - and fully aware that this could well come across as the most sour of grapes, BUUUUUUT….
Not sure I want an apology?
The people that called me a bigot, that claimed I wanted trans people dead or denied they existed (how could I deny that? Some of them NEVER shut up), they got taken in by the most naked and transparently incoherent guff there ever was.
I don’t rate myself as particularly intelligent, I’m used to getting things wrong, I was ready to find out I made a mistake, but fuck me, there was nothing there that could withstand a couple of questions.
I don’t want anything to do with those idiots who decided to mug themselves off, I’m done.
This is great and sums up so much of how I feel. I'm not a public person so the impact was very local - in friendship groups, schools & family. One friend did apologise - genuinely and openly - but not because of Cass. He was decent enough to apologise on email - cc'ing the rest of the people at a particular party where this subject had come up (including a couple who'd actually shouted at me). No one else followed up his email but I'll be forever grateful to him. No one since Cass has said "wow you were right all those years ago". It's permanent fault line in some familial relationships I suspect. I've shared this on my Facebook - so I've let you do the talking for me ;)
Perfectly put, I haven't seen any apologies yet either. Reminds me of a Tweet I saw this morning where antivaxxers were coming up with multiple theories as to why more people weren't dropping dead after the COVID vax, they would rather look stupid than admit the truth. As for the former Yugoslavia, my Bosnian friends are to this day proud of the fact that Iggy Pop got a bigger crowd in Sarajevo pre war than Elton John.
You were the person who first opened my eyes to what was going on Gia so thank you.
From what I’ve seen so far responses seem to be:
“I was of course in the middle ground all along, if only you women weren’t so mean”
“Actually the Cass report missed loads of data (not that I bothered to read it myself)”
“I’m just a lowly biologist what would I know about any of this”
So yes don’t really expect much in the way of apologies just people working back from their assumption they are of course a good person and so it must have been someone else’s fault.
Oof. I really related to your anger here. I felt / feel the same.
And no I don't think I've ever had any apologies. And I really crave them at times.
So you raise a good point that there is no vindication really and unlikely to be one. 😐
Sending solidarity x
I assume that the underlying logic supported by critics of the report is that gender clinics are treating a physical, not a psychological problem - that a man can be born with all the physical characteristics of a woman, but this can be corrected with surgery and hormones.
However it’s striking that medicine and policy have been apparently driven by this theory without any public examination of what it means. It seems to be such big news if true, but people who would expect to provide data to support climate change shy away from scientific analysis of what this means.
Does ‘toxic debate’ just mean ‘it’s rude to ask’?
None of this making a scratch on the news here in Australia but I don't expect anyone will come over and say anything. But still I feel "vincidcated" too. It's nice to have all these clever people and experts starting to say all the things we knew were true.
Meanwhile I somehow missed the start of your podcast but I can now start from the beginning and I'll catch up in no time!
I had one (1) apology, and it struck me as a very classy act. It's extremely painful to publicly recant, and in my public work, I'd like to make it as easy as possible for people to walk back. In my private life, the people who burned me are in social Siberia. And I feel absolutely fine about being expansive in my public forgiveness and incredibly tight with my private boundaries.
I haven’t had any one apologise, but then, I’m not on soshul meeja any more.
Also - and fully aware that this could well come across as the most sour of grapes, BUUUUUUT….
Not sure I want an apology?
The people that called me a bigot, that claimed I wanted trans people dead or denied they existed (how could I deny that? Some of them NEVER shut up), they got taken in by the most naked and transparently incoherent guff there ever was.
I don’t rate myself as particularly intelligent, I’m used to getting things wrong, I was ready to find out I made a mistake, but fuck me, there was nothing there that could withstand a couple of questions.
I don’t want anything to do with those idiots who decided to mug themselves off, I’m done.
Don’t let any of those people back into your life .
They are toxic for you.
You have nothing to justify .
People who threaten others like that are sick.
Equally mutilating children’s body’s is abuse .
This is a decision for an adult mind to make .
The best apology is the one you give to the part
of you that was hurt taking notice of their play ground tactics and nonsense.
I wish you well .