Thread:Dudey111/@comment-4786757-20171102022752/@comment-33525200-20171103224135

Hey Gogobell! Thanks for your reply. Ultimately, the ban decision is Wolf's to make, so I'm discussing it with him. However, thanks for taking the time to read through my reply to Fearless Diva. The problem here is that you're making wayyyyyyyy too many assumptions. How do you know if I was offended or not? Like I said, taking offense is a voluntary choice. The inequality I've faced comes from how action is taken due to different offenses. Confused? Keep reading.

Firstly, you obviously do not understand my position. I am someone who does not agree with transsexuality, on a scientific and religious basis. Hopefully, you agree that I am allowed that opinion. You, on the other hand, do agree with transsexuality, on some basis which I am not familiar. For you, misgendering is when a transgendered individual's choice of pronouns is ignored by other people, who describe them based on their biological characteristics. For me, misgendering is when someone deliberately goes against every biological instinct in their body and chooses to label themselves as a gender other than that which they were born with, commonly known as sex.

I sincerely hope you read the ​Psychology Today​ article I posted above; it perfectly describes everything I've been saying. I completely understand that you find my worldview "rude." What you don't consider is that, with my worldview, I could easily call every mention of transgenderism "rude." Yet, I also believe that everyone has a right as human beings to express their opinion. Because of this, I choose not to take offense at any beliefs a transsexual person or character may have. They have the basic rights to freely express their beliefs, just like I have my basic rights to freely express my beliefs. As long as such conversations do not turn into personal attacks, free speech is maintained with tolerance from both sides about the differing opinions.

The biggest issue here is that a transgender individual is allowed to express his opinion about transsexuality, but I am not. Supposed I find a woman calling herself a man and find it "rude" and "take offense" to. If I report it to an admin (which would be an extremely petty and immature thing to do), the administrator would do nothing except reprimand me for being "transphobic" and "closed-minded." However, if I express my opinion on transsexuality by calling a character who was born a female a girl, a transgender individual has the potential to find it "rude" and can "take offense" to it. The difference in treatment arises from when they take it to an administrator. In this case, we have seen what happens: the moderator issues a year-long ban, calls me "transphobic," and recruits his/her friends to simultaneously post on my wall letting me know it was "rude."

TOLERANCE (n): indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one's own - Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Let's compare our individual cases. In my case, I clearly exhibit tolerance because I don't believe transgendered individuals should be censored from voicing their opinion. However, in your case, you are clearly being intolerant. My opinion that a person born female is a female is not just rejected, but also censored.

So yes, your opinion can say that my post was "rude." What you fail to understand is that your comment implies that anything that goes against your opinion is "rude." You have every right to call my opinion "wrong." Obviously, I view your opinion as "wrong." The difference here is that I am not attempting to forcibly censor you from stating your opinion.

With that said, let me address your points.

1. Comprehensively covered above.

2. Of course you can call my opinion wrong, because opinions are subjective. Would you like me to explain that using Merriam-Webster's Dictionary too? In your opinion, my statement was also "rude." Congratulations, that doesn't mean it actually is "rude." That means that ​in your opinion, it was "rude."

3. Once again, covered above.

4. I appreciate your attempt at giving an example. However, where it falls short is in your assumptions. You're assuming that I would take offense to being called "she." However, I cannot control what pronouns people when use when addressing me. Thus, it is none of my concern. I am easily comfortable enough in my identity to not feel "offended" if someone comes along and fails to intelligently guess my gender. Another issue with your example is that it's just scientifically inaccurate. I have no idea how much education you've had, but our genetic makeup (genotype) leads to certain visible traits (phenotype) in human beings. These visible traits are markedly different between males and females, and are the first thing used when specifying pronouns. Thus, if someone was to come along and call me a female, I'd just laugh at their stupidity and inability to comprehend basic science. Would it be rude of them to call me a female? Sure. Is it offensive? Not if I choose to take no offense (double negative, I know).

5. I saw your quote already. How is censoring my opinion contributing to diversity and inclusiveness? If everyone with a differing opinion to yours is immediately blocked, that leads to reduced diversity. This is a direct result of your intolerant (as defined by Merriam-Webster) attitude.

6. I understand transsexuality is a psychological matter. If you believe it's valid, go for it! In my opinion, you're WRONG, but that's a debate for another time and another place. When you say "keep quiet about it," you're proving my point. As to your example about groups of people, I believe they have a right to express their opinion about me however much they want. As mentioned earlier, basic genetics would prove them wrong in a heartbeat.

In conclusion, you fail to understand many of the simple points I have made, which is truly concerning. You're being closed-minded because you repeatedly keep calling my statements "rude" and "wrong," instead of accepting the fact that everyone is entitled to their own opinion; in addition, you fail to see how transgenderism can easily be seen as "rude and offensive" to me and many others. You also fail to see how this leads to a difference in treatment, simply because some users might not agree with the administrator on issues such as this. Finally, you're being intolerant because you refuse to allow me to express my opinion.

I surely hope that you have not said everything you mean to say, because what I have written addresses everything you wrote out. I do appreciate you taking the time to think and write out your response, instead of constantly labeling me as a "misgenderer." I just regret that this has to happen because of a ban appeal, instead of a respectful discussion where both conflicting opinions are valued.