<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nThese organisations and individuals also make another fundamental mistake in this area too\u2014they assume all trans people subscribe to the far-left, progressive viewpoint when it comes to gender identity. And that\u2019s simply not true. When they talk about defending trans people, they really mean defending the viewpoints of trans people that match their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trans people are not a politically homogenous group. It may come as a shock to these American groups that many trans people also identify as centrists, conservatives, right-wing, Christians etc. And many of them do not care for the lunacy on the left that is dominating the discourse on trans issues either\u2014which often makes their life more difficult. Are you \u2018erasing the identity\u2019 of these trans people when you demand the acceptance of a myopic, progressive viewpoint on their identity?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trans rights should be guaranteed of course. Personally, I\u2019d go even further and say that dignity and compassion isn\u2019t too much to ask for either. I also don\u2019t personally have an issue with using someone\u2019s \u2018preferred pronouns\u2019 \u2014just so long as it\u2019s my own free choice to do so. And anyone who wishes to oppress and abuse trans people can consider themselves enemies of mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Everything else is up for discussion however. This is precisely where we need actual sceptics. This is where we need the tribeless, free-thinking adults to rise above the noise and bigotry to make sensible noises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Instead, we now have atheist, humanist and secular organisations attempting to create a climate where mere discussion on this issue is to be considered beyond the pale and worthy of excommunication. This is what ideologues do. And like all groups of ideologues, they will eventually implode under the force of their own purity criteria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve lost my interest in mainstream atheist\/humanist\/secular groups in the states in recent years. They have become utterly infected with woke ideology. There\u2019s no backbone, no radicalism, no room for heterodoxy. They have simply just rejected one church in favour of another. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
I’ve never subscribed to an ‘atheist community’, but I did expect organisations flying under that banner to be better placed to resist intolerant and irrational ideologies. You cannot consider yourself a ‘sceptic’ and excommunicate someone for wishing to discuss self-identification and gender. These groups will no doubt attract ideologues of the same woke denomination, but they should no longer describe themselves as \u2018free-thinkers\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stephen Knight is host of The #GSPodcast. You can listen to The Godless Spellchecker Podcast here<\/a>, and support it by becoming a patron here<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n