Have you ever had someone look at you and you think to yourself, they’re judging me? Well, of course, they are. We all do that. It’s part of the natural process of prejudice that defines us, and I don’t mean the narrowed modern definition. Prejudice informs your habits, preferences, and personal safety. It keeps you from diving off cliffs when you don’t know how or walking through creepy parks at night. It explains your preference for blondes or brunettes, tall men or short, the food you favor and those you don’t, risk-taking, flight or fight, the everyday things you want to do or of which you take no part.
This discernment can also lead you to adopt opinions and preferences that are, in fact, racist, sexist, or any other ist (dentist?), which is why human beings need to be formed in their early lives with values to ensure that they do not allow these impulses to turn them into intolerable dopes. Which brings me back to the opening sentence. Has anyone ever gotten in your face and asked if you are judging them?
Yes.
My pat response is, “Are you aware that it is impossible for you to even ask that question without having judged me?” Not everyone understands, which is amusing if you are in no danger of getting pounded for having a smart mouth or being a smart ass or (if you want to go back a few decades) a smartypants punk kid. Or, you might say, it is impossible for you to have decided that someone has formed an opinion about you (presumably unfavorable) without your doing the same.
This is true.
It is also true that people are getting a bit obnoxious about it in reverse. For example, you are a man who dresses up like a scary clown woman to read books at the library – not to scary clown women, the elderly or infirm, veterans, or the homeless, but to children. In the new world, no one is allowed to judge you for that or to question your intentions.
You express concern for rising gender dysphoria while telling children stories or reading books to them about kids born in the wrong body and how normal that is. Having confused the children, you then suggest that it is okay to wear clothes associated with the opposite sex (apparel is still binary) or to go by a different name (when at school), but don’t tell your parents they won’t understand.
This sort of psychological torture is illegal, unethical, and a violation of international law when done to adults. It is inhumane to do it to prisoners of war. Global aid agencies exist to root it out, rescue victims, and help them find resources to recover. If a parent speaks out about what has been done to their child, they are an uncaring bigot. They are prejudiced. They want them to die, even though they are more likely to commit suicide after being groomed by people claiming to be concerned about gender dysphoria.
I’m sure you can imagine a few scenarios of your own, but given the current state of the world, let’s talk about how excited certain left-leaning individuals are about a woman president, but don’t ask them to tell you what a woman is.
And whatever you do, don’t dare judge them for that.
