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I took down an earlier thread that could have been framed better apropos of this piece. I want to reframe those slightly hasty thoughts and publicly thank Madeleine for privately reaching out. /1 https://twitter.com/madeleinekearns/status/1354787161225232385
I recommend everyone read the interview Madeleine links. It's disturbing, painful, and necessary. I have the highest regard for her own courage in conducting interviews like this. This is what journalism should be. /2
I need to own up to the fact that I hadn't read the interview before throwing out a general thought on platforming voices like Newgent, where I classed her with some other "against the grain" trans voices I see doing the rounds. I think, now, that I'd qualify that. /3
What I hear from Newgent here is far more raw, vulnerable and painful than what I hear from people like (say) Buck Angel, and even farther removed from figures like Blaire White. Newgent isn't stopping behind a "safe" libertarian line here. /4
What I was expressing wariness of in the initial thread, is the platforming of people who will speak incisively to the child abuse of early transition while shrugging off the rest with "adults can do what they want and it could still be fine," themselves included. /5
There's a limited utility for conservatives in looking for common ground with voices in that camp, because they aren't willing to go deep enough to recognize their own profound un-wellness, or to extend their logic beyond libertarianism. /6
I'm still unsettled by interviews like the one Madeleine has conducted here, but I think they're of a different quality. I think we need to hear voices of sorrowful regret like Newgent's. They are brave and honest, and they might point the way out for other lost souls. /End
