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Is it okay to be a centrist? My husband and I are drowning in the woke gender land here in Seattle. It is so harmful! Everyone is being affected by it in some way. We've had to have way too many talks with our preteen son and teen daughter about all the capture around us. Luckily we had the sense early on to never give them phones or social media, but this current identity crap is not what we wanted shoved down our throats. It is hard to raise a son these days. We see many misguided boys and young men wearing dresses, nail polish and dangly earrings. Time and time again this performative behavior is celebrated by grownups around them in a way that seems exaggerated, phony and sad (seeing the dads with AGP suddenly emboldened and then celebrated is the most confusing for kids). We try to look away and think of it as another tragic sign of what is happening to kids in schools, social media and a rudderless society. We have to really vet places we go and I would not have taken my kids to the local Genspect conference because of not being sure of what they would have been exposed to based on the overall dysfunction related to the transgender movement. I don't know this man who decided to wear a dress to the conference, but the first thing that comes to mind is that he most likely has boundary issues of some kind, has a big need for attention, and maybe enjoys creating some chaos. His decision to wear a dress or-show up as a 'crossdresser' (if we are being honest)-to the conference was arguably not in the spirit of 'keeping it classy' but to be performative and distracting. I'm assuming he was somewhat rewarded by a photo-op taken during the conference and then posted by another guest (I'm not sure who). Due to how destructive this gender craze has been, I'm not sure I would have taken his picture (because I wouldn't want to have validated the statement I think he was trying to make at such a crucial event) and posted it --if I were a part of the Genspect weekend. Has he gotten too much attention? Has he caused women to fight against women? I'm thinking of two quotes: "Those that stand for nothing fall for anything" -Alexander Hamilton AND “You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time”.- John Lydgate

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Any minute now, my ship is coming in

I'll keep checking the horizon

And I'll stand on the bow, and feel the waves come crashing

Come crashing down, down, down on me

And you say, be still my love

Open up your heart, let the light shine in

But don't you understand

I already have a plan

I'm waiting for my real life to begin

When I awoke today, suddenly nothing happened

But in my dreams, I slew the dragon

And down this beaten path, up this cobbled lane

I'm walking in my old footsteps, once again

And you say, just be here now

Forget about the past, your mask is wearing thin

Just let me throw one more dice

I know that I can win

I'm waiting for my real life to begin

Any minute now, my ship is coming in

I'll keep checking the horizon

And I'll check my machine, there's sure to be that call

It's gonna happen soon, soon, oh, so very soon

It's just that times are lean

And you say, be still my love

Open up your heart, let the light shine in

Don't you understand

Oh, I already have a plan

I'm waiting for my real life to begin

On a clear day, I can see, see for a long way

On a clear day, I can see

See for a long way

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Yes about "no one is going to help you." Erin Friday said that to me in a phone call about my ROGD daughter and it really snapped me into action, which ultimately helped my daughter. These harsh truths can be so helpful!

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Actually, posting a man in a dress is the opposite as what WPATH has done. What’s wrong with dreaming to be something you like? Yes, it is self harm to put yourself under the knife or eating hormones to achieve this but putting on a dress? Haven’t women put on men’s clothes for more than 70 years now? I’m more appalled and feel more threatened by half naked too big men on the beach than by a calm small man in a proper dress. Didn’t even see something sexualising in that dress. He uses men’s bathrooms and doesn’t pretend to be a lesbian. I feel like the people who are critical to this either confuse Illy with gender activists or have an actual phobia to people who aren’t like them. I like and support Genspect for standing for diversity and inclusion. When is this world going to be mature enough for respectful but different people?

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Stella and Sasha, do you have a link to the 5 Liberal Values written out somewhere? I have started an agency doing group respite with kids with neurodevelopmental disabilities. We're a year in, and the growth has been tremendous, so I'm in the space of evaluating our values as an agency. We are not focused on gender in our work, but have some trans-identifying kids in our groups. My main staff and I see this issue in a vastly different way. Though it's not central to our work, and there's enough shared values in how we approach our work with the kids that we work together very well, I am working with a business coach to clearly articulate the vision, mission, and values of our organization as we expand. The 5 liberal values probably don't make sense to fully subscribe to or articulate as an agency, based on our mission/vision, but it's something that I want to consider thoughtfully. We're in a pivotal time as an agency, and the decisions we make now, and the values that we articulate and base those decisions on, will shape the coming years for our work.

Thank you for all that you do!

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Here is the link to that portion of the Genspect FAQ's: https://genspect.org/our-position-faqs/#genspect-values

Thanks!

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Thanks so much!

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Brilliant episode! Thank you for introducing us to these terrific thinkers!

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I had this song going around and around in my head as I listened to this. It's an amazing song and so apt for this episode.

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