The March 29 Clergy View by Bill Werth is an example of black-and-white thinking, an early stage of cognitive development expected in children but not in healthy adults.
Werth himself reveals the real origin of his anti-gay and anti-trans views when he writes: “you do not even need a Bible to tell you these things are wrong. They are not normal. They are not natural.” Adults capable of nuanced thinking realize that there are many ways of being that they themselves have not experienced but that are nevertheless normal and valid. For Werth, it’s black and white — you are a male or a female, period.
I have always known that I am a female. How dare I question people who know their gender identity as strongly as I do, although it differs from the label originally assigned by doctors?
The Washington Post, which reported on March 23 on one of the largest surveys of trans people ever, quoted a transperson as saying: “The worst day I’ve ever had as a trans person is still better than the best days I had pre-transition; at the end of the day, not living authentically was terrible, and I would rather live authentically than hide a version of myself to appease people I don’t even know.”
Families with gay or trans children should start loving them and encourage them to become their authentic selves. It would spare a lot of heartache all around.
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And if people, especially religious leaders and parents, stopped judging gay and trans people and stopped calling them “sinful” and “evil,” there would be a lot less suicide in those populations.
Charlotte Goedsche
Brainerd
The Trust Project
