No long term studies have been done. The problem with affirmation is it invariably leads people down the path of irreversible medical treatments. It was reading the studies and applying critical thinking which made me change my mind. We don't affirm someone who wants a limb amputated or blinded, because they have transablism and sex shouldn't be any different.
Actually, there are long term studies, showing 40% attempted suicide rate by transgender people.
The same rate is 31% for people with gender dysphoria. Both is staggeringly high, and these people are not getting the help that they would actually need.
I don't know what study you're referring to. In the US, this study was performed which indicated a reduction in feeling suicidal (or having taken steps toward suicide) by 60%:
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/930195
A study abstract to be presented at the 2021 American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference & Exhibition found no effect on generalized anxiety over the 12-month study period.
Not a long term study. I rest my case.
Show me a randomised study, with a 10 year follow-up period. Given the permanence of these treatments it's vitally important to look at the long term prognosis to make good judgements based on the risk vs benefit.
There's no doubt that GD is a serious mental illness and no one (sensible) is claiming otherwise; and it definitely carries a higher rate of suicide and self-harm. But we don't ignore serious mental illnesses for a good reason, we try to treat them. If you actually cared about trans youth suicide rates, you would take into account the current evidence, not just your feelings about man = male and so on. These studies are not made by the woke "academiati" who want to make everyone a peace-loving vegan who hates right-wingers; they're made by the top academics studying in their field, who have looked at the evidence, met the patients, and seen how effective the right treatment can be. Maybe in 20 years we'll have a wonder one-shot drug or therapy that cures GD and reassigns everyone back to their bio sex, but we certainly don't have that now.
And as for the comparison made by another poster, of treating anorexia by telling people they're fat (?), I'm really not sure why anyone would think that would work, but the good news is there is a body of research on that which points towards body positivity being a good thing. That doesn't mean you just accept anyone and everyone but generally lean towards trying to help before criticism.
Woke ideology is a significant problem in academia and is infecting medicine too. The recently closed Tavistock Clinic was a classic example of this.
For mental disorders, surrounding one's perception of their body, treatment generally revolve around self-acceptance, not modifying their body to suit. There's no reason why sex should be any different. Heck, when I suffered from an eating disorder, diet pills probably would have made me feel happier during the short term, but would obviously have harmed me in the long run.
Body positivity is definitely good with regards to self-acceptance and avoiding disordered eating. The problem is, people who encourage others to adopt more healthy lifestyles have been demonised.
Gender dysphoria isn't always present in trans people. Male to female transitioners often have autogynephilia, sexual arousal, at the seeing themselves as female, hence the hypersexualised portrayal of biological women, by many transwomen. Female to male transistioners are more likely to have other mental health problems such as eating disorders and autism.
What about women's spaces? Do you really think men won't use the pretence of being trans as a cover to access female spaces? I personally know women who've been assaulted by men claiming to be women, in female toilets. A woman was raped in hospital by a male patient who was placed in a women's ward, because he claimed he was trans. To make matters worse, the police didn't believe her, because the hospital told the police there were no men on the ward.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/03/17/hospital-told-police-patient-not-raped-alleged-attacker-transgender/This doesn't mean that government policies were right, or wrong - just that the censorship on social media debate has been raging for ages. Honestly, it sounds like you either want there to be absolutely no censorship (in which case one could just acuse anyone of something, and calling others to burn their house down) or it's just you don't like it when the posts you agree with are censored?
Dave has already said he doesn't want the pandemic discussed, so I won't respond to the other parts of your post.
I complain about all censorship. I wouldn't want a post supporting critical race theory (a vile, hateful ideology, akin to Nazism) to censored, any more than I would someone who questioned the public health policy. The problem was censorship only worked one way.
claims Hitler was an alright guy?
Wow did he really tweet that?
He said it on Alex Jones show, so even Alex Jones distanced himself from what Kanye was saying.
https://twitter.com/RightWingWatch/status/1598387179582939137
https://twitter.com/RexChapman/status/1598371503652933647
He also stated that Hitler invented the microphone.
West clearly has a mental illness. He needs help, not ridicule. The problem is getting him to see that and accept help. It's not going to end well.