The Progressive Left has a long history of using identity groups to insulate themselves from criticism. It has been an effective strategy, since nobody likes being called a racist or a bigot. Adding sexual identity into the mix makes for an even stronger defensive shield, because most people are naturally uncomfortable discussing such intimate personal proclivities publicly. Indoctrinating young children at school, where teachers, counselors and doctors encourage them to transition with or without the parents’ support, or even their knowledge is a recent phenomenon not based on any real scientific or medical foundation.
Let’s look at the parallels between the trans movement and typical Marxist tactics. Divide and conquer: Turn the children against the parents and the parents against the children. Oppressor/oppressed dynamics: If the oppressor group, i.e. the majority of normal people is so bad, then membership in an oppressed minority group, trans, is automatically good. Sow anarchy and chaos: When boys are in the girl’s locker room, and bathrooms no longer correspond to your sex, there’s chaos. Breakdown of the family: Replacing the family with the government nanny state is a key political goal of the left. Anti-religion: There can be no power higher than that of the state, and its chosen political operators.
Schools are a target of the trans movement. In Santa Fe, I had a conversation with the School Board President a couple of years back. She insisted that children’s gender preferences had to be “affirmed” by the school, or there was a heightened risk of suicide. Two years ago, this may have been widely believed, but today after many published studies we know the truth is the opposite. Gender transitioning of children is more harmful to them. In my investigation of the Santa Fe School Board, I came to find out that the district health guidelines were written by an activist with Code Pink, one of the most radical groups you will find in America.
We have a group of vulnerable young people who have been confused and manipulated by adults into following a dangerous path. An interesting data point out of the anti-ICE protests in Portland Oregon is that the vast majority of antifa agitators who have been arrested there identify as trans. They are convenient street soldiers for the left, and willing to get violent. The Minneapolis church shooter appears to have had ties to radical extremist groups.
Here in New Mexico, you may recall House Bill 7 and House Bill 31 which passed in 2023, sparking a citizen referendum petition attempting to have them overturned. Here’s some of what the politicians passed. Local governments are prohibited from denying gender-affirming care, which includes behavioral, surgical and pharmaceutical intervention. They established New Mexico as a “sanctuary state” for transgender youth. They created the potential for fines and penalties, under civil rights law, for parents or schools who refuse to affirm a child’s gender transition, while at the same time shielding teachers and doctors from potential lawsuits by affected families.
When you have lost control over your own child’s healthcare, I would say the state has overstepped its bounds. That’s why the trans rights movement is a political movement, and why the parent’s rights movement has arisen in opposition to it. The sooner we recognize the trans movement as a left-wing political movement antagonistic to our rights and freedoms, the better we can position ourselves to fashion a response. Saying what’s the big deal? Or it’s a personal matter, is giving up ground in the fight, and that is something we cannot afford to do.
Robert Witsenhausen is a Santa Fe-based sound engineer and electrical contractor with an interest in politics and current events.
