I saw that same video, Dan, a month or two ago. And I agree, heartfelt, and I am sympathetic to him, truly. He obviously wants his child to be treated like all other girls. Sometimes, rights are in conflict. A little background. My daughter played AAU travel basketball for about a decade. This was a commitment of a lot of time, money, and pain, as injuries go with this level of competition. Had her team had to compete against a team with one or more transgender girls, with the biological advantages that go with having gone through puberty, with the height and weight that they may well have had, I would have been concerned with the fairness and safety of the game. And I would imagine the vast majority of my fellow parents, many of whom are probably open-minded about the trans issue, would feel similarly. As I said, rights come into conflict, and sometimes groups that have been, and continue to be marginalized, feel excluded. I get it, and if I were that man in the video, I might feel similarly. I probably would. There is absolutely some hysteria out there, and it's surely fanned by the usual suspects of right wing media (looking to make political hay), and simply bigoted idiots. But it's not exclusively hysteria that is voiced in gyms, around fields and swimming pools, it's a well founded concern for one's daughters. And believe me, I hate having my Venn diagram overlap with these miscreants in any way, but in this one instance they do. Girls have had a long climb to achieve similar sports opportunities as the boys, and I'm surely influenced as the father of a daughter. It is telling that you just don't see this issue arise nearly as much with regard to transgender boys, and I think it's surely due to the disadvantage that they know they would face competing with biological boys. And thanks for the ever so kind words as to my empathy, decency, etc. but given that you have actually spent hours with me at Fenway Park and dining with me and Reg, a few comments about my joie de vivre and matinee idol magnetism would have been nice. Peter T.
Father of a daughter
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I saw that same video, Dan, a month or two ago. And I agree, heartfelt, and I am sympathetic to him, truly. He obviously wants his child to be treated like all other girls. Sometimes, rights are in conflict. A little background. My daughter played AAU travel basketball for about a decade. This was a commitment of a lot of time, money, and pain, as injuries go with this level of competition. Had her team had to compete against a team with one or more transgender girls, with the biological advantages that go with having gone through puberty, with the height and weight that they may well have had, I would have been concerned with the fairness and safety of the game. And I would imagine the vast majority of my fellow parents, many of whom are probably open-minded about the trans issue, would feel similarly. As I said, rights come into conflict, and sometimes groups that have been, and continue to be marginalized, feel excluded. I get it, and if I were that man in the video, I might feel similarly. I probably would. There is absolutely some hysteria out there, and it's surely fanned by the usual suspects of right wing media (looking to make political hay), and simply bigoted idiots. But it's not exclusively hysteria that is voiced in gyms, around fields and swimming pools, it's a well founded concern for one's daughters. And believe me, I hate having my Venn diagram overlap with these miscreants in any way, but in this one instance they do. Girls have had a long climb to achieve similar sports opportunities as the boys, and I'm surely influenced as the father of a daughter. It is telling that you just don't see this issue arise nearly as much with regard to transgender boys, and I think it's surely due to the disadvantage that they know they would face competing with biological boys. And thanks for the ever so kind words as to my empathy, decency, etc. but given that you have actually spent hours with me at Fenway Park and dining with me and Reg, a few comments about my joie de vivre and matinee idol magnetism would have been nice. Peter T.
