When the New York Times shockingly devoted a few columns to the issue of parental concerns over children being recruited into the transgender craze in public school classrooms with the fact being hidden from their parents, they immediately drew the ire of the trans activist movement. One of the first groups to go after them was the Human Rights Campaign, as David discussed over the weekend. Yesterday, the San Francisco Chronicle jumped onto the dogpile with a lengthy column written by restaurant critic and “nonbinary person” Soleil Ho.

As a big fan of awkward humor, I have to express some grudging admiration for Ho’s column. It is packed to the gills with sarcasm and taunting, eerily reminding me of some of my own takedown columns that I’ve published over the years on various topics. But the author’s underlying complaints and the “problems” being addressed point out the glaring disconnect between what these trans activists claim to be fighting for or against and, well… reality.

A specter is haunting the United States — the specter of transness.

If the New York Times’ relentless recent coverage of the Trans Question would be believed, a shady movement of bad actors is all but sneaking estrogen pills into kids’ Halloween candy. Within the year, you’ll only be able to whisper the word “woman” in secretive gatherings, far from the watchful eye of Big Non-Gendered Sibling.

The Times has devoted an inordinate amount of front-page space — an incredible 15,000 words, according to a widely shared piece by Popula editor Tom Scocca — to “the notion that trans youth present a looming problem.”

In an admittedly hilarious fashion, Ho attempts to claim that the New York Times doesn’t treat transgender people as people. I’ve read the pieces in question and that’s hardly the case. But the author carries the same banner into this battle that we’ve consistently seen on display. It is claimed that anyone who questions anything to do with the creeping social contagion of promoting gender confusion among children is trying to “erase” transgender people from the earth or “deny their existence.

At the same time, the column snarkily brushes past many of the valid concerns that have been expressed in this debate. These include the undermining of girls’ and women’s sports and the disruption of traditionally private spaces. Ignoring these destructive trends will not make them simply go away.

The issue of parental rights – one of the most important areas of this debate – is almost completely waved away by the author, who focuses exclusively on students who may feel uncomfortable “coming out” to their parents regarding their gender confusion. I have no doubt this happens in some families, but that’s not the complaint being raised in the public square or many state legislatures around the country. The real problem arises when teachers and counselors in public schools actively encourage and abet keeping such things secret from the parents, as we’ve seen reported on a regular basis.

The column also repeatedly lumps in the entire transgender debate with the overall issue of gay and lesbian rights and concerns. This does a tremendous disservice to the LGB community which, frankly, never should have had the “T” added to the acronym. We are talking about separate and sometimes directly conflicting issues.

We’ve been hearing more and more analysts suggesting the same phenomenon that is very likely unfolding in schools around the country. Many children go through a period during and shortly after puberty when they may experience some form of gender confusion, but also confusion over sexuality in general. (Which is obviously totally understandable.) But pediatricians largely agree that left to their own devices, the vast majority of children will grow out of that phase in a few years at most.

But what of the ones who do not? The reality is that a certain percentage of children will develop homosexual or bisexual attractions as they move through puberty. This may lead to significant confusion for some of them, whether the situation turns out to be transitory or permanent. But what happens when a teacher, counselor, or other figures of authority comes up to them and says, “Don’t worry. There’s nothing wrong. You’re actually just a girl even though they told you you’re a boy.”

That might sound like a comforting assertion to a child experiencing such confusing thoughts. But how many kids are being funneled into the trans pipeline and given dangerous chemical and hormonal treatments or even being subjected to irreversible genital mutilation surgeries or mastectomies when in reality they were just gay?

What sounds more likely to you? The idea that this large number of children may develop gay or lesbian attractions or that they are all afflicted with what was long considered one of the rarest mental disorders in the medical books? This is a looming crisis unfolding all across the nation and much of the world right now. And the San Franciso Chronicle isn’t doing anyone any favors by brushing away these issues as if “the science is settled” in favor of a massive explosion in transgenderism, particularly among children. It’s not settled at all.

In closing, since we’re already on the topic, the country is currently being overrun by crazy people with little to no regard for reality. (I’m guessing you’ve noticed.) Unfortunately, they are abetted in their efforts by almost all of the legacy media. That’s why it’s important to keep sane, conservative voices active in these debates in the strongest manner possible. Please consider helping our network keep up the fight by signing up for either our VIP or VIP Gold membership plans. And if you use the promo code SAVEAMERICA this week you’ll get 40% off. I’d like to extend my gratitude to any of you who do and all of our readers who already have.