Ms. Karen Lunstead, in a letter dated Dec. 19, opined that I should "become a lot more accepting of people." I wish to point out that Ms. Lunstead has made a very common mistake. She has made the mistake of confusing, "being accepting of people," with being accepting of their delusional thinking.
All people should be loved and accepted. However, a part of that love consists of helping them to come to terms with the fact that delusional thinking is not a normal condition, but is indicative of a deeper issue that needs to be addressed.
People need to know the truth about what is afflicting them. Without that knowledge, it is nearly impossible to even confront the issue, much less defeat it. When a person believes that they are something that they (in reality) are not, that is delusional thinking. For example, a person with anorexia believes that they are overweight, even though in reality they may be skin and bones.
Can you imagine the uproar that would be created, if a mental health care professional said to that anorexic person, "I validate your feelings of being obese, and I'd like to help and support you, in your efforts to lose weight." That would be outrageous, would it not? Well, guess what. That very type thing happens on a daily basis.
Gender-confused persons come to mental health professionals, and present thinking that is every bit as irrational and delusional. They believe that they are men, when genetically, and physically, they are women. (Of course, the opposite situation also occurs.) Instead of aiding these people to accept the reality of who they are, and helping them to embrace the sex/gender that they were born, professionals regularly indulge their delusional thinking, validate it, and help to perpetuate it.
What people who are gender-confused need is truth and compassion. What they most often get instead, is politically correct nonsense, from professionals who do not have the sense, or perhaps the courage, to tell them the truth, and help them to find their way back to reality.
Lawrence McSwain
Lewes