Gallio bowed his head and meditated a reply.
'How about it?' demanded the old man, hotly. 'Is the Emperor divine?'
'If the Emperor thought he was divine,' replied Gallio, recklessly, 'he would not need to ask one of his subjects to confirm it.'
This piece of impudence was so stunning that Tiberius was at a loss for appropriate words."
- The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas, Chapter 10
This fictional exchange came to my mind the other day while watching the latest round of gender hysterics raging incoherently at J.K. Rowling due to the fact that she has pointed out that biological sex is a thing, and that men are not now, nor will they ever be, women. Cue the impotent screams of outrage from radical leftists. Just to be clear, I'm not some Rowling fan girl; I've never read any of her books nor seen any of the movies based upon them... just never found their concept interesting. And, since she was obviously and reliably leftwing in all her political opinions right up until she was branded a far-right extremist for understanding basic biology, I doubt very much that I- a Christian conservative- would agree with Rowling on much. Except, of course, the self-evident truth that men cannot magically change into women- or vice versa- and that it's not possible to be "born in the wrong body."
It's not even really about J.K. Rowling: she's merely the highest profile target of the trans-troopers' ire because she won't give in to their demands and yes, threats. These people make the same demands of everyone else, not for tolerance and equal treatment, but to be told that they are right, and that you agree with them. This is what the oft-shrilled phrase "respect my pronouns!" actually means: "tell me that I'm right that I'm actually a five year old girl trapped in a 40 year old man's body and let me in the kiddie pool with your children." Because, if you call a girl "he" or "they" or a guy "she" or "they" you are conceding that you believe that these impossible things are actually true. And this is wrong for several reasons, one being that it is generally better to tell the truth than to lie. Also, it is not kind to tell people who have legitimate mental disorders, have been caught up in social contagion, or who simply crave attention and validation, that they are right when they clearly are not, and encourage them down a path of self-destruction. Telling them the truth is the kindest and most merciful option, as well as the moral one. As for the men who are doing this so they can prey on vulnerable women and children, we owe them no kindness or tolerance. Rather, we owe their potential victims the protection of the truth, not leaving them vulnerable to predators through a misguided desire to be "nice" or a cowardly fear of being labelled a bigot or, heaven forbid, right-wing.
Finally, coerced speech is not an honest reflection of inward belief. If you think that by compelling someone through force or intimidation to utter statements they know to be false you have changed their minds, then you are a fool. They may pay lip-service to your cause, but in their hearts they will know the truth, will feel shame for having denied it, and that shame may very well turn into resentment and even hatred for those who caused them to feel it.