'Transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely'
Daily Wire's Michael Knowles made that frightening declaration Saturday. He claims he's not calling for genocide because he doesn't believe trans people exist. It's tonight's Bedtime Story.
It’s the final minutes of Sunday, March 5, 2023 here on the East Coast, and I’m not going to lie: Tonight’s Bedtime Story may provoke a nightmare.
I stand with my friend and fellow Connecticut journalist Susan Bigelow:
Harvard’s Alejandra Caraballo made it clear: Conservative commentator Michael Knowles is “openly calling for genocide.” You can hear him say so:
Erin Reed, author of the excellent Substack Erin In The Morning told Rolling Stone, there is no separating Knowles’ proposed ban on “transgenderism” from an attack on transgender people: “They are one and the same, and there’s no separation between them.”
John Knefel of Media Matters also labeled Knowles’ comments “genocidal.”
Huff Post senior reporter Christopher Mathias called his words an “eliminationist anti-trans tirade.” Adam Vary of Variety responded to Mathias’ Tweet: “Pay attention. This is genocidal.”
No it’s not, claims Knowles
Last week, Knowles denied he’s calling for genocide of trans people in response to the backlash he faced for a similar transphobic comment, in which he called for a ban on “transgenderism” on his podcast.
“I don’t know how you could have a genocide of transgender people because genocide refers to genes, it refers to genetics, it refers to biology,” Knowles said on The Michael Knowles Show. “And the whole point of transgenderism is that it has nothing to do with biology.”
“Nobody’s calling to exterminate anybody because the other problem with that statement is that transgender people is not a real ontological category,” he added. “It’s not a legitimate category of being.”
As Christopher Kane reported in the Washington Blade, Knowles’ Daily Wire colleague Matt Walsh came to his defense, via Twitter:
“Of course all of the hysterical idiots calling this language ‘genocidal’ would certainly not be saying that if he has called for the eradication of capitalism or conservatism or some other -ism they don’t like. In that case they’d easily recognize that working to defeat an ideology is not the same as eradicating individuals. This is a distinction any intelligent person can understand. Gender ideology (i.e. transgenderism) is just that: An ideology. And that is what we are fighting.”
Caraballo countered with this tweet:
What is “transgenderism”?
Parker Molloy, author of the excellent Substack, The Present Age, tweeted a thread to explain that word, “transgenderism,” and just so ya know: Whomever uses it is probably a transphobe.
Next Stop: Buffalo
Knowles is scheduled to speak this Thursday at the University of Buffalo, and the administration has no plans to stop him from doing so. —BuffaloNews
Media Coverage
Ari Drennen, the LGBTQ+ director at Media Matters, noted that when Rolling Stone and The Daily Beast reported on Knowles’ speech, their headlines changed after publication to reflect he was attacking “transgenderism” and not transgender people specifically. Drennen accused both publications of giving in to right wing pressure:
We’re at Stage 8 of 10
Out trans activist Alyssa MacKenzie made this dire prediction on Twitter:
“Transgender people in the United States are now the victims of stage 8 of the Ten Steps of Genocide.”
For unknown reasons, MacKenzie has me blocked. But esteemed journalist and author Gwendolyn Ann Smith, the founder of the Transgender Day of Remembrance, shared her tweet, so having found it, I’m sharing it here for all to consider.
Final Thoughts
People like me are under attack. In Tennessee. In Kentucky. In Florida. In “red states” across America.
Don’t believe me? Read Reed’s latest for the Los Angeles Blade, where she now joins me as a contributor and columnist. Read the Trans Formations Project report in them. Read the Washington Post’s latest on what Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and the Republican-led legislature is working on to further oppress my marginalized community, which represents 0.7% of the United States population.
Comic Paula Poundstone gets it. I hope you do, too.
That’s all for tonight. I’ll be back tomorrow with the day’s news. Until then… Good night, and good luck!
© 2023 EnniBuddy Productions - All Rights Reserved