Oh bloody hell. Before you read this, just know that it contains some absolutely garbage opinions, okay? And the reading of said opinions might cause your blood pressure to spike / actual mental distress.
in perhaps the worst take of all time, Tim Blair says Belle Gibson faking cancer = Caitlyn Jenner’s transgenderism ?? pic.twitter.com/K0hIg0uwQW
— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) May 8, 2016
“Bruce Jenner is a 66-year-old man who has lately taken to wearing frocks and referring to himself as Caitlyn,” he writes, and honestly, it only gets worse from there.
“If young white woman Gibson had claimed she was Aboriginal, Australians would be expected to believe her. If Gibson had taken to wearing tradesman’s apparel and wandering into men’s toilets, we would be asked to respect her gender choice.”
And then later:
“Why does Jenner win awards for courage while Gibson is damned as a fraud and pursued through the courts? Should we not heed the compassionate, caring words of that University of Washington student: “I feel like it’s not my place, as another human, to say someone is wrong or draw lines or boundaries”?
“It’s just plain discrimination, is what it is, and I urge Gibson to take legal action against those who deny her believed reality. She’d have every chance of winning. As an 80-year-old Nigerian elf lady, I know exactly what I’m talking about.”
Meanwhile, transgender people are *actually* discriminated against, and remain at a significantly higher risk of depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide than heterosexual and cisgendered people. Up to 50% of trans people have attempted suicide at least once.
But yeah, lets continue paying total fuck knuckles for opinions that actively work to encourage this kind of bigotry and mental ill-health. Sound good? Cool. BREAK.
Hey mates, if you are feeling suicidal / in crisis, please call Lifeline in 13 11 14. For 24/7 counselling, call BeyondBlue on 1300 22 46365. To find out more about mental health and LGBTI people, read this report.