The Bishop of Washington - her address today.

Yes, it is another dog whistle soundbite, and some people are triggered by it.

The problem with Trump's strident pronouncements is that they have no nuance, no subtlety. We all know that the problems of young people struggling to understand the muddle they might feel about their gender and sexuality need gentle handling and understanding. That little is black and white. Whipping up hatred achieves nothing positive.

The problem of immigration and how this should be handled is not black and white. Every potential immigrant is an individual - they might be fleeing persecution, they might be seeking a better life, they might be criminal drug-runners, they might be people with skills that we need. Whipping up blanket hatred achieves nothing positive.

Intelligent debate and research is what is needed.

The sort of soundbites that we see in the media and sometimes on this site do not help and cause distress and danger to genuine law-abiding and sometimes vulnerable fellow human beings. For instance "Shocking news this morning" is nothing of the sort - we learn only that immigration is a longstanding problem (we all know that), that the previous government failed to deal with it as it is a huge challenge for any administration, and that this new government is trying to find ways to solve the problems that exist. Not "shocking news" at all, but a good way to whip up hatred and encourage simplistic thinking.

It is all very sad.

Syracute

ReadyMeals

Galaxy, that's the reason teenagers used to be given puberty blockers, to allow them time to explore and receive counselling. Speaking as an adult transgender man (born female, transitioned as a mature adult), I agree there should be no rush to push a youngster into transitioning. The dilemma comes when puberty makes its own natural irreversible changes, and those young people who continue to want to transition find they have a struggle to pass as the gender they wish to present as. For example people born boys get tall, narrow hips and wide shoulders, and a prominent jaw and brow bone if they undergo natural adolescent development. Now this might not be a problem in itself but as the atmosphere becomes hostile towards trans people, they do increasingly risk violence when people guess they are not born females, due to their masculine build. I think if the social and political atmosphere would ease up a bit, so trans people are not so fearful of being "clocked" and attacked or discriminated against, so young people might not feel so desperate to make changes before puberty strikes.

Anyway that was the thinking behind the puberty blockers, to buy time before giving young people irreversible treatments such as surgery and hormones - really on the basis that yes some do "grow out of it" but for those who don't the effects of natural puberty can have lifelong negative results.

I hope the scientific trials of blockers that are soon to begin with set people's minds at rest.

Thank you for you thoughtful and eloquent opinion !

Thank you to both ReadyMeals and Valdali.

Both thoughtful and eloquent, and valid in their own way.

Many teenagers threaten suicide if not taken seriously and given pre change treatment- and then it becomes very difficult for the specialists to decide and balance things out.

It is all massively complex, and anyone who attemps to present the issues as 'simple and clear' are seriously naive and mistaken.

Yes the catholic church - Well know for their progressive approach to minorities.

Excellent. I wonder what his reaction to that will be? He can’t make them a proscribed organisation - or can he?

I see that the Catholic Church is now stepping in to criticise Trump.

Valdali, I wish experiences such as your own were recognised much more widely .

Allira--Tuesday:

"Trump cannot remove her from her post but this could cause some difficulties between the POTUS and the Episcopalian Church which is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion.
Brave woman!"

The sheep and the goats . I pray the church will align with the sheep. The church need a purpose to wake it from its slumbers.

valdali

I used to be very tomboyish, all the way through early & late childhood & it was only when I hit puberty that I became resigned to and fascinated by being female.
I'm glad they've banned puberty blockers now although I know it's hard on those that go through puberty as the "wrong" sex. Because some might be like me & need those changes to discover, actually, I am in the right body.

👍🏻Exactly.

I used to be very tomboyish, all the way through early & late childhood & it was only when I hit puberty that I became resigned to and fascinated by being female.
I'm glad they've banned puberty blockers now although I know it's hard on those that go through puberty as the "wrong" sex. Because some might be like me & need those changes to discover, actually, I am in the right body.

Agree

ReadyMeals

Galaxy, that's the reason teenagers used to be given puberty blockers, to allow them time to explore and receive counselling. Speaking as an adult transgender man (born female, transitioned as a mature adult), I agree there should be no rush to push a youngster into transitioning. The dilemma comes when puberty makes its own natural irreversible changes, and those young people who continue to want to transition find they have a struggle to pass as the gender they wish to present as. For example people born boys get tall, narrow hips and wide shoulders, and a prominent jaw and brow bone if they undergo natural adolescent development. Now this might not be a problem in itself but as the atmosphere becomes hostile towards trans people, they do increasingly risk violence when people guess they are not born females, due to their masculine build. I think if the social and political atmosphere would ease up a bit, so trans people are not so fearful of being "clocked" and attacked or discriminated against, so young people might not feel so desperate to make changes before puberty strikes.

Anyway that was the thinking behind the puberty blockers, to buy time before giving young people irreversible treatments such as surgery and hormones - really on the basis that yes some do "grow out of it" but for those who don't the effects of natural puberty can have lifelong negative results.

I hope the scientific trials of blockers that are soon to begin with set people's minds at rest.

Thank you for you thoughtful and eloquent opinion !

Yes but they wont trust you. It's like saying the earth is flat. But crack on as I say its vaguely interesting to watch.

Galaxy

If the Democrats continue telling people there are more than two sexes, they will never be in power again. I am not sure how many political movements are going to be damaged by this, it is astounding to watch.

The Democrats only lost by a small margin and it was more to do with the switch last minute from Biden to Harris . There are SO many more important issues going on that affect every day Americans than transgender politics . I do think it is more of an obsession here . This sermon was a beautiful inclusive sermon and Bishop Budde has now really highlighted this with her sermon and watching Trump and family squirm was brilliant as these are not regular churchgoers anyways . Trump is now set to destroy the diversity of America not just with the transgender population but with women , minorities and those with disabilities with his policies . This is what is important . The hatred that this horrible man sows and is now evident here !

He believes he's chosen because he survived an assassination attempt.
Assassination attempts on Hitler were in double figures. I know, God works in mysterious ways. But it wasn't God that saved Hitler, that's for sure.

The man is delusional, believing that he has been chosen by God. He obviously has no idea about Christian teachings. And I understand that he didn't put his hand on the bible when he was being sworn in, I guess he couldn't risk any Christian teaching contaminating his beliefs
From what I've heard a lot of people who haven't been churchgoers plan to check out their local episcopal church next Sunday, which is great to hear

Claremont

Fox News reaction 'instead of a Service about God and Country- they were forced to listen to the rantings of a lunatic'

Oh, yes, God forbid- a Bishop talking about Christian values- how wrong, how woke - a traitor even, they say.

" a Service about God and Country" if you are a committed Christian do you go to services about God? Surely services are to worship God, and in this particular case to ask his blessing on the new President & his doings.
Given that fundamentalist Christians are an important part of his electoral base, what a strange way for Fox News to phrase it! But they won't mind because it's putting the slant they want to hear on what the Bishop said.
I agree with the overwhelming majority of posters that she's very brave and made a wonderful eloquent intervention for mercy.

It wasn’t a speech it was a sermon!

Yes, Maremia- this came to mind immediately.

I take it that North Carolina voted for him. On the other hand California is being denied help with their fires. Who did they vote for?

In thrilled to hear that Trump is off to North Carolina. 3 or 4 months ago there was a storm with massive flooding. Whole towns swept away. A biblical tragedy.

This was hardly mentioned in our press but the American press didn't cover much of it.

I have tiktok. Now I know that many people think it's an absurd social media site for dancing cats. I certainly believed that. But during lockdown we got caught up in it and now I'm a sarky viewer.

The clips from Carolina were heartbreaking. The Biden administration didn't seem particularly bothered. 750 dollars to each resident. Great. They didn't have anywhere to spend it. It was left to Americans to help, convoys of lorries supplying assistance.

Tomorrow, Trump will visit. And hopefully shine a light on this

It is known as the “Einstein visa.” Nuclear scientists, Nobel laureates and doctors get it. But so do acrobats, stunt men, event planners — and plenty of models.

several immigration lawyers say the requirements for the EB-1 immigrant visa leave far more room for interpretation than its nickname and its best-and-brightest reputation suggest.

Certainly if I applied for one as a model I'd fail the test.
I have a feeling most of us would too.

Freya5

Claremont

ReadyMeals

Well the bishop didn't say anyone should be encouraged to enter the country illegally, or that anyone should be encouraged to be gay or transgender. She just asked him to show some compassion towards how those people will be feeling, their fears. I saw one news picture taken during the sermon where Melania appears to be giving her husband a bit of side-eye and a smirk. I wonder if she doesn't always take his extreme attitudes.

Well, like Musk, she and her family somehow miraculously obtained US citizenship!

If you do your research you'll find they did it by legal means. An EB-1s is for a range of diverse specialities and is sponsored, a high profile testimonial can help. 1st lady.
An EB5 another legal way to American citizenship. Musk

EB1A was the route she took- did you read the conditions to apply. How on earth does being a Model fit in?

It was indeed a case of who you know, and Trump made her 'fit the mold' and fast tracked her. He is the onw who has been wanting to get rid of all family reunification models- but that was fine for Melania's family, somehow!

If the Democrats continue telling people there are more than two sexes, they will never be in power again. I am not sure how many political movements are going to be damaged by this, it is astounding to watch.

Yes, she did mentioned trans-children.

If a youngster of about 14 begins to feel that he or she has been born in the wrong gender, that is perhaps on the early side, but should be taken seriously.

What I personally do not care for is children as young as three or four being taken entirely seriously when they say they want to be girls and wear frilly pink dresses, although they have a penis and testicles, or a girl of the same age wanting to be a boy.

In my experience, and I have taught school for most of my working life, pre-school children, and even those in the first or second classes often want to "belong to the opposite sex", but honestly this is a phase for most of them, as few children have any real notion of what being a member of the one or other sex means before puberty.

THat said, I am thankful that the Bishop of Washington had the courage of her convictions. I hope other men and women in leading positions in the USA will speak out against Trump's idea that there are only two sexes, that all immigrants should be sent home where they came from, that a pregnant girl or woman has to bear her child, even if she has been raped, or knows full well that she cannot support a child, and all the other reactionary nonsense Trump and his supporters believe so firmly in.

And fortunately, Trump cannot dismiss an bishop, although he may well believe he can!