analysis of a fallacy

[pauraque_bk]

There was a little wank on Twitter the other day, when someone made an inflammatory remark about Chaz Bono @BrentSpiner, who RT'd it to his 500,000 followers, with predictable results. (FWIW, I hardly think Brent was in the wrong -- she tweeted to him first, he often RT's, she should not have been surprised.)

Anyway, the original remark was that she thought Bono's gender transition was a "tragedy [...] for the God that made her" (sic). It is extremely troubling to me when people invoke God in such ways, but it is pretty difficult to successfully debate religious beliefs. However, there was something else she said later that can be refuted: "a closet issue is that many are disappointed by it [transitioning]".

This comment sounds relatively mild on the face of it, albeit extremely weasely (how many is "many", and what does "disappointed" mean, and in what way is the issue in the "closet" -- what a heftily ironic choice of word!). But at the heart of it I see a very alarming and insidious thought process.

Depression and suicide affect transgendered people at a higher rate than the general population, both before and after transition. As far as I know, this is not hidden at all, and this is not the first time I've seen the fact used to suggest that perhaps trans people are unhappy because being trans is inherently bad and makes one miserable. The solution, then, must be therapy to make one happy in one's birth gender. (The person on Twitter called it "stay as you are" therapy in another comment -- another funny choice of words.)

This seems superficially logical, but is incorrect. The pain of being genderqueer is visited upon us by people who tell us that who we are is bad. People are amazingly impressionable! If you treat them as though they are bad, they will begin to believe it, and even act accordingly. It is a Herculean effort to throw off that influence.

This exact fallacy has been used against gay people, and in some circles probably still is. Suicide is a terrible scourge on gay people, especially the young; are they killing themselves because they're gay and this proves being gay is bad, or because they can no longer bear the hatred that comes from others?

It's about on the same intellectual level as noticing how many black Americans are in prison, and concluding that black people must be inherently criminal. The "obvious" answer here is not correct, because it ignores the context, thus essentially reversing cause and effect. (This is also why I bristle every time I hear the words "Occam's Razor", but that's another rant.)

So, if this person thinks she can point to the many unhappy trans people and prove that being trans is, um, tragic... I would only ask her to seriously, honestly look at how much of that unhappiness is caused by people like her telling them that their lives are an ungodly tragedy.

Comments

[scarah2.livejournal.com]

If one is to believe in a god, then it is flawed to reason that god does not like [people unsimilar in certain ways to oneself] since god allegedly created all of the people. So either god is totally stupid in which case why bother worshipping god or believing in god, or else god knew exactly what god was doing, and loves us all.

And yeah, it is people who make other people miserable.

[pauraque]

Yeah, that was exactly my reaction: God created me as a transgendered person, and who do you think you are to question God's intent in doing so?

[scarah2.livejournal.com]

Exactly true. Some of god's most hardcore fans are some of the biggest underminers of god's logic. I don't think they realize it.

[aybara-max.livejournal.com]

This is one of the first things I remember my mother saying to me when I came out, that she worried about me because "all gay people are so sad"

It bothers me how often people accept "common sense" answers/opinions, which are usually anything but logical, relying on false causality relationships.

[pauraque]

Yeah, it's a real lack of critical thinking. And people perpetuate it who don't even mean any harm, or understand that by buying into it they're helping to propel the social machinery that, indeed, makes us "so sad".

[rexluscus.livejournal.com]

This. Yes.

I hadn't heard "you shouldn't be gay/trans because being gay/trans makes you unhappy" argument before. Wow. What will they come up with next?

[pauraque]

Isn't that a kick in the ass? Taking the position that you're not actually being bigoted, because really you're just trying to help other people be "happy"... by being normal, yeah?

My dad took an interesting spin on this when trying to convince me not to transition: he warned me that people would laugh at me. As hurtful as that was at the time, what stays with me now is how totally bass-ackwards it is. Because people are dicks and make fun of you, YOU should conform to their expectations. Great parenting there.

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

I like that he thought he might have to tell you that. Hey, did you know that some people are freaked out at boys being girls and vice versa?

[pauraque]

Oh god I never thought of that! If only I had realized, I would never have asked to be transgendered! Thanks Dad, for alerting me.

[gmth.livejournal.com]

And that shows just how out of touch with reality a lot of people are. Wow.

As an aside, I'd be interested in your rant on Occam's Razor.

[pauraque]

It has to do with the seemingly obvious fact that the simplest answer is often blindingly wrong. Then again, perhaps there's more to Occam's Razor than that, but that's about all I get out of it from the way people invoke it on the intertubes. :P

[sedesdraconis.livejournal.com]

There is definitely more to Occam's Razor. People who uncritically accept a flawed version of it, can use it stupidly, but that can hardly be held against it ;) The same can be said of any principle.

Because it doesn't say the simplest answer. If it did, it would be a bad principle, because "simple" is too vague to give you useful guidance. Whatever you already believe is the easiest thing to call "simple".

It says don't multiply entities needlessly, which is a little arcane, but when the terms are properly defined, it becomes very useful. For example in black Americans in prison example, an inherent criminality is an entity that is needless. The phenomenon can already be explained by entities that are easier to establish and verify (the context), and to posit inherent criminality is a needless multiplication of entities.

That's a very breezy and non-rigorous description of the process of applying it of course, but that's the idea. Of course, it's also only a guide, and does not carry weight of proof. (Something I am occasionally guilty of glossing over in rhetoric.)

[pauraque]

I'm not surprised there's more to it; I figured there was. Thanks for explaining!

[sistermagpie.livejournal.com]

Was Brent Spiner agreeing with her or retweeting with a "don't let this happen to you" idea?

The "closeted" idea (which yeah, didn't know that idea was hidden) is a common one, though, applied to other things where one side suggests this "hidden" reality, as if the other side has been presenting their position as a quick route to total happiness. This is especially sad when the unhappiness comes from other people intentionally making you unhappy.

I do like that "stay as you are" therapy. With the implication: Stay as you are...on the outside!

ETA: Have checked out Brent Spiner--phew! I like him so I'm glad he's not calling other people tragedies.

[pauraque]

No no, Brent was on our team there.

presenting their position as a quick route to total happiness

Yeah, I know. It's the objection of someone who doesn't actually know anything about how transitioning works, or what's required to do it. But hey, it's the internet, why should anyone *know* anything about the topic they're mouthing off about?

[wootsauce.livejournal.com]

Man if people would take 5 minutes to think analytically about what they post to the internets... well, I guess there'd be a lot less internet. Seriously though, wtf? I love the argument-ending "GOD HATES YOU" tactic.

[pauraque]

This is the special version, too, the one that goes "Oh I'm not saying God hates you, he's just *horribly disappointed in you*". Um, okay. I see how that's different.

[wootsauce.livejournal.com]

Either way, it's the assumed moral superiority based on the perennial favorite, "because I said so, that's why."

[http://users.livejournal.com/_hannelore/]

I was reading the blog of a 300+ lb woman who was remarking about how so many people took offense to her happiness with her body, as if she couldn't possibly be happy in her "condition. (their word)" If she had remarked how depressed and ashamed she was, that would have seemed okay to them.

I would only ask her to seriously, honestly look at how much of that unhappiness is caused by people like her telling them that their lives are an ungodly tragedy.

Worth repeating.

[pauraque]

Yes, you're totally right. It scares people and shakes up their neat little worldview to know that people they believe to be "bad" are actually happy the way they are.

[odogoddess.livejournal.com]

Yep. I grok this entire topic. Thanks for pointing that out.

[pauraque]

Cheers. Much as it's unpleasant to contemplate, it's important to understand the arguments used against us, I think.