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| It counters a conservative's viewpoint
Letter from the Editor Our conservative columnist Ted Diadiun wrote a piece last week with his perspective on the continuing national debate about transgender issues, and as happens from time to time with Ted, I so wish he had not.
I won’t get into the details of the column, which you can read here. Suffice to say I think this issue is one like gay marriage and a lot of others in America’s past where opinion shifts over time from opposition to general acceptance or embrace, with history ultimately not being kind to leaders of the opposition. Our species is on a long path toward enlightenment, with quite a few unfortunate detours along the way, and eventually, I think people will come to see the transgender issue as one of human decency.
Our opinion platforms obviously are not soap boxes just for those who agree with Chris Quinn. They are a place where readers know they can find the full range of opinions on a great many topics. Ted well represents what conservatives feel, which helps people on the left understand what motivates people on the right.
What bothered me most about his column was how transgender readers would feel about it. How let down would they feel because their favorite news source carried a column that rejected how they see themselves? Would it be like the betrayal felt by the gay child of a prominent politician who campaigns against LGBTQ issues?
What we needed was a good rebuttal, someone to make the cogent counter-arguments to what Ted wrote. Fortunately, Ted opened the door to exactly that with this passage in his column:
But almost every young person I know sees the fluidity of gender and the erasure of formerly inviolate boundary lines as no big deal, so it’s clear that whether I like it or not, that is the future.
We just happen to have a young person who has started writing a column for us, part of a group whose names you began seeing in January. Maple Buescher graduated from Cleveland Heights High School last year and is in her first year of college. When we solicited candidates for freelance column writing, she made a great pitch for being a needed youthful voice on our opinion platforms.
Maple introduced herself to readers in a column Jan. 28, and the piece is a delight. She has a command of the language, with nuance and rhythm, that you rarely see in someone so young. I hope our readers come to have a greater understanding of how a young mind thinks in these odd times. You can read her introductory piece here.
So, with Ted saying young people see the fluidity of gender and us having a young person on our roster of columnists, we thought we had the ideal opportunity to flesh out what Ted said about young people. Maybe reading what Maple says will help people find their way more quickly to enlightenment.
We published Maple’s rebuttal today, and you can read it here. It also will be in the Forum section of Sunday’s Plain Dealer. Make sure to read it to the end, as Maple shows she already knows the power of a strong walk-off.
Thanks for reading.
Chris Quinn Editor and Vice President of Content
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