{"id":25873,"date":"2020-02-07T12:22:27","date_gmt":"2020-02-07T17:22:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=25873"},"modified":"2020-02-07T12:22:36","modified_gmt":"2020-02-07T17:22:36","slug":"theres-trouble-in-library-land-says-reader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/theres-trouble-in-library-land-says-reader\/","title":{"rendered":"There\u2019s \u201ctrouble in Library Land\u201d, says reader"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(Re: \u201cWelcome to Library Land\u201d, November 21, 2019)<\/em>

This librarian correctly mentions that Canadian libraries are built on the fundamental right to free speech and that a reasonable limit to free speech and expression is hate speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As she notes, hate speech does not include \u201cunpopular\u201d, \u201cunconventional\u201d,\nor \u201cunacceptable speech.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a free and democratic society, it is essential that\nfree speech is protected and that people be allowed to hear a plethora of\nideas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, labelling Meghan Murphy as a \u201cradical\u201d feminist\nand not explaining what Murphy said which was so offensive in her presentation\nat the Toronto Library, leaves readers uninformed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The scientific fact that biological women have XX chromosomes\nand biological men have XY chromosomes should not be considered offensive\nspeech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Y chromosome on average creates significant differences\nbetween men and women with respect to bone mass\/density, muscle mass, lung\ncapacity, size of heart and other organs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Raising problems with competitive sports where biological\nwomen are at a disadvantage when competing against trans women for scholarships\nand trophies should not be shocking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is about fairness in competition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone should be tolerant of trans people and try to\nempathize on how difficult it can be for them in society. However, this\nposition should not prevent discussion on issues arising when trans activists\nare pushing for changes in certain areas of our society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There needs to be balance and fairness for everyone\u2019s\nrights in society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Preventing this discussion is what fascists do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There definitely is \u2018trouble in Library Land\u2019 when our\nlibrarians think that biological facts are the same as \u201capartheid, segregation\nand anti-Semitism.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Biological facts between the sexes are not populist and\nright-wing leanings as Reccia Manelcorn maintains, but are actually mainstream\nscience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shelley Wister
Aurora<\/strong>

(Editor\u2019s Note: In the interests of fairness, following the receipt of this letter, The Auroran invited a member of the Trans community to respond to the points raised above. Accepting the invitation was Max Denley, Director of The Get Real Movement, an organization founded in Toronto in 2011 to combat 2SLGBTQ+ discrimination and promote acceptance in schools, summer camps and workplaces. Their response is featured below <\/em>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Misinformation fuels stigma, says advocate<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let me start by saying I am appreciative of the\nopportunity to respond to the piece printed alongside this one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discussion is how we learn, and while I do not claim to\nrepresent the entirety of the trans community, I believe my perspective is one\nthat could be informative to readers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For context, I am a white, 20-something year old trans\nman, who has participated in sports, activism, and academia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the difference between \u201cfree speech\u201d and \u201chate\nspeech\u201d? Where do we draw the line between what is okay to say in an open,\npublicly funded forum (such as the Toronto Public Library), and what should be\nshut down and not supported by those in positions of power and authority?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously, this is a question that would likely take more\nthan a short letter to discuss, to get into the intricacies of language and\nlaw, but I don\u2019t think it needs to be that complicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Statements that are untrue should not be supported and\nbacked by knowledge-keeping organizations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Statements that fuel false representation of any group of\npeople should not be shared in a public setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Statements that support the further ostracizing, harm,\nand othering of a marginalized group should not be amplified by organizations\nclaiming to support diversity and inclusion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is it that far off to compare transphobic rhetoric to the\nbeginnings of other examples of mass discrimination?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No genocide begins with killing; these horrid events\nstart more subtly, with the \u201cothering\u201d of a group of people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we allow ourselves to begin to believe that a group\nof people are different from ourselves, it is easier to see them as less than\nus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we see them as less than us, it is easier to justify\nharming them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time we reach full-blown genocide, we no longer\nsee these people as equal human beings, and it all begins with how we talk\nabout one another.
\nWe must not underestimate the power of words and ideas, and the audiences we\ngive them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Recent studies in Ontario have found that LGBTQ2S Youth\nare at 14 times the risk of suicide than straight, cisgender youth (www.the519.org\/education-training\/lgbtq2s-youth-<\/a> homelessness-in-canada\/lgbtq2s-youth-suicide).\nEvery time we allow a space for someone to misinform others on trans issues, we\nfuel the stigma, discrimination, rejection, violence, trauma, and prejudice\nthat contributes to those statistics.
\nI also feel the need to respond to the \u201cscience\u201d mentioned in the other letter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is actually no real \u201cscience\u201d behind their remarks.\nBiases without a basis in fact are just that, transphobia. If you are actually\ninterested in the contributions biological sex make to someone\u2019s athletic\nability, you can read the research that many large organizations (including the\nOlympics), base their policies on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This research confirms that chromosomes actually do not\nmake measurable differences to an athlete\u2019s performance, what can is hormones.\nSo, there are scientifically supported policies put in place, structured around\nthose facts, that keep competition fair for everyone. Just one more example of\nclaiming false facts as an excuse to discriminate.
\nI would argue that we need to be more than \u201ctolerant\u201d of trans people. I\n\u201ctolerate\u201d the mint in my toothpaste because it is a flavour I despise, but I\nneed to clean my teeth. I need to care more about my fellow human beings than\nmy toothpaste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Giving trans people the rights and respect you have\nalways benefited from does not take rights and respect from you. If you have\nthe ability to say we \u201cshouldn\u2019t change society,\u201d it is probably because you\nare not currently at risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Right now, we need to make critical changes, so that\ntransgender human beings stop dying at alarming rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is time to care more about human life than one\nperson\u2019s platform to spew harmful words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Max Denley<\/strong><\/p>\n\r\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Re: \u201cWelcome to Library Land\u201d, November 21, 2019) This librarian correctly mentions that Canadian libraries are built on the fundamental right to free speech and that a reasonable limit to free speech and expression is hate speech. As she notes, hate speech does not include \u201cunpopular\u201d, \u201cunconventional\u201d, or \u201cunacceptable speech.\u201d In a free and democratic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25873","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-letters-opinion"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-6Jj","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-22 03:47:14","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25873","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25873"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25873\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}