Thread by @jonst0kes

As someone who has a religion & takes it seriously -- a religion with its own metaphysics around sex, gender, & identity -- I'm amazed that people don't see this as a violation of the Establishment Clause. This is 100% religious. Religion is a great thing! But from @StateDept?

https://twitter.com/StateDept/status/1450854328189718530

Whatever metaphysical commitments people have to the idea of an inner, "felt" gender essence that they need to express outwardly are fine with me. As a fellow haver of metaphysical commitments many find ridiculous, I love that for them. 🤝

I don't love it from my government.

You have your gender, I have my Holy Spirit, this other person has her reincarnation -- everyone gets to have a thing. Some people have many such things all at once, which is great. I am big on religious pluralism. Pluralism is good. Secularism is good.

Not only do I believe things that are really, really wacky by most non-believer standards, but those invisible, metaphysical things are actually my primary reality. That's the /most/ real & important stuff in my world. So folx, I get it. I support you having a thing I can't grok.

I will even fight for your right to have your internal felt status that I don't understand & that is inaccessible to science. I will fight for your right to have it in public. But I will also fight for my own right to say, "no thanks, I'm good here. I have my own thing."

I'm not hateful, but to the accusation of a -phobia? Well, the Sate Dept., the military, & the US Gov are openly backing a specific suite of metaphysical claims about humanity that come w/ their own symbols, rituals, lingo, creed, etc, & yeah that does scare me. I'm kinda scared!

My problem isn't with the body of metaphysical claims, rituals, symbols, etc. that go under the banner of "Pride." I welcome Pride to a ~2K-year-old arena of religious competition. The more the merrier. No, my problem is w/ the adoption of it as a state religion.

And when the security apparatus of the state really goes all-in on on a thing that looks exactly like a a religion that competes directly with my own (happening much more in the UK than in the US, but give it a minute), then I'm even more alarmed.