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Notes -
I guess I see it as almost the reverse.
Identity culture warring is ingrained in the human species, and that drives our politics, and has since literally all recorded history. We notice the things that make ingroup similar and outgroup different, and we find reasons to attack the outgroup, often based on the things that make them different. In some cases this might even be justifiable.
In this way, trans people as a group provide a 'useful' wedge for cynically amoral actors to generate tons of heat and lend cover to their other cynically amoral activities that might bring ire upon them.
This doesn't answer the policy question, however. Stuff like "can a child who is too young to consent undergo this invasive procedure? Should their parent have a say? Should a transitioned person be legally entitled to be treated as their assumed identity?"
And the way we answer those policy questions is going to inherently impact how we answer many other, arguably more salient questions, and I can say that I, personally, am uncomfortable with the implications that come with denying parents input into their child's major medical decisions or forcing people to accept a person's "assigned" identity as a legally binding matter.
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