Rachael Harder voted the right way on conversion therapy bill
By Letter to the Editor on July 21, 2021.
Editor:
I don’t see why people are upset with M.P. Rachael Harder for voting against Bill C6 concerning conversion therapy. She seems to be, along with a few others, to have the brains to see this bill for the ungodly crazy legislation that it is.
Here we have a loving mom and dad convincing their child that he is a he and she is a she. They are trying to save their child from a life of total misery.
So if this crazy bill passes, these same loving parents are all of a sudden criminals. Yes, you read right, criminals, liable to fines or even prison. And if these parents persist, their children could become wards of the state.
Can you believe it? Is this the Canada we want?
For the time being, this bill is held up in the Senate.
Here is hoping this bill will die.
George Van Bostelen
Coaldale
-1
And therein lies the problem. A “loving mom and dad CONVINCING their child” that their assigned gender at birth is their real gender.
That those children undergoing such sessions are considerably more likely to commit suicide than their peers seems lost on Van Bostelen. The “Trevor Project” clearly references increasing suicidal tendencies amongst such children exposed to such “loving” care. Why? Because of the shame and guilt they feel from their “loving” families and often, religious denominations. (Most churches abhor the practise of CC it must be said.)
The letter writer is concerned about the “rights” of the parents which in of itself is fair but in my view this argument put forth is merely a blind for an overall acceptance of the virtues of CC.
Perhaps a consideration of the “rights” of the child should be first and foremost.
John has nailed it. It’s no secret that there has been a high rate of suicides for those who have gone through it and that’s what needs to be stopped. Retired doctors were the ones who brought it to our attention over the years.
Parents , instead of accepting it , forcing them into it made the situation a lot worse.
Reformers have made it clear for years that they are against gays, same sex marriage, global warming and don’t give a damn about our air pollution and aren’t smart enough to understand why they keep getting defeated in elections, when the world does care.
None of them have been smart enough to suggest that we should be following what Lougheed created for us. Collect proper royalties, and taxes and run the province properly, like he did and Alaska and Norway are.
Notley did and her plan to raise corporate taxes and get our royalties back up to the Lougheed levels is the only way out of this mess we are in.
Seniors forget that Klein’s flat tax give them the highest provincial taxes in Canada, and they considered him to be their hero.
Unfortunately, Mr. Van Bostelen doesn’t have the information that the potential criminals have been in Alberta from centuries. The educational system is the only one to be blamed. Long time ago I worked as teacher assistant and I witnessed student attitudes: from tantrums to fights, insulting teachers showing disrespect, parents telling teachers that it was their job to educate kids, WRONG, TEACHERS INSTRUCT but education starts at home; parents ignoring teacher interviews when they were asked to talk. Those were the first step to make a criminal. Rachel opposes the bill because her role is to be against the government, not because she admits the two gender society.
Even I do not accept more than two genders: Male and Female, given by the genitals, a good educational process helps to the individual to understand who they are and where they are.
Harder and Van Bostelen at best are confused. Conversion therapy is not supported by any evidence that you can change a person’s gender identity or sexual preference for one sex or the other, there are no medically or psychologically approved standards for this “therapy”, plus there is clear evidence that it produces harm, including a 76% increase in the odds of suicide attempts. So, no evidence of benefit, with clear evidence of harm. The only reason why a vote for conversion therapy would be “right” is if Harder and Van Bostelen’s interpretations of an ancient text should be imposed on the rest of us with the government being willing to abdicate its role in protection of our health.
Does not knowing whether you are male or female allow you to cross dress and deceive others? The old rule book was called the Bible, is there a new rule book nowadays as to how far one can go deceiving a person in an encounter? Does the rule book kick in before or after you have a tongue down a deceitful person’s throat? Does an alarm go off somewhere to say WARNING YOU ARE WITH AN IMPOSTER? Where can one get a copy of this new rule book? Or could one end up with a handful of unadvertised genitalia? People should know how to get a copy of this rule book? Is their an APP for THAT? I am beginning to see a real need for those X Ray Goggles that can see through a womans clothes that were advertised on the back of comic books 50 years ago! Did they ever perfect those, you could make a killing nowadays saving people….just like the SCS.
Did society decide the terms “slut and whore” should be changed? What is the Socially Acceptable Politically correct term for a promiscuous male/female/it called now, non-binary, or what, I am losing track of “who is a what”? God am I ever glad I am in my final decade on this planet and not just starting the pursuit years!
this is one dark and scary take. riveting for all the wrong reasons. shadowy corners come as a reminder of how unenlightened our society remains.
I don’t post to be Socially Acceptable. I have never said I am right, I have strong opinion that is all. I disagree with numerous things Conversion Therapy is one. I believe its another spin off /money maker for the Church. I just think that if you are going to openly change the rules of clandestine hookups, and the Bible no longer applies, then someone should be publishing an update or making an APP for THAT!
Here’s a few more updates the bible needs (snipped from a classic rebuttal).
Dr. Laura Schlessinger’s announcement yesterday that she is quitting her radio show called to mind this clever response to her occasional fundamentalist readings of the Old Testament, particularly when it came to homosexuality. This letter, which has been widely circulated on the web since it first appeared in 2000 (despite difficulties in ascertaining its origin) is a healthy antidote to Scriptural literalism of any sort.
Dear Dr. Laura:
Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God’s Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination…End of debate.
I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God’s Laws and how to follow them.
1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can’t I own Canadians?
2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?
3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of Menstrual uncleanliness – Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.
4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord – Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?
5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?
6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don’t agree. Can you settle this? Are there ‘degrees’ of abomination?
7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?
Good points but not applicable. Just because a male thinks they are female does not mean that another male agrees or wants to be put in the position of finding out they are not as advertised. Pretty sure that over the years, Bible amendments or not, Deception is still deception.
Back to the topic at hand Conversion Therapy is another money making medical farce supported by the Church.
I might be going out on a limb here, but you you seem to be fixating on a story line in the movie “Hangover: Part II”.
i say find a middle ground with leviticus: keep slaves, and given covid, best to not import right now, so buy them local; sell off extra daughters rather than have to pay expensive dowries…just good common capitalist sense; go surf and turf, so, eat the bull and the shellfish, and if there is a spark with your same sex friend after the meal and wine, may as well go for it and enjoy it before god smites you.
yeesh, seth, what a fkd up world. people can be sold anything…be it justin beeber, a religion, or a political party.
my “god”, it is astonishing how humanity can be so utterly conditioned into dumbness. we have a long history of loveless cruelty and intolerance – often celebrated, no less – that societies have been conditioned into embracing. there still is so much wrong with our approach to the planet, and to its sentient life forms from wee to large. and yet, to try and get societies to acknowledge our ills remains a difficult feat.
it is confounding that a hockey player has recently felt the need to “come out.” how is it still seen as anyone’s business? how is it of any relevance or importance. perhaps we should each come with an app expressed list of our sexual preferences and predilections? we can use it in tandem with our vax compilations, ever at the ready when “officials” of society call upon us to do so (…missing 23rd booster for covid, but identifies as male, likes both sexes, oral, and activity in “risky” locations).
on the subject of bodies, we not only have the physical layout of males and females, ie. genitals, but we also have hermaphrodites. in addition to the ignorance that fails to acknowledge hermaphrodites in this “debate”, ignorance (or convenience) also fails to acknowledge there are those born without bearing any genitalia at all (ambiguous genitalia). are these mistakes by religion’s perfect god? and if god makes mistakes….
what sexual identity does a dutiful religious freak of a parent ram into either of the hermaphrodite or the ag they have been blessed with?
a person has every right to identify however they choose without the ignorance of heavy handed social pressure (although irreversible operations should be delayed until age of majority). ms. harder and party do not support such openness. in fairness, neither party supports near enough the absolute right of the person to be the sole arbiter of their body. however, the present day con party – so deformed and defiled by religious zealotry and all of its conferred ignorance – is the utmost when it comes to exacting control over the inherent rights of the individual.