Sometimes you watch an interview and have to do a double-take to make sure it’s not an episode of Saturday Night Live. That was the case when I came across a clip of Meet the Press that I can only describe as absolutely bonkers.
In it, Vivek Ramaswamy battles Chuck Todd over the topic of gender, and Todd’s reaction to Ramaswamy stating some basic truths is truly unbelievable (Newsbusters).
CHUCK TODD: You’re calling it that, but how do you know it’s that? Again, how do you know? Are you confident that you know that gender is as binary as you’re describing it? Are you confident?
RAMASWAMY: I am.
TODD: That there isn’t a spectrum?
RAMASWAMY: I am.
TODD: Do you know this as a scientist?
RAMASWAMY: Well, there’s two X chromosomes if you’re a woman, and an X and a Y that means you’re a man—
[crosstalk]
TODD: There is a lot of scientific research that says gender is a spectrum.
How did we get here? Really, I ask that in all sincerity without an ounce of snark. How did society get to a place where a person can’t even state a general biological fact? It is indisputable that scientifically, there are only two genders. That is dictated by genetics. One either has two X chromosomes or you have an X and Y chromosome. Any other combinations are birth defects, not separate genders that form a chosen identity.
Yet, Todd actually tried an appeal to authority when Ramaswamy said that gender isn’t a spectrum. As if one needs to be a scientist to know the difference between a man and a woman. The NBC News host wasn’t done either. He then decided to stump for genital mutilation as a “cure” for gender dysmorphia.
Ramaswamy was much too polite and tolerant toward Todd when he told him he “respectfully disagree[d],” and explained that “Gender Dysphoria for most of our history all the way through the DSM-5 has been characterized as a mental health disorder.”
He then made the point that it’s cruel to indulge in the delusions of those with Gender Dysphoria and instead suggested they get help.
“Let’s be compassionate and get to the heart of that rather than playing this game as though we’re actually changing our medical understanding for the last hundred years,” Ramaswamy noted.
Todd interjected to advocate children getting their genitals mutilated or chemically castrated to prevent them from committing suicide. This is a common form of emotional blackmail that trans activists use to coerce their opponents into giving in.
“We’ve created a culture that teaches parents that they’re being bigoted or that they’re bad people if they don’t actually take those steps,” Ramaswamy explained.
Let me state what everyone agreed on until about five minutes ago. Gender is not a spectrum. Human beings are all unique, and while some men and a woman may be more masculine or feminine than others, they all exist within the confines of biological reality. How someone dresses, talks, or acts does not dictate their gender, and one can’t “identify” as a different gender any more than someone can identify as a different race or species.
That Todd, a supposed intellectual better with a national television audience, doesn’t understand that is insane enough. That he’d actually go on the offensive against people speaking the truth is even worse. Objective truth is under attack, and the absence of truth leads to chaos. Despite having some differences with his presidential campaign, I commend Ramaswamy for pushing back and being ready to counter Todd. The right can’t let this stuff go.