The trumpian right-wing continues its Gen-Z agitation, because the next generation of RWNJ careerists needs their scapegoats even if it’s more like interwar Germany.
Not much of a debate when one of the participants agree declares victory by default at another of the usual RW campus events designed to provoke violence. The likely spectacle would have been a rhetorical display promoting the GOP questions fomented by Senators like Ted Cruz asking for definitions of “woman”. The topic then had to be reduced to a weaker question of how to regulate the culture of 0.6% of the US population, because they couldn’t recruit an appropriate figure to catcall. They really needed a trans-celebrity but wanted the imprimatur of a conservative trans-person. Next time allocate enough funds to invite Caitlyn Jenner.
New participant found to debate Michael Knowles at Pitt, debate topic changed
Pitt’s College Republicans, sponsored by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI), has found a new participant to debate conservative political commentator Michael Knowles. They’ve also changed the topic of the on-campus debate.
Brad Polumbo, a “libertarian-conservative journalist” and columnist for conservative news outlet the Washington Examiner, will debate Knowles on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the O’Hara Ballroom, after transgender scholar Deirdre McCloskey dropped out. Polumbo is also a gay conservative political commentator and the co-founder of BASEDPolitics.
The topic of the debate has also changed. The two participants will now debate the question, “Should transgenderism be regulated by law?” instead of the previous topic of “transgenderism and womanhood.”
ISI President John Burtka said ISI reached out to nine other transgender individuals, including Charlotte Clymer, but they “either ignored or rejected our invitation to debate” — which according to Burtka was a reason for the modified topic and Polumbo’s selection.
“He is a prominent, young libertarian voice who is generally supportive of LGBT rights for adult Americans,” Burtka said. “Most importantly for the sake of the event, he was eager and willing to debate Knowles.”
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After hearing of McCloskey’s withdrawal from the debate, Knowles posted on Twitter that perhaps McCloskey had “learned that I’m not the loose cannon that the liberal media have dishonestly portrayed,” and that “my opposition to transgenderism derives, not from hatred, but from love of the truth, in this case regarding epistemology and anthropology.”
“I’m happy to take a victory by default,” Knowles tweeted. “But it’s telling that even a distinguished scholar with three Harvard degrees and half a dozen honorary doctorates cannot defend transgenderism. Of course: the ideology is indefensible.”
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — A series of scheduled events at the University of Pittsburgh are sparking backlash.
The three events are scheduled to happen between March and April and feature anti-trans discussions and guest speakers.
According to a petition against these speaking engagements, they are being hosted by conservative student groups and clubs on campus with topics reportedly ranging from trans women in sports to a debate over trans identity.
Among the controversial political commentators who have been invited to speak on campus over the next several weeks is Michael Knowles, who made recent headlines for reportedly saying during a speech that "transgenderism" needed to be "eradicated."
Nicholas Demjan, a senior at Pitt, is the person who started the petition to block these events from taking place. Within three days, it gained as many as 5,000 signatures.
Demjan told KDKA-TV, "I'm not even asking them to create a new policy or anything. I want the university to stick by the plethora of diversity and inclusion statements they have on their website."
Leaders in the Pittsburgh trans community are speaking out, too.
"They are just saying all of this hateful rhetoric so they can social climb. And while they are social climbing, it's killing us. We're literally being murdered just for existing," said Dena Stanley, executive director of Trans Uniting.
Dylan Drobish, Mr. Trans USA and a Pitt alumni, told KDKA-TV, "You are fostering this sense of disgust that will directly result in people getting killed. Why would that university ever be OK with that?"
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In February 2023, Knowles called for the elimination of the concept of being transgender, arguing that those who identify as transgender are "laboring a delusion, and we need to correct that delusion". At the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in March, he further stated that "there can be no middle way in dealing with transgenderism", and that "for the good of society, transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely."[33] His comments were criticized by people including civil rights attorney Alejandra Caraballo, who interpreted them as "genocidal".[34] Knowles made legal threats to media outlets which reported that he was calling for the eradication of transgender people or the transgender community, stating that the outlets were being were libelous, and that he was referring to "transgenderism" as an ideology; critics considered the distinction to be meaningless.[35][36][37]