Yesterday, I received an email from an old acquaintance, whom I recently ran into on a bus. We hadn't emailed in years, and even when we had it was mostly transactional, recommendations for services in the neighborhood, things like that. So, it was surprising to hear from her on a Saturday morning.
Even more curious was the subject of the email:
“Strange Bedfellows”
She was referring to last Thursday’s Moms for Liberty Parents Town Hall. I was a panelist at the event, along with fellow children’s advocates Maud Maron, Charles Love, Mona Davids, Paul Rossi and others.
When news of the event broke, local electeds issued statements saying “M4L has no place here or any other part of NYC.” When the statements fell on deaf ears, they/their proxies started petitions, harassed the venue, and organized activists to protest the event and intimidate attendees.
Back to the email.
At first, I wasn't sure how to respond. Was she saying that she thought I was better than that, better than associating with a group like Moms for Liberty, which she had surely read about - lured by salacious headlines, designed to rile up even the most complacent NYC Democrat? Did she want me to renounce them and repent? Was she supportive of attempted censorship of the group by NYC electeds, who did everything short of blocking the venue's entrance to stop the panel from proceeding last Thursday night?
I decided against defensiveness. I adopted an attitude of compassion, a genuine desire to help her understand, as it seemed she was asking for - an explanation. I am sharing it here in the hope that it may help others who have similar encounters, because it is difficult to avoid defensiveness, though we must try to do exactly that.
"Happy New Year! Great to hear from you. Yes, I did participate in a fantastic panel that Moms for Liberty held on Thursday night at the Bohemian Hall. I wish you could have been there though I can share a recording of the two panel discussions that I think you might appreciate. Much of it was centered on literacy, as Moms for Liberty is very concerned about the very low literacy rates across the nation and especially in New York City were so many children still struggle to read and often graduate from high school without being able to do so.
I have known Tiffany Justice for over two years - we fought to reopen our schools, get kids back to normal with no onerous Covid-19 restrictions including distancing and masking, which created so much harm and provided no benefits.
There is plenty of negative press full of hateful language being used against this grassroots moms group. It is being used to manipulate people and create division. I have met a number of their chapter leaders and parents and not one of them has been *against* LGBTQ rights.
They do oppose pediatric gender transitioning because they believe, as I do, that no child is born in the wrong body.
Also, no child can provide informed consent.
What adults do after their prefrontal cortex develops is their business, but we must protect the children. I have many friends on both sides of the political spectrum who agree on these common sense principles, which were obvious to everyone before this social contagion set in.
Contrary to what you may have heard, this group doesn't support banning books, but rather making sure that violent and pornographic content does not enter elementary school libraries.
I think most common sense parents agree on these things, too.
And, in fact, in conversation, most parents tend to come to the same place. If you search, you'll see that many websites are banned from schools because they are not age-appropriate, but we don't hear any outcry about this. I have always been an LGBTQ supporter, a registered Democrat who voted for Biden, and believe every individual should be respected and treated equally.
I would not associate with a group that didn't share those values.
But I also wouldn't try to silence them as our elected leaders tried to do by pressuring the venue to cancel the event, launching petitions and creating a very charged environment outside that put attendees at risk.
I wouldn't stand outside and intimidate and harass speakers and attendees.
I would go inside, listen and offer my point-of-view.
Diverse viewpoints should be welcomed, not silenced.
We should all be alarmed at this encroachment on free speech and illiberalism.
There is little that worries me more today. I am more than happy to talk to you in person or on the phone about your concerns and share what I know about the people I've associated with across both sides of the political spectrum. I have one special interest and that is: children.
I will talk to anyone who shares my goal of making sure that childhood is respected and protected. That is why I have worked for the past three years, both via the documentary that we are producing called 15 Days... and our Urgency of Normal toolkit two years ago (!) to help children in this very difficult time, where depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders surge, but care has not met the unprecedented demand.
I'm wondering if you've read the incredible book Irreversible Damage by Abigail Shrier? It is evidence-based and superbly written. Very compassionate, too. I think she really helps clarify what a social contagion, gender transitions, particularly in girls, have been over the past decade+. I wish you a beautiful weekend, Natalya
To which I received a four word reply:
I won't read much into that, but I hope she, at least, considered what I said. I am glad to have been given an opportunity to respond.
It all begins with dialogue and an open door.
Have a great week!
Natalya
PS: Don’t forget to register for our upcoming book club meeting featuring Jayne Buxton discussing her book The Great Plant Based Con.
Such a well written response so glad you shared it here! Thank you for your advocacy on the behalf of children 😊
Such a wonderful response. I can only imagine you left an impression on her and that is a good thing.