Thank you for this response and for sharing some of your own experiences. I
just want to address this issue:
>The key reason the thread / my mails have caused hurt seems to be that
>they've come across as an attempt to debate transgender experiences.
>What I've not been able to understand is how that happened, since I
>actually tried very hard from the beginning to make it as clear as
>possible that I had no such intention.
I think that the main reason that this thread turned contentious is the
body of rhetoric you were referencing. In an earlier part of the thread,
you said:
>Not to hide anything: personally, I ascribe to views (broadly, radical
>feminism) which contradict some key aspects of the transgender movement.
>However, that's irrelevant in this context.
Whatever your intentions were, the rhetoric you were using to argue your
point comes from the discourse of Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminism, that
is not irrelevant in this context. You were using the same talking points
that people use to bully and harass trans people in person and online and
others in positions of power in my country and across the globe are
actively using to reject the lived experiences of transgender individuals
and deny them basic human rights (like access to health care). This is why
your proposal elicited a trauma response for some people. I will give you
the benefit of the doubt that this was not your intention but for many
people in the world and in the Guix community your argument cannot be
separated from this context.
For my own part, conversations about what benefits [cis-]women in a
community without including any [cis-]women in the conversation (though
from my persepctive as a feminist, I would argue that Liliana and
Christine's input as women should have been heeded as such) ties into a
centuries-long patriarchal trend of talking around women about their best
interests instead of speaking with them about their needs.
I hope you do not view this as an attack, I am merely framing this
conversation within broader contexts that led this thread to cause harm to
members of the community since you asked us why it had this unintended
impact.
Best,
Morgan
On Fri, Feb 25, 2022 at 11:03 PM Taylan Kammer
wrote:
> Hi Christine,
>
> Thank you for opening up. It was definitely not apparent to me that you
> had such a reaction to the thread. As we know, text doesn't convey the
> nuances of human communication very well, and I had read your initial
> emails as rather relaxed, or at worst mildly annoyed. Had I realized
> that they were coming from such a stressful position, I would have
> responded differently.
>
> My heartfelt apologies in that regard.
>
> For us to be able to build up better mutual understanding and empathy in
> the future, perhaps it would be good for me to open up about some things
> as well.
>
> ---
>
> Frankly, I think we're more similar than anyone taking a glance at the
> thread might ever think. I've had experiences with gender dysphoria as
> well, and my dis-identification with male peers has certainly played an
> important role in the development of my severe chronic depression.
>
> I'm a rather reserved person when it comes to personal matters, not as
> open about my feelings as you are (and good on you -- it's not doing me
> much good to be the way I am in that regard), so I don't want to go into
> too much detail, but let's just say I've had multiple near-death moments
> throughout the years in relation to my condition, and the latest bout of
> severe suicidal thoughts was just a few months ago.
>
> The partly hostile responses (from others, not you!) I've received in
> the thread have been anything but pleasant, to say the least, but have
> not led to a major breakdown, perhaps thanks to the medication I'm on,
> which might be why I was able to respond a few more times...
>
> I've packaged higan for Guix, back in 2015. Near (then byuu) helped me
> revitalize some of my fondest childhood memories with the emulator he's
> built. After taking some interest in the program's workings, I was also
> briefly active on his web forum, and had positive interactions with him.
> We weren't close personally, but I had built up a *lot* of fondness and
> respect for him. The news of his suicide was absolutely awful to me.
>
> Moreover, a certain web forum that shall not be named which was behind
> the bullying campaign against Near/byuu (and countless others) also has
> a "profile" of sorts written up on me in one of their threads, as a
> potential future bullying target or something. So far I've been spared,
> but they do have my home address, and my employer's details are a web
> search away.
>
> All of which is to say, I *deeply* empathize with your position, and at
> no point would I ever wish to inflict this type of pain on anyone.
>
> I would like to sincerely reassure you that the sole purpose in sending
> the patch, and subsequent messages, was to pledge for another view to be
> respected
