Today’s episode of BreakPoint by John Stonestreet covers an interesting story about Hall of Fame tennis player Martina Navratilova. Stonestreet explains how Navratilova, one of the first famous athletes to come out as gay, was removed from the Athlete Ally advisory board. She said that male athletes being allowed to compete against female athletes because of their trangender identification is “insane,” and after she took more time to consider her view, her views only got stronger.
Possibly the most concerning part of this story is the complete unwillingness to hear a dissenting viewpoint. The team at Athlete Ally was not interested in having a discussion about Navratilova’s views. When she took time to reconsider her views and came back strengthened, she was removed.
We will always have serious disagreements with those who hold to other worldviews. One of the most important pillars of our society is the ability to discuss our differing viewpoints, in order to learn more about each other and find the truth. If this incident is any indication, it seems that some members of the transgender support community would rather use their power to remove dissent than actually have a conversation.
Absolute ideological conformity seems to be the standard for acceptance, ironically, from a community that typically prides itself on tolerance. It is for this reason that we must seek to engage in conversations before it’s too late.
John says:
“But this is where a hyper post-modern, feelings-and identity-driven worldview leads us: not to fairness. Not to overcoming oppression. Only to insanity.”